How to lower seat in 4th gen

[LTDSC]

I don't think they are as "highly engineered" as you might think. Consider that aftermarket seats -- and more importantly, aftermarket brackets -- are available, and are typically much simpler pieces of metal than the stamped OEM brackets. They are completely legal, and I doubt any stress analysis went into the aftermarket brackets. Typically they are just flat heavy-gauge metal that's been bent and welded, with sliders bolted or riveted to them. When vendors make safety claims, they are probably talking about quality control and craftsmanship, rather than load and stress analysis.

Now, I believe technically you are required to report to your insurance company any modifications you make to your vehicle, otherwise you risk being denied coverage in a crash. I've just sent an email to mine, asking about this, so I will report back. Saying you are not allowed to make any mods would be ridiculous, but there may be a small premium increase for mods.

I have my insurance adjusted to cover my modifications in case something were to happen. My dash cam i added gave me a kick back which basically makes it the same price as before for my premium.

 

[LTDSC]

About how much lower do you think your sitting? Ballpark

2" in the rear

How much was your head rubbing on the ceiling?

my head would hit the roof if i turned it left. had to sit at a little angle. Would kill my neck.

I run into the same issue. Only 6'1 here but im mostly torso, I guess. Cool idea but I certainly dont feel comfortable cutting and welding seat brackets. If there were an issue, no insurance pay out once they inspect and see the modification

My insurance has seen my modifications, said nothing about it. Insurances cover fully bagged and cut up trucks, stop living in fear.

 

[mrmachinist]

I'm going to look into this on our 16. I wanted the headroom with no sunroof ( I'm 6'6) but I lost that battle I might have to look into this.

 

[Code2]

i believe one was heated/sensor/power. Could also be the lumbar. Worth a shot to take it out and look. You can just lean it back with all 4 bolts out. Being 6'9" with a sunroof, was killing my neck since i've been driving it a lot more than before.

6'9? My god you should have just made it a convertible

 

[secretspy711]

one thing I wanted to ask those who have done this mod... I guess afterwards you can't use the plastic covers over the rear brackets, can you?

 

[secretspy711]

OK, I've just completed the mod and the headroom is definitely improved! Although, it took much longer than 30 minutes.... Try 4 hours. Never welded before, but with some help from my father-in-law, we worked it out.

And, I got a reply back from my insurance. They said legal mods don't have to be reported, but if I added parts then I can report that to cover their value. So I'm good.

 

[sull625]

Very cool. I will look into doing this as well. I could use a little extra room. I feel like I am sitting parallel with the top of the windshield.

 

[bluefalcon25]

Did I make a huge mistake? I just bought my first 2008 4R. I'm running into the same issue here. I'm 6'5" and definitely seeing parallel with the top of the windshield. When I test drove it a couple times this didn't affect me or my decision. Now that I'm driving around I don't like it. I'm not confident in doing mods and especially handling a welder. Is this something a dealership would help with? I've considered getting a different seat? Would the TRD seats sit lower? Whats a guy gotta do to be comfortable in his new 4R?

thanks for any suggestions and solutions.

 

[secretspy711]

Doubt the dealership would do anything. I did contact a fab shop that said they would do it by making new seat brackets, but in the end, I just did it myself with the welder. But FWIW, a few months ago I traded my 4R for a 4-door Jeep Wrangler. Took a loss obviously, but now have miles of headroom. Love my Jeep and its manual transmission

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[t-man]

Did I make a huge mistake? I just bought my first 2008 4R. I'm running into the same issue here. I'm 6'5" and definitely seeing parallel with the top of the windshield. When I test drove it a couple times this didn't affect me or my decision. Now that I'm driving around I don't like it. I'm not confident in doing mods and especially handling a welder. Is this something a dealership would help with? I've considered getting a different seat? Would the TRD seats sit lower? Whats a guy gotta do to be comfortable in his new 4R?

thanks for any suggestions and solutions.

I pulled the bottom cushion out and trimmed it, but I still have to lean the seat back more than I'd like. I need to lower the bracket too though. I'd say you could find someone to notch the rear mount, flatten it yourself and take it to a welder to weld a reinforcing piece in there. Should be really cheap, or ask your buddies to see if someone knows how. You'll need to notch the hole for the bolt too since it'll be in a new location slightly. Pretty easy really.

Doubt the dealership would do anything. I did contact a fab shop that said they would do it by making new seat brackets, but in the end, I just did it myself with the welder. But FWIW, a few months ago I traded my 4R for a 4-door Jeep Wrangler. Took a loss obviously, but now have miles of headroom. Love my Jeep and its manual transmission

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Heep? What's that? Oh, Jeep! That's blasphemy!
I drove a couple new wranglers a couple years ago. More headroom but much less leg room, and they're cheaply made, and I just can't find interest in one. I really love walking all over them at the offroad park though! Lol

Sent from the drivers seat of my 05 4runner.

