64 Power Seat Transmission cleaning-it did the trick

Hello All.

I thought I'd post a little encouragement for those that might have an inoperative 6 way power seat in their car. The fix is relatively easy, and VERY cheap.

I just purchased an original (not re-painted, nor reupholstered) 64 Sedan De Ville 4 window. When I purchased it the front seat was adjusted forward and tilted down in front; two of the worst positions for me, so I had no choice but to attempt to repair it. 

Pushing the switch in each direction brought the sound of the seat motor, but nothing else. Even a few "technical taps" on the transmission did nothing to cure it (I was hopeful but unrealistic). 

The front seat came out with difficulty as the position it was stuck in did not yeild enough room for a socket wrench to be used on the seat bolts, so this was a hand tool, closed end wrench operation. Ugh!

I was careful to disconnect the main power connector (about a 7 gang connector) and the power for the cigarette lighters (a single blade connector), and removed the side seat trim before I unfastened the 8 seat bolts. After the bolts came out, the seat wanted to tilt rearward, so I let it do so. It rested comfortably and safely on the lip of the rear seat cushion. 

The transmission comes out relatively easily with the unfastening of the two bolts that hold it to the seat frame, followed by the unfastening of the 4 strange screw heads the attach the cable retention plates to the transmission. 

Upon opening it up (3 screws) it was at first not so easy to observe the dried grease, as it was mostly on the gear shafts where they interact with the round dogs. The dogs are supposed to be free on the shafts, but two of the three in my unit were stuck solid to the dogs, thus preventing proper operation. 

Cleaning was accomplished via brake cleaner and carb cleaner, followed by lubrication with Vaseline. Re-assembly is straightforward and while installation is a little tricky, it all fit together and allowed itself to be bolted up to the frame. NOTE: the motor and transmission are connected by a plastic donut that has a filled in face, matching a flat surface on the motor-to-transmission shaft. Make sure they match when you re-install. 

That's it. My seat works perfectly now. YAY!

Oh, just to be clear, if I can do it, so can most anyone. 

Good luck to all who try this.

Norm

Views: 153

Comment

You need to be a member of 63/64 Cadillac Website to add comments!

Join 63/64 Cadillac Website

Comment by Jason Edge on June 17, 2018 at 4:26pm

Norm, That dried grease will get you every time. Ander's posted the link to the help topic with a visual of what a cleaned transmission cavity should look like. As you indicated the dried grease has to also be cleaned from the gear shafts so the gears will pop out and engage. Clean'em and lube'em and you are usually good to go. Congrats on the fix!

Comment by Norman Silverman on June 17, 2018 at 2:07pm

Thanks for the helpful directions, as to what's where on the site Anders. 

Yes, I did read the help section in our great web site and it provided a good mental orientation for the job. 

I am in my 70's, from a big city and never did work like this in my career, so the purpose of my post was not to replace the "how-to" post on the web site,  it was to encourage all who might be squeamish about attempting a repair like this to go ahead and do it, hence my closing comment, "Oh, just to be clear, if I can do it, so can most anyone."  

Norm

Photos

  • Add Photos
  • View All

Forum

Modern radio antenna …

Started by Mack in 1963/64 Cadillac Specific Discussion on Tuesday. 0 Replies

Just replaced radios for the modern radios with Bluetooth and all the dance things and wanted to share how I went around the antenna knob… I’ve installed a regular two way GM window switch in the…Continue

BOOT

Started by John Inglesby in 1963/64 Cadillac Specific Discussion. Last reply by Marty Smith on Tuesday. 1 Reply

I recently purchased a new boot for my 64 convertible and was wondering how difficult it s to install. I'm not very mechanical. It looks like the chrome piece behind and at top of seats needs to be…Continue

63 Exhaust Hanger Mystery

Started by Mike Travers in 1963/64 Cadillac Specific Discussion. Last reply by Cees de Bunje on Monday. 8 Replies

I'm in the process of installing a stainless steel single exhaust from Classic Exhaust on my '63 Coupe de Ville. I'm running into a mystery regarding my middle exhaust bracket. I have the bracket…Continue

TH400 Dipstick Tube Seal

Started by Logan Robb in 1963/64 Cadillac Specific Discussion. Last reply by Logan Robb on Monday. 9 Replies

In my “rebuild” of the transmission, I ordered a dipstick tube seal. However, I’m not sure if the right one came or how to best install the seal. I am wondering if anyone has replaced this seal OR…Continue

Blog Posts

Loud air moving sound within carb with cleaner removed

Posted by Dave Fehrle on March 23, 2024 at 3:23pm 8 Comments

While checking my Carter carb with engine running, I took the air cleaner off and there was a very loud hissing sound of air. I placed a piece of paper over the carb and it didn’t move up or down, is this normal?

Vintage Air AC

Posted by Chase on March 21, 2024 at 5:55am 0 Comments

Hey everyone, has anybody done a Vintage Air AC/Heat setup in their car? I want to bypass the old vacuum setup and go with a Vintage Air Gen 2 model. Before I get started, does anyone have any experience with this? (Which model to go with, do’s and dont’s, etc.) It looks pretty involved. Any and all info/pics would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

accumulator dryer

Posted by CHRIS CARLSON on December 6, 2023 at 10:54am 0 Comments

Who rebuilds original AC  accumulator dryers for 1964 Cadillac? I have been on Classic auto air in Tampa FL wait list for over a year ,  There is one on Old air products web site that looks very similar to the original # 21-4214A but states it fits 1962 Gm cars, The one recommended for a 1964 Cadillac is half the length 21-4215A    What  is everyone using ? I would prefer to be as original as possible. Thanks

'63 Eldorado trumpet horn + 2 standard horns restoration

Posted by Les Eastling on November 15, 2023 at 10:34am 1 Comment

My son, unbeknownst to me, had all three of the horns on our 1963 Eldorado completely restored. We had recently added the Eldorado trumpet horn to the two standard horns and the sound was not very good... we had heard good ones so we knew something was not right... but there was not much we could do to get better sound from the 3 horns. 

There is a restoration service called The Horn Works who my son…

Continue

Videos

  • Add Videos
  • View All

© 2024   Created by Jason Edge.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service