Here's a new one for me . . .
The button on my (72) passenger seat back seems to be stuck in and will not release the seat back to fold forward.
I know the mechanics of this release system is not exactly hi-tech. Would anyone know a trick to get the button to pop back out?
I left it alone. Didn't want to force anything.
Advice is greatly appreciated.

 

Try pushing the seat back while pushing the button in. Lots of times the seat angle adjusters are cranked up some and the center strap part isn't raised so it's on the edge of no-letting go of the strap and the button is no longer free to spring back
M

 

Thanks Mooser ! That did the trick.
Is there anything in there to lubricate, or is sticking like that the nature of the mechanism?

 

If everything is set right there should be a little play in the seat back when it's latch, not much but a little. You should be able to flop it back and forth a small amount freely before the latch actually stops it. If yours is tight with little or no movement but otherwise the button moves freely when it's not latched, put a washer under each of the two bolts that hold the strap part to the seat bottom.

There were shim packs that came with the cars (or maybe was a option?) and they were washers that went under the two screw in stops and another long one that would go under the part that attaches the lock strap to the seat bottom



What sometimes happens (and maybe your issue is just you're right on the edge and this time it caught) is people would back the two stops up some to straighten the back or keep it from hitting the wall behind it without raising that lock strap as well and then it can get caught like yours did there.
Also worth noting that if you simply unscrew the stop bolts without using the shims, then all the force from leaning back on the seat (all that acceleration you know) is transferred down to the threaded plate tack welded under the seat frame and they can break off, the washers keep the force on the top of the frame where it's supposed to be but I'm betting there's a lot out there that are just unscrewed...
M

 

Thanks Mooser! I will have a look. Great info!