 

[TheFauxFox]

6'2" with a sunroof I feel ya... my head just barely scrapes the roof sometimes when I drive...

 

[t-man]

6'2" with a sunroof I feel ya... my head just barely scrapes the roof sometimes when I drive...

Ya the sunroof really kills it! Lose so much room to that thing.

Sent from the drivers seat of my 05 4runner.

 

[secretspy711]

Heep? What's that? Oh, Jeep! That's blasphemy!
I drove a couple new wranglers a couple years ago. More headroom but much less leg room, and they're cheaply made, and I just can't find interest in one. I really love walking all over them at the offroad park though! Lol

Sent from the drivers seat of my 05 4runner.

Lol, I would expect nothing less than a response like this in a T4R forum [emoji1]. To each their own -- I guess I'm just a Jeep guy in the end. I'm gonna have to disagree with you on being cheaply made tho. The 2012's and later have an updated interior that's a lot better than the previous years, and the 3.6 Pentastar engine finally gives it the power it should've had all along (the old 3.8 tho... yawn). Legroom is fine for me. You sit more upright (like a truck) compared to the Toyota. That "lack of legroom" is exactly what gives it a higher breakover angle than the long 4R or any pickup. I love my Jeep and everything about it.

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[t-man]

Lol, I would expect nothing less than a response like this in a T4R forum [emoji1]. To each their own -- I guess I'm just a Jeep guy in the end. I'm gonna have to disagree with you on being cheaply made tho. The 2012's and later have an updated interior that's a lot better than the previous years, and the 3.6 Pentastar engine finally gives it the power it should've had all along (the old 3.8 tho... yawn). Legroom is fine for me. You sit more upright (like a truck) compared to the Toyota. That "lack of legroom" is exactly what gives it a higher breakover angle than the long 4R or any pickup. I love my Jeep and everything about it.

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I worked at a dealership selling Chrysler, Jeep, dodge, and Toyota. Drove several new Jeep wranglers, 2 door and 4 door, and a couple AEV. It seems to be a common theme for cheap, rattling interiors these days, hate it. I find the motor weak, although better than anything since the old V8's! Of course, my 4runner is a V8... I dunno, I just don't see the luster. If you offroad a lot you'll put so much into it that it isn't even a jeep anymore, but the aftermarket is amazing, if you get the AEV and have the hemi installed that would be fun! But if you want bigger tires you'd better upgrade some axles cause even the Dana 44 won't handle the tires and a Hemi.
You must have a 2 door because the 4 door is as long as the 4runner easily. About the only thing I dislike is I want my rear tires to be back another foot to get rid of that excess hanging off the ass. Gertrude has a fat ass!! Lol

I do really enjoy messing with my buddy Jon with his grand Cherokee though. 4" lift and 33's, I walk over stuff with ease that stops him cold! He gets so mad, I love it!

I usually blaze the trail!

Sent from the drivers seat of my 05 4runner.

 

[secretspy711]

Don't wanna turn this into a pissing match, but with all due respect, the 2012+ wrangler motor isn't weak, it's just not geared to accelerate on the on-ramp like your 4R is. The numbers: A 2012+ wrangler is 283 HP, whereas a 4th gen 4R is 236 or 260 for the v6 and v8 respectively. "A jeep needs more power like a corvette needs mud tires."
The 4door Wranglers are definitely a little shorter than the 4R tho, I can attest to that, having owned both, and also having slept in both. Dunno what you mean by cheap rattling interiors tho. Mine is solid. So was my 04 Wrangler.

I could go on comparing them, but we're getting off topic. I think I'll head back over to the Jeep forums now

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[t-man]

Don't wanna turn this into a pissing match, but with all due respect, the 2012+ wrangler motor isn't weak, it's just not geared to accelerate on the on-ramp like your 4R is. The numbers: A 2012+ wrangler is 283 HP, whereas a 4th gen 4R is 236 or 260 for the v6 and v8 respectively. "A jeep needs more power like a corvette needs mud tires."
The 4door Wranglers are definitely a little shorter than the 4R tho, I can attest to that, having owned both, and also having slept in both. Dunno what you mean by cheap rattling interiors tho. Mine is solid. So was my 04 Wrangler.

I could go on comparing them, but we're getting off topic. I think I'll head back over to the Jeep forums now

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Ya, my wife's Mazda CX-9 with the 3.6 has more horsepower too, but I still Stomp that little car. Lmfao! Hp means nothing, it's all about the low end torque. Jeeps (other than the newer Grand Cherokee, which you'd never take offroad anyways) have never been fast, never been reliable, and have never been premium. Not as they come anyways. You can mod it until something great, as any vehicle, with enough money. Out of the box, the 4runner decimates that wrangler.

Sent from the drivers seat of my 05 4runner.

