Hi John. Just used this video to aid me in removing the passenger seat for some light restoration. No cash but did find a Mars bar which was 16 years past its sell by date!
Best tip was moving the tilt up to ease access to the front TORX bolts, great video. Want to do mine soon the plastic cover over the rail might be a pig to get off, as my car is younger maybe some other tricks, don't know, thank you
Hi ... John, it's Friday and I saw your video. thanks for the very good description. As always, very detailed. One finds cartridges, another coins ... under the seat. USA or UK 😻
Jürgen from Germany, great video! I'm removing the seat to check how I can get the seat 20mm lower. Unfortunately, I haven't found anything on this yet, whether on the upholstery or the seat mechanism.
Hi John, firstly hope the dentist wasnt too bad! Love the way you really take us through each element of a job, ive bean meaning to take mine out for ages, been a bit daunted by it, being electrical! not that anythings wrong with the mechanism, just need to really clean up and treat the cracking and slightly engrained grime over the years,. I shall now put it in my things to do Jag list, thanks, who knows i might be slightly richer, like you found 😊.
For seat bolts, use a torque wrench; A. to ensure you torque them down correctly at the end when putting the seats back, but also useful when removing to ensure you at least start with the spec bolt torque for removal before slowly ramping it up to get them unstuck. Less likely to result in a rounded off bolt that going right at it with an impact, or a big breaker bar.
If you have seats with air bags, you are to disconnect the battery once you have the bolts removed and before you tilt the seat back to disconnect the seat motor power cable. Otherwise there is a chance of setting off the seat air bag.
Planning to do this in the next few weeks as I intend to install some additional sound deadening under the carpet to help silence the resonance that comes from my Paramount exhaust’s silencer at 2,100rpm (just about the legal limit in top in the UK). Inspired by the news of the photo competition once again and started snapping the motor yesterday on a trip to the coast. Don’t think I’ve got the final image yet, but it’s a good start and nice to have a photographic project. 🤞
A really useful addendum to this vid would be a 'how to' on removing and replacing the seat adjust switch panel. I've lost track of the cars I've seen with cobbled up switch mounts due to ignorance or ham fisted efforts to remove the switch panel, invariably over-stressing and breaking either the front locating tab on the switch itself and/or the rear latching clip inside the the switch pocket.
Hi. You have to carefully remove the inlay in your door aperture treadplates that has an XK8 logo on it (try not to bend them too much) they are held down with a soft glue. This uncovers two screws. Then remove the centre console and the front seats and it will lift out.
Greetings - I love your videos. You had mentioned that you would show how to move a electric seat forward or backward without power in a later video. Could you steer me to where that video might be? I have a passenger seat stuck in the full back position and there is now response from the electric controls.
Hi there. Do you have a video on how to replace the interior soft top headliner? I could do with doing mine but not a clue how to go about it. Thanks Phil
In the beginning of the video, you take the clip off the metal railing of the seat. How do I buy one of those clips. Ninety nine x k but in america so i'm sure it would be on the other side. Of the driver's side seat
Thanks for the all three ‘secret’ seat videos. I am (too) tall and normally have to raise the front only of the seats, even if they also can be adjusted electrically. Normally I use enough shims under the front bolts to be able to raise them 20-25 mm. This gives more room and comfort to my (long) legs. Question : Will this way of seat raising distort the runners/sledge, since only the rear end touches the floor/carpet? Are the original front bolts/treading long enough for secure fastening? Thanks for any input.
Nice one John. I didn't remove my seats when I repaired the non operational headrests, but now I know how to get the plastic cover off and hence the seats out. I hope that the £1 coins you found are current and not five years old! Otherwise no money from this video. 😉
Hmm, you always make it seem so easy , which I guess essentially it is now that, thanks to you, we know what to do. Mind you I do concur with the comment below regarding a coupe, would need to employ a youngster with a supple/strong back ! For some reason my Lear seat has worn fabric where it reclines so I may now be tempted to get it removed & repaired.
