Has anyone peeled back the skin on a 240 driver's seat to repair the adjustable lumbar support mechanism?? I sat down yesterday and heard/felt a "pop" and the seat back sagged inward significantly. I'm wondering if it's something that "breaks" or if it can be laced together and repaired with wire or zip-ties or something..... hmmm?

I see that IPD has this repair kit:
http://www.ipdusa.com/ProductsCat.aspx?CategoryID=264&NodeID=994&RootID=629

But I don't want to buy it for $30 if I can just repair the broken one and reassemble it.

Any ideas??

Yes I fixed mine too.

I ust got some steel wire from the hardware store to replace the broken steel cable. No big deal.

Greg Mustang
www.volvoclassic.bravehost.com

http://home.no.net/ebrox/Tony3.htm

http://home.no.net/ebrox/Tony%202.htm

http://home.no.net/ebrox/Tony1.htm

How did you make out?
--
'75 Jeep CJ5 345Hp ChevyPwrd, two motorcycles, '85 Pickup: The '89 Volvo is the newest vehicle I own. it wasn't Volvos safety , it was Longevity that sold me

Nice job on that seat repair. How do the cloth covers come off? I'd like to take mine off and wash them. Also, my driver's side seat appears to have the back portion loose and twisted around. Is there any fix for this? I may try to repair the grids for the heated seats while I have mine apart.

Thanks in advance,
Dave

These websites give you a blow by blow on Seat Cover removal.

http://home.no.net/ebrox/Tony3.htm

http://home.no.net/ebrox/Tony%202.htm

http://home.no.net/ebrox/Tony1.htm


That 'twisted-in' you mentioned is probably the Foam cracking.
One of the URL's shows how I supported my Backrest.
--
'75 Jeep CJ5 345Hp ChevyPwrd, two motorcycles, '85 Pickup: The '89 Volvo is the newest vehicle I own. it wasn't Volvos safety , it was Longevity that sold me

When you work on the seat, also look for loose bolts causing the seat back to be loose.

Seat back has two arms or brackets extending foward along the seat bottom, that are bolted to the seat frame. When the bolts loosen the back gets wobbly. Worth checking, when you have the seat out and partially opened up. I think you may not have to pull the covering completely off the bottom, maybe just loosen the cloth at lower rear corners? You'll have to look when you get it out.

However as I said in a related post, I'd be willing to bet a nickel that your seat foam is torn in one or more places. That's pretty standard and will cause the seat to feel crooked. You definitely need to take care of any torn foam.
--
Sven: '89 245 NA, 951 ECU, open-front airbox, E-fan, 205/65-15's, IPD sways, E-Codes, amber front corner reflectors. Wifemobile '89 245 NA stock. 90 244 NA spare, runs.

Awesome posts folks! That's just the info I was looking for.
Special thanks to TwoForty!!! Super..... I'll let you know how the repair works out....... thanks again......

I have two nice lumbar support units out of a newer 240, I can ship them in the US for $15 for the pair, let me know.

You can likely get rid of the sag in your seat with nothing but some good pliable wire and a pair of pliers. Depending on what has failed, you may not be able to adjust it afterwards, but I have never adjusted the one in my wagon since the day I brought the car home new from the dealer, 17 years ago.

Seat repair is an easy do-it-yourself job.

In my sedan, I added a rectangle of 1/4" plywood between the support and the foam to "soften" the edges of the support so that I could not feel them.

The best advice I can give you is - don't try to re-use the metal hog rings that secure the cover to the seat. Just cut them off and use zip ties.

The second bit of advice is - if your seat heater doesn't work anymore, remove that lumpy thing before it distroys your seat cover.

OFF TOPIC TRIVIA QUESTION - How many of you bricksters know why those pointed metal loops are called hog rings?

Because farmers put the ring in the top center of the tip of the hog's nose to keep them from rooting holes in pasture or working their way under fences or gates. Tapping on the ring (or rings in the case of a large animal) is also a good way to turn the head of a sow who's a bit overprotective of her piglets.

You are exactly correct!

You probably also know that the reason that many of us old farm boys are hard of hearing is not just because of all the shooting we did as kids without ear protection, or the time we drove an open-seat tractor with a broken muffler all season. A hog can fill a small hog house with an ear-piercing sound when it is getting rings put in its nose. Do a couple of hundred of them in a day and your ears ring all night.

P.S. Sorry about hijacking the thread.

Yes, and the pitch increases with each ring added to the same snout.

OK, Russell, I'll bite: why *are* they called hog rings?

(Has something to do with tagging our porcine relatives?)
--
David Brick, Santa Cruz CA, 1988 245

Like the ones put through a pig's nose, I always assumed.

Not related to the Harley Owner's Guild, I would imagine.
--
Sven: '89 245 NA, 951 ECU, open-front airbox, E-fan, 205/65-15's, IPD sways, E-Codes, amber front corner reflectors. Wifemobile '89 245 NA stock. 90 244 NA spare, runs.