 

[BlackWorksInc]

Don't wanna turn this into a pissing match, but with all due respect, the 2012+ wrangler motor isn't weak, it's just not geared to accelerate on the on-ramp like your 4R is. The numbers: A 2012+ wrangler is 283 HP, whereas a 4th gen 4R is 236 or 260 for the v6 and v8 respectively. "A jeep needs more power like a corvette needs mud tires."
The 4door Wranglers are definitely a little shorter than the 4R tho, I can attest to that, having owned both, and also having slept in both. Dunno what you mean by cheap rattling interiors tho. Mine is solid. So was my 04 Wrangler.

I could go on comparing them, but we're getting off topic. I think I'll head back over to the Jeep forums now

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

HP means very little in this niche, it's mainly about torque and that 3.8L (the 3.6L was a joke, but the 3.8's still have problems typical of Chrysler as it's derived from their older minivan V6 which I have unfortunately had to fix a ton of them) only puts out 260ft.lbs. The 4th Gen's 4.0L does 285ft.lbs and the V8 does 306~320ft.lbs depends on the flavor (VVTi or non-VVTi). It's not so much about speed as it is about power to get those big tires (I mean 44's is the minimum you go for on a Jeep if you're gonna get one ) and get through and over obstacles. Sure you could gear the crap out of it so that it never stalls in any gear on a 30degree incline, but you're also never gonna be able to drive on the freeway.

You're lucky then, almost all the Jeeps from 2000+ I have worked on have rattled on test drives, among other issues. The problem is that most of the electronics and other components have "Chrysler" stamped on them and that causes issues in and of itself.

Don't get me wrong I like Wranglers, they are fun toys and honestly had I not fallen in love with the 4Runner (and had Jeep offered a V8 for the Wrangler and 4-Door at the time before I knew better) I might have gone the Jeep route. But Jeep as a company and as a vehicle has been going downhill since Chrysler attached their name to them.

Post Note-

I just want to point out that I'm not saying this because I'm a 4Runner guy, I'm saying this because I've experienced Chrysler quality first hand regularly as a mechanic. It's so wonderful they went bankrupt twice and are now owned by Fiat of all people.
[MENTION=101553]t-man[/MENTION] makes a great point, as a stock vehicle the Wrangler isn't a great all-around vehicle; it does okay off-road and somewhat decently on-road. But where it shines is that fact that you can just about do whatever the hell you want to that vehicle pretty easily and I can admire that.

Also I'd buy one of these:

 

[t-man]

HP means very little in this niche, it's mainly about torque and that 3.8L (the 3.6L was a joke, but the 3.8's still have problems typical of Chrysler as it's derived from their older minivan V6 which I have unfortunately had to fix a ton of them) only puts out 260ft.lbs. The 4th Gen's 4.0L does 285ft.lbs and the V8 does 306~320ft.lbs depends on the flavor (VVTi or non-VVTi). It's not so much about speed as it is about power to get those big tires (I mean 44's is the minimum you go for on a Jeep if you're gonna get one ) and get through and over obstacles. Sure you could gear the crap out of it so that it never stalls in any gear on a 30degree incline, but you're also never gonna be able to drive on the freeway.

You're lucky then, almost all the Jeeps from 2000+ I have worked on have rattled on test drives, among other issues. The problem is that most of the electronics and other components have "Chrysler" stamped on them and that causes issues in and of itself.

Don't get me wrong I like Wranglers, they are fun toys and honestly had I not fallen in love with the 4Runner (and had Jeep offered a V8 for the Wrangler and 4-Door at the time before I knew better) I might have gone the Jeep route. But Jeep as a company and as a vehicle has been going downhill since Chrysler attached their name to them.

Post Note-

I just want to point out that I'm not saying this because I'm a 4Runner guy, I'm saying this because I've experienced Chrysler quality first hand regularly as a mechanic. It's so wonderful they went bankrupt twice and are now owned by Fiat of all people.
[MENTION=101553]t-man[/MENTION] makes a great point, as a stock vehicle the Wrangler isn't a great all-around vehicle; it does okay off-road and somewhat decently on-road. But where it shines is that fact that you can just about do whatever the hell you want to that vehicle pretty easily and I can admire that.

Also I'd buy one of these:

Well said, and that thing is sexy! What a conversion!

Sent from the drivers seat of my 05 4runner.

 

[bluefalcon25]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I've thought about having someone take out some of the material in the seat as well. But wouldn't want to affect the comfort of the seat. I'm going to run it by the dealership and see what they will say. Worth a shot. If that doesn't work I'll look up some fabrication shops in SLC to adjust the brackets. I really hope to find a solution here. God willing, ha. I haven't had the 4R for a week yet. Though I took it up to Snowbird yesterday and was adjusting to the new rig overall. I'm not ready to unload it just yet. As I've seen others sell it and get a different vehicle. Anyways I'm so glad I found this forum. Super useful.

 

[BlackWorksInc]

Well said, and that thing is sexy! What a conversion!

Sent from the drivers seat of my 05 4runner.

Yeah that's Jeep's "Kaiser Crew Chief Concept" Its nice. I like those old Kaiser Jeeps.