Seat reclining mechanism
31 Oct 2012 21:37 #1
by dandjcr
David and Janet Ribbans - Oka 148
Oka148 profile here.
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dandjcr created the topic: Seat reclining mechanism
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Dandj
Member
Posts: 367
The seat recliner control on my drivers seat is failing and the seat back won't stay up. The teeth on the internal locking ring are worn.
Does anyone know a source of spare mechanisms, or something I could adapt to fit?
I'll try UES tomorrow but there's nothing similar in their catalogues and a Google search hasn't revealed anything yet.
Regards,
--
David and Janet Ribbans, Oka 148
June 19, 2011 at 5:48 PM Flag Quote & Reply
joseph baz
Member
Posts: 331
Hi David,I have a couple of old seats at the factory,don't know what the conditions of the mechanism,if its any good you can have it as i was to do a clean up but run out of time ,the problem is that I'm away until mid July,let me know if you can wait till then
Cheers,
Joe
June 19, 2011 at 7:11 PM Flag Quote & Reply
Dandj
Member
Posts: 367
Joe, I would certainly appreciate that and I'd be happy to wait. They are quite easy to unbolt from the side of the seat.
I'll try and think of a way to fix them in the meantime but I'm not sure it's possible. On the fixed part there are three internal cams with knurled edges which are held by a spring against fine teeth on a ring on the moving part, but those teeth have worn flat in places so the seat gives way if I lean backwards. The lever releases the spring allowing the cams to disengage with the ring.
I did try tuning the cams over so the less worn side was in use and that worked fine several years but now I'm out of ideas.
Regards,
--
David and Janet Ribbans, Oka 148
June 19, 2011 at 9:04 PM Flag Quote & Reply
Dandj
Member
Posts: 367
Joe, (and anyone who might have a similar problem).
I've effected a temporary fix to the reclining mechanism.
I've reconstituted the ring teeth using a hammer and chisel to give the cam teeth something to bite on.
I've fitted shims under the cams to allow them to act on a hitherto unused part of the ring teeth. (Plastic milk cartons are a good source of shim material).
I've drilled the rings and fitted an R pin to lock the seat in position. Actually this was more difficult than anticipated. The outer ring is peen-hardened and took a lot of drilling. I also drilled a few extra holes on the inner ring to accommodate other seat angles.
Of course this doesn't take the place of a properly functioning mechanism but it works fine for the time being.
Regards,
--
David and Janet Ribbans, Oka 148
June 20, 2011 at 1:10 PM Flag Quote & Reply
Aussie Bight Expeditions
Member
Posts: 109
Hi David,
Do you use the seat adjuster allot ? as I have found on my first OKA that it was worn out and that on the second one I own, ( which is an ex army one, that was use used to ferry solders around in NSW, they had 2 for that purpose, both painted white ), that the 2nd OKA drivers seat was fine.
I make sure now, that I hold onto the Lever so it does not run on the teeth, hopefully that stops them from wearing out. Is the problem that you found, or do you think there is another reason why they wear out?
I very rarely use the device to flip the top half of the seat forward. Hopefully mine good one holds. Of course you could always replace the seat with on out of another type of vehicle, but I actually like the original seats to sit in. Have a $1500.00 seat in my ute and would rather sit in the Factory OKA seat
My original bus seat in OKA 1, I think is welded in one position, but then I am the only one who drives it. I usually have no need to get in behind the seat as I only store spare belts and hoses behind it on the drivers side. Hopefully the parts just sit there, who wants those sorts of problems in the scrub?
The main thing is you have solved the problem for now.
Regards ABE Tony
--
June 20, 2011 at 2:21 PM Flag Quote & Reply
Dandj
Member
Posts: 367
Tony, I suspect the damage was done in the 1/2 million km that our Oka had done before we bought it. It first failed several years ago and we do use the mechanisms quite often but without abusing them.
Dirt build up probably doesn't help and once the teeth don't mesh fully, they start slipping, which will only escalate the wear problem.
The "R" pin is a belt and braces solution but will prevent an outback problem, but you can usually jam something behind the seat, as we did when the problem first happened (on the west coast of Tassie).
