Gen 1 Driver Seat Removal Question

I'm going to attempt to install a new flasher assembly on my '05 Tundra SR5 Access Cab. Hopefully an easy job.

I thought I'd remove the driver's seat while I'm at it. After 18 years of owning it, I anticipate finding hundreds of dollars in loose change, some expired lottery tickets (which I hope weren't winners) and if desiccated McDonalds fries have any value, enough to live comfortably in my old age. Probably will clean the carpet while I'm at it.

However, I have some questions about the job. Besides removing the bolts and disconnecting the seat belt thingie, is there anything else I need to do or be aware of? Also, when reinstalling the seat, do the bolts need to be torqued to a specific foot pound setting?

Anything else to consider while I'm at it? Thanks.

 

You need to pull the negative battery cable at least 5-10 minutes before removing the harness under either of the front seats. This is a precaution you should always take when working on any newer car with SRS. When dealing with SRS/airbag sensor connectors, just as a general precaution, you don't want power to anything to avoid SRS codes and/or accidental discharge. Same is true w/steering wheels. SRS connectors are normally yellow.

Across every car I've ever owned or worked on where seats needed to be pulled, I've never bothered with torqueing to any specific spec. Just tighten to firm + 1/2 turn or so and I've never had issues. Worth noting, I've never owned a vehicle with custom seats, or my attitude may've been different. Some people do janky, nightmarish stuff with seat retrofits...

 

If you find new seatbelt latches, lemme know.

 

Thanks for letting me know. I'm guessing having the airbag deploy while I'm working on removing would be fairly unpleasant. Also, good to know about not having to torque the bolts. Saves me from buying a torque wrench for a one-time task.

 

I mean, having two 1/4" or 3/8" torque wrenches on-hand, one for a decent range in ft-lbs, other in a decent range for in-lbs, is a small purchase to make, and worthwhile if you intend to work on your vehicle(s) in the future.

I actually just gave one away, solid quality, to @Tundra2, I was weeding out spare tools and just didn't need it. The products Summit Racing and other places carry are very reasonably priced and you can get out the door with 2 wrenches for inch and foot lbs for under $100 if it's within your budget. Just make sure you are anal-retentive about returning them to suggested setting before plopping back in the case, every time, to keep in-spec.

If that's not within your budget, don't forget: Almost every LAPS has a tool loaner program. There's no guarantee their wrench will be in-spec b/c you never know what the last guy did to it, but ... it's an option in a pinch!

I'd advise you, avoid buying off scAmazon or fleaBay in this tool category. You'll get no-name garbage, i.e. good luck on warranty claims. Sunex, OEM Tools and Performance Tool make budget-friendly products, sold at most LAPS and/or Summit Racing, latter being my preferred vendor for solid bang vs. buck and customer support. Summit has their own store-brand that's usually made by quality vendors too, and typically has a very alluring warranty at competitive prices.

 

Just bought a Sunex 3/8' drive torque wrench. Even if I don't get much use out of it, my geezer friends will be SO jealous. BTW, if I decide to torque my seat bolts, what's the recommended foot pound setting?

 

Not sure if it's included in this set, but check the 4th or 5th paragraph here for "Torque specs" to see a gaggle of related torque specs: https://www.tundras.com/threads/so-you-wanna-buy-just-bought-a-1st-gen-tundra-eh.115928/

(Or just search the page for the phrase torque specs)

If it's not there, search the same page above for "manual" and grab the service manual for your truck.

Actually, torque specs thread, reply #13, looks like @Tundra2 has you covered.

 

According to the 05 FSM, regardless of which kind of seat....mechanicl, elec, bench, split, etc....torque is 27 ft lb. For me it was German tight and 1 or 2 uggas.

The thread shift linked to above also has a link to 05 FSM if you wish to download and look in Body section BO for other seat notes, especially when it comes to pass seat and zero calibration.

 

Shifty & Bubba: Thanks immensely. Great information and exactly what I was looking for. Shifty: After reading your posts about gasket leaks, I'm now getting an in/lb torque wrench w/ 1/4 inch drive. The guys at our "Past the Use-By Date" group will be insane with jealousy. A couple of oil changes back, I noticed the valve gasket leaks and had them replaced. At 165K miles my low mileage Tundra has the low mileage problems mentioned, but my grandchildren at that age had problems too and I have kept them anyway.

 

Interestingly, to me, I had 27 ft lbs in my mind as the torque for the seats, but no idea where that came from.

 

Your sense of humor is abundantly appropriate for this subforum.

 

Just bought a Performance Tool in/lb torque wrench in 1/4" drive from Summit Racing. Was tempted to buy a broken Snap-On in/lb torque wrench from eBay and keep my new torque wrench in it. Would absolutely make me top tier in local DIY circles here.
In the meantime, however, I'll be doing the seat and turn signal and modifying the original blinker (just because). Then replacing the rear bumper.

 

Elected NOT to get the broken Snap-On torque wrench. bought a Performance Tool 1/4 inch drive inch/pound wrench and a Sunex foot/pound wrench. But, disguised 'em to make the guys in my Retired Geezers Garage jealous.

 

I just say click when it feels right.
Keep it stored at the lowest setting and click it twice, then make eye contact with someone and click it again. Or creep up on that 2nd click.