The lumbar support consists of several components:

1) A big plasic screw mechanism that does the adjusting. The handle that sticks out the side of the seat is the end of this screw.
2) A plasic bracket that the screw/handle moves horizontally as it is tightened and loosened
3) Another plastic bracket that is fastened to the opposite side of the seat frame
4) Between the two plastic brackets are stretched 2 wires, connected in the middle by springs, like this:

|-------------&&&&&&&&&&&--------------|
|-------------&&&&&&&&&&&--------------|

5) and a plastic buffer-whoosis that goes around the springs in the middle of the seat (between the foam and the springs).

Tightening the screw mechanism moves one of the brackets outward, thus increasing tension on the wires and springs, and pushing the seat back toward the sitter.

It is likely that one of the plastic brackets has broken, or that the wires and springs have otherwise become disconnected. It may be repairable without IPD's kit, but you will have to take the seat apart to find out how bad the damage is.
Another option, if you have access to a junkyard and have the time, is to buy a used seat and make any necessary repairs to the junker seat. Then just swap out the seats.

Taking the seat apart is not rocket science, but it is time consuming. Don't plan on doing this in a couple of hours. Search the brickboard for posts on seat repair, and specifically for Tony Hoffman's web page on the subject.
--
'92 245 5-speed, '92 944 GL auto

To clarify the time committment... repairing just the lumbar support can probably be completed on a Saturday. The seat back is simpler to take apart than the seat bottom, and if you don't want to fix anything else while you're in there, it's not too bad of a job. If that's all you're prepared for, and you don't have a junk yard or Volvo recycler handy who can sell you a good used seat, then IPDs repair kit might be the easiest route. (note: I haven't actually used the kit, others should chime in there)

Reinforcing the seat foam as per Sven's post below involves complete disassembly of the seat, and it is a multiple-day job if you've never done it before. Having said that, it is one of the most rewarding repairs you can make. Every time you sit in the driver's seat you will think it was worth it.

That's the reason I suggested finding a replacement seat (or better yet, a matching pair) if possible. This enables you to work on the seat rebuild at a leisurely pace while continuing to drive your brick.

I purchased two front seats from a local Volvo recycler, and I think I paid $75 for them. It was the best 'optional' repair I have made to the car. I replaced the old, cracked vinyl seat covers with untorn cloth covers that I cleaned in the washing machine. I reinforced the foam with some heavy cloth and spray-can glue, and I doubled up the wire grids under the foam. I highly recommend this repair if you have the time and inclination.
--
'92 245 5-speed, '92 944 GL auto

Tony's site is the gold standard for 240 seat restoration so far as I know.

http://home.no.net/ebrox/Tony1.htm
(other links at end of this post)

TwoFortyWagon's post above has lots of excellent detail.

Here's some additional basic information.

Seats come out by removing one screw at each rear corner and one nut at each front corner.

Find the 3/8 inch diam 'rod' going across seat where the back meets the bottom, way down in the crack. Now DON'T carry seat by that. It's hollow and soft, will bend, and then cause trouble. DAMHIK. It's job is to connect the seatback tilt knob gear to its sister mechanism on other side of seat.

Steel hog rings secure the fabric to the frame. Pull open with small-nose pliers and maybe a screwdriver blade. Replace with zip ties afterwards.

The vast majority of 240 front seats now have torn foam; this makes the seat feel as if it's crooked or angled. Betcha a nickel yours does too. Tony H's site and the others noted below have notes on repairing this. It's well worthwhile. You may as well do it all when it's open - getting the seat opened up is roughly half the battle.

There's plenty data on Tony H's site and in the others below, on repairing torn foam. I personally find that installing support behind the foam is more productive than glue repairs to the tears. That is, I'd rather put in a support backing and leave the torn foam as-is, than glue up the tears and omit the support.

Aye Roll and I have restored several of our 240 seats. Below are some links.

My own writeup
http://www.brickboard.com/RWD/volvo-980645.html

Aye Roll and others:
http://www.brickboard.com/RWD/index.htm?id=677615
--
Sven: '89 245 NA, 951 ECU, open-front airbox, E-fan, 205/65-15's, IPD sways, E-Codes, amber front corner reflectors. Wifemobile '89 245 NA stock. 90 244 NA spare, runs.

Peel back the skin, and take a look at what broke. Usually the plastic part, where the wires attach. Stop in at your local bone yard/ pick-n-pull/ etc. and pick up a seat that has a working support. Easy, time consuming repair. Lacing & zip-ties will have a very short life expectancy.

--
84, 242GLTi, 167K, 4+OD, not on the road yet; 89, 245 DL, 339K, M 47, daily driver; 93, 245, auto, 167K; daughters 84, 242 Ti, 193K ; and other toys.