Driver's Seat Base Loose

[Eric R]

Hey all,



I've got a (new to me) '98 Nitro Sport 185 SF. Both of my front seats, mainly my driver's seat, are very loose. I managed to get the seat off the base and take a look at it. I originally thought that the seat bolts were stripped but now I can see that all of the nuts have (strangely) lowered themselves off the bolt.



I spent more time than I want to admit trying to figure out a way to hold the nut tight while screwing it from the top. I've tried it all and think I'm going to have to cut it.



Does anyone have suggestions on how to re-bolt it down? Will toggle bolts work? I've heard of others fiberglassing the spot and then drilling new holes and screwing right into the fiberglass, but that just seems scary. I'd hate to risk leaking water in and then having the wood underneath rot.

 

[Rod Orieux]

I had the same problem in my 2006 288 Sport with the passenger seat. What I did was fill the four holes with fibreglass and driiled new holes. Then I made 4 new holes next to those ones and used toggle bolts. I tried to find stainless ones but couldn't. Before I screwed it down again put a good deal of 3M 5300 sealant in the holes as a way of sealing out water. Its been 2 seasons and the seat hasn't budged an inch. Hope this helps. By the way, I suck at fibreglass work but got it done without too much mess just really sticky fingers.

 

[Eric R]

So just to make sure I understand you correctly. You moved the seat a bit to make room for new holes after patching the old ones? I'm curious, why not put the toggle bolts into the old holes?



Also, were you able to find stainless steel toggle bolts?



Thanks for the info!

 

[Rod Orieux]

I just drilled extra holes into the base. Effectively instead of 4 screws holding the seat down, I have 8. I never did locate stainless toggles.

 

[Eric R]

Holy cow! I can't believe this worked - (http://imgur.com/ncUNW) I used a 7/16" end-wrench electrical-taped to a metal ruler I had in the garage. Took some work but I got it to stick on the nuts long enough to screw the top of the bolts in. I had a helper for the two on the inner-side that sit "under" the bracket.



Hope this helps someone in the future!
http://imgur.com/ncUNW

 

[THOMMO59]

Thats a highly techical looking tool there, have you thought about a world wide patend???

 

[Eric R]

Already patented. I'll be selling the kit for 29.99 + shipping. First come first serve. LIMITED STOCK SO ORDER NOW!