torn up seat options: what did you do?

[Joelzy]

Wow. That seat has seen some shit, man!

Mine wasn't nearly that bad. I ended up replacing the lower leather only with one from an eBay vendor. I'd say it was a 90% match, but while I was in there I installed a heated seat. Makes that leather a bit more tolerable.

Those covers... that's bold!

link to the heater you used? I'm considering it. The donors are power but i think i'll stick to manual and just add a heater if i go that route.

I did not realize you could have corbeau sports and adapter rails for about 800 bucks. That is going to make it really difficult to decide because it will now be new seats all together or 1 lower cover for the time being.

 

[sportscarfan]

While you have it apart, pay attention to the area on the drivers side seat base frame where the side adjustments are - mine had a sharp edge that probably led to the seat base cover getting torn.

On my '97, the manually adjusted seat bases interchange between passenger and driver. Early on when I got my rig (2010), I had found a set of tan cloth tacoma seats. I swapped the [p]leather base from the passengers side and used one taco cloth base as a donor for the passengers side. A few years later...I bought a replacement cover, fixed the original drivers seat base with that, re-assembled the taco seat and sold the pair for 2x what I originally paid for them. The original drivers seat base is still on the passengers side, with the new cover.

 

[TonyB66]

Anymore info on these seats? model?

Corbeau Moab, spice color. Tan would look good too, I feel, at least with my interior. Corbeau sent me samples of each...

Both seats, with dual-locking sliders, were $728 delivered. I sold the factory ones for $400, so $328 net.

I'm not a fan of leather seats, and prefer manual controls (not power). A no-brainer for me. A nice side benefit is the weight-savings of 22 lbs. Sort of nice to shed the not so desirable fat pounds as we add the good stuff, I feel. The Borla muffler just below the passenger seat dropped another 12, making for 34 pounds removed. So, the fuel tank skid set to arrive tomorrow effectively comes with no weight-penalty. The retractable rear cargo privacy screen that tells thieves I'm probably hiding something valuable, 8 pounds removed, and sold for $75. I digress...

Back to the seats, as a married guy, I'm happy to say that these are wife-approved here, from the aesthetics to comfort. When she fell asleep on the drive to/from Tahoe, I knew all was good. Somewhere in the middle of my maintenance/build thread there are likely more details of the seat install...

 

[tx_shooter]

Corbeau Moab, spice color. Tan would look good too, I feel, at least with my interior. Corbeau sent me samples of each...

Both seats, with dual-locking sliders, were $728 delivered. I sold the factory ones for $400, so $328 net.

I'm not a fan of leather seats, and prefer manual controls (not power). A no-brainer for me. A nice side benefit is the weight-savings of 22 lbs. Sort of nice to shed the not so desirable fat pounds as we add the good stuff, I feel. The Borla muffler just below the passenger seat dropped another 12, making for 34 pounds removed. So, the fuel tank skid set to arrive tomorrow effectively comes with no weight-penalty. The retractable rear cargo privacy screen that tells thieves I'm probably hiding something valuable, 8 pounds removed, and sold for $75. I digress...

Back to the seats, as a married guy, I'm happy to say that these are wife-approved here, from the aesthetics to comfort. When she fell asleep on the drive to/from Tahoe, I knew all was good. Somewhere in the middle of my maintenance/build thread there are likely more details of the seat install...

I would be really tempted to do the black neoprene. I have debated getting my interior seats reupholstered with neoprene just because of how well it holds up to abuse.

 

[phattyduck]

Is this guy just for the seatbelt?

This is on the seat already in my 4R. The donor is all electric.

It might be for the seat occupancy sensor. '99+ had them on the passenger side. Only used for the dash light on the '99-'00, used to turn on and off the passenger airbag on the '01-'02's.

If you are using it on your driver's side, you can ignore the plug or remove the sensor mat if you are reupholstering.

-Charlie

 

[TonyB66]

I would be really tempted to do the black neoprene. I have debated getting my interior seats reupholstered with neoprene just because of how well it holds up to abuse.

