'94 lumbar support air bladder

[saburai]

So the seats in Raylan, my new 94 idit xlt are quite comfortable! They'd be even better if I could repair or replace the lumbar airbags. Has anyone of you ever done this? Do you have to disassemble the whole seat? I slid my hand up in there and it was quite tacky, as if it had once been secured with adhesive... Provided I can get them out does anyone know where I could buy new bladders? Thanks!

 

[saburai]

BTTT just in case someone had some insight...

 

[rhkcommander]

If you can't find an OE solution ~ I can't say for sure, but I've had good luck using those vacuum sealer machines to make sealed bags pretty well. Use an adhesive for the air tubes..

Wouldn't mind some lumbar support in my bench if you find an OE solution

 

[coffeerich44]

Are you sure its the bladder that is leaking? I thought mine was shot and had ordered a new bladder from the Ford dlr. After disassembling the whole thing I realized it was just one of the hoses that had a crack in it.

 

[saburai]

No, I'm not sure. How did you go about the disassembly? Did you need to cut any stitching or anything?

 

[coffeerich44]

The fabric is held on by plastic clips on the bottom and sides of my truck but I have a standard cab. Yours probably has fabric covering the back with those plastic clips which you have to unclip from the very bottom of the seat back then the cover will pull up. The only problem is the stitching on the front of the seat is attached to the foam padding. It pulls off easy enough but you cant really re attach it. When I installed heated seats I had to deal with that but I only loosened the center stitching. Its not the worst thing but that's why I recommend checking the airline connections first before you remove too much. They generally crack right where they connect to the different fittings. Mine was cracked at the bottom where it teed into a fitting near the bottom of the seat. Your hoses probably come out from the back and go underneath the seat to the pump. You can probably get to most of them without removing too much. Then just inflate and feel for the leak or if its real slow use some soapy water.

 

[saburai]

Thanks friend! I'll give it a try.

 

[coffeerich44]

You’re welcome. Good luck, let me know how you make out with it.

 

[junk]

My seats are in a crewcab. I undid the bottom plastic "zipper" and slid the bottom fabric up some. The horizontal detail lines in the front of the seat for me were hog ringed onto the foam. I cut the hog rings and removed the upholstery. To reinstall I used zip ties to reproduce the hog ring. I didn't have hog rings on hand.

For my seat the back metal piece welds were broken making seat very uncomfortable. I have the 40/20/40 seat.

 

[BrassBandit]

Thanks for the tips this will come in handy as my driver side lumbar support has a slow leak as well.