Date:         Sun, 2 Feb 1997 11:38:22 +0000
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         VWnut@smus.bc.ca
Subject:      Re: Swivel Seats


> A while ago there was some information on the prodedure to maintain the
> swivel seats.  Couls someone forward it to me please?
> Thanks

>From memory here's what I posted after doing mine:

1. Remove seat from track by sliding full forward while holding 
saftey catch on rail.
2. Remove 4 nuts holding swivel plate on & pull plate off, turning 90 
degrees to allow release lever to slide through notch in front of 
seat pedestal.
3. Take a minute to look at how things are put together before 
removing nylon "slides" for cleaning.
4. Thoroughly clean all waxy grease residue, including from inside 
seat track area. Mine had nylon "spacers" inside the seat track, not 
sure if all years have these. I spent 1-2 hours on each seart doing 
the cleaning.
5. Apply new lithium grease to contact areas on swivel plate, then 
tighten nuts just until the plate is snug - too tight and you won't 
be able to swivel the seat. They are nylon lock nuts, so don't worry 
about them coming loose. Try turning the base at this point - it 
should turn with a bit of effort & both hands. If not, loosen nuts a 
bit. Once you have the seat on, the extra leverage should allow easy 
swivelling.
6. Grease the tracks and slide seat back on, checking for smooth 
movement, and clean any excess grease off.

Repeat on other side. 

I used solvent and lots of good rags to clean all the gunk off. It 
helps to carefully slide a rag through the length of the seat tracks 
to remove years of built up gunk.