Just finishing up a swap at the moment even! Have some nice photos Ill be posting.
Pretty much you have to swap over the complete tracks, seat belt, trim, arm rest support bracket and make a hole in the leather for the arm rest. There is however one thing you will need to re-use and thats the seat backing but outside of that and a few hours of swapping things over its a direct fit, in fact the seats are even the SAME part numbers!
** Edit 1/10/2014 ** Photos Included **
This photo shows both a left and a right W126 Sedan seat side by side ready for the conversion. They have already been pulled from the vehicle and the backs taken off, which by the way are held on by two phillips screws towards the bottom.
This photo shows how worn the drivers seat is compared to the donor passenger seat, which we will be fitting on the drivers side.
In this photo you can see the arm rest bracket that must be removed and transfered to the once was passenger seat. This bracket is held on by a bolt towards the bottom.
Here you can see the bracket removed.
Here you can see the passengers side has provisions for this bracket with the exception of a small hole that must be made in the leather.
Here you can see there is no hold for the arm rest. You must make this hole and cut it very careful as to follow the hole behind it when you are cutting.
Here is a photo of the hole that the factory cut.
Here you can see the seat cover rolled back on the original drivers seat, along with the bracket.
The seat covering rolls back somewhat easy as you can see, and really it goes back on easy too.
Here is the bold you must remove, notice I am also pointing at a dowel pin that keeps the bracket and seat sturdy. YOU NEED TO TRANSFER THIS BRACKET!
Here is a look at the seat motors and track assy, which we must transfer.
Here is a look at the bracket when removed.
Here is a look at ONE of the SIX philips head bolts that holds the seat track to the seat. You must be able to move the seat track forward and backwards to access them. Do this by using +/- battery power to the PLUG that goes to the module. Reverse polarity to change directions forwards and backwards. More on this later.
You must also remove the trim panels, which by the way is not so easy without breaking them. They get brittle after awhile, but the bottom line is you also have to remove the seat belt reciver and slide bar to transfer over also.
Here you can see how the seatbelt reciver comes off. Just a few clips.
This is what your donor passenger seat will look like, all this stuff needs to come off and be replaced with the items shown in the photos above.
Here is a photo of the center phillips bolt being removed with the seat track properly adjusted to gain clearance.
And here is the one in the front being removed.
Here is the plug you must remove, YOU JUMPER THE FEMALE portion of this plug to move the tracks NOT the male ones at the module.
These little suckers can be a pain to remove, use a flat blade screwdriver to pull up on the hook area of the plug. Remember this plug is in the front on the passengers side and the rear on the drivers side, or maybe vise versa, it's late but know this.. the big holes are the ones that take the power, and if you do the wrong one it will just move a diffrent part of the seat, at which point you plug it back in and find the proper one. This will make more sence when you have done it. Sorry.
Here is a photo of the trim removed in one peice... Yeah.. I'm good.
You also need to remove and transfer this.
Now you also have to remove this wire to the seat belt reciver, it goes under the seat and is held on with clips and re-usable zip ties. It's a tedious pain in the ass, but what are you going to do? Take your time and make sure to route it and secure it properly or it could get damaged.
And here is what the drivers seat looked like before.
And this is the new driver seat. Mind you, this used to be a passengers seat!
It's quite a bit of work, don't get me wrong... But just look at the results!
Good luck!
-- Edited by SELLC on Thursday 10th of January 2013 05:07:11 AM
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What is to give light must endure burning -- Viktor Frankl
I have quite a few passengers side seats as most of the drivers sides are the first ones to sell given the fact they wear out sooner. The drivers side bolsters of these 21 year + w126's are often times taxed pretty hard thru the years of getting in and out of the vehicle.
This is good news for me, considering I now have all of my passengers side seats sold! LOL What's even better? I make twice as much on them because I can charge labor $$ for making the swap, but that doesn't matter because people are tickled pink when they have a passengers side seat on the drivers side because the bolsters are absolutely flawless in this scenario.
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What is to give light must endure burning -- Viktor Frankl
Hi! What do you charge for the seat and labor? I have a 560 sel w/a chocolate brown interior. Thanks!
I think the color you mean is "Brazil"... I do not have any of this color in stock right now, however I do charge 6 hours labor to make the switch from passengers to driver, and that is "IF" you bring me a donor passenger seat (not the one that is currently in your car either) lol.
Keep your eyes peeled because you see them every now and again on eBay... You should also know these seats when the tracks are removed can be placed in a washing machieen box easy and safely sent UPS or FEDEX ground. They are an oversize item, but the weight is not too bad.
Good luck.
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What is to give light must endure burning -- Viktor Frankl
Thanks for answering this age old question. I know I always wondered if I could swap drivers side with passenger. Btw I hope you don't mind that I repost one of your pictures
with more details as to what each motor does to the seat. Might help someone who took the seat out 6 months ago and now can't figure out how it all went back went together
again. If the seats get worn out like this and they're real leather and the engine is still going strong .... it says something about the people that build them.
PS: I just noticed that the last word for the middle motor got covered up by the white large script. It states " Yellow & Green for back lift".
-- Edited by maurinquina on Tuesday 4th of February 2014 09:40:50 PM
I guess there is always more than one way to skin a cat.
Depending on the position of the seat it could be tricky getting at the plugs on the module, thus direct motor actuation may be the best option depending on ones circumstances.
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What is to give light must endure burning -- Viktor Frankl
AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IT ALL MAKES SENSE NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! REX BE USIN OLD MERCEDES SEATS FOR HOME FURNISHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BITCH GOT TURNED DOWN FOR LOW BALLIN THEM ON NEW HOME FURNITURE AND HE RESORTED TO USIN THESE SHIT STAINED MERCEDES SEATS SO HE AND THE BOYS..............BETCHA THEM BIG BOYS WORE THROUGH THEM SEATS REAL HARD............... CAN HAVE A PLACE TO SIT AND SLEEP!!!!!!!!!!!!! AHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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LIKE A PHOENIX RISING FROM THE ASHES.................... HERE TO SHIT ON REX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thats pretty funny Stoma... And now that you mention it, that micro-fiber sofa set did kind of remind me of the late model 2nd generation Mercedes interior. The pattern is similar.
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What is to give light must endure burning -- Viktor Frankl
THAT BE THE CADILLAC OF CHAIRS REX................ I SEE 4 CUP HOLDERS........... DA FAMILY CAN FIT THEM 40 OZ CUPS AND WATCH THEM OL' VCR TAPES OF YOUR 3RD WORLD HOME COUNTRY ON DA PIECE OF SHIT COMPUTER YOU PUT TOGETHER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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LIKE A PHOENIX RISING FROM THE ASHES.................... HERE TO SHIT ON REX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