@@ToTheGarage Thanks for the tip which I have researched. Seems it could be fraught with problems, mostly from the US. However, if you know of a reliable supplier in the UK please let me know. Mind you if they try to charge freight like Adamesh, 30 quid just to ship dashboard bezels to Australia or Dubai, they can forget it. A few years back my 4WD parts supplier in Halesowen shipped a new crankshaft for our Discovery TDi by courier no less for the same amount, & I am sure you would know what that weighed. Keep safe
Hi John, A really interesting set of videos, thank you. My passenger seat (rhs French car) is all the way forward as the switch controlling forward/backwerd movement has a problem and won't move the seat backwards. Is there a video showing switch removal/rapair please? Any tips would be much appreciated, thank you. John
Hi, how can I remove the seat adjustment button located on the side of the seat? Is it just about put scredriver head between that plastic cover and seat and pull? Thank you.
It would be a LOT! easier with the seat removed. Im not going to say it cant be done with it in situ. But its not something i wouod like to attempt @tainchains
This concerns me a bit. I've always known that my head rest function didn't work. I'd watched repair vids but I didn't think it worth it (I'm happy with the current position even though it looks different than that of the passenger seat). I'm not all that handy and the 'simple' process of pealing back the leather etc scared me. I always thought the seat seemed a touch high. Since it won't go up or down, I assumed this was not an option. Now I see John's doing it and I realize that mine should too. I would like mine to be vertically adjustable. Another head-scratcher involves the noise my seats make when I engage the release latch to tilt the seatback forward. When I push up the latch there's a mechanical/electrical whirring noise that lasts a few secs. I note in the vid that John's seats don't make that noise. Should I be concerned?
Hi. The noise you can hear is the seat TRYING to lower the headrest so that the backrest folds fully forward going beneath the top of the windscreen frame
@@ToTheGarage Thanks. I never fold the driver's side which has the higher of the two rests. The passenger side just clears the windscreen frame with slight rubbing (as long as the seat isn't too far forward - just need enough room for my daughter's legs). I'm hoping that noise isn't doing any damage.
Hiya great vid, wondered if youve ever come across this one ,its an xkr x reg ,ive got a problem with the drivers seat its reclines but wont move forward again ,the battery is all good fullly charged,meter reads 12.8 v ,ive tried wiggling and applying more pressure to the switch to press the contacts together thinking it might be a dodgy switch.nothing works,so im stuck driving about in the laying down position for the time being lol ,help needed before i get nicked
Oh dear. I can picture it😁 Ive never come across it but it can only be a bad switch or connection as motors dont fail in one direction and work in the other🤔 I guess its a case of remove the seat and experiment wit it on your bench. Give it a 12 v supply and see where the blockage in the electrical supply is. Dirty switch contacts is my bet👍
@@ToTheGarage hi I had to remove the seat ,it turned out it was the switch ,removed motor so I could move the seat to its normal position so for the time being its a manual seat lol
John, Great video. Could you address the replacement of the seat control switch module? My drivers side switch was removed or fell out. For the life of me, I don't understand what keeps the switch in place. There is a tab on one end, not broken. The switch just falls out when I try to install it. Should it just snap in? Maybe the leather of the covers are in the way? Thanks
Mine is the same and I discovered that it is the part of the seat that the module clips into that is broken. On one of the Jaguar forums there are detailed instructions for fabricating and installing a metal replacement for this clip but I don’t want to do that as it involves removing the seat from its sub assembly/rails. I plan to use self-adhesive Velcro stuck to the module and the internal part to secure it.
Hello John, thank you very much for all your videos. I removed the driver seat with ease, but the passenger seat does not lift up and down, it goes back and forth only, is this is normal or is the passenger seat designed this way? The space to remove the plastic cover is very tight and I cannot manage to take it off.
