Rocking seat fix, won't give up, & Column Lock recall?

[Bluemill]

Dear c4c5 and other Corvette techs,

I am still trying to fix the rocking seat of my 2000 targa, (15,000-25,000 miles) but have been hesitant to spring for the $600 for a part that may not wear any better than the first one,- the seat tracks. I do have a dealer that will sell me the tracks w/memory assembly for $500.00 which is an improvement, but I also had a revelation about trying to use the assembly without memory, which is another $75 more in savings. I would think I could transfer the fully functional memory and wiring for same from my present adjuster track that has the loose machinery to the new, hopefully beefed up hardware. Do you think this is wise/and/or possible? I will state to you out there that are GM employees that in the over 1,500,000 miles I have put on my automobiles, I have never had to replace something so basic as this. I am not asking to be comped, or even to have a big discount on the part. I obviously will do my own labor. I just need some direction.
I did the "Ken Robb" sliding seat fix already and although it does fix the other serious issue with the seats, i.e. the sliding back and forth on the longitudinal adjuster rods for the power seat, caused by the deterioration of a black polyehtelyne bushing, this does not fix my problem. This did work, or, I could see how it would help. My problem is that the Lear design is anchored in soft aluminum and it gets more and more play in it every time you plant your a** way down in that seat!

Also, is the steering column fix really necessary if my car has not shown any signs of the problem? The horror stories I have read on Corvette forums are pretty scary, especially those that say things are worse are after the recall work is done. "If it ain't broke don't fix it" - has worked for me in the past.


Thanks,
Bluemill

BUY AMERICAN!

 

[Kevin G]

My 2000 never showed any sign of column lock ills. I read the same horror stories as you, but finally I said to heck with it and took it in for the column lock recall work. It was done in about 6 hours without any damage or ill effects afterwards.

My car is an automatic and from what I read I get the impression they are not as problematic as the manuals after this work is completed.

I'm sure others will chime in!

 

[bluecoupe]

It is pretty sad that GM has not made good on the seat problem. Where is the JD Powers research on Long Term Quality?

I saw this. I don't know if he's still around but it's worth a look.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/showthread.php?t=921845


If you have a manual trans the column lock fix is just a computer reprogram.

 

[schmaltzr]

I had my 6 speed in for the recall about 1 year ago. I just couldn't take a chance that something may happen and it would be my fault for not taking care of it. Last month the steering column wouldn't unlock after I had parrallel parked it in front of a friends house. Fortunately the wheels were straight and no car was behind it. It cost me $550 to get it fixed. Why is it that you never hear of this happening even to the cheapest cars (ie Hundai, Kia,) I understand the need for a more sofisticated locking mechanism, but shouldn't the mechanism fail in the 'unlock' positon so you don't have to have a $200 tow along with the outragous cost of repairing the 'motor' in the column lock. - Ron

 

[Dave]

column lock bypass

I sprung for the cloumn lock bypass kit from Corvettes of Houston (about $50).

It was easy to install (I am not a mechanic) and I now have peace of mind.

BTW, my '01 is a six speed.

Dave

 

[c5vetter]

had rocking seat problem on my 2001 Z06 - they replaced the entire seat track on mine

 

[Bill Coke]

steerring column lock

took it in for the column lock recall work. It was done in about 6 hours without any damage or ill effects afterwards.

Kevin, just curious why did it take them 6 hours to do this? I always heard it just took a bypass kit from GM for them to fix it.

 

[Kevin G]

On the automatic they actually remove / replace hardware in the column. I think with the manuals it is a software flash but off the top of my head I don't recall the specifics so don't quote me on that

When my car is off (key off and out) I can turn the steering wheel, in other words the lock function is totally disabled.

 

[Bluemill]

Complete rocking seat fix- with new tracks- cheap!

Dear c5 seat Rockers and Sliders:

I purchased a new seat track, post 2003 model year type, non-memory from Dino's Corvette Salvage of Picyune, Miss. It was a salvage piece from a manfacturer who had bought entire Corvette seats from GM, and then was making executive office chairs out of them. Obviously, the seat tracks were not needed and Dino got a hold of them. Dino's attention to detail was fabulous; he would not send me a seat until he checked all the details of what I had in my car, etc. My car, a 2000 targa 6 speed, has had a rocking 1/4" -3/8"seat since I bought it one year ago with 15,000 miles.

