Rocking Drivers Seat

hirsty · Post by **hirsty** » 03 Apr 2010, 11:59

The drivers seat in my Xantia rocks slightly and creaks as a result. The base and back rock together, so I don't think the frame is broken. I have tried to locate the mounting bolts but all I can find is a mass of tubes and cables 'cos the seat is electric and heated leather. Any suggestions on how to tighten the mounting bolts would be appreciated.

Keith

Post by **CitroJim** » 03 Apr 2010, 13:16

Hi keith,

Motor the seat right back as far as it will go and look on the ends of the rails. You'll see a T40 Torx bolt on the end of each rail. These hold the rais to the body.

They do work loose and also the captive nuts they screw into can pull out of the seat mountings on the body. Check the mounts are good as the do fail quite commonly, especially if any prevous owners have bee, er, on the bulky side.

There is a simlar arrangement at the rear ends of the rails and to get at these, motor the seat right forward.

It's also possible the seat fram has come loose where it bolts to the rail subframe. Again it's held together with Torx bolts but it's a seat out job to get at them...

Clogzz · Post by **Clogzz** » 03 Apr 2010, 13:26

The seat slides in two rails mounted to the floor with large torx bolts.
More than one bolt would have to be loose for the seat to rock about.
The original fitting won’t let the bolts escape, but later disassembly may come loose.

There’s probably a worn spot where the seat sits in the rail.
You may even see a fatigue crack forming in the rail.
The fix for now is to move the seat slightly forwards or backwards, and try to find a comfortable position by making up with the other adjustments.

Ouch Jim !

Your post wasn't there when I wrote mine.

Post by **CitroJim** » 03 Apr 2010, 18:30

Clogzz wrote: Ouch Jim !
Your post wasn't there when I wrote mine.

Always better to have two answers rather than none Clogzz

Looking at my Post, I apologise for all the typos. I posted that from dad's laptop. Oh how I hate laptop keyboards

bxman · Post by **bxman** » 03 Apr 2010, 23:25

Pound to pinch it's the bracket closest to the central tunnel that has fractured if so you will either need to remove the carpet or cut it with a stanley knife.
I had done a few it is a common fault you will find that it is not that obvious if you take the lazy way and use the knife.
I welded the first one but have done the last few with epoxy; bonding a 16 guage metal patch in place of the thin original metal that will be floating about. Provided you can afford the time to let it cure properly 24-48 hrs
If you make up the patches drill several holes in them and the area over which they go the resin will fill any gaps and squeeze through the holes and make a surprisingly strong bond. and all of which will be covered by a thick carpet. just make sure not to forget the nut or better still a plate with a thread for the seat mounting bolt. It will need obviously to be in the right place and have a bit of float.

Hope I am wrong and you find the simple answer. But if not it's not that difficult, good luck
Patrick.

hirsty · Post by **hirsty** » 04 Apr 2010, 00:37

Thanks for the replies. Patrick do I need to remove the seat to bond the plate in if necessary? If so how do I remove the seat? Time to cure is not a problem as I drive a Spanish repmobile Monday to Friday.

Driving something as good as the Xantia at weekends is pure pleasure

Keith

Post by **CitroJim** » 04 Apr 2010, 06:37

Best to remove it Keith...

Motor the seat right back and remove the two Torx bolts holding the front ends of the rails.

You will see the rails sit on plastic mushrooms. The holes through these make the bolts tight and they usually need counterholding to get the bolts right out. Under the plastic mushroom on a MK2 you may find spacing washers. Note how many are in use for each position.

The bolts at the front are a bit inaccessible. I find the best tool is a T40 Torx bit on the end of a 1/4 ratchet head inside a 10mm socket. Sometimes and especially for the inboard bolts (nearest the transmission tunnel) this can be too tall so then I spin the Torx bit with a 10mm ratcheting spanner.

Once the two front bolts are right out, motor the seat right forward and repeat for the three bolts at the back. Note that the rail nearest the transmission tunnel is attached with two bolts due to the proximity of the seat belt.

Rock the seat back to expose its underside and disconnect the electrics. One big plug for the motors/heaters and two smaller ones for the pretensioners and airbags.

Lift the seat out. It is surprisingly heavy.

Replacement is a reversal of removal etc.

But....

Make refitting a lot easier by drilling out the holes in the mushrooms to 8mm so they have a tad of clearance on the mounting bolts.

DO NOT weld (if the frame is broken) in the vicinity of airbags or pretensioners. Very risky! Remove them first.

hirsty · Post by **hirsty** » 04 Apr 2010, 10:59

Thanks Jim, I'll give it a try. It's more of an annoyance than anything else. I really fancy going to the Citroen Car Club Northern Rally in May. Do I need to be a member?

Keith

Post by **admiral51** » 04 Apr 2010, 12:39

just a few piccies of the damage on my old 1.9td when i had a rocking drivers seat

Welding is not for experts but it did the job

Colin

addo · Post by **addo** » 04 Apr 2010, 12:45

One whole side of the seatbelt is fastened to that seat frame - the failure shown there is terrifying!

Post by **CitroJim** » 04 Apr 2010, 14:02

hirsty wrote:Do I need to be a member?

No, just bring your Citroen Keith

addo wrote:the failure shown there is terrifying!

Yes, it is and not an uncommon problem either

One very good reason to find out why a seat rocks and get it fixed if it does...

Pug 405s suffer this same failure and it might be applicable to all PSA vehicles.

French Car Forum

Rocking Drivers Seat

Rocking Drivers Seat

lose seat.