Differences Between 93-97 and 98+ Standard Cab Seat Tracks?

[Basilius]

I'd like to do a seat swap in my 1998 standard cab Ranger, and I read that I need to use 93-97 seat tracks because the seats can be unbolted (while the 98+ seats are fixed to the tracks). However I recently removed my 1998 seats and found that they are also bolted to the tracks (not fixed/riveted), and I was able to unbolt them from the assemblies.

Can I use my 1998 seat tracks for a seat swap, or do I still need to find 93-97 seat tracks because of other differences (size, dimensions, etc) compared to the 98+ seat tracks? Thanks

 

[Shran]

What seats do you want to put in it? Just to make it easy I would really suggest using 98+ seats... basically any of them up to like '07 or so are very easy to use.

There are a lot of issues you may run into if you use other seat tracks - which could include the tracks themselves (length) or the brackets attached to the tracks, or both. 97 and older seat parts are more or less interchangeable, 98+ are as well, but those two styles do not easily interchange with each other.

 

[Basilius]

I don't know yet which seats I want to use (maybe Explorer, Mustang), or what is even available to me. I thought that the main problem with using 98+ seat tracks for a seat swap was that the 98+ seats are fixed/riveted to the tracks while the 93-97 seats are bolted to the tracks (and can be unbolted)? However the seats in my 1998 Ranger are also bolted to the tracks (removable) and I was wondering if I could just use those to do a seat swap, or if there are other reasons for needing to use 93-97 tracks.

 

[Shran]

The seat track deal you mention is a problem if you are putting 98+ seats in an older truck or vise versa. If you are putting 98+ seats into a 98+ truck you will have very few issues, if any, the ONLY things that come to mind are the brackets (different for extended cab vs single cab) and the track lengths. But that can be overcome by simply using seats that came out of the same cab style you have or by swapping tracks.

If you use seats for some other application, you WILL have to modify something, and you will probably be best off using your current tracks because you know they will bolt to your floor.

 

[Ranger850]

If you use anything other than your original seat tracks, you "may" run into issues. Rivets can me removed and replaced with bolts, so don't let that stop you from mounting seats to your tracks. You just have to figure out what seats can be attached to your tracks. That all depends on your skills and tools.

 

[Basilius]

The seat back reclining mechanism is part of the 1998 seat tracks (see pics). Do the 93-97 seat tracks also have the reclining mechanism as part of the seat tracks, and if not, would having this in my 98 tracks cause a problem when trying to do a seat swap from an Explorer, Mustang, etc.?

 

[Shran]

The reclining mechanism is part of the seat on 97 and older trucks and NOT part of the tracks like on yours.

 

[Basilius]

So would I need to get 93-97 standard cab tracks to do a bucket seat swap with a Mustang, Explorer, etc., or can I remove the reclining mechanism from my 98 tracks and use those?

 

[Basilius]

For anyone who has 2001 Ford Explorer bucket seats, is the reclining mechanism part of the seat, or is it part of the seat tracks? I'd like to swap my stock 1998 Ranger seats for some 2001 Explorer buckets but I don't know if I will first need 93-97 Ranger seat tracks.

 

[SenorNoob]

I've got 01 explorer seats. They are bolted to my factory 88 rails. The recline mechanism is part of the seat.

Oddly enough on the driver side, the seat pan sticks back too far putting the recline mechanism completely off the back of the rail. I broke 2 seat pans before I realized what was happening.

 

[Basilius]

I've got 01 explorer seats. They are bolted to my factory 88 rails. The recline mechanism is part of the seat.

Oddly enough on the driver side, the seat pan sticks back too far putting the recline mechanism completely off the back of the rail. I broke 2 seat pans before I realized what was happening.

How does the cushioning in the 01 Explorer seats compare to the Ranger seats? Is the it thicker with more support, or is it similar to the Ranger?

 

[SenorNoob]

The 88 seats were actually more supportive. The Explorer seats just feel cheap. Like they were made for a Cavalier or something. But my original seats were broken.