Roush Leather Seat Covers..what a PITA

[Redrider0151]

Picked up a set of the Speedster leather/Suede seat covers for my convertible off of ebay. One of my buddies grabbed a set of Katskinz a few weeks ago and they looked great and were a hassle free install...I had always thought it would be more difficult so I jumped on a set that I thought were killer.

Well I got them tonight...they looked great...the Roush ones come with a new foam piece for the fronts...so I jumped in, ripped out my back seats, tore my leather off and slapped the new stuff on...looked great...all went without a hitch whatsoever. I was totally stoked.

Go to the front and rip out my passenger seat....got a few harnesses to disconnect...its a power seat, with heat and an airbag...get it all tore down..see the first hickup is the heater...gotta go get some spray glue for the heater that will stick to foam and Roushes instructions say I have to glue a foam back onto the seat also (that came with the seats)...so I run off to wally world and get the spray and then begin to go to town. Immediately I see that the new foam on the front of the seat...there is no hole for the airbag in it and the holes for the headrest nowhere near line up like they are supposed to...not even close!!! So I grab the utility knife and cut the holes..not too big a deal but it still appears like the foam isnt fitting correctly...but you know what...march forward and follow the instructions. So I have the bottom portion complete only thing left is the top...spent some time making sure the hog rings are all in the right spot, all attached up and now its time to get it all fitted on the seat....man it just doesnt want to fit...then suddenly the whole bar on the left side that you attach the hog rings to rips out of the foam!!! WTF over!!!!

I tried calling Roush but they are already closed for the day...I got 3 kids I have to pick up front school tomorrow and my car has no front seat!! I have seat parts all over my garage and there is just no way they sent the right foam inserts with these seats....if you look at the pics the foam is supposed to completely encompass the entire seat and I am supposed to attach another foam piece to the back...its so tight there is just NO WAY to do it....

The leather is stamped for airbags, but the foam doesnt have the cutouts...and the holes up top werent aligned by almost an inch and a half...so I am SCREWED! Spent at least 4 hours jacking around with it after working all night last night and have to work all night tonight so my patience was at an end...even my wife felt sorry for me!! LOL So now I am working and stewing, waiting to get a hold of Roush tomorrow and HOPING and PRAYING they sent me the wrong foam, as there is just no way this fits on my car....


Anyone else have these in their car and run into problems?? MIne is a 2008 Cali Special...but I assumed the seats would be the same for all 05 - 09's but I guess not...

You can see its a good 2 inches short on the bottom...(its supposed to be flush with the back and you glue on a back piece...

THe back seats turned out great though...

Fords cheesy heater for heated seats is just some wires in cloth...

And here are the front seat covers...they will look good...if I can get them on there and they fit right...otherwise I will be crying in my soup over a wasted 300 bones

 

[808muscle]

Hopefully roush will have an answer for ya tomorrow. So how much did your buddy spend for the katzskins? And they installed easy?

 

[lostsoul]

I had someplace do it and they charged me 900 bucks just for the fronts!

I did the rest, but even now I cant get the damn lip to connect on the top rear seats.. They just slid on but I need about 1/2 inch more.. I tried heating and so on.. I hear there is a tool these places have.. so I will try again =-/

Either way it was not a 2-3 hour job Roush claims

 

[Redrider0151]

Hopefully roush will have an answer for ya tomorrow. So how much did your buddy spend for the katzskins? And they installed easy?

He picked up a brand new complete set of 2tone charcoal and grey for under 300 dollars...not sure of the exact price but it was definitely less than that.

They were dirt simple to install...they use the factory foam and 90% is attached by velcro seams instead of the hog rings... just like our factory seats. The front seats on the roush use nothing but hog rings...if it was velcro it would have been MUCH simpler... We did all his seats in less than 4 hours Front and back...

I did my back ones today solo in about an hour and a half or so...then the 2 of us spent 4 hours fighting the passenger seat out of my car....

 

[808muscle]

$900 holy fuck that's crazy!

Looks like it's katzskins for me then.

 

[Redrider0151]

$900 holy fuck that's crazy!

Looks like it's katzskins for me then.

Even the Roush's arent hard to install...I am sure if I had the right foam insert it would have been completed already...you just gotta deal with the hog rings vice velcro is all...no way in hell I would pay more than 150 bux to get them all installed...figure I could have done it in about 4 hours not knows jack sheet so someone who does it for a living could cut that in half..at LEAST!!

Dont be scared to do it yourself dude...its not that hard....my issue is I know I have the wrong back...I HAVE TO??!?!?!?! I am just surprised no one else has run into this...

 

[Stetler17]

I had to call Roush when I did mine for the same reason you are having problems. The foam did not cover my seat frame very good at all, with the drivers seat being worse than the passengers.

They were extremely helpful and gave me more information on the install than I even asked them for. Props to them.

However, I ended up taking a dremel and removing some foam to get the frames to set down in them so the "back" piece could be glued on properly. Worked great and the cover is still tight as hell. Good luck getting them fastened at the bottom...They are tight.

