Seats

Shrek427R

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I installed the Seat Track Extender Kit on my 2007 Mustang. I realize that it raised the seat 3/4 inch but I really enjoy the leg room for my 6'3" frame. My problem is that my helmet sticks to the roof liner on road course corners during HPDE days. I didn't keep the original rails, so I can't have the shop do a reinstallation of the OEM. I like the autographed Roush leather seat inserts and would like to keep them.
Some ideas that I can think of to remedy this and get some head room back as follows:
Remove some foam from the seat bottom?
Remove the seat and torch and bend the new rails to get more room?
Remove power seat motor?
Replace seats?
 

pass1over

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I would not do option 2. Remove the seat and torch and bend the new rails to get more room?

You could potentially fatigue/weaken the brackets and they won't hold up in a collision.
 

richie9mt

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Interesting. I'm 5'11" and have a bad hip. My problem is getting in & out. (The seat won't go back far enough to let me swing both legs out at once, and the steering wheel has to be jacked up too high).

Did these extenders install without removing wiring etc - Just undo OEM bolts/nuts and lift up each side and screw them down??? I see CJ has a reasonably priced set.
 

TomL

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I just installed a set in my 05 for the same reason. I have a bad hip and bad back. I will tell you it is not a simple remove and replace install. Read the reviews on CJ and you will get an idea of what can be involved. From my experience, I will try to provide some tips to make it go fairly easy and what to expect. Sorry for no pictures but you can get a good idea by looking at your seat mounts and pictures of the extenders.

If you have a sae/metric tap and die set it will help, but not mandatory. If not, you will need to at least get a 5/16x24 tap and 17/64 drill bit for the front seat mount on the extender. I would not use a coarse thread because of the metal thickness.

With electric seats, you do have to unplug at least 2 connectors but its easy. Remove the trim pieces on the rear seat brackets. They have a clip that pushes in from the rear. It might be a little stubborn. Unbolt the front 13mm bolts and rear 15mm nuts and then move the seat back to the rear most position. If you have airbags in the seat, disconnect the battery and let it sit for about 30 minutes. I disconnected my battery just to be safe. Tilt the seat back and put a support under the front. You can then use a small screwdriver to release the tabs on the connectors and pull them out and then you can remove the seat.

Next, install the extenders by installing the front factory bolts, but do not tighten them all the way. Next position the rear extender holes over the factory studs and loosely install the nuts. Then go back and tighten the front bolts, then tighten the rear nuts. The bends in the extenders and the carpet thickness can make it difficult to install otherwise.

One of my front bolts was real tight about halfway in, like it was cross threaded but it looked fine. I cleaned the threads on the bolt and interior nut to make it easier to install. If I remember it was a 10mmx1.5 thread.

Now you need to remove the front mounting brackets from the seat rails by grinding off the rivets and knocking the rivet out of the rail. I had to knock the bracket off with a hammer after grinding the head of the rivet off and then grind the rivet down again to the rail before getting it out with a punch and hammer. Place the seat on a solid surface to make it easier.

Now you can install the seat onto the extenders but do not bolt it down at this time. You need to look at the front extender bolt holes and see if they line up with the holes in the seat rails. Most don't as you will find out if you read the reviews.

If you can get one of the holes to line up that is good. Just make sure you can easily start the bolt. If not, that's ok, you will just need to drill and tap 2 holes instead of 1. Next, mark the extender through the rail hole(s) that had the rivets in them. I used Whiteout(liquid paper) because I had it and it dries quick. You can use finger nail polish also. Using something with a small brush just makes it easier to get to. Another way would be to put some masking tape on the mount and try marking it with a marker as best as you can. It can be hard to get to depending on the seat location.

Remove the seat and the extenders and the drill and tap the 5/16-24 hole in the center of the area marked through the rivet holes. You could leave them in the car to drill and tap them, but it's easier to do it outside if you have no problems removing the bolts or nuts.

Reinstall the extenders and then the seat. Reconnect any connectors as needed.

Now the next issue you will find is that the bolts provided are too long and the bolt head and lock washer will be too tall to clear the seat rail when moving the seat forward. Easiest solution is to buy a couple 5/16-24 x 3/4 button head socket cap screws and a couple of flat washers. Don't try to use the lock washers. Just use a drop of blue loctite if you are worried about it loosening up.

Once you have the front screws installed, tighten the rear nuts and reinstall the trim pieces. Mine went back on with no problems.

My installation was a lot harder because I was trying to use measurements outside the car on the seat and inside on the extenders to get the spacing needed. I tried opening up the holes with a dremel and carbide bit, but it ended up only working for one hole. I still had to drill and tap one extender to get the other bolt in.

Also, I did use the provided bolts, but cut 3/8 off the length and since I have a lathe, I cut the head of the bolt down by the thickness of the flat washers I used. This gave me the clearance I needed for forward movement of the seat.

To wrap it up, I don't know if I would have bought the extenders if I had read the reviews first, but I'm glad I installed them. If you can comprehend what I have tried to describe above and have the ability and tools to do it, it is not a hard job and well worth it.

Also, if you disconnected the battery, reconnect it and crank the car and let it idle for about 10 minutes to do an idle relearn.
 

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