Have neoprene on the rear seats for our two monkeys!

Got them on a Black Friday or holiday special last year...

 

[Welding Goats]

lkqonline.com might be an option for you.

 

[Joelzy]

It might be for the seat occupancy sensor. '99+ had them on the passenger side. Only used for the dash light on the '99-'00, used to turn on and off the passenger airbag on the '01-'02's.

If you are using it on your driver's side, you can ignore the plug or remove the sensor mat if you are reupholstering.

-Charlie

thanks, driver seat, 96, traced it to the seatbelt.
The donors seem to have occupancy and all the motors. Probably give them away if anyone is looking for all that.

This has been very eye opening, lots of options to consider.
Love to eventually get the corbeaus or something similar and I also found some for crazy cheap on Jegs and Cipher. Probably not the best pleather but who knows.
https://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS/555/702...Ffg6MgqcotE9EcvPA8lJOMaAnwVEALw_wcB#reviewTab

https://www.carid.com/cipher/cpa100...v6tbHfC7cQ-ypHE0ovMIn9HQaAn14EALw_wcB#reviews

https://www.carid.com/1996-toyota-4runner-seats/planted-seat-brackets-81635915.html

Can't justify spending 130 bucks on bottom leather when full leather for both fronts is 300 bucks. in the same vein, I don't want to spend 300 on new leather for old foam if i can double it and buy nice ass new seats all together. :ybrick:

I think i'm going to do a temporary fix until i decide and am ready to fork over the cash for new seats and maybe then i'll grab some corbeaus.
For now, because i have a donor back in good shape i'm going to order one of these for the trashed bottom and hope it suffices for the time being. :noidea:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1Pcs-PU-le...Toyota&hash=item3af1fb3e87:g:A1UAAOSwduNZxIMO

 

[Reinout]

I got some replacement seats out of a truck with way less miles and wetokole covers with the heaters.

 

[tx_shooter]

Have neoprene on the rear seats for our two monkeys!

Got them on a Black Friday or holiday special last year...

How are the seats in the summer? Texas summers are pretty abusive on anything other than snakes and rocks.

 

[TonyB66]

How are the seats in the summer? Texas summers are pretty abusive on anything other than snakes and rocks.

At this point, most of our driving is in the Winter, but they are not hot at all in the Summer. I just Googled such, found a Corvette forum where the guys there said they are cooler than leather too....

Now if you mean in terms of fade, that I cannot say as I keep my Runner on the shady side of the house. I imagine they would fade, like most materials. I have the Wet Okole on the rear seats only, and nice window tinting I'm sure helps...

 

[Roamed YT]

link to the heater you used? I'm considering it.

I bought these "watercarbon" from the big A. I ended up building my own harness for them but for what you pay, they aren't bad. I've had them in for almost a year now and haven't had any issues. Don't heat up as fast as the factory seats in my F-150 but that's okay. I didn't pay $50K for these!

 

[chattyT4R]

Grab a passenger seat from the junkyard. Usually they are in way better condition than the drivers side. You'll have to swap the driver side base over

How hard is swapping the base over?

 

[pauldub]

FYI, I had some Corbeau Moab seats. The foam is pretty cheap and breaks down pretty quickly as compared to any OEM seat.

 

[TonyB66]

That's unfortunate to hear. I've had Corbeau seats in a couple different cars over the years and never experienced such. Hopefully they have not cheapened them...

I just checked and the reviews still look to be quite favorable. I recall them being pretty popular in the Jeep community.

I really don't like power seats. And not just because they can act-up or fail at times, which is a big deal. Manually, I can get the seat where I want it much quicker then holding some button or toggle, waiting... For me, it just seems rather asinine.

As far as leather goes, I have leather items, including my beloved Wolverine boots to a Barmah hat, but nope on leather seats. I just made an exception for some theatre seating in our home though! I hope I won't regret it...