Ahem, ahem, John, I took my XK8 for a spin after watching your video, first time in 7 weeks post op & of course got the 3 Amigos, even though my battery charger claimed it was full, which cleared after I re-started during the journey. I decided to play with the seat settings & found that the drivers side was dead !!, did you put the "mockers" on it ?? Passenger side was fine, could it be as simple as a fuse, PLEASE ! Anyhow, I now look forward with even more anticipation to your next video on how to remove a "dead" seat.
If I was ever going to make any videos pay per view (which im not) it would be... How to remove a dead seat.... & How to open an Xk8 boot with a failed latch servo and a seized secret key hole.😅
@@ToTheGarage Nice one John, &, if ever I was to subscribe & become a "Patreon", what a stupid artificial word, your site would be top of a very select list ! Re your pruning antics, was it a pear or apple tree?, & knowing your penchant for camper vans, I am now erring towards the Winnebago gin palace rather than a Route Master ? Cheers
Hi everyone, I'm loving the channel and it has been instrumental in my purchase of an XK8 last week, a car I lusted over since it was released 25 years ago. Obviously the car has issues, what 23 year old car doesn't. One big issue I have is the drivers door seals, it coming in where the front pillar joins the wing and I assume its tracking down to the bottom of the door as the speaker cover is soaking wet. I am in the process of sourcing a 2nd hand one from ebay as nowhere seems to do the window aperture seal. Does anyone else think that it is tracking from there. The door seal appears to have been replaced at some point. Sorry for the essay. Andy
Regarding rear seat space, is it true that Coupe>cabrio xk8>xkr Standard>sports>recaros Can you get the slim seats in an xkr? I saw somebody mentioning removing foam/cushion from the front side of the rear seats to get significant extra room - any experience with this?
Coupe has more space than Cabrio. XK8 and XKR are no different Early cars with Lear seats (integral headrests) have more space than later cars and particularly those with Recaro's
Hi John just a query, has any one extended the brake and accelerator pedals as I'm quite short in stature and find that in order to reach them I have the seat foreward quite a bit which then means that the steering wheel is to close even with it adjusted. Tony .Nz
Thanks John, another very good video showing the seemingly tricky to be relatively simple. Did I miss it or did you not disconnect the battery before pulling the plug? Does that not matter?
It is true that the convertible makes this task rather. easier in terms of getting your head in the right place and in terms of good lifting technique to remove them.
Enjoyed this video once again John. Your series is helping me care for and fix my 2002 convertible here in Sydney.
Glad to help Chris. Thank you for supporting the channel via the XK8 Index. Its genuinely appreciated.👍
Wow, very timely video. I am surprised at how straightforward it is. Thanks again for another fascinating watch!
My pleasure!
Hi John. Just used this video to aid me in removing the passenger seat for some light restoration.
No cash but did find a Mars bar which was 16 years past its sell by date!
Under my seat i found a 1994 playboy,6 hamlet cigars,and a pair of knickers!not my size..great video. John as always.
I can only imagine what might be found under the back seat.
@@garyvanremortel5218 ha ha ,John better show us how to look.
What a haul🤣
Best tip was moving the tilt up to ease access to the front TORX bolts, great video. Want to do mine soon the plastic cover over the rail might be a pig to get off, as my car is younger maybe some other tricks, don't know, thank you
Glad it helped
Hi ... John, it's Friday and I saw your video. thanks for the very good description. As always, very detailed. One finds cartridges, another coins ... under the seat. USA or UK 😻
Jürgen from Germany, great video!
I'm removing the seat to check how I can get the seat 20mm lower.
Unfortunately, I haven't found anything on this yet, whether on the upholstery or the seat mechanism.
Hi John, firstly hope the dentist wasnt too bad!
Love the way you really take us through each element of a job, ive bean meaning to take mine out for ages, been a bit daunted by it, being electrical! not that anythings wrong with the mechanism, just need to really clean up and treat the cracking and slightly engrained grime over the years,. I shall now put it in my things to do Jag list, thanks, who knows i might be slightly richer, like you found 😊.
