Seat Swap: 98 Ext Cab - 97 Reg Cab

brethart77 · #1 03-12-2012, 01:01 PM

I have a 98 Rngr XLT Ext Cab: Foam on seats is worthless, door to armrest broken, seat angle lever broken while replacing flasher relay (getting in an out).

I picked up a 97 Mazda pickup regular cab seat at the wrecking yard (in great shape, but needs some cleaning).

The bolts patterns don't match (Ext Cab vs. Reg Cab), but is it possible to swap tracks and make it work? Or, am I better off reselling the seat and trying again?

brethart77

drppdyllwrngr · #2 03-12-2012, 06:09 PM

nope. 97 and 98 are no where even close to swapping parts. you could get an explorer manual seat track or a 93-7 ext cab ranger seat track and make it work.

brethart77 · #3 03-13-2012, 07:45 AM

How about swapping just the back of the seat - leaving the base seat and tracks in the truck? Do you think those could swap? Or maybe the foam - is it compitable? Maybe the seat angle handle could be swaped too - maybe a screw and jb weld - epoxy of some kind to make it work?

Any thoughts?

brethart77

drppdyllwrngr · #4 03-14-2012, 03:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drppdyllwrngr

nope. 97 and 98 are no where even close to swapping parts.

you are talking apples to bananas. not even close to being the same style. nothing will swap over between those two years.

brethart77 · #5 03-14-2012, 08:47 AM

Shoot...they looked so much alike that I figured they'd have to be compatible in some way.

I'll clean it up and stick it on the classifieds - then try again.

Thank you!

drppdyllwrngr · #6 03-15-2012, 03:18 AM

97 and older, the back rest unbolts from the bottom with 3 bolts, the tracks unbolt from the bottom with 4 bolts. simple to get apart.

98-03, there are about 8 bolts to separate the bottom pan from the back rest, and then the recline mech is part of the seat tracks. recline handle is in different locations.

brethart77 · #7 03-15-2012, 09:04 AM

Yeah, I think I got it.

I've heard that Tempo and Escort seats will work as well (GT's particularly) - with my 98 ext cab - does anyone know if those will work too, or will I have to stick with Explorer seats?

brethart77

drppdyllwrngr · #8 03-15-2012, 07:31 PM

you can use those, but you will still need either explorer seat tracks, or 93-7 ext cab ranger tracks. the tracks on your 98 seats do not come apart to allow another seat to be mounted to them.

brethart77 · #9 04-07-2012, 01:20 PM

I found a set of 99 Mazda pickup (standard cab) seats at the wrecking yard. The guys took about an hour taking out the rear bolts while I waited out front (they had to use an impact hammer). When they were done, they had a few “choice” words about how difficult it was to take them out. I asked if they’d take mine out too and they said and gestured in a less-nice way, “Hell No!”

To explain: the back two bolts (T50's) are all but impossible to get out without impact tools - especially if you live in an area that puts a lot of salt on the roads. The bolts poke through to the bottom of the truck and rust-weld themselves into place. I soaked them in pb blaster every day for three weeks, but that didn't seem to help at all. These bolts are also "lock-tighted" into place with some kind of adhesive - there was a white epoxy-like substance still stuck into the grooves of the bolts when they were handed to me. To add more difficulty, the bolts are not perfectly round (more triangular in shape that I expected). I'm sure that the combination of these factors make them a miserable pain to remove.

So, I thought I’d chronicle my experience for anyone else that is interested in conquering this process:

The driver-side seat on my 98 Ranger Ext. Cab had finally “bit the dust.” The truck was in an accident with me about 8 years ago, and has never been the same since. * It wasn’t immediately obvious that there was damage to the seat, so the insurance adjuster never caught it that it probably should have been replaced then. Anyway, the long vertical springs in the back were busted clean off so that there was no real support for the padding, the padding was flat and torn so that it pushed through to the joint between the seat and the back. The armrest box lid had cracked along spring-loaded bolts and couldn’t be glued back into place. Last of all, while replacing the flasher relay, I caught the seat adjustment handle with my pocket and broke the “spindle” (that’s what I’m calling it) that the handle is attached to, clean off. So, of course, I decided that “now is the time to replace this seat once and for all!”

As I stated before, I asked the guys at the wrecking yard to take the seat out. I also asked that they give to me the front bolts that were in perfect shape (they don’t poke through to the underside of the truck). * These are T50 bolts. Then I tossed the 60/40 drivers-side seat into back of the pickup, tied it down and put it in the garage.

Since I have a 98 Ford Ext. Cab - these came from a 99 Mazda Stnd. Cab, I had a lot of work to do to make this all work. I had to keep my tracks and put them onto (under) the seat I got from the 99. The entire process of changing the tracks took me about three hours, but I kept getting interrupted by my buddies (seeing my garage door open in the evening) and my wife's girlfriend bringing goodies to eat - anyway, here's what I had to do:

Remove the five bolts on the rails on each seat. Remove each "seat adjusting apparatus." If you do this, it’ll be pretty obvious what I’m talking about. The seat belt is removed (T50 I think) and then the back of the seat is removed (these are T45 and there isn’t a lot of room, so I suggest an extension.” My drill wasn’t strong enough for one side, so I had to vice-grip the T45 bit and use it like a wrench. Anyway, I got them all dissembled and ready for reassembly. The seat adjustment apparatus on the extended cab and standard cab rails are a little different (not really compatible). I suggest that you use the one comes with the seat. I couldn’t use the same one because of the spindle that broke off. I had to remove the spindle from the 99 stnd cab and attach to the 98 ext cab apparatus (not as easy as it sounds, but the plastic part is identical, so it actually worked).

From there, it was simple reassembly (but, I did a little upholstery cleaning before I put them back together). Then, I put the new (used) one in (must have been used by a lightweight because the foam and springs (on the back) are in great shape) and I’ve been so much more comfortable. Life is good again.