sport seat parts wishlist

[fatbloke-dim]

Been tackling the inop functions of the sport seats in my '93 ,as the weather has suddenly , with no warning turned to summer ,as tho' a switch has been thrown - unreal ! The 'vette will be back on the road in one weeks time and I'm fair busting with anticipation ,I'll tell ya . No doubt winter will decide to have another go at us by then .....:eyerole

I had no lumbar , or bolster action , and traced the fault to the switches for same - they were wadded with green vertdigris corrosion inside . Nothing that a bit o' glass papaer and contact cleaner could'nt fix , however , and I now have nice smooth bolster action going on . Shag-tastic . The remaining faults are , 1- the drivers side lumbar pump does'nt run ,it clicks and stops/stalls . I'm hoping the pump diaphragm fix will sort that . 2- the passenger side lumbar pump runs when the switch contacts are bridged by inserting a screwdriver into the switch from below ,but I can see no way to get the switch apart to clean it , now that it's removed from the valve / switch assembly , no visible tabs/slots or anything like that as was the case with the bolster switches . Anyone know if these can be opened up to clean the contacts ? Or if replacements are available ? It is just the electrical rocker swutch I need ,you can find the whole shebang switch and deflate valve unit , but , for the sake of a cheap switch ? Don't think so ! Any other switches fit ? It looks like a pretty box stock kind of thing I reckon .

So , in summation , i need to know if the following are available;-

1- pump diaphragm - do Jasco still have these ? Or anyone else?
2- rocker ( electrical ) switch on lumbar switch panel on seat .
3- O- rings for inside the deflate valve block on seat . Prob'ly standard sizes , but knowing my luck , unique to 'Vettes one year only and now no longer serviced .

And yes , I did drop them when I up-ended the valve block due to my half-arsedness . I tell you - if brains was Dynamite , I would'nt have enough to tip my hat to a pretty lady . :eyerole

Hopefully they'll be under the seat somewhere . The O-rings ,not my brains . Hmmmmm....Always say you don't know , though .

 

[CharlesBrown]

1. You can make a diaphram from a used tire tube. Or use a new bike tube from Wal-Mart for $2 or $3.
2. I've seen these @ MAM
3. "O" Rings are fairly standard. Try Home Depot, Ace or True Value Hardware. Also W W Grainger.

 

[fatbloke-dim]

Thanx Charles;-

I would just LOVE to nip out to Wal-Mart for a bicycle inner tube , or any other of the great American mega-stores which have everything you could ever need at seriously cheap prices . That would mean I'd be in America - I have'nt been for a year and a half due to my wifes spinal condition , and we both dearly , dearly miss it , we are so overdue for a visit . As it is ,just about everything for the 'Vette is ordered online , O-rings I could find at a local engineers merchant , we still have one close by , which is surprising these days . BUT !!! I found the ones from the valve under the seat and between the carpet and the protector mat ,so all is well there . For the record ,they are 11mm O.D. by 1MM cross-section .

I looked again at the switch , this time with my reading "goggles" on , ( the ones my missus sez make me look like a gynaecologist !!??! )
and here is what I found ,the switches DO come aprt , and here's how , it may fix you up if your bladders ain't pumping .

1- to release the switch from the deflate valve block ,first remove the 2 wire connector from the switch ,after seperating the 2 halves , by inserting a fine flat-blade screwdriver into the female half of the connector ,blade vertical ,ie , hold the connector with the long sides horizontal ,like a flattened oval ,the blade across the short dimension ,i n between the 2 female halves of the connector . In there is a little barb that needs to be pushed over towards the centre of the connector so that it releases from the metal ferrule of the female connector .
It may help if the wire is pushed forward to ease the opening of this barb , and if you've moved it far enough the wire can be pulled out from the back of it . To replace them ,they just push back in until they click . I marked one of them and made a corresponding mark on the connector housing so they went back in their proper orientation . Easier to do than describe ,I'm just trying to make it as foolproof as poss .

2- Now you should be able to get the switch out to work somewhere more convenient , as there are springs and things in the switch which would dearly love to scram and leave you cursing . To remove the rocker from the switch - that is how they come apart - with the fine screwdriver again ,insert into the side of the rocker , near the central pivot point , be sure to note where the little spring is and where it has to sit upon reassembly . It will be clear when you get in there .

3- There are 2 crosshead screws securing the spring contacts to the switch body , one has a capacitor attched under the contact strip to prevent arcing . The tail from this goes into the screw hole that mounts this contact , so check that the screw has'nt chewed the tail thru so bad it won't reach the hole ,but as long as the tail reaches , and can be trapped by the contact on it's under side it'll be right . Clean the contacts with your chosen method , I used glass paper , and trial the operation of the reassembled switch to check contact mating and tension . Bend to suit .

4- To reassemble ,once the contacts are screwed in ,take the actual rocker of the switch , you will note there's 4 little snap-in type tags ,one at each corner , on the long sides of the rocker . You'll find them self-explanatory , I'm sure . Pop these and remove the top cover off the rocker , the bit with the seat icon on it , or whatever the hell it's depicting . I'd fire the artist , myself . It needs the cover off the rocker to give enough clearance to get it back in ,first engage one pivot , and making sure the spring is still where it needs to be , push down until the other pivot clicks in . Then the rocker top can simply be pushed straight down vertically onto the rocker base . I used a dab of petroleum jelly to hold the spring . Then just reverse the disassembly routine and you're done .
Sorry to have gone on a bit , it really is easier to do than describe , especially in the warm sun with a cold beer .