Glad you enjoyed it
For seat bolts, use a torque wrench; A. to ensure you torque them down correctly at the end when putting the seats back, but also useful when removing to ensure you at least start with the spec bolt torque for removal before slowly ramping it up to get them unstuck. Less likely to result in a rounded off bolt that going right at it with an impact, or a big breaker bar.
If you have seats with air bags, you are to disconnect the battery once you have the bolts removed and before you tilt the seat back to disconnect the seat motor power cable. Otherwise there is a chance of setting off the seat air bag.
a good safety Tip for all those with later cars. Thanks Michael👍
Planning to do this in the next few weeks as I intend to install some additional sound deadening under the carpet to help silence the resonance that comes from my Paramount exhaust’s silencer at 2,100rpm (just about the legal limit in top in the UK). Inspired by the news of the photo competition once again and started snapping the motor yesterday on a trip to the coast. Don’t think I’ve got the final image yet, but it’s a good start and nice to have a photographic project. 🤞
Good luck!
Perfect timing! I was planning to do this job next - thanks as always.
Glad to help!
A really useful addendum to this vid would be a 'how to' on removing and replacing the seat adjust switch panel. I've lost track of the cars I've seen with cobbled up switch mounts due to ignorance or ham fisted efforts to remove the switch panel, invariably over-stressing and breaking either the front locating tab on the switch itself and/or the rear latching clip inside the the switch pocket.
Any tips on how to remove the carpets on an X100 to facilitate welding in ner floor panels please?
Hi. You have to carefully remove the inlay in your door aperture treadplates that has an XK8 logo on it (try not to bend them too much) they are held down with a soft glue. This uncovers two screws. Then remove the centre console and the front seats and it will lift out.
Greetings - I love your videos. You had mentioned that you would show how to move a electric seat forward or backward without power in a later video. Could you steer me to where that video might be? I have a passenger seat stuck in the full back position and there is now response from the electric controls.
Hi Steve. You need this video
ruclips.net/video/AjFiFWlAoUs/видео.html
Just did this job as part of replacing the soft top headliner. Not difficult, but you might find an errant French Fry in addition to coins.
I agree, quite a nice task. Unless your seats won't. motor! but. thats for another video.👍
Hi there.
Do you have a video on how to replace the interior soft top headliner?
I could do with doing mine but not a clue how to go about it.
Thanks
Phil
@@v336518 The process is well defined in the JTIS Shop Manual. It can be found on the website.
@@ToTheGarage That's why they invented C4.
excellent high quality videos.
Glad you like them!
what episode is instrument cluster rheostat replacement. (can't get cowl off) Do you have a list of your vidoes. They are the best!
In the beginning of the video, you take the clip off the metal railing of the seat. How do I buy one of those clips. Ninety nine x k but in america so i'm sure it would be on the other side. Of the driver's side seat
Thanks for the all three ‘secret’ seat videos. I am (too) tall and normally have to raise the front only of the seats, even if they also can be adjusted electrically. Normally I use enough shims under the front bolts to be able to raise them 20-25 mm. This gives more room and comfort to my (long) legs. Question : Will this way of seat raising distort the runners/sledge, since only the rear end touches the floor/carpet? Are the original front bolts/treading long enough for secure fastening? Thanks for any input.
Great video, I am in the process of buying an XK8 the seats work fine but need recovering. Is there anywhere I can buy the covers.
Nice one John. I didn't remove my seats when I repaired the non operational headrests, but now I know how to get the plastic cover off and hence the seats out. I hope that the £1 coins you found are current and not five years old! Otherwise no money from this video. 😉
I need to go check my piggy bank🥺
Hmm, you always make it seem so easy , which I guess essentially it is now that, thanks to you, we know what to do.
Mind you I do concur with the comment below regarding a coupe, would need to employ a youngster with a supple/strong back !
For some reason my Lear seat has worn fabric where it reclines so I may now be tempted to get it removed & repaired.
