Peter:
I had broken a diaphragm in my 76 TR6 and had crumbs falling out of my
seats. I posted a message or two about my trials and tribulations
installing new seat foams over the last few days.
I had a little trouble installing the new rubber diaphragms as well, but
with my seats fully disassembled, I was able to complete the replacement
without new holes. I just grabbed the hooks with vise grips and leaned
into it a little. I have heard that diaphragms can be replaced without
even removing the seat from the car, but I think that would be a
challenge.
As a follow up to my seat foam story, I did my passenger side seat 3
times over Saturday and Sunday. With that under my belt, I did the
driver side seat once - and in record time. I now have both seats with
new diaphragms, new foams, and the original seat covers. The job has a
few tricks, but it is do-able and, after surviving it, a worthwhile
effort considering the crumbling foam problem I was experiencing.
Anyone considering the seat foam project should:
Have instructions available before they start.
Study the seat back foams until you recognizer the difference between
left and right (one side of the seat frame is curved and one is more
straight. The foams mimic this.
Keep one seat together for reference.
Take notes or memorize the paths that the seat straps take through the
frame. Very important to route the strap from the middle of the inside
of the seat through the slit in the seat back foam and then down the
back of the seat frame. This "tucks" the seat back cover into the foam
for a tight fit.
Take ample time to plan out how the lower seat cover will be
inter-twined into the new seat foams to re-create the original setup.
The bottom seat cover has numerous tabs that need to be glued and tucked
into the foams to ensure a good fit. This is a part of the process
where patience is a must for good results.
Anyone planning the job should either get some help from someone who has
been through it or yell for help at the first sign of trouble. The good
part about the seat foam project is that all the mess and mistakes occur
under the covers. Once you have gotten through the learning curve (like
I did on my passenger side seat foams) you cover it all up.
If anyone needs help, let me know.
Jack Radley
76TR6
-----Original Message-----
From: Peter Zaborski [mailto:peterz@merak.com]
Sent: Monday, February 15, 1999 1:51 PM
To: 'TR6 List'
Subject: tr6 seat diaphragms
There's been a lot of discussion lately about TR6 seat
foams. I thought my
slightly saggy seat was in need of a rebuild. It turns
out a new diaphragm
is all I need. I installed one on the driver's seat and
the seat is back to
normal. There is a catch however...
First, my car is a late, late TR6. Which means it
originally has the webbing
type of seat support in place of the rubber diaphragms
(check the TRF
catalog for details). A couple of years ago one of the
webbing straps on the
driver's seat broke. I had it replaced at an upholstery
shop. I don't think
they did a very good job as the seat was still somewhat
soft. So recently I
got some new diaphragms from TRF. I began with the
driver's side seat but in
order to install the diaphragm, I needed to drill some
new holes in the
frame -- the original holes from the webbing frame did
not match the
diaphragm holes. No biggie, I drilled the holes and the
diaphragm went in
without a hitch. The seat is way more comfortable now
and I am sure this is
the cure.
However, I just noticed that the diaphragm has already
started to split in a
small section of the middle part (not adjacent to any of
the clips). I am
certainly no heavyweight (175 lbs). Did I get a
defective part from TRF or
are the new diaphragms really that cheap? What is the
opinion of the list on
the replacement diaphragms? Are there better sources
than TRF or are all the
diaphragms the same?
FWIW, I plan to call TRF tomorrow and I'm sure they will
rectify the
situation but what I really want is to make the repair
and forget about it
-- I don't want to install cheap parts which will just
fail shortly. I could
always have the webbing straps rebuilt with heavy duty
materials but the
diaphragm seems like a better solution (if it works
properly!).
Any info greatly appreciated.
Peter Zaborski CF58310UO
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