Rear Seat removal

[henryb]

I removed the rear seat bottom panel today, with hope to remove the three individual Center pads to do some repair (Tear-Aid type B).

So, no problem getting the seat bottom out... 4 bolts from under the engine compartment... and 4 plastic push pins along the edges came out easy. But now that I have it out, the 3 seat pads are held in with some very weird screws?

Any suggestions on how to get them off?

 

[henryb]

I'm thinking... maybe they are rivets that I have to drill out? But then what do I use to put the seat back on? Self-tapping screws?

 

[squad1]

They are rivets. Drill them out, but be careful to just drill enough to separate the head. On my Challenger, I replaced them with stainless carriage bolts..

 

[henryb]

Nice... I've been reading up on rivets (never delt with them before)... and the 2 most common solutions are to use another pop rivet or to use carriage bolts!!!

 

[squad1]

Use a 1/4" drill bit right in the center. Drill until the rivet head spins. Any deeper, you risk drilling into the plastic base and going through. The carriage bolts have worked very well since I redid my seats..

 

[henryb]

Do you recall what size carriage bolts you used?

 

[squad1]

I believe they were 1/4" × 1 1/2" bolts.

I added some pics to the original thread, as the OP pics are missing. I can't remember if there are any pics of the bolts..

https://www.seadooforum.com/showthread.php?t=42076

 

[henryb]

The other thing I was wondering about was getting those plastic push pins to line up when I eventually get to the point of putting the base of the seat back into place?

Should I completely remove them or leave them sticking up and try to get the started?

 

[squad1]

I think I removed mine. Trying to hold it in place and push down wasn't happening.

 

[henryb]

Regarding the carriage bolts... the rivets are 3/16"... so if you put them into the same holes... then I should try to match that size? Or did you make new holes?

 

[squad1]

If you can find the 3/16" stainless, go for it. It depends on what is available to you. When When I installed the bolts, I just peeled the edge of the foam up and threaded the bolts into the plastic which held them in place to drop the seat pads back in place. Put a little pressure onto the foam pad to hold the bolt while threading the nuts on. When you snug it down, it will bite into the plastic. Don't overtighten and spin the bolt. Snug with a lock washer..

 

[henryb]

Thank you sir... followed your recommendations ... worked fantastic.

I cut the 1/4" bolts a bit short (down to about half of their 1.5" length to 3/4") that should reduce stress on the foam?

Also when I put the seat back into the boat, I put a bit of electrical tape on the new bolts so they don't scuff up the fibreglass under the seat... as the 1/4" bolt heads with lock washers do stick out a fair bit more then the rivets did.

 

[squad1]

Excellent. Glad I could assist. Enjoy!

 

[henryb]

BTW... I asked about those side plastic push pins... I ended up leaving them in and 3 of them seem to line up quite easily... only one required some wiggling around to get the hole lined up... but they all went in fairly easily without much effort! Thx again.

 

[henryb]

Here is a quick pic of the after repair view. This seat required the most repair work of the 3... the others only had a few cracks around the edges.
The product that I used is called Tear-Aid Type B. It is very flexible, super strong adhesive, and will become more and more transparent as it cures over time. "Type B" is used specifically for Vinyl repairs. I've used it to fix tears in my inflatable towable tubes that have never leaked again in years!

 

[squad1]

BTW... I asked about those side plastic push pins... I ended up leaving them in and 3 of them seem to line up quite easily... only one required some wiggling around to get the hole lined up... but they all went in fairly easily without much effort! Thx again.

I went and double checked mine, and they are still there.. I couldn't remember if they were or not. Just checking, I remembered that while they are in place, they stripped out and didn't really hold. I didn't feel like replacing them at the time. No issues up to this point, so I doubt I will..