You can get complete new covers for the Lear seats
@@ToTheGarage Thanks for the tip which I have researched. Seems it could be fraught with problems, mostly from the US. However, if you know of a reliable supplier in the UK please let me know. Mind you if they try to charge freight like Adamesh, 30 quid just to ship dashboard bezels to Australia or Dubai, they can forget it.
A few years back my 4WD parts supplier in Halesowen shipped a new crankshaft for our Discovery TDi by courier no less for the same amount, & I am sure you would know what that weighed.
Keep safe
Hi John, A really interesting set of videos, thank you. My passenger seat (rhs French car) is all the way forward as the switch controlling forward/backwerd movement has a problem and won't move the seat backwards. Is there a video showing switch removal/rapair please? Any tips would be much appreciated, thank you. John
Did you fix this as I have the same issue - stuck in forward position and wont go up or down
Hi, how can I remove the seat adjustment button located on the side of the seat? Is it just about put scredriver head between that plastic cover and seat and pull? Thank you.
does the seat need to be removed to change the lower seat cover?
It would be a LOT! easier with the seat removed. Im not going to say it cant be done with it in situ. But its not something i wouod like to attempt @tainchains
This concerns me a bit. I've always known that my head rest function didn't work. I'd watched repair vids but I didn't think it worth it (I'm happy with the current position even though it looks different than that of the passenger seat). I'm not all that handy and the 'simple' process of pealing back the leather etc scared me.
I always thought the seat seemed a touch high. Since it won't go up or down, I assumed this was not an option. Now I see John's doing it and I realize that mine should too. I would like mine to be vertically adjustable.
Another head-scratcher involves the noise my seats make when I engage the release latch to tilt the seatback forward. When I push up the latch there's a mechanical/electrical whirring noise that lasts a few secs. I note in the vid that John's seats don't make that noise. Should I be concerned?
Hi. The noise you can hear is the seat TRYING to lower the headrest so that the backrest folds fully forward going beneath the top of the windscreen frame
@@ToTheGarage Thanks. I never fold the driver's side which has the higher of the two rests. The passenger side just clears the windscreen frame with slight rubbing (as long as the seat isn't too far forward - just need enough room for my daughter's legs). I'm hoping that noise isn't doing any damage.
Great video as usual John, thanks.
Will you be splitting the base unit away from the back rear as part of your series?
Thanks
Phil
Not sure yet
Hiya great vid, wondered if youve ever come across this one ,its an xkr x reg ,ive got a problem with the drivers seat its reclines but wont move forward again ,the battery is all good fullly charged,meter reads 12.8 v ,ive tried wiggling and applying more pressure to the switch to press the contacts together thinking it might be a dodgy switch.nothing works,so im stuck driving about in the laying down position for the time being lol ,help needed before i get nicked
Oh dear. I can picture it😁
Ive never come across it but it can only be a bad switch or connection as motors dont fail in one direction and work in the other🤔
I guess its a case of remove the seat and experiment wit it on your bench. Give it a 12 v supply and see where the blockage in the electrical supply is. Dirty switch contacts is my bet👍
@@ToTheGarage hi I had to remove the seat ,it turned out it was the switch ,removed motor so I could move the seat to its normal position so for the time being its a manual seat lol
Hello, I'm a big fan of your channel was wondering how can ..I get my 98 Jaguar XK8 convertible fully custom pictures for you to see on your channel..
Hi Torrez. use. john@tothegarage.co.uk
John, Great video. Could you address the replacement of the seat control switch module? My drivers side switch was removed or fell out. For the life of me, I don't understand what keeps the switch in place. There is a tab on one end, not broken. The switch just falls out when I try to install it. Should it just snap in? Maybe the leather of the covers are in the way? Thanks
Never removed mine Thomas but I will investigate. (Unless one of our subscribers an help?)
Mine is the same and I discovered that it is the part of the seat that the module clips into that is broken. On one of the Jaguar forums there are detailed instructions for fabricating and installing a metal replacement for this clip but I don’t want to do that as it involves removing the seat from its sub assembly/rails. I plan to use self-adhesive Velcro stuck to the module and the internal part to secure it.
