Thanks to Roger, I now have a B Body 4 way power bucket seat assembly to play with!
Date code 11 - 65 B. 1966 big car?
A good starting point for a restoration, and so far I've gotten the actuators and cables cleaned and greased.
I have the Trans cleaned and lubed. Like in my previous 6 way power seat post, all the grease had become petrified. The 4 way trans is very similar in design as the 6. One difference with the 4 way power seat, is neither actuator comes apart, so you need to spray them inside with solvent, drain and repeat until they basically don't drip black crud anymore. I then pump in lithium grease until it comes out of every opening, then spin them back and fourth.
The cables, like before, are easy...the inner cables come out! So blow down the sheaths with solvent, blow them out, clean the cable and lube with white lithium.
On the metal parts, including the die cast trans case, I'm using Rust-Oleum Rust Stripper. I believe its Hydrochloric and Phosphoric acid in a gel form.
This product removed all traces of heavy corrosion from the die cast case, and has left it with a totally smooth surface...amazing!
On all the steel parts, I use the degreasing tank at work (safe t solvent). Except for the motor, which I wipe down by hand.
I then use brake cleaner on the degreased parts to remove any oils. Then using a toothbrush, apply the Rust Oleum Rust remover, concentrating on the heaviest rust, but getting all the surface, keeping the bad areas wet. wiping and adding new when the solution turns green or yellow. (That tells you it's spent). It can take a day to get rid of the worst rust, minutes for the light stuff.
When done removing the heaviest rust, Switch to Dominion Sure seal rust remover. Leave on for a few minutes then wipe it completely dry. It will convert and seal the metal preventing further rust.
A quick mock up and test of what's ready...works smooth as silk. Sorry about the crappy iPhone pic.
Will post the complete result soon.
I love this stuff.
cheers,
-- Edited by cdnpont on Wednesday 27th of November 2013 11:38:28 PM
-- Edited by cdnpont on Thursday 5th of December 2013 03:17:41 PM
Nice work Mark. That is going to be one cool interior...
Ditto.
... and Mark's the man to do it!
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Prince Edward Island
'64 Parisienne CS "barn find" - last on the road in '86 ... Owner Protection Plan booklet, original paint, original near-mint aqua interior, original aqua GM floor mats, original 283, factory posi, and original rust.
Job is pretty much done. But I'ts going to need a new horizontal (forward and backwards) actuator. The bushings (or case) has opened up on top, where the drive gear bushing is pressed into the die cast. The gear flops around causing the worm to loose contact. There seems no way to really repair it as its a sealed unit. I'll post a little more on that later.
I think they all probably suffer from this, as the actuator is pretty delicate. In later years, the 4 way bucket seat power unit went to double horizontal drives.
One more thing, I originally was using the Rust Oleum rust remover, but it proved way too aggressive, and the action could not be stopped. I switched to Dominion Sure Seal rust remover, which when dried, has a converting element which seals and stops the action. Much better. For heavy rust, use the Rust Oleum first, then the Dominion product. On heavy rust the Dominion will tend to blacken or convert the heavy stuff before total removal. The dominion Sure Seal product is available at CTC.
All in all, it looks pretty good. Anyone have a spare belt cover?
-- Edited by cdnpont on Saturday 7th of December 2013 01:00:49 AM
The little spot between the two screws is where my actuator is bad. The little bushing has hammered itself loose in the casting. It's made a oval shaped hole. I think it's from when the seat runs out of travel fore or aft and comes to an abrupt stop. I have tried staking the clearance out with a punch, but it opened back up right away.The 6 way bench seat horizontal actuator has a small spring to take up the hit. Not on the 4 way bucket setup.
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65 Laurentian post, 67 Grande Parisienne 4 door HT.
I'll try to check later Mark, I know I have some spares. There's very minor differences in some of these, I went through this when I was doing my Strato Bench track.
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1966 Strato Chief 2 door, 427 4 speed, 45,000 original miles
1966 Grande Parisienne, 396 1 of 23 factory air cars
'64 Parisienne CS "barn find" - last on the road in '86 ... Owner Protection Plan booklet, original paint, original near-mint aqua interior, original aqua GM floor mats, original 283, factory posi, and original rust.
I'll try to check later Mark, I know I have some spares. There's very minor differences in some of these, I went through this when I was doing my Strato Bench track.
Shoot, I just realized I forgot to check. I'll try to look tonight Mark.
I'm not sure how I will be able to test to make sure mine is good though. No real way to do that.
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1966 Strato Chief 2 door, 427 4 speed, 45,000 original miles
1966 Grande Parisienne, 396 1 of 23 factory air cars
If you have a actuator cable for this unit (appropriate nut size), hook it up. Attach a drill to the motor end of the cable. The drill chuck will tighten on the cable perfectly.
Spin it while applying some resistance to the drive gear, use a piece of wood or the like. Go forward and backwards. The gear should spin without any missing or clicking.
Also, look at the bushing shown below. It should have little or no play between the bush and cast case (green arrow). Wiggle the drive gear to test. It'll be obvious if it has excessive play. Check the opposite side as well.
That picture was just from Ebay Carl, but I went and checked mine. Its the same as the Ebay picture. It's where the factory sets the gear lash. Should be a plastic screw head in there.
I tried different settings with that screw...no change. Feels like there's a bad spot on the big gear. Gets rough and slips in a section at each complete revolution.
One more thing I've learned is that this actuator is adjustable in relation to the rack (lower assembly and legs)). The mounting holes in the seat frame base are elongated, as it the punch out where the the little double chevron shaped casting comes through. You put the actuator in place, lightly tighten the two bolts, and put a screwdriver in the slot between the chevron and frame. Twist the screwdriver lightly forcing the gear in the unit to mesh tighter with the rack. Tighten the two bolts. Do this until no forward and back play can be felt between upper and lower frame. If you don't set it, you could feel the seat move slightly when stopping and starting (annoying).
The 6 way bench setup horizontal actuator uses a tough little spring to hold the correct mesh tension. The actuator is only bolted on one side.
Anyway, sorry for the off topic Carl, I'm saying that difference shouldn't affect anything. Worth a try!
Cheers, Mark
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65 Laurentian post, 67 Grande Parisienne 4 door HT.
Well, that one's no good... Good thing you asked me to test it, the gear slipped exactly as you described. I might have one more, I'll look later.
I suspect this may be a common problem on these things, just like the similar but slightly larger gear setup on the power vent windows. Anyone else with a stripped power seat gearbox?
As things continue with the 4 way, I've obtained a good horizontal actuator off of ebay. In Manitoba no less. $50.
It's very similar to the 67 version. The bolts are smaller, the cable drive is further recessed within the casting. But other than the casting shape, they are the same.
I saw a NOS 66 one just recently go for $250. The 65-70's are very hard to come by as they all seem to have worn out.
So if you need one for your 65-70, the 58-64 will work in place of the 65. The early ones seem less in demand. It's hooked up, and I've tested it. Runs very smooth.
58 on the left.
So Carl, your's was the 58.
My feeling is they simply wear out from a lack of fresh lube. The lube dries up and the internal gear runs dry and quickly wears out.
