CK5
Register an account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members.

89 k5 - seats fold foward just by pushing on them

dieselndixie

1/2 ton status
Joined
Jan 14, 2011
Posts
590
Reaction score
0
Location
austin, tx
should my front seats fold forward without a latch? I can just push them and they fold forward. seems like an issue in a crash. is that normal?
 
mine do that as well..... I don't believe they are supposed to. Sure someone else will chime in.
 
That is to slam you into the dash in case of an accident so you don't suffer.........

Finally found one out of my expertise. I have no idea what latches those seatbacks. I remember a few cars back in the day that had vacuum releases on the seat back.

When you put the car in park, it released the seats so the back seat passengers could get out easier. ( Two Door Cars, of course)

Should be obvious though, fold the seat forward and look where it touches the bottom in back to see if there is a latch there, and what is keeping it from latching.
 
this is what my hinges look like. does kinda look like a cable was cut or broken (3rs pic)in the bottom right near the black piece.

IMG_0760.jpg

IMG_0761.jpg

IMG_0762.JPG
 
The seats are supposed to be able to tilt forward without any latch. The cable you see is not broke and its purpose is to make the passenger seat slide forward when you tilt it forward (lots of times the cables are stretched and will no longer allow the seat slider to slide it forward when the back is tilted forward). I learned about the tilt/slide function from another member on here not long ago.
 
The cable is for the slide mechanism, the tilt part is normal. When I say 'normal' i mean I've never seen a K5 where the seat wouldn't tilt forward without using the lever.

The passenger side when tilted forward is supposed to slide all the way forward on the tracks to provide more room for someone to climb through. Have a look where the busted cable goes and pull on it with some pliers...the seat should slide forward.

Rene
 
FWIW, your seatbelt is what keeps you from hitting the dash, not the seatback... :D
 
Last edited:
I figured the seatbelt would stop you, just wanted to be sure this wasnt something I should be addressing.

thanks again for the knowledge!
 
Tryed to get mine to latch when I redid them but couldn't. They look like they should be able to. The little lever on the back I thought was to unlatch it form the back seat, could get it to hold when I had the hange off, not when I put it back toghter on the seat. Also had to do some adjusting on slide so it would work good.

DSC02041.JPG

DSC02044.JPG
 
I always thought the same thing - they should stay up unless you flip the small lever on the back. But they always flop. So I thought it must be an intertial latch to lock them when you brake hard or crash - and the lever is just an override. But I can never seem to "make" them latch, even though I've never seen them come forward while braking.

I can tell you that it's a disaster when someone is walking back there and tries to lean on the seat back for support - especially the tilt and slide passenger's one.
 
Glad to see this explained, I just picked up my old seats today and was wondering if I could fix what seemed to me to be loose seatbacks!!! :doah:
 
Top Bottom