Hello John, thank you very much for all your videos. I removed the driver seat with ease, but the passenger seat does not lift up and down, it goes back and forth only, is this is normal or is the passenger seat designed this way? The space to remove the plastic cover is very tight and I cannot manage to take it off.
Hi Bashar. No the passenger seat on all models and specs should have an up and down adjustment
I have the same issue. Went to repair head rest and just makes a motor sound..
Thanks John, another great video. Love the new “theme toon”. Are you going to look at lumber support problems whilst seat is out? Cheers mate, Tim
Great suggestion!
Ahem, ahem, John, I took my XK8 for a spin after watching your video, first time in 7 weeks post op & of course got the 3 Amigos, even though my battery charger claimed it was full, which cleared after I re-started during the journey.
I decided to play with the seat settings & found that the drivers side was dead !!, did you put the "mockers" on it ?? Passenger side was fine, could it be as simple as a fuse, PLEASE !
Anyhow, I now look forward with even more anticipation to your next video on how to remove a "dead" seat.
If I was ever going to make any videos pay per view (which im not) it would be...
How to remove a dead seat....
&
How to open an Xk8 boot with a failed latch servo and a seized secret key hole.😅
@@ToTheGarage
Nice one John, &, if ever I was to subscribe & become a "Patreon", what a stupid artificial word, your site would be top of a very select list !
Re your pruning antics, was it a pear or apple tree?, & knowing your penchant for camper vans, I am now erring towards the Winnebago gin palace rather than a Route Master ?
Cheers
Hi everyone, I'm loving the channel and it has been instrumental in my purchase of an XK8 last week, a car I lusted over since it was released 25 years ago.
Obviously the car has issues, what 23 year old car doesn't. One big issue I have is the drivers door seals, it coming in where the front pillar joins the wing and I assume its tracking down to the bottom of the door as the speaker cover is soaking wet. I am in the process of sourcing a 2nd hand one from ebay as nowhere seems to do the window aperture seal. Does anyone else think that it is tracking from there. The door seal appears to have been replaced at some point.
Sorry for the essay.
Andy
it is likely to be that window seal.
Thanks John 👍
👍
Very helpful
Glad to hear that
Regarding rear seat space, is it true that
Coupe>cabrio
xk8>xkr
Standard>sports>recaros
Can you get the slim seats in an xkr?
I saw somebody mentioning removing foam/cushion from the front side of the rear seats to get significant extra room - any experience with this?
Coupe has more space than Cabrio.
XK8 and XKR are no different
Early cars with Lear seats (integral headrests) have more space than later cars and particularly those with Recaro's
@@ToTheGarage thanks for the answers. Do you know if the xkr exists with the Lear seats from the factory?
Hi John just a query, has any one extended the brake and accelerator pedals as I'm quite short in stature and find that in order to reach them I have the seat foreward quite a bit which then means that the steering wheel is to close even with it adjusted. Tony .Nz
Not that I know of Tony. But im sure it must have been done by someone. Any advice experience or tips folks?
Thanks John, another very good video showing the seemingly tricky to be relatively simple. Did I miss it or did you not disconnect the battery before pulling the plug? Does that not matter?
I didn't and it doesnt😁 obviously be careful not to short out the terminals in the connector.
If I am looking for some parts parts, as I need to ship to nz, can you advise a good source of 2nd hand
Autoreserve Jaguar. Check them out online they can supply. most items
Removal looks so easy with your convertible. Were I to try it with my coupe, I suspect there'd be a lot more swearing and finagling involved.
It is true that the convertible makes this task rather. easier in terms of getting your head in the right place and in terms of good lifting technique to remove them.
Can I “Hoover” with a Dirt Devil, mate?
🤣🤣. Yup. Ahhh. eponymous names😉.
Cool
😎
Steam cleaning the carpet would be better as the last step.
Good call Randy