Seat removal problems

[lterry]

wow not much of a weld there.  highdesertranger

No kidding! It's like an tiniest overhang ever. I don't know much about it, but surely that's not one of the better welding jobs ever done.

 

[Patrick46]

Hmmmmm....you may need to come back up here sooner than you thought, huh??

sorry for the hijack Iterry...but this was directed at Bindi & Us, as they had wanted to install swivels to their own van seats during their recent visit here.

 

[B and C]

It doesn't look broken off from the pictures point of view.  It almost looks like a rough cutoff from the mechanism and then a very straight cut on the handle.  The handle may be too short now?  In any case a great big old glob of weld doesn't make it strong.  A good weld is smooth-ish with half moons in it and barely larger than the metal it is connecting.  Look at any certified welders work and you will know what I am talking about.  

This is a manual lever with a spring for resistance and is too large to be broken by manual use.  Maybe the PO cut the handle off to keep a kid from swiveling the seat into the driver while in motion?  Just a guess.  If your girls are going to be riding in this seat, you really want the swivel lock to work to keep it from swiveling into you while driving on a curve...  The inside end of the seat belt is fastened to the seat, not the floor.  Going around a corner with weight up high and back from center will let it pull out the seat belt from the re-tractor unless it is a sudden motion where inertia causes the belt to lock.

You picture shows the locking plate already disassembled from the plate it was mounted to and not not what it locks into or swivels on.  I guess I thought I was going to help you re-assemble it when you got the lever welded back on...  You may want to check local laws (inspection station?) on a swivel seat that does not lock before deciding on a final solution.

 

[lterry]

It doesn't look broken off from the pictures point of view.  It almost looks like a rough cutoff from the mechanism and then a very straight cut on the handle.  The handle may be too short now?  In any case a great big old glob of weld doesn't make it strong.  A good weld is smooth-ish with half moons in it and barely larger than the metal it is connecting.  Look at any certified welders work and you will know what I am talking about.  

This is a manual lever with a spring for resistance and is too large to be broken by manual use.  Maybe the PO cut the handle off to keep a kid from swiveling the seat into the driver while in motion?  Just a guess.  If your girls are going to be riding in this seat, you really want the swivel lock to work to keep it from swiveling into you while driving on a curve...  The inside end of the seat belt is fastened to the seat, not the floor.  Going around a corner with weight up high and back from center will let it pull out the seat belt from the re-tractor unless it is a sudden motion where inertia causes the belt to lock.

You picture shows the locking plate already disassembled from the plate it was mounted to and not not what it locks into or swivels on.  I guess I thought I was going to help you re-assemble it when you got the lever welded back on...  You may want to check local laws (inspection station?) on a swivel seat that does not lock before deciding on a final solution.

If you look closely there's a lip of the "weld" or melted metal that looks like it didn't hold well. It (the lever) just came off. The weld gave way. The actual metal mechanism or handle didn't break, they came apart and they shouldn't have. They need to be attached to each other in order to work. Letting the seat swivel indefinitely isn't what I'd like to do at all. As I said, this will do until I find the right fix.
It isn't my permenant solution to let the seats swivel.

 

[B and C]

It must have been the first day (or there-abouts) for the new welder at the swivel factory.  Not certified for sure.

 

[lterry]

sorry for the hijack Iterry...but this was directed at Bindi & Us, as they had wanted to install swivels to their own van seats during their recent visit here.

 
Hijack away

 

[Patrick46]

if your driver's seat is 'supposed' to swivel, but does not, or vise versa...swivels when it shouldn't...then you might just wanna take it off too, and take them BOTH down to the local welder, fab shop.

They'll weld up the broken bits, and reassemble both of them, for under $100. (I can't imagine it would cost more than that to fix this up correctly.)

Look for Joe's Corner Garage...not the Ford/Chevy/Dodge Stealership!!