Date:         Fri, 6 Dec 2013 12:52:24 -0600
Reply-To:     Jim Felder <jim.felder@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Jim Felder <jim.felder@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Repairing your Westy seat raising mechanism
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Something that has been on my list for a long time is a repair to the
mechanism in the seat bed hinge that makes the seat back levitate by itself
when you are going from sleeping position to an upright sitting position
with the bed. Yours is not working if you have to reach over the bed and
grab the back of the seat to raise it upright. Maybe mine was the only one
that didn't work, but I doubt it. It worked when I first got the Westy, at
least a few times to let me know it was there before it gave up entirely.

There is a pawl and a spring on each side hinge. You really have to look
hard to see it; it helps if the seat bottom is raised a little and you are
looking up from underneath.

You have to take the seat out to do anything to it, hence my decade of
waiting. I combined the effort with re-skinning the passenger side wall
panels from the door to the tail, for which the seat had to come out
anyway. I also laid in a lot of sound deadener on the inside of the body
panels. Always worth the effort and a bonus for the hassle of pulling the
seat, which ain't pretty.

The trouble(s) was that each pawl has a pin that is supposed to operate it.
But on mine, the right side pin would not engage the pawl because the pawl
had become so sloppy that it would rather slide right over the pin than
engage it. On the left side, the sharp point of the pawl had been bent so
as to dig into the hinge metal and had not moved since the moment that
happened, whenever that was.

The repair to the sloppy pawl was to strike both ends of the fastening
rivet with two ball pein hammers simultaneously. This of course tightened
the sloppy pawl, which is just what I wanted to happen. I knew from
experience that if you go too far with this procedure it is almost
irreversible; if you get hit it one hammer stroke too many you will be a
long time working it loose enough to work. So, take your time and test,
test, test.

I knocked the stuck pawl loose with a hammer and drift, and then
straightened it out with a huge pair of pliers until it looked like the
other pawl, which was not bent. Perfect.
I lubricated everything while I could see it and put it all back together.

Now, when I want the bed, I simply tug the seat out as usual. When I want
the seat, I raise the bottom until the pawls catch, then lower the bottom
as it slides down and back in one smooth motion with the seat beck upright.

Jim