Hope this may be of some use or interest to someone somewhere , as faults here are very likely switch related , and this'll save yer some doubloons .

 

[fatbloke-dim]

Anyone know if the Jasco diaphragms are available from anyplace ? seems Jasco may no longer be trading or supplying these .

 

[93Rubie]

Any of the Corvette Parts houses carry Pump Repair Kits, this has a new diaphragm and associated hardware with it. I successfully repaired one of my pumps using an old tire tube, however, I lost some pieces to the other one.(*&^%&) That and the nipples are very brittle and I broke one. Sigh...I'm going to get two pump repair kits, after I figure out why my bladders do not hold the air I can pump into them. Minor stuff for a slow day project...

 

[fatbloke-dim]

Hmmmm.....

slow days , eh ? Not too many of them just now ,5 days and counting 'till ol' Blue hits the road again . Just hope the current surreal wether holds for a bit longer . I'm working days this week , which is rare , so no time to do slow day jobs or otherwise just now . I'll get the pump repair kits as soon as I know the pumps run O.K. The bladders are prone to rotting , apparently , there's a picture hereabouts somewhere showing the resulting pile of what can only be described as #10 , economy size , mongo , giant dandruff .

To get the pipes off the nipples with less chace of breaking them ( " Doctor ,I appear to have busted me nipples " ! ) you could try warming them with a hairdryer or heat gun .

 

[93Rubie]

What I meant was If I get a slow day I'll mess with my seat lumbar pumps, etc....I rarely get a slow day for projects like that. They are easy to work on expect for bladder replacement that is a bit more involved. Just not something that has to be done right away so I put in on the back burner for a slow day.

 

[Rabbit]

What I meant was If I get a slow day I'll mess with my seat lumbar pumps, etc....I rarely get a slow day for projects like that. They are easy to work on expect for bladder replacement that is a bit more involved. Just not something that has to be done right away so I put in on the back burner for a slow day.

I'd research & try to find out if the pump from a 95 is compatible with your 93.

The 95 pump has centrifugal vanes & no diaphragm. When my acted up, the same as yours, I disassembled it, lubed it & it has been fine since

 

[93Rubie]

I'd research & try to find out if the pump from a 95 is compatible with your 93.

The 95 pump has centrifugal vanes & no diaphragm. When my acted up, the same as yours, I disassembled it, lubed it & it has been fine since

Your kinda screwed on the 94 thru 96 cars. I don't know of anyone making the vane style pumps. I'm not sure if a 93 or earlier style pump will work in place of your vane or not. Might try salvage yards.

 

[fatbloke-dim]

Well..........

today was another freak glorious warm day , there was cold beer in the fridge , and I'd scored an early "dart" from work . So I pulled the seat pumps , being careful not to bust the pipe nipples , they were gently eased with a small electrical screwdriver . The upshot being , the diaphragms are , somewhat predictably , and most comprehensively , banjaxed . Pumps run sweetly ,otherwise . So now it's decision time ,do the old rubber glove dodge , or order up the correct parts . Suppose I could do both , the glove thing would enable me to check if the bladders are shot , it would be silly to order the diaphragms only to find the bladders need changing out . So ,progress being made , of a sort ,but the weather men are saying cold and back to late winter/early spring rubbish by Saturday . The swines . Don't they know I'm back on the road Sunday?:ugh

Anyone know if these diaphragms are available on their own , as opposed to the pump repair kit with complete pump available from such as Zip?

Also ,is there a max or min thickness for the rubber to use for D.I.Y. option of making diaphragms myself?

 

[fatbloke-dim]

Panic over......

The sport seats in my '93 have now been completely fixed - we now have full bolster and lumbar action , even the lumbar bladders are good 'n' airtight . The pump motors were re-installed and test run , so about one buck later for 2 pairs of rubber dishwashing gloves later , we had diaphragms ,too . what I elected to do , as suggested elsewhere , was to use the central portion of the deceased diaphragms for support , but as these cheapo gloves were a bit thin , I also used the rest of 'em , meaning that the remains helped the seal between the pump body halves , and I could use 2 layers of glove material , with the old diaphragms sandwiched between them , might help the thin rubber to survive a bit better .

Today was the first drive for 5 months or more , the sun shines in a cloudless sky - but now there's a bit of fair weather cumulus above . BUT!!!! The weather men are saying snow and frost this week , after the freak high temps of last week . Todays is about 55 degrees with a coldish Northerly blowing . Ah well , it was good to dream !

 

[fatbloke-dim]

Panic over......
The weather men are saying snow and frost this week , after the freak high temps of last week . Todays is about 55 degrees with a coldish Northerly blowing . Ah well , it was good to dream !

oh, boy !!

Did it ever snow ! We had a force 7-8 Northerly , with heavy snow and the cover I have on Ol' Blue was ripped off on several occasions allowing a covering of snow to get blasted into every nook and cranny . It's so bloody cold and dark , as only a Limey winter can be , even tho' our winters are mild compared to others ,it's just so dark ,damp and never-ending . Would'nt mind so much if we could count on a decent summer , but Oh no ! Not here here in Limey-Land ! Bah . What exactly is a cranny , anyway ?