 

[Redrider0151]

I had to call Roush when I did mine for the same reason you are having problems. The foam did not cover my seat frame very good at all, with the drivers seat being worse than the passengers.

They were extremely helpful and gave me more information on the install than I even asked them for. Props to them.

However, I ended up taking a dremel and removing some foam to get the frames to set down in them so the "back" piece could be glued on properly. Worked great and the cover is still tight as hell. Good luck getting them fastened at the bottom...They are tight.

One of my problems is that the bar for the hog rings and torn out of the foam now because it was so tight...so no matter what I need to get a new piece of foam for the passenger side...its pretty jacked up!! But in talking to them on the phone they do seem like they are going to do everything they can to help me out


DO you have pics of yours?? How big a hole did you do for your airbag?? It also seems like its going to be a real bitch to get the arm bolsters to be smooth...I had a heck of a time just putting hte cover over the foam with no seat at all (trying to see if they even fit correctly at all...)

 

[gtcs07]

I'll be honest I helped my buddy and attempted to do his ROUSH leather covers and they were a pain in the ass in all the same departments. Then i did my rtc covers and they went on much much easier

 

[Nitemare]

Hello guys. I bought a set of the RTC seats covers with the suede in the middle and red sticking. It also came with the foam for the seat. Is there any special tools I would need to install them on my 05 mustang gt? Any ideas as to where I can find the installation instructions. I too bought them from ebay. Should I do them my self or pay a shop?

 

[gtcs07]

You would need hog rings and pliers. If you've never done upholstery before you might wanna pay a shop...

 

[Charlie Sheen]

I'll be honest I helped my buddy and attempted to do his ROUSH leather covers and they were a pain in the ass in all the same departments...

Same here.

 

[Stetler17]

Instructions can be found on the Roush website.

My car is an 05', so no airbags. My foam was molded for them and I cut a block of foam to "fill" that area back in.

They fit really good once I trimmed the foam. Roush told me I should not have to trim it, but they were just sooo far off I couldn't see any other way. I have one wrinkle on the drivers side where I got a hog ring located off a little. I may pull that cover this winter and reposition it.

Hardest part of the install is geting the front seat backs fastened together at the bottom. Second hardest is getting the rear seat backs fastened together at the bottom. My experience only! Everything else was super easy.

Heat is your friend! Expect sore hands for a few days when you are finished.

 

[Beerhunter]

Instructions can be found on the Roush website.

My car is an 05', so no airbags. My foam was molded for them and I cut a block of foam to "fill" that area back in.

They fit really good once I trimmed the foam. Roush told me I should not have to trim it, but they were just sooo far off I couldn't see any other way. I have one wrinkle on the drivers side where I got a hog ring located off a little. I may pull that cover this winter and reposition it.

Hardest part of the install is geting the front seat backs fastened together at the bottom. Second hardest is getting the rear seat backs fastened together at the bottom. My experience only! Everything else was super easy.

Heat is your friend! Expect sore hands for a few days when you are finished.

Just to clarify, you can get seat airbags on an 05. It was part of the security/safety package upgarde I beleive.

 

[Stetler17]

Thanks, I didn't know airbags were an option as early as 05.

Something you may be having trouble with that I wasn't thinking of:
Are you trying to put the hog rings in and then rolling the entire cover (wrong side out) over/around the seat like the Roush instructions suggest? I had better luck rolling the cover whole cover down over the seat a little at a time and installing the rings as I came to them. Probably why I have one with a wrinkle, but also could by why I had less trouble and you pulled the metal wire out? Just a thought.

Look at the Katskins(sp) video on Youtube if you haven't already. I did it using partly their method and partly the Roush instructions.

 

[JStang]

Sorry to dig up an old thread...

... but the instructions don't appear on Roush's website anymore. If anyone downloaded them, would you be willing to send them to me?

I've got a set of seat covers from Roush. The backs are done but I'm a little timid about the fronts.

Thanks!

 

[808muscle]

Go to youtube and search for mustang leather seat cover install. There is a great video on what to do. I ended up installing 2011 new take off leather in mine. Fits fantastic and looks and feels amazing. Not difficult just takes time.

 

[fordracer666]

Go to youtube and search for mustang leather seat cover install. There is a great video on what to do. I ended up installing 2011 new take off leather in mine. Fits fantastic and looks and feels amazing. Not difficult just takes time.

Yeah do this . There's a great video to watch!

 

[Stetler17]

I did not keep the Roush instructions...

I agree 100% that the Youtube videos will be enough for you to not have any problems. My Brother-In-Law just put my old leather covers on his cloth V6 using the videos and it came out perfect.

 

[Zanaridad]

Let me start by apologizing for reviving an old thread, but after exhaustive research, this seems to be the only relevant post.

I have the Roush Speedster leather kit as well. And of course, had my issues with the install.
I am stuck with trying to get the damn front seat back bottom j clips that connect the front to the back to get anywhere near close enough to hook together. Any suggestions? Thanks