Drivers seat stuck at full height adjustment.

[Jimb]

Hi all again from Jim.
I am jumping subjects again. The drivers seat is stuck at full height. I read to lower it all you need to do is move the seat fully backwards. I have tried this and no luck, I have tried shuffling it back and forward and also pulling the height lever up and down simultaneously, it will not budge. I am lightly built but can hardly get my legs underneath the steering wheel whilst getting in and out, this also makes the armrest unusable..Your help will be much appreciated. I am hoping I do not have to dismantle half the Car to fix this problem.
Kind regards Jim.

 

[Styria]

Hi Jim, how and why did you get it into the full height position ? Is the height adjustment handle at the side of the seat broken ?

You will need to lift up the metal part of the adjustment lever as high as possible to clear the adjustment serrations. Generally speaking, use a large and sturdy screwdriver, wedge it under the metal part of the lever and lift as high as possible. If hat doesn't free up the adjustment, you will more than likely have to remove the seat from the car. Let us know how you have gotten on so far. Have you now solved the problem since posting initially ? Regards Styria

 

[Jimb]

Hello Styria.
Thank you for your reply. The seat was in that position when I got the car. I have tried leavering it up will try again. Nothing appears to be broken..
Regards Jimb

 

[Jimb]

Success!
I revisited the problem and moved the car where I could fully open both right hand doors.
I now understand how it works. There are two sets of engagement teeth, the normal rack slide one for seat for and aft, and another set for the height. With height lever lifted and seat in max forward position letting go of the height lever drops the height engagement teeth into its own engagement slots up a slope. To lower height, lifting the height lever disengages the teeth and should allow the height mechanism to slide backwards with the aft movement of the seat adjustment.. This was not happening mainly due to some carpet and underfelt not allowing the seat to move back far enough and me not having sufficient strength in my right hand to lift the lever high enough to fully disengage the teeth. I used a more substantial bar with more length and and with a torch shone on the teeth I made sure they were disengaging their slots and it is now fine. I had compensated for the problem by having the seat further back. However I was not happy with this solution because I wanted it working correctly. Thanks again Styria for giving me some urge to revisit the problem.