When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I have rebuilt my 78 Seat Tracks and found a simple way to disassemble them. First, they were severely rusted and hardly moved so dont think yours are too far gone. I submerged them in Rustex by Krud Kutter which is standard phosphoric acid solution. Any other brand should work fine. Left it in the solution for 24 hrs. I was surprised how well they looked after i rinsed them off (pic is before further restoration ). Knowing what I know now I would have disassembled them first.
I looked for any available kits for new ball bearings and rollers but no luck, so I made my own rollers and bought new ball bearings. You can see in the 2nd picture what the solution did to my rollers and bearings due to the level of rust. Apparently the factory rollers were cast iron, I made new ones from hot rolled 5/8 rod. 5/16 chrome ball bearing are available at most hardware stores ( got mine at ACE ).
The yellow lines show the area that the rollers travel.
To disassemble just drill out one rivet and one dimple ( see first photo ). I will try and post a video on this including reassembly if anyone has interest???.)
Good job on the rivets. You need solid rivets that are pressed to fully fill the hole when forming the heads. Otherwise they are pretty weak. No Pop-rivets for this job!!!
FastenAll would be my first choice as a source for rivets. Mild steel with a shank very close to the same size as the hole. And, if you can't find them, make them.
Here is the video i said i would do. This is my first video so any feedback on my ramblings would be appreciated. Im working on a seat belt rebuild next.
Just so you know: Hammering a head [shape] on a rivet is NOT the same as "setting" the rivet. For a riveted joint to have the strength it requires, the shank of the rivet MUST deform to completely to fill the space available inside the hole, before the head is formed. In the case of a seat track, that component is to have the strength required to keep its integrity during a frontal collision, so that the mass of the seat and the passenger [with high G-forces] does not cause the rivet to fail.
A formed-over rivet head will stay intact for normal use and during mild panic stops. But, will it remain intact when it is really needed???
I am only providing this info so that folks considering this assembly approach are aware of the risks of mediocre assembly methods used to form rivets.
The better approach would be to take the parts and rivets to someone with proper rivet pressing equipment to have them PROPERLY ASSEMBLED. Then finish the work at home.
Yes, thats why i cut the rivet to a min fit. When pressed or hammered, not only does the head form but the shank swells to fit the thru hole. The seat track latch is also an important part in an accident and should be strong as the rivet and prevent seat movement. Exception is if the rivet is solely supporting the front mount, mine are welded on (78). Also the front bracket can be mig welded to the track. (Small bead across the front.) Besides, with all that said, its the seatbelts that keep you restrained and not the seats.
50,000 pounds is "pounds force", not pounds-weight. In a frontal collision, your body and seat may experience up to 100 g's at impact. I wouldn't want to risk having more than MY mass being held in by the seat belts. BTW, are your belts NEW? Old belts which have seen lots of sunlight (UV rays) are considerably weaker than when new. Just sayin'.....
04-01-2019, 12:13 PM
C3 Seat Track Rebuild