The best price I could get from local Chevy dealers in the greater Boston, MA area was $500 for a memory seat track, $437 for w/o memory. The usual diference is $100+ more with memory but the dealer had a memory track on the shelf for too long - so I think he was trying to get rid of it at a bargain price.

Thanks to a thoughtful response form Matt Hathcock on the Corvette Mechanic Forum, I got hooked up with Dino. Keep in mind that I had already performed the Ken Robb Rocking seat fix twice ( the one with the washers) without really fixing the problem. The 1998-2002 (partial 2002 yr.) seat tracks have two nagging problems with wear: 1.) aluminum pivot points that wear out causing play with the foundation of, and the actual height adjusters for the seat, and 2.) black polyethelyne washers in the back and forth adjusting rods of the seat track. The latter disentegrate with use and then the seats slide on accelleration and braking. Bottom line is that you need to get a new track. Machining would be possible I guess but nobody in over a year came up with a referral, and that's after reaching out to 5 Corvette gear head sites.

The last hurdle was performed today in baking heat- sorry you guys in the South, we are just not used to it! The toughest part of the job was transferring the motors from the memory seat with the sloppy old tracks to the non-memory new tracks. I wasn't sure I could do it until it all fit together, but one thing for sure, the motors for the memory seat appear to be different and have more connections for electrical than the non-memory ones. It's not just case of moving the harness and memory module from one to the other -you must move the motors as well. If you try to do the job have a complete set of torx drivers!

BOTTOM LINE, the job was a success. You can transfer memory electronics to non- mem. seat tracks, Dino is a great part source, & the track he sent me was never used -( I know b/c the bluegreen grease that Lear pumped in at the end of adjusting rods was still down on the end- never being spread to the other end b/c it had never been adjusted!).
I had seen what a later model (past 2002) adjuster looks like, and Dino also came through on that issue as well, the silver box torx screws are replaced with "male" torx or reverse torx nuts on the newer part. These are located on the bottom of the tracks, 2 on each track. RESULTS - after all that work and research, well the seats are firmer, but they still have a slight spongy play if you push back on it, like the passenger seat feels. I did not replace the black washers in the silver box because I figured they had to have fixed that too! Well maybe they didn't. But I am not going in again until the weather gets a whole lot cooler!

Good luck guys- and remember- BUY AMERICAN!

GBWBook/Bluemill

 

[lawless99]

took it in for the column lock recall work. It was done in about 6 hours without any damage or ill effects afterwards.

Kevin, just curious why did it take them 6 hours to do this? I always heard it just took a bypass kit from GM for them to fix it.

I was also told by the dealership that they will need 6 to 8 hours to complete the column lock recall on my 99 mn6. He said the auto is a little quicker to repair but I did not ask for specific reasons on why it takes so long. What kind of problems are people having AFTER the dealer does the recall?

My seat also rocks back and forth during agressive driving. I remember watching the video that comes with the car and Dave Hill was driving the C-5 on a track and he mentioned that they had intenionally engineered the seat to have a certain amount of forward and backward rocking and that this condition is "normal". I have to wonder why they felt that having the driver seat rock is a good thing? It seems that the "normal" rocking quickly becomes unwanted "bad" rocking and is causing many owners problems. Has anyone else seen this part of the video?

 

[MsSchroder]

Well, now I'm going to have to go replay that video. It has been a long time, and I don't remember a part about the seat rocking.

My mn6 column lock fix took about an hour. 6-8 seems rather lengthy on a manual. It was my understanding that the fix on the auto took longer

Tammy

 

[Gorgon]

Anyone know where I can get the GM part number for the driver's side seat track? Mine is rocking as well and I'd like to get it fixed. Also, the power module is sitting loose in the seat and it looks like I will need to remove it to see what the deal is.

- Leon

EDIT: The column lock recall is different between the auto and manual. The auto has the column lock removed where the manual has a flash update as well as an inspection of the lock plate and replacement of the plate depending on the clearance around the locking pin.

 

[Bluemill]

Dear Gorgon,

PLEASE read my entry above. Do not pay the full GM/Chevy price for the part. Get it from Dino, and if you can not do it on your own, have your local Vette doctor do the job. Do you think it's right that you should pay Chevy anything for this shameful piece of engineering? With what I did at least you are saving $, ($300-$400) not getting Chevrolet any richer for their screw up, and you still are getting the seat track that will fix the problem for you.

Bluemill
Buy American (at Dino's)