I have an 1989 240 DL, and the driver's seat has something wrong with it. Specifically, it seems "warped" in that the right side of the seatback seems further back than the left side. Is there any source I can go to for advice on pulling off the upholstery so I can take a look and see what is messed up? I am a bit scared about just going after it without some guidance. Any help is appreciated.

When I bought my '86 245, the driver's seat back sagged. I found that the bolts that secure the seat back (frame) to the seat bottom (frame) had loosened. Tightening the bolts squared everything up.

A few years later I decided to repair the leather and the bun warmers. I did as others have done -- I substituted a low mileage (or is that low ass?) cushion from an '83 for an improved, firmer seat.
--
Don Foster (near Cape Cod, MA)

Jonathon

Mr. Holst is right on the money. I found a donor seat and replaced the foam instead oftrying to fix the old stuff. Not too much trouble and the seat feels firm. Going to do my wife's sedan the same way.
peace

I have the same problem on my '88 and I understand that most seats of this vintage have split on the right side back. Last week I took the seat out and tried a repair. Of course time will tell if my repair will work but it cost only my efforts and $7.95 USD insted of $158 plus SH for a new foam back. If you want to try it, here's what I did:
1. Removed seat (don't forget to unplug the seat heater connection underneath first!)
2. Removed the hog rings holding the seat back upholstery.
3. Unscrewed the lumbar support adjustment knob on the side and removed it and the plastic part under it.
4. Peeled the upholstery upward like taking off your shirt. It will be held at the top by the headrest.
5. Now you see the mysterious headrest release meachanism that nealy all Volvo owners have wondered about at some time. Release and pull out the headrest so you can remove the upholstery.
6. Carefully removed the foam from the seatback framework. Don't lose the thin fabric material on the top, it helps the upholstery to slide back down over the foam when you're done.
7. I sprayed a foam adhesive into the split and held the split together until the adhesive set. Then, using the adhesive, I reinforced both sides of the seat with 24 oz canvas strips on the inside of the groove where the split was and on the outside of the foam. I also covered all sharp edges with duct tape.
8. Fix the seat heaters at this time if they are on the blink, mine needed this.
9. Check the seat frame to see if it has been bent. Mine was a little and I could straigten it by hand, wonder how long that will last.
10. Put it all back together but used plastic zip-ties instead of hog rings. (MUCH easier to work with, got the idea from the Brickboard)

Now My repair is new so we'll have to see if it works but the seat feels much better.

Jim,

Thanks for the detailed instructions; how long did this operation take you? I discovered this very same problem on an '89 I just bought and having the seatback uneven drives me nuts.

Jim Heetderks

I didn't keep track of the time but I think a morning would be enough to do the foam repair. A little longer if you have to take the seat cushion apart to repair the seat heater. I left the seat overnight to dry the adhesive.

I just did both of my 740 seat-backs yesterday, using basically the same procedure. The passenger seat had a crack all the way through the foam behind the left shoulder, and I did the driver's seat as a preventive measure. The only procedural difference is that I invested in a set of hog-ring pliers and a box of hog rings, which makes this job so much easier, especially on the 740 leather seats where there are 3 rows of hog rings behind the front cover of the seat and 1 behind the back cover (i.e. the rings that pull the seat cover tight to the cushion). I couldn't imagine trying to get my fat fingers in there to fasten zip ties.

In any case, it took me about 5 minutes to remove the seat, 15 minutes to remove the skin and headrest, 5 minutes to remove the springs, 15 minutes to apply the glue/foam stuff, 4 hours to let it dry, 15 minutes to apply tape and towel material to cover sharp edges on the seat frame, and then about 30 minutes total reassembly. I don't work particularly fast, either. Not including the time it takes the glue/foam stuff to dry, it probably took me about 1.5 hours per seat.

One other thing -- WEAR LATEX GLOVES when handling the foam. I used "Great Stuff" which is available at Home Depot. It is unbelievably sticky.

Also FYI (for 700/900) -- I've noticed that the foam used for cloth seats is different than the foam that is used in leather seats. In my experience, the foam in cloth seats tends to crack AND disintegrate, whereas the foam in leather seats justs cracks. Just look on the carpet under the seat for proof of this. One of the cloth seat-back foams in my other 740 could not be salvaged and I bought a leather seat from a salvage yard with which to rebuild it. To my complete disbelief, the leather seat-back foam is even a different shape! Where the cloth seat back has only one row carved in it to fasten to the seat cover, the leather seat back has three rows. AND to top it off none of the 3 leather rows are in the right place for the cloth cover to attach to. I ended up having to carve a new, 4th row into the leather seat back to make my cloth seat cover attach to it. I'm pleased with the result but it was more screwing around than I would have preferred.

Thanks. I can't beleive how helpful this forum is becoming! I'm going to try this this week and I'll post how it goes.