Seat adjuster disassembly -- how?

RJ80

True Classic
Some of you may remember, several months ago my driver's side seat adjuster assembly had the plastic "carrier" component break, sending my seatback reclining to the firewall. I contacted TMH about its replacement plastic carriers and after several months, they are off backorder and in my hands. With a few days of good weather left before snow is predicted, I thought I'd try to replace the carrier and take the car for a little drive. Simply put, things went poorly.

There is a circular metal "sleeve" (a very small rolled piece of metal) that runs through the shaft perpendicular to it and keeps the carrier retaining washer from sliding off the end. After several attempts with hammer, punch and PB Blaster, that sleeve won't budge. The shock of my hammering, however, succeeded in cracking the other end of the adjuster, the plastic handle. TMH used to reproduce those in aluminum, but no longer, it appears. Wonderful!

Both my factory shop manual and parts book have no illustration or instruction on how these adjusters come apart. Am I at least correct that the metal sleeve needs to be pounded or pressed out? Thanks for any assistance.

Since my seats need recovering anyway, I'm this close to just sourcing entirely different seats for the car, but I've already spent $130 on these two TMH plastic carriers!
 
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Ugh...feeling your pain! The rear deck and hood latches are attached with roll pins, as is the spyder roof release handle. So I wouldn't be at all surprised if a roll pin was used on the seat adjusters. I haven't taken mine apart, but have successfully removed the roll pins from my latches and roof release handle. With the correct-size punch, you should be able to hammer it out. Have you asked Rod at TMH? I suspect he knows for sure how these come apart. The time difference is a pain, so you may be waiting. In them meantime, I wouldn't be surprised if Bernice piped up shortly.

tJ
 
Ugh...feeling your pain! The rear deck and hood latches are attached with roll pins, as is the spyder roof release handle. So I wouldn't be at all surprised if a roll pin was used on the seat adjusters. I haven't taken mine apart, but have successfully removed the roll pins from my latches and roof release handle. With the correct-size punch, you should be able to hammer it out.

Thanks for the tip, my punch seemed to be right-sized for the job, but was starting to distort the pin top. Maybe it needs another PB Blaster soak.

I took a closer look at everything yesterday and it appears that the plastic component that the adjuster shaft screws into near the driver's seat base is also cracked. I don't believe anyone reproduces those. I wonder if Delrin would be a more durable plastic-type material to reproduce these from? I've also realized the passenger seat is not adjusting properly, which might mean its threaded component is stripped. It's the reality of well-used, 40-year-old plastics.

Meanwhile, I am looking at a pair of Lotus Esprit seats for sale. Esprits also have quite narrow dimensions and sit close to the floor, while being finished in Connelly leather and offering more supportive side bolsters. I'm waiting for measurements from the seller but I think making mounting adapters for these Lotus seats will be less work (and possibly less cost) than redesigning or rebuilding the stock seat adjusters, then reupholstering the cushions.

Ultimately, I'd love to rebuild the adjusters on both seats with superior materials, but in the interest of actually using the car this year, a seat swap might be the easiest option for now.
 
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