How to fix your seat and not break the bank ;)
05-16-10, 02:07 AM
#1
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Thread Starter
How to fix your seat and not break the bank ;)
So I did a little research here and there 
trying to figure out how to fix the broken power seats in the “new to me” GS300. Seems as though this is a pretty common problem with our cars. 
After looking around a few people had posted that the culprit is usually a small gear box under the seat opposite the motor that moves the seat forward and backwards.
Notice the little round plug that popped out in the picture below, that's usually a good sign that this is the problem.
The gear box is part number 72006-30040, it's supposed to cost about $100 I believe. Both of my seats were broken and I am working with a pretty tight budget as I’m sure most of us are.
I went down to Pick’n’Pull which is a local salvage yard that allows you to pull your own parts, it’s the largest one in my area and they guarantee the lowest prices in town. I found a seat that was not too far forwards or backwards to cover the bolts which attach it to the floor and I removed the seat, then removed the seat track assembly and bought it for a whopping $17. Thought it was worth a shot, unfortunately (or so I thought) it had the same problem as the two in my car.
I was determined to figure something out, didn’t want to throw in the towel just yet. I removed the problematic gear box from the donor seat track and disassembled it. There’s a small plastic gear inside that was stripped.
This was the same problem with both of the seats in my car as well.
I removed the motor and disassembled it too, it just so happens to have the same plastic gear on both sides. In fact all of the motors have that little plastic gear in them.
Here is a picture of the good one and the stripped one side by side.
I removed another and took the gear from it as well. I then disassembled the gear boxes under the seats in my car and replaced them with the one’s I removed from the motors of the other seat track.
Be sure to put this little set of bearings back too,
you have to put the washers and bearings in before the gear goes in . Put the side closest to the worm drive in first or it will not fit. Also don't over-tighten this nut or you will bind the gears and it won't move.
And use this welded washer as a "hold-back" when tightening or you'll strip the new gear
They now work beautifully, and it only cost me $17 and a trip to the salvage yard, I even have an extra gear to keep as a spare.
Just thought I’d share that with my fellow 1GS owners out there who may be as strapped for cash as I am. Hope someone else will benefit from this.
I plan to post some more pics and put together a DIY for getting the seat out when it's broken and replacing this gear, can be a real pain. They say a picture's woth a thousand words you know
Please feel free to comment or point out anything I may have missed, this is my very first write up.
trying to figure out how to fix the broken power seats in the “new to me” GS300. Seems as though this is a pretty common problem with our cars. After looking around a few people had posted that the culprit is usually a small gear box under the seat opposite the motor that moves the seat forward and backwards. Notice the little round plug that popped out in the picture below, that's usually a good sign that this is the problem.
The gear box is part number 72006-30040, it's supposed to cost about $100 I believe. Both of my seats were broken and I am working with a pretty tight budget as I’m sure most of us are.
I went down to Pick’n’Pull which is a local salvage yard that allows you to pull your own parts, it’s the largest one in my area and they guarantee the lowest prices in town. I found a seat that was not too far forwards or backwards to cover the bolts which attach it to the floor and I removed the seat, then removed the seat track assembly and bought it for a whopping $17. Thought it was worth a shot, unfortunately (or so I thought) it had the same problem as the two in my car.
I was determined to figure something out, didn’t want to throw in the towel just yet. I removed the problematic gear box from the donor seat track and disassembled it. There’s a small plastic gear inside that was stripped.This was the same problem with both of the seats in my car as well.
I removed the motor and disassembled it too, it just so happens to have the same plastic gear on both sides. In fact all of the motors have that little plastic gear in them.
Here is a picture of the good one and the stripped one side by side.
I removed another and took the gear from it as well. I then disassembled the gear boxes under the seats in my car and replaced them with the one’s I removed from the motors of the other seat track.
Be sure to put this little set of bearings back too,
you have to put the washers and bearings in before the gear goes in . Put the side closest to the worm drive in first or it will not fit. Also don't over-tighten this nut or you will bind the gears and it won't move.
And use this welded washer as a "hold-back" when tightening or you'll strip the new gear
They now work beautifully, and it only cost me $17 and a trip to the salvage yard, I even have an extra gear to keep as a spare.
Just thought I’d share that with my fellow 1GS owners out there who may be as strapped for cash as I am. Hope someone else will benefit from this.
I plan to post some more pics and put together a DIY for getting the seat out when it's broken and replacing this gear, can be a real pain. They say a picture's woth a thousand words you know
Please feel free to comment or point out anything I may have missed, this is my very first write up.
Last edited by gulleyman; 05-18-10 at 11:53 PM.
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bloodyKnuc (12-07-16)
05-20-10, 10:06 AM
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dude very nice!! id shoot you some + karma but they dont do that here.
my seats are screwed so im in constant gangsta lean but its cool cause the way my seats are broken its better to creep than speed so no tickets!! but it needs to get fixed.
my seats are screwed so im in constant gangsta lean but its cool cause the way my seats are broken its better to creep than speed so no tickets!! but it needs to get fixed.
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07-19-10, 06:11 PM
#9
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Thread Starter
Sorry for the late reply, I just turned the bolts at the front that move the seat back and forth. Had to move one side a little then the other, just kept doing this until I could get to the seat bolts. It's a PITA and you shouldn't do it unless you know the gears are stripped otherwise they will be when your through
Last edited by gulleyman; 07-19-10 at 10:27 PM.
11-15-10, 03:47 PM
#12
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Nice write up, I am currently having a similar issue with my driver seat.
The backrest works fine, but the seat only slides back an forth a couple of inches.
I removed the seat and took a look, and saw that on of the support screws (the one closest to the motor) still spins, but the support screw that is furthest from the motor dosent move at all. I was going to remove and open the gear box that is mentioned but couldnt remove the support screw! Im gonna try again but even if I can, not sure where I can find one of those gears one of the local yards told me they I would have to buy the entire seat!
The backrest works fine, but the seat only slides back an forth a couple of inches.
I removed the seat and took a look, and saw that on of the support screws (the one closest to the motor) still spins, but the support screw that is furthest from the motor dosent move at all. I was going to remove and open the gear box that is mentioned but couldnt remove the support screw! Im gonna try again but even if I can, not sure where I can find one of those gears one of the local yards told me they I would have to buy the entire seat!
04-21-11, 12:42 PM
#13
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Thread Starter
I still have a couple laying around from when I did mine if you need one. I had to buy the whole seat to get them. Let me know and we can work out a price and shipping arrangements
04-21-11, 07:19 PM
#14
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Nice write up. The drivers seat in mine did this also, I haven't gotten a chance to look at it yet. I thought it was just a pen or some change somehow caught on the track because it'll go every direction except for forward and back.