Becky

hey there! i have a 1997 Mustang and the Driver seat just went out on me. yeah the SEAT! i need to replace the seat according to the estimates i've gotten and i need to get the seat myself, they'll only do the labor. so any suggestions? what's the best place to go or start at? thanks.

boofabalous

I would check the local junk yards to see if anyone has a seat in really good condition. or check E-BAY.

uterozbert

BECKY, what went wrong on the seat? Was it the bolt that serves as the hinge pin? Did the seat back break (no longer able to support weight on one side)? Did the lock stop working properly (If you move the seat back forward to help get into the back of the car a broken lock keeps the seat back from returning to its proper location/seat back comes to rest too vertical).


I had a pin break on my way to work while going through in the worse freeway intersection of the route. Figured no problem as I could install my Recaro seat the next day. What's the odds of the hinge pin in the Recaro breaking before I got out of the drive? It did and it is a LEFT-handed metric flathead, not something you find n the States everyday.

The hinge pin in the stock seats is actually a bolt and is still carried by Ford dealers in the States.


But if the seat back is broken and won't support body weight on one side that's because the inner frame work is broken.

YOU CAN have it repaired cheaply if you are willing to do some work yourself. I seem to recall that on the 1990's Mustang the seat covers unzip, no need for special tools to remove the seat cover and foam cushions.

If you remove the cover and foam at home you cut out the bulk of the repair costs.

Why didn't someone mention this to you before? Not too many people want to get their hands dirty working on cars. Not too many people want to pay the wages of the people who are willing to get their hands dirty. Because of this you are told to go buy a seat from a salvage yard. A seat that has been prone to the same stresses that broke your seat.

If you do look in a salvage yard you will soon learn that used MUSTANG seats are going at a "seller's market" price. Here's another Ford secret:

The LX seat beneath the seat covers is also used by other Ford products. Just take a look at some of the Tempos from the same era as your Mustang. Some, of the GT seat parts are also common to other Ford parts. If you have a GT and happen to come across another GT seat with bad bottom cushion give the seat a good instection to determine if the back is bad (twisted, etc.) You can always remove the good back from the salvage yard seat and install it on your.

If the seat covers don't match simply exchange them with the ones from your car. You CAN use a passenger side seat on the driver's side, I've been doing it for years. Just don't try to swap parts between seats without inspection. The seat bottom "may" be identical but the backs are left and right handed, not interchangable.


If the lock is malfunctioning, sorry to say I can't help you because I haven't taken my seat apart to determine the exact nature of the problem.


Mustang DRIVER'S seats are currently selling for $200 average at the regional all-Ford swap meets here in Ohio. Sometimes you can get both seats for that price but don't count on it. People are becoming more aware that the passenger seat can be used on the driver's side.

GT seats vary depending upon years. The least popular years are priced from $375 up. Top end GT seats are $400 and up. Mostly UP.