The seat back on the passenger seat of my 1996 328Ic is stuck in the fully reclined position. It will not lock upright. My mechanic took a whack at it, but was unable to determine which parts had failed. He called BMW for a drawing or parts list, got no help, and said sorry. Any suggestions on how to proceed will be much appreciated. If I can't fix it, I figure I will try to find a replacement seat - maybe two, since the leather is torn on the driver's seat. How big a job is this? Can someone with basic mechanical skills pull it off? Thanks.
When the seats started acting funky on my parents' old 325i they went with these replacement gears. The seats were like new after that. http://www.fcpgroton.com/product-ex...clining_Seat_Gear_White_Gear_/category_id/163
I don't know who manufactures the gears for FCP, but you can buy replacement gears from this manufacturer, Odometergears.com, and feel confident of their quality. Great products, support, and service: http://odometergears.com/products/BMW/3+Series+E36+90-00/26
Thank you so much, Mr. Mendez and National Capital Chapter. I think this is the info I need to repair seat.
Do you mean he literally took a "whack" at it as in he pummeled it to try to get it back in place? Have your mechanic check this site out next time. http://www.realoem.com/bmw/index.do
My guess is that they actually buy them from Jeff at odometergears.com since they are using his pictures. I prefer to go straight to the source, though, like John.
