New Tech Articles: Seat Recliners & Sump Plate Leaks

[Barry Brisco]

Bruce Tuffli has kindly contributed an excellent article, with helpful photos, on "Seat Recliner Disassembly" and I have made it available at http://356registry.com/techinfo/repair/ ... embly.html

It can also be downloaded and printed as a one page PDF file, there's a link to the file on that web page.

Also, I have compiled some recent 356Talk posts on "Solving Sump Plate Oil Leaks" by Rainer Cooney, Ken Daugherty, Alan Klingen, Ron LaDow, at http://356registry.com/techinfo/repair/ ... leaks.html

[Jim Blakewell]

I have a set of '65 seat recliners that I need to rechrome. I cannot see how to remove the lever that allows the back to change angle. If I heat the tabs around the shaft won't I warp the part? I'm unable to jump to the techinfo articles referenced above.
Jim Blakewell

[Ron LaDow]

Jim,
I copied and pasted the link above into Bing, and while it took a two-click progression I got the one on the sump plates to see if the (then Mainely, now Pre Mat) plates were even in available at that time.
The same technique doesn't seem to get to the seat recliner repair; it leads to articles aligning a seat back.

[Doug McDonnell]

https://porsche356registry.org/article/104

[Sean M Rooks]

Jim,

The article doesn't cover that removal as the example recliner is an earlier style. When I had my 65 recliners rechromed, I carefully bent back the tabs that hold that lever in place JUST enough to pry it loose (again: carefully).

The parts were all chromed independently, and the lever reinstalled by "clicking" it back into place with some force, then squeezing the tabs back into place as hard as I could with a set of huge pliers. These tabs are buried in the assembly and will not be seen, so some scratching, etc. is ok.

The important part is to not break the tabs (obviously) and to get the tabs as close to their original tightness as possible with no play (up down) that could cause adjustment issues when reassembled. But not so tight as to be difficult to operate. The latter would be hard to do. They are tough buggers.

If that doesn't make sense, let me know and I'll see if I can dig up some photos. I'm about to partially disassemble one of my rechromed seat hinges in a few days, and could snap a few for reference.

Sean

[Jim Blakewell]

Sean, Thanks for sharing your experance. I was concerned the tabs would brake unless I heated them and was afraid that might damage the whole piece. I also looked at moving the shaft and grinding it slightly where it might come out easier.
Thanks again, Jim

[Sean M Rooks]

Jim,

Here's a photo of the inside of my rechromed recliner. The tabs are pretty robust. I was able to bend them enough without any heat to pry the lever out just fine. One thing I forgot was the spring that provides the tension on the lever. That is very important - you'll have to make sure when you reinstall the lever that you have the right tension on that spring.



-Sean

[Ron LaDow]

Jim,
Here's a photo of the inside of my rechromed recliner. The tabs are pretty robust. I was able to bend them enough without any heat to pry the lever out just fine. One thing I forgot was the spring that provides the tension on the lever. That is very important - you'll have to make sure when you reinstall the lever that you have the right tension on that spring.
-Sean

That is a mechanism which is rare among those who have bought the Popper Stoppers from Pre Mat. I have not been able to identify when that was used in 356s; one correspondent suggested it was a 9XX part fitted to the C seats.
I do not know at this point, other than it is different from any of the Cs which I've owned and different from those of most all of my customers who have bought the Popper Stoppers.
EASY Jim? Got some data?

[Sean M Rooks]

Ron,

Thanks for posting! Jim B. obviously will have the best knowledge there. Couple things:

1) Thanks for chiming in, especially if the original poster has a different mechanism inside his recliner, my advice may not be valid.
2) These seats were not original to my '64. My car came with 944 seats and I bought these knowing they were from a 356, but not which year. Other than the recliners, they seats themselves were very much for a T6 C as they slide right into my C seat rails.


Will your popper stoppers work on this type of recliner? I've had some seat popping but I think that was due to my (stupid) greasing of the mechanism when it should be dry. This is why I've disassembled them.

-S