[T3] Have another question on 73 T-3 front seat cable

[William Jahn]

I removed the left seat door side cover. Then I just happened to have a
10mm hex wrench and removed the left back to seat base pivot pin and put
the cable on the other side just mirror of the right side.

 It's an odd setup. On the seat back side knob lever there are 2 cables
hooked to the lever, the lever has 2 holes 1 for each cable and of cause a
pivot for the lever way inside opposite the knob on this lever and a spring
on top , they look just like the ends of throttle and heater cables and are
all stranded close to the same OD as the throttle cable. One cable is
inside the out board seat back pivot arm which is a rectangle metal box
type frame and is looped around a pin with and a screw and E clip , the end
of the cable has a crimped on flat metal , you can see it only if you lift
the lever full up . I can't really describe it because it's difficult to
see and I didn't see what actually locks the seat from tipping forward it
must be in the seat base. The other cable exits a opening in the same seat
back pivot frame above the opening where the other cable connection above
can be seen.

 This cable I can see connects to the same cable that works the seat back
recliner which is the round black knob on the lower seat frame which has 7
notches or positions the round arm drops into, it's a plate with 3 pivots.

 What it comes down to when working the seat the second cable I can see
(barely) it's only function is, once the seat back either side is tilted
all the way forward  the side knob then drops all the way down and the back
locks in the full forward position just as it does in the full back
position. I imagine all it is, is a safety feature so the seat back on a
steep down hill or using the seat back to hold onto does not come back when
some one is sitting in the back seat  trying to exit the car.

 It works now, didn't take much other than some removing of crud on the
lever and cable ends and a bit of lube on the same areas and other pivots.

 Once the seat rail plastic slides arrive 2 for each side of the rear and 1
for each center rail top I will remove the seats the side covers and do a
better cleaning and lubing.

William

On Tue, Dec 31, 2019 at 1:55 PM Jim Adney <jadney at vwtype3.org> wrote:

> On 31 Dec 2019 at 8:07, William Jahn wrote:
>
> > There is a knob door side of the seat back purpose is to slid up allowing
> > the seat back to tilt forward . The right works , the left does not move
> > up enough and since I've had this car I need to use this knob and the
> back
> > tilt knob in combination in order to simply to tilt the seat back forward
> > .
> > I looked at the right and see a cable with no tube drop down on the
> > outside of the backs outer black  frame pivot arm that has a pivot bolt
> to
> > seat back to the seat base . It works yet I don't think I should see the
> > cable. One the left seat same deal except the cable is looped around the
> > back of the same pivot bolt on the right the cable is not looped . The
> way
> > it's looped around the back of the pivot bolt boss won't allow the cable
> > release knob to move fully up on the side of the seat back.
>
> It's been too many years for me to remember exactly how that release cable
> works, but it seems like you've answered your own question: Make the L
> seat a mirror image of the R and it will work the same. Taking the plastic
> pieces off the outside of both seats is a good way to start. Those late
> seats
> are an awful design, overcomplicated and weak. They don't hold up nearly
> as well as any of the earlier seats. The only good thing about them is
> that
> they share a lot of parts with Beetle seats of the same era, so parts that
> break are often still available.
>
> CAUTION: I believe you'll have to pull off a knob that comes out thru
> those
> plastic side plates. That knob is held on its shaft by teeth on the shaft,
> so if
> you pull the knob with your fingers against the shaft as the knob slides
> off,
> those teeth will take serious bites out of your fingers. Don't let your
> fingers
> touch the shaft, or loop some heavy string behind the knob and let the
> teeth
> destroy that instead of your fingers.
>
> What I can recall is that there's a short cable housing with an anchor tab
> in
> the middle. The cable itself has a spring in the middle. I bought a new
> one
> when I was rebuilding some of those seats, about 25 years ago. I had to
> take
> apart 4 seats to get enough good parts to make 2 good ones, and, in the
> end, I didn't need the cable that I had bought. It's still in the basement.
>
> I may also have a good used cable, I'd have to check the box of seat parts
> that's in storage. But I'm pretty sure I can find that NOS cable assembly.
>
> --
> *******************************
> Jim Adney, jadney at vwtype3.org
> Madison, Wisconsin, USA
> *******************************
>
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