Body/Trim: Removing trim from back seat of a 240 estate

[Jungle_Jim]

Hi all
To replace the plastic handle behind the rear seat (of my 240 estate), am I right to assume that I need to take the seat cover off to get to the mechanisms underneath?

If so - two questions:

1 Removing the vertical section of the back seat...
How? I just can't see how to detach it from the two pivot points either side. There are zips in the trim either side near these points, but unzipping these and pushing back the seat cover doesn't expose enough of the mechanism to see how to detach it.

2 Removing the seat cover from the seat frame...
There's zips either side, and several obvious plastic and metal fittings to remove, then there's about 5-6 metal staples at the base of the seat. There's also two bolts poking through the near the bottom which may be for the armrest. If all that is detached, does the cover come off?

Thanks
John H

[wooble]

I've never needed to remove the seat cover, usually all the accessible bits are gettable-at through the aperture for the handle.

I've also never managed to remove the rear seat cover without ripping the carpet on the back of the damned thing.

[Clifford Pope]

Originally Posted by Jungle_Jim

1 Removing the vertical section of the back seat...
How? I just can't see how to detach it from the two pivot points either side.

Tricky, but it helps to understand how it works so you know what you need to do.

The bottom pivots consist of mushroom-shaped pegs sticking out from the seat. They are spring-loaded INWARDS, so you need a long and thin screwdriver to insert down the slot in the catch mounted on the wing, to prise the peg outwards so that the seat can be lifted up.

Having got one side free, it won't move far until you have released the other side also. If you turn your back on the first one it will fall back down again. So you need to wedge the seat upwards with a block of wood.

I once had to get the cover off to get inside to replace one of the operating wires from the knob to the latch. There is a row of little metal clips holding the bottom bits of plastic together. These have to be removed, then with the zips undone the cover can be slid upwards like a very tight corset.

It's worth remembering that if the seat ever is reluctant to free from the catches when you are trying to fold it down, the knob does not actually pull on the catches themselves. Lifting the knob merely allows the spring-loaded catches to release. If they won't, then they themselves are sticking.

Most damage to the plastic knob and the mechanism comes from over-enthusiastic pulling, which is pointless. You are simply removing a locking catch, not operating the release mechanism itself.

[Jungle_Jim]

Thanks Clifford - that's good information worth remembering about removing the back seat. Without it, it would be very difficult, because you cannot see that from the top.
John H

[Jungle_Jim]

To conclude this thread, offering advice for others:

If this plastic handle breaks like mine did, it's really not a difficult job - 20 mins. The part was about £13 from Braydons, and you don't have to remove the seat cover.

There's two screws on the handle part, and once those are out, the plastic moulding can be pulled out of the seat-frame to the extent that it's attached to two wire sheathed cables - these are like bike brakes and pull to release the latches on either side of the seat. Once unscrewed, you have just enough access to unclip the wire loop, and detach the handle moulding from the white plastic moulding in the seat it presses into.

It seems like another good bit of design on the 240, where they made it so a future repair was easy (I'm sure we've all seen something simple like this turn into a nightmare on some newer cars, having to remove lots of trim etc).

Thanks
John H