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- Joined
- May 15, 2020
- Messages
- 4,353
- Points
- 601
- Age
- 70
- City
- Atlanta
- State - Country
- GA - USA
- Other
- Manufacturers factory tour, maybe big dealership tour
- Vehicle Year
- 1997 1987
- Vehicle
- Ford Ranger
- Engine
- 4.0 V6
- Transmission
- Manual
- Total Lift
- 97 stock, 3” on 87
- Total Drop
- N/A
- Tire Size
- 235/75-15
- My credo
- Never put off ‘til tomorrow what you can put off indefinitely
Arm rest slop and padding:
The 87 has 93 seats in it and the 97 has the original 97 seats in it. Both are the 6040 high back with the fold up/fold down armrest mounted on the inside side of the driver seat. The 97 folds down too far, and on the 87 not only does it fall down too far. It also folds away from the seat, and it’s real loose and rattley .
When I had the seats out, sitting on a bench, I took the armrest off. I cut open the side of my seat a little bit to look at the steel frame that receives the bolt that holds the armrest. It’s straight as an arrow, it’s built like a brick out house, so that’s not the problem. The seat has a seat cover, I took it off, so I wasn’t too worried about taking a little of the OEM seat fabric off from around where it swings.
I know from messing with them before there is a big washer, a spring washer, and a couple of fine shim looking washers. Those are missing from this unit. You can thought about the screw, and the armrest is still wobbly. I took it apart.
This bar goes between the seat frame and the armrest. The armrest papers on the front round hole, and the left rear hole has a pin with a cotter pin through it that acts as a stop for how far the armrest can move up and down.
This shot shows the star bolt that goes from the inside of the armrest through to the side of the seat. I don’t have the thin shims, and two regular old hardware store washers were there so it wouldn’t wobble much, but I don’t think they are OEM. I fabricated a new plate there.
.
The holes on the armrest and on the chair looked fine. The holes on this plate that goes between them were egg out maybe a 16th of an inch. When you put the arm rest on it, you could wiggle it up and down like an inch. I think it’s supposed to be snug. I made the new plate with the holes in the exact same place, and the Ford hole egg a little bit elongated. Seems to work fine.
I cut a 1/8 inch piece of diamond plate to make an inside spacer for the bolts that holds it together. If you look at it in the picture, the flange is pretty thin, but it does fit securely into the armrest and access as an axle for that armrest of pivot. When I cut the hole in the aluminum, I drilled a hole that was a hair too small for the fat part of that pen to slide in. I closed the jaws on grandpa’s vice close enough so I can sit the washer there and actually tap the bolt through with a small hammer until the aluminum was up against that outside flange. Then I put the whole thing together.
The arm armrest sits dead level and does not wobble from side to side at all. It should still pivot up and back, but the bolt is so tight that you have to pull on it really hard. I think if I can find one of the thin shims to put between the armrest and the seat, it will work perfectly functionally..
The padding on top of the arm West was just about worn out. When it was wobbling left to right, I think my elbow would rest more on the corner than on the top, and I’m sure that contributed to my nerve damage quiring the surgery.
The armrest padding was worn out, and I wasn’t laying my elbow on top, I was laying it on top of the corner. The seat cover has an independent unit that is a bucket that goes around the bottom of the armrest, and then a similar bucket, kind of like an old ladies hat you put on with a drawstring for the top.
I went down to five below and got one of the foam stadium seats. It’s the light length from front to bag, and it’s easy to cut off the excess on the side. I drilled holes and used four or five zip ties to hold the pad in place on the cover. When I put the cover back on, there was just enough extra fabric that I could use three or four zip ties and pull the bottom sides around over the lip so you didn’t see the old arm breast material, and I did the same thing with the top.
It’s just the right consistency that I could put my elbow on it and not go instantly numb
I’m going to do the same thing to the 97 when I catch my breath a little bit. It will help, but what it has now is it horrible, so I’ve got a little time.
ATTACH=full]137465[/ATTACH]
Will this work?
The 87 has 93 seats in it and the 97 has the original 97 seats in it. Both are the 6040 high back with the fold up/fold down armrest mounted on the inside side of the driver seat. The 97 folds down too far, and on the 87 not only does it fall down too far. It also folds away from the seat, and it’s real loose and rattley .
When I had the seats out, sitting on a bench, I took the armrest off. I cut open the side of my seat a little bit to look at the steel frame that receives the bolt that holds the armrest. It’s straight as an arrow, it’s built like a brick out house, so that’s not the problem. The seat has a seat cover, I took it off, so I wasn’t too worried about taking a little of the OEM seat fabric off from around where it swings.
I know from messing with them before there is a big washer, a spring washer, and a couple of fine shim looking washers. Those are missing from this unit. You can thought about the screw, and the armrest is still wobbly. I took it apart.
This bar goes between the seat frame and the armrest. The armrest papers on the front round hole, and the left rear hole has a pin with a cotter pin through it that acts as a stop for how far the armrest can move up and down.
This shot shows the star bolt that goes from the inside of the armrest through to the side of the seat. I don’t have the thin shims, and two regular old hardware store washers were there so it wouldn’t wobble much, but I don’t think they are OEM. I fabricated a new plate there.
The holes on the armrest and on the chair looked fine. The holes on this plate that goes between them were egg out maybe a 16th of an inch. When you put the arm rest on it, you could wiggle it up and down like an inch. I think it’s supposed to be snug. I made the new plate with the holes in the exact same place, and the Ford hole egg a little bit elongated. Seems to work fine.
I cut a 1/8 inch piece of diamond plate to make an inside spacer for the bolts that holds it together. If you look at it in the picture, the flange is pretty thin, but it does fit securely into the armrest and access as an axle for that armrest of pivot. When I cut the hole in the aluminum, I drilled a hole that was a hair too small for the fat part of that pen to slide in. I closed the jaws on grandpa’s vice close enough so I can sit the washer there and actually tap the bolt through with a small hammer until the aluminum was up against that outside flange. Then I put the whole thing together.
The arm armrest sits dead level and does not wobble from side to side at all. It should still pivot up and back, but the bolt is so tight that you have to pull on it really hard. I think if I can find one of the thin shims to put between the armrest and the seat, it will work perfectly functionally..
The padding on top of the arm West was just about worn out. When it was wobbling left to right, I think my elbow would rest more on the corner than on the top, and I’m sure that contributed to my nerve damage quiring the surgery.
The armrest padding was worn out, and I wasn’t laying my elbow on top, I was laying it on top of the corner. The seat cover has an independent unit that is a bucket that goes around the bottom of the armrest, and then a similar bucket, kind of like an old ladies hat you put on with a drawstring for the top.
I went down to five below and got one of the foam stadium seats. It’s the light length from front to bag, and it’s easy to cut off the excess on the side. I drilled holes and used four or five zip ties to hold the pad in place on the cover. When I put the cover back on, there was just enough extra fabric that I could use three or four zip ties and pull the bottom sides around over the lip so you didn’t see the old arm breast material, and I did the same thing with the top.
It’s just the right consistency that I could put my elbow on it and not go instantly numb
I’m going to do the same thing to the 97 when I catch my breath a little bit. It will help, but what it has now is it horrible, so I’ve got a little time.
ATTACH=full]137465[/ATTACH]
Will this work?
