Rocking seats in MCoupe and Z3 roadsters

[Clownshoe]

I gather this is a common problem in Z3s. The seats feel as if they are rocking backwards and forwards 5mm in the rails. Mine recently developed this issue and I have done alot of research on fixing it. It is the result of substandard rubber bushings in the seat adjust mechanism. The fix is a nylon part that doesn't deteroriate in the grease on the rails and will outlast the cars. I will be doing this fix when i get back to SA. I will be making the nylon bushings and was wondering if anyone wanted a set? I have to buy a big sheet of nylon and it won't take much time to cut out several more bushes. Anyone interested?

 

[Mpower06]

YES!!! my seat is also rocking! :mmm: lol read up on this on the z3mcoupe forum....

I am defiently interested in a set!!!! Come back to SA now! lol:slap:

 

[mrv]

mine is not rocking YET..

i will be interested as well..

 

[Clownshoe]

OK, will do several sets. Should be doing it around the beginning of next month...

 

[Mpower06]

awesome!!!! how much will it cost for the materials?

 

[Clownshoe]

awesome!!!! how much will it cost for the materials?

I am looking too see but it looks like i have to get a big piece of nylon so thinking of taking the cost of the sheet and dividing it by the number of sets i make. Postage will probably cost more!! But looks like I may be in Getagun I mean Guateng in August so maybe organise a meet or something.

 

[mrv]

thats sounds cool.

 

[Mpower06]

Thats perfect!!!

 

[MikeBMW]

Sign me up, I've had mine changed 3 times while it was on motorplan and it only have 24k mileage on it now.

 

[Clownshoe]

Sign me up, I've had mine changed 3 times while it was on motorplan and it only have 24k mileage on it now.

Ja, the EOM ones are made of a rubber compound that is not grease resistant, so they perish and disintergrate. G loads backwards and forwards doesn't help for some reason:thinking:
I will get hold of you when they are made up.

 

[MikeBMW]

Thanks mate!

 

[Clownshoe]

:clap::excited::clap:

Changed the bushes for the nylon ones todayimp: I was very worried when I took out the OEM ones and they looked fine, not the gooey mess that you see on the US forums... decided to change anyway.

Just got back from a test run and no more rocking in the seat:clap: I am so happy, its been a pain in the butt since it started.

I had the seat out before I realised I did not have a big enough bit too drill the hole in the bushes so had to do a second rate job too get the seat working again. I will get a big bit tomorrow and produce the rest of the bushes, I still need too do the passenger one that stated rocking last week after I had a large pax and some:mmm:... spirited driving.

:thumbsup:

Warning the installation requires sanding the 3.1mm thick nylon too 2.9mm... I cannot feel my fingertips!!!

 

[MikeBMW]

You need to do a write up on the DIY. I would like to do this with my M Coupe, but it has to be perfect. I have babied this car from day one, do not wish to tarnish the interior now

 

[Mpower06]

Awesome job bro!!!!!! Let us know of the costs! will be glad to get mine sorted out!!!!!

 

[Clownshoe]

I did think about doing a write up but there are plenty of online manuals for this. See this link for a youtube video. Seat fix video pt1

Appart from making and sanding the bushes the whole thing took 45minutes. I found you can do the job without unplugging the seat. I got the seat half way out when I went to unplug the wires I realised that I could actually get the "kebabs" out with the seat resting on the sill.

If you are worried about scratching stuff I would suggest several thick towels on the sill(Missus is less than impressed with me though:hammerhead:. And check them regularly as you remove the seat the towels move. The last thing you want is a sharp edge with the weight of a seat behind it scratching the sill.

 

[Clownshoe]

Ran out of time to get addreses together and post pushes.

They are made though. I did a production run and discovered how much of a bastard nylon is to work with!! I think there are enough for 5 sets that came out OK. You will need to sand them down to fit, I recomend a course sandpaper and gloves. The nylon is 3.1mm think and my ones when sanded were 2.9mm. Doesn't sound like alot but after you have done that with 8 you are thinking of clever ways to make it go quicker... orbital sander sands the edges quicker so you end up with convex bushes so stick to a flat manual sandpaper.

So pm me your addresses I think that enough came out OK for 5 complete sets (5x8 bushings). Missus will post them for me. So first come first serve.

They are crude but work. If you like them and they work for you you can stick a hundred bucks in my account otherwise don't worry about it. Total cost for the exercise was R300... and i have sheets of nylon left. But my seat is not rocking and that is worth a million bucks too me

P,S, Nylon got its name because it was discovered in New York and London at the same time/!!!

 

[MikeBMW]

Thanks for that interesting fact

Do you have some pictures for us?

 

[Clownshoe]

For scale that hole is 13mm and the ones I put in mine were 12mm and bearly cleared screw. The EOM have a 13mm hole.
The bushes are 17mm x 20mm. These are slightly smaller than original dimensions. I stopped worrying about the dimensions though when I realised that aslong as they fit its only the thickness that matters.

They will require sanding down to fit. This is a trail and error process as they require a snug fit but not too tight. I made mine so I could press them in using my fingers and slight tapping with a hammer to get them lined up properly.

The video of how to change:

The place to get the pro-made nylon bushes.
http://www.whalenshiftmachine.com/i...s_id=8&zenid=0716535396db5db228c561ad57109f8b
The picture site on instructions
http://www.waycoolinc.com/z3/02/100602/shish01.html



As I mentioned I have enough for 5 x 8 bushes.

 

[MikeBMW]

Thanks for the info Clownshoe. I think I"ll buy the ones from Whalen, I've used them before for stuff on my Mini.

 

[Clownshoe]

Thanks for the info Clownshoe. I think I"ll buy the ones from Whalen, I've used them before for stuff on my Mini.

No worries. I thought you would be more interested in the Whalen ones.

Mpower06 yours should be in the post today or tomorrow.