--
David and Janet Ribbans, Oka 148
June 20, 2011 at 7:18 PM Flag Quote & Reply
Dandj
Member
Posts: 367
The seat recliner control on my drivers seat is failing and the seat back won't stay up. The teeth on the internal locking ring are worn.
Does anyone know a source of spare mechanisms, or something I could adapt to fit?
I'll try UES tomorrow but there's nothing similar in their catalogues and a Google search hasn't revealed anything yet.
Regards,
--
David and Janet Ribbans, Oka 148
June 19, 2011 at 5:48 PM Flag Quote & Reply
joseph baz
Member
Posts: 331
Hi David,I have a couple of old seats at the factory,don't know what the conditions of the mechanism,if its any good you can have it as i was to do a clean up but run out of time ,the problem is that I'm away until mid July,let me know if you can wait till then
Cheers,
Joe
June 19, 2011 at 7:11 PM Flag Quote & Reply
Dandj
Member
Posts: 367
Joe, I would certainly appreciate that and I'd be happy to wait. They are quite easy to unbolt from the side of the seat.
I'll try and think of a way to fix them in the meantime but I'm not sure it's possible. On the fixed part there are three internal cams with knurled edges which are held by a spring against fine teeth on a ring on the moving part, but those teeth have worn flat in places so the seat gives way if I lean backwards. The lever releases the spring allowing the cams to disengage with the ring.
I did try tuning the cams over so the less worn side was in use and that worked fine several years but now I'm out of ideas.
Regards,
--
David and Janet Ribbans, Oka 148
June 19, 2011 at 9:04 PM Flag Quote & Reply
Dandj
Member
Posts: 367
Joe, (and anyone who might have a similar problem).
I've effected a temporary fix to the reclining mechanism.
I've reconstituted the ring teeth using a hammer and chisel to give the cam teeth something to bite on.
I've fitted shims under the cams to allow them to act on a hitherto unused part of the ring teeth. (Plastic milk cartons are a good source of shim material).
I've drilled the rings and fitted an R pin to lock the seat in position. Actually this was more difficult than anticipated. The outer ring is peen-hardened and took a lot of drilling. I also drilled a few extra holes on the inner ring to accommodate other seat angles.
Of course this doesn't take the place of a properly functioning mechanism but it works fine for the time being.
Regards,
--
David and Janet Ribbans, Oka 148
June 20, 2011 at 1:10 PM Flag Quote & Reply
Aussie Bight Expeditions
Member
Posts: 109
Hi David,
Do you use the seat adjuster allot ? as I have found on my first OKA that it was worn out and that on the second one I own, ( which is an ex army one, that was use used to ferry solders around in NSW, they had 2 for that purpose, both painted white ), that the 2nd OKA drivers seat was fine.
I make sure now, that I hold onto the Lever so it does not run on the teeth, hopefully that stops them from wearing out. Is the problem that you found, or do you think there is another reason why they wear out?
I very rarely use the device to flip the top half of the seat forward. Hopefully mine good one holds. Of course you could always replace the seat with on out of another type of vehicle, but I actually like the original seats to sit in. Have a $1500.00 seat in my ute and would rather sit in the Factory OKA seat
My original bus seat in OKA 1, I think is welded in one position, but then I am the only one who drives it. I usually have no need to get in behind the seat as I only store spare belts and hoses behind it on the drivers side. Hopefully the parts just sit there, who wants those sorts of problems in the scrub?
The main thing is you have solved the problem for now.
Regards ABE Tony
--
June 20, 2011 at 2:21 PM Flag Quote & Reply
Dandj
Member
Posts: 367
Tony, I suspect the damage was done in the 1/2 million km that our Oka had done before we bought it. It first failed several years ago and we do use the mechanisms quite often but without abusing them.
Dirt build up probably doesn't help and once the teeth don't mesh fully, they start slipping, which will only escalate the wear problem.
The "R" pin is a belt and braces solution but will prevent an outback problem, but you can usually jam something behind the seat, as we did when the problem first happened (on the west coast of Tassie).
--
David and Janet Ribbans, Oka 148
June 20, 2011 at 7:18 PM Flag Quote & Reply
David and Janet Ribbans - Oka 148
Oka148 profile here.
Visit our technical and travel blogs: here.
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