Making the slug comfortable

ISPKI

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Hey guys. So im about to rip a 5.0 out of this 01 mountaineer with the dark grey leather powered seats with lumbar support and it got me thinking, those seats are mighty comfortable and I bet I could get em to fit in my 94 idi.

Has anyone attempted this before? Not sure if i can get the powered movement to work but the mounting points look like they would be pretty easy.
 

Macrobb

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Typically, movement isn't too hard - you just have like 4 motors that get 12v to move. Reverse the polarity, it goes the other way.
So far, I've found that the multi-function switch on the seat itself usually outputs the right power/ground combinations, you just whack all the wires to the switch and to each motor and splice them together. You'll need to use a multimeter to test what does what, but it's not impossible by any means.
if the switches won't work, you just get 4 momentary DPDT switches and wire them up in "reversing" configuration, mount them somewhere and call it good.
 

franklin2

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If you look at the factory mounting points in your truck, they are re-enforced where the bolts/studs go through the floor. If your explorer seats end up in a single layer of sheetmetal floor, I think you should do something to strengthen the floor at the mounting points. The full size Broncos with the bucket seats have an extra piece that strengthens the floor were they mount.
 

david85

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If you look at the factory mounting points in your truck, they are re-enforced where the bolts/studs go through the floor. If your explorer seats end up in a single layer of sheetmetal floor, I think you should do something to strengthen the floor at the mounting points. The full size Broncos with the bucket seats have an extra piece that strengthens the floor were they mount.

^^This

Like Franklin says, your floor will not have the reinforcing for separate bucket seats if your truck came from factory with a bench. One way around this was to build a subframe that ties the two seats together, then bolts into the original bench seat mounting points of the floor. That way you're not adding any new holes to the floor and still using the original hardpoints.

Not 100% sure, but I think the switchgear should all be integral to the seats (unless you have door mounted seat controls), so all you should really need is to get 12V power to the seats.

It also looks like the seatbelts are not integral, so you're good there too (integral seatbelts would require significant reinforcing of the floor)
 

gnathv

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Look at seat tracks and see if it is possible to mount Mountaineer seats to your seat track. I did this with 01 Lariat seats in a 97 and worked well. Check seat belts, had to take newer ones off of seat frame and put obs ones in their place. As for power, are the seat controls on door or seat base?
 

gnathv

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These are mounted the original seat frame, used center console to fill the hole.

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ISPKI

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Look at seat tracks and see if it is possible to mount Mountaineer seats to your seat track. I did this with 01 Lariat seats in a 97 and worked well. Check seat belts, had to take newer ones off of seat frame and put obs ones in their place. As for power, are the seat controls on door or seat base?

I got the driver seat out. I didnt think about saving them until after i tipped apart the engine bay so they have no power to move to access the rear mounting bolts. Makes getting the rear bolts out a huge pain in the ass. These have controls on the seats, not on the door. Some cracking in the leather but waaay better than my OBS seats.
 

ISPKI

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ISPKI

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^^This

Like Franklin says, your floor will not have the reinforcing for separate bucket seats if your truck came from factory with a bench. One way around this was to build a subframe that ties the two seats together, then bolts into the original bench seat mounting points of the floor. That way you're not adding any new holes to the floor and still using the original hardpoints.

Not 100% sure, but I think the switchgear should all be integral to the seats (unless you have door mounted seat controls), so all you should really need is to get 12V power to the seats.

It also looks like the seatbelts are not integral, so you're good there too (integral seatbelts would require significant reinforcing of the floor)

I looked at the floors on the mountaineer and all it has for reinforcement for these seats are what look like fender washers welded to the underside of the floors. No sub frame, even for the seat belt bolt holes.
 

ISPKI

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Pulled apart the interior and got as far as test fitting the seat. Its only held down with one bolt stud for positioning but it looks pretty ok. I am going to see if the rails under the OBS bench can be removed and mated to the underside of the merc seat. After that, I will need to route 12v to the harness. I kept the harness out of the 2001 merc. Pretty sure its 5 wires, one larger black wire is most likely the ground, I assume the others are for power supply to the switch. I will have to try and find a schematic for it to make sure, hopefully it is that easy.

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ISPKI

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I think it has alot of room to slide forward and backward. I have to modify the brackets to bolt up correctly, its really high in the front so i cant move it forward without my legs hitting the wheel. Ill definitely need power to the seats before bolting it down.
 

UMR_Engnr

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FYI, mid 90s f150 regular cab with buckets has a flat metal subframe that bolts to the bench seat floor points.

I think I got mine out of a 94.
 
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