SCIROCCO REGISTER FAQ

Front seat, tilt cable replacement and bolster repair

A very common problem with Mk1 and Mk2 front seats is the failure of the tilt mechanism (usually broken control cables), and wear to the seat fabric on the drivers upper and lower bolsters. Heres a quick guide of how to strip a seat, to repair either or both of these problems, the seat used in the guide is the type fitted to most later, and higher spec model Scirocco’s, but the same pricipals apply to the more basic seats found in GT models.
First off is to remove the seat from the car, easy enough to do, just slide the seat all the way forward, remove the black plastic cover that goes over the seat runner nearest the tunnel. Next look under the front edge of the seat, and you will see a small bolt and domed nut, these should be removed, and then the seat can be slid all the way back, until the front mount is clear, and then just jiggle the seat out of the rear runners. (be careful not to lose the white plastic bushes on the rear runners)
With the seat out of the car, remove the plastic tilt handle, and its plastic surround, these should just pull off, but if they are tight, just gently prise them free with a screwdriver. You dont neccesarily need to split the seat back from the base (unless you intend to completly remove the seat covers), but its simple to do, and does make the job easier. To remove the back from the base you will need to remove the two black plastic trims that cover the tilt mechanisms. If you look closely at the se trims, you will see three small circles, you need to get a small screwdriver and push on these circles, this will push out a small plastic pin, when all three are out the trim can be carefully pulled off.

With the trims off you can see two spring clips holding the seat back onto the seat base, these should be prised off, the back can then be separated from the base.

To get to the tilt cables, you now need to remove the upholstery from the seat back, stand the back on the headrest and you will see four metal prongs sticking through the seat fabric, these need to be starightened out, and the material and padding unhooked.

 

Once the fabric and padding is unhooked, you can start the peel the fabric down towards the top of the seat, as you do this, you will come across several metal clips, that secure the fabric to the seat frame. These need to be unclipped as you go along. If you want to just check or replace the tilt cables, then you dont need to remove the seat cover completely, however if your seat cover is worn through and you have a replacement, then remove all the clips, the head rest (there are two spring clips, one in each of the black plastic headrest guides that simply push out), and the head rest guides. Heres a picture with the tilt cables exposed, its easy to spot if they have snapped. These however, are fine..

 

If the cables have snapped, then sometimes they can be repaired using electricians cable blocks (plastic blocks, with a screw at each end used for joining wire) they are also still available new, or you could buy bicycle brake cables (very cheaply) these come with one crimped end, and you will need to get another crimp for the other end. Changing the cables is really straightforward, its just the opposite of removal.

If your seat fabric is worn through, then this is down to dissintegration of the foam beneath the material ( a tell tale sign is, bits of foam constantly falling on your carpets below the seats) This is typical of the problem…

Replacement covers and foam, are getting hard to get hold of nowadays, and the usual way to get repair parts for a drivers seat, is to use a decent passenger seat (as they obviously wear in the opposite spots to drivers seats). Once you have replaced the damaged cables or removed the worn foam and material, then refitting is purely a case of reverse of removal. The same basic principals apply to the seat bases too. Turn the base upside down and you will see more of the metal clips holding the material in place..

Again remove these, and peel the material back. Depending on which type of seat you are working on, there may be more clips on the upper part of the seat, remove the central pad (if applicable) and you will see the clips holding the side covers in place, again, remove these and peel off the bolster covers. Chances are the bolster foam will be worn on the side nearest the drivers door, and so it will need replacing or repairing.

I had a replacement for the seat back, but not for the seat base, so had to repair it as follows. Cut out any loose, flakey foam, then cut some patches from a new piece of foam. I patched this bolster from underneath…..

And from the top…..

Again, if necessary, replace the worn bolster cover material, and then refitting is reversal of removal. Then refit the seat back to the seat base, and admire your handywork.

Depending on your skill level, and what you actually need to repair,each seat should take around 1-2 hours to repair. Also if needed, the seat covers can be washed in a washing machine, its best just to do them on a cool, short wash or hand wash cycle and DO NOT tumble dry them !! just put them over a radiator or washing line.

Tools you will need are.. 10mm spanner or socket, phillips screwdrivers, flat blade screwdriver, needle nose pliers and ordinary pliers, a tin of spray contact adhesive is also handy if you need to repair the foam bolsters.

I hope this helps….

Markh.