 

[Joelzy]

How hard is swapping the base over?

Not bad if swapping the seat over to the other frame. I pulled my driver and one donor apart already and it only took about 5 minutes each. 4 bolts for the bottom and 4 for the top plus the long snap thing that pulls the leather downward and tight. mine was already unbolted from the truck
If i can find a good condition bottom i'll be in great shape but they are hard to find.

That's unfortunate to hear. I've had Corbeau seats in a couple different cars over the years and never experienced such. Hopefully they have not cheapened them...

I just checked and the reviews still look to be quite favorable. I recall them being pretty popular in the Jeep community.

I really don't like power seats. And not just because they can act-up or fail at times, which is a big deal. Manually, I can get the seat where I want it much quicker then holding some button or toggle, waiting... For me, it just seems rather asinine.

As far as leather goes, I have leather items, including my beloved Wolverine boots to a Barmah hat, but nope on leather seats. I just made an exception for some theatre seating in our home though! I hope I won't regret it...

I've known a few people who had Corbeaus in the past and loved them, though, they were the higher-end models.

I agree 100% on manual seats. I have an e39 that i absolutely love but it has memory settings for the driver seat and steering wheel and i'm just cringing at the thought of one or both going out. I understand that some people want to have the seat move up and steering wheel come down to you but i really just wish it would stay put so the 16 year-old motors don't go out.

 

[sportscarfan]

How hard is swapping the base over?

In my '97 SR5, it's 16 bolts. 4 for each seat to remove them, then 4 bolts each to remove the seat base from the seat frame. To access the seat base bolts, you need to remove the plastic side trim...a couple phillips head screws and plastic tabs to deal with.

 

[TonyB66]

Not bad if swapping the seat over to the other frame. I pulled my driver and one donor apart already and it only took about 5 minutes each. 4 bolts for the bottom and 4 for the top plus the long snap thing that pulls the leather downward and tight.
If i can find a good condition bottom i'll be in great shape but they are hard to find.



I've known a few people who had Corbeaus in the past and loved them, though, they were the higher-end models.

I agree 100% on manual seats. I have an e39 that i absolutely love but it has memory settings for the driver seat and steering wheel and i'm just cringing at the thought of one or both going out. I understand that some people want to have the seat move up and steering wheel come down to you but i really just wish it would stay put so the 16 year-old motors don't go out.

And when they do work, and mine did before I sold them, they can be somewhat loud, in addition to being slow. The addition of electric or power control is supposed to make for improvements, and most often does in our lives, but when it comes to this application, where the all important reliability takes a hit while the movement actually slows or worsens, I see no net benefit, but the opposite.

Power widows? Since I have kids, the control of all windows is the only perceived benefit for me. Otherwise, their failed regulators, motors, cables, electrical troubleshooting (usually just a fuse) make for plenty of YouTube videos. I'd gladly take a more bullet proof manual, hand-crank windows.

Yup, I prefer the manual heating and cooling on the earlier 3rd gens... Looks to be a pain to convert though.

Joelzy, wish you the best on your seating issue.

 

[Joelzy]

Yup, I prefer the manual heating and cooling on the earlier 3rd gens... Looks to be a pain to convert though.

Joelzy, wish you the best on your seating issue.

Thank you sir! I'll figure something out eventually.

Do you mean the cable and arm that open the coolant valve to the core? I was actually excited when i saw that because i figured thats a much more reliable system than say, my 02 bmw with digital "individual climate control" which really only halfway works

 

[TonyB66]

Thank you sir! I'll figure something out eventually.

Do you mean the cable and arm that open the coolant valve to the core? I was actually excited when i saw that because i figured thats a much more reliable system than say, my 02 bmw with digital "individual climate control" which really only halfway works

I see that you have a '96. That's the manual HVAC system, as opposed to the automatic controls. Good for you! Many, many failures of these newer and supposedly better auto climate systems. Quite a few threads here...

I really wish I could easily convert mine.