Driver seat bent, back hurts

[xenon2000]

I just bought a 2001 Grand AM 4 door. Everything is in excellent and awesome condition. But the driver seat is twisted/bent on the ride side of the seat.

Has anyone else had an issue like this? I want to remove the seat and take the cloth off to see if I can bend back the seatl, re-enforce it, re-pad the damaged side and reinstall it. I make it sounds worse than it is. The interior is in perfect shape, cloth is perfect, but the side is bent on the ride side enough to see it and feel it.

Has anyone seen this happen? Anyone ever try to repair such a problem? OEM seat replacement must cost a fortune and I really don't want Aftermarket front seats.

[SilverGA2001]

Maybe head to a junkyard and find the seat pan from a wrecked GA to use instead of bending and reinforcing the one you have now. If you were really lucky, maybe you could find a seat that matches your car.

[kickarsgrdam01]

yeah i would look for a new seat, that one might be damaged and if u do around bending it it might weaken the seat if u ever get in an accident, they seats are made to withstand a lot of g's.

[xenon2000]

Guessing that a seat "pan" is the bottom part of the seat where it slides and connects to the car. If that is so, then the seat pan is fine. It is only the seat back that is bent. About mid way up the seat. Not sure how it could possibly have happened.

So far no junk yards near me have any Grand Am in the 1999-2003 range. So out of luck there. If I could buy a used seat of the exact same interior charcoal coloring as mine, I would go that route. But I think it will be a long time before I find an exact OEM replacement. Which is why I will probably try repairing it myself. Thought maybe someone else had tried this as well. Guess not.

[SilverGA2001]

Originally posted by xenon2000
Guessing that a seat "pan" is the bottom part of the seat where it slides and connects to the car. If that is so, then the seat pan is fine. It is only the seat back that is bent. About mid way up the seat. Not sure how it could possibly have happened.

So far no junk yards near me have any Grand Am in the 1999-2003 range. So out of luck there. If I could buy a used seat of the exact same interior charcoal coloring as mine, I would go that route. But I think it will be a long time before I find an exact OEM replacement. Which is why I will probably try repairing it myself. Thought maybe someone else had tried this as well. Guess not.

I meant it as a general term for the skeleton of the seat, anything like the frame of the seat basically. Go find any GA seat you can get hold of, even if it's not the right color, then reskin it with your seat covers, and boom, fixed. Try Ebay even. GA's are so very numerous that there is bound to be a seat somewhere around you.

Like this...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=33701&item=7984062691&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

[xenon2000]

Thanks for the clarification and the link.

Decent price, but I will keep looking for a cheaper used seat(s) if I have to transfer my skin. Hopefully I will find the same seat and be able to buy just the drivers side.

Thanks again. I will keep looking.

[Gimli]

It would take some major accident to actually bend the seat (someone would've suffered a horrible death too). I'm thinking it's just the pads that might be loose/torn.

If you take the cover off you'll see how the insides are made, then you might be able to see what's actually wrong by comparing the two sides together.

[xenon2000]

I agree Gimli, it would take a lot to bend the seat... the whole seat is not bent. Only part of the right side on the back is both tweaked and lacking of some padding. Car has never been in an accident, air bags have never been deployed, etc, etc. So something else caused the seat to get tweaked. I have seen this same thing with my 1989 T-bird, had it for 6 years and the driver's side seat gat tweaked the same way (mysteriously). So obviously this can happen from some kind of daily use and not from an accident.

Like I said, it's not nearly as bad as I probably make it sound. But it's enough that my back aches after prolonged driving. And it's visible to the naked eye and you can feel the lack of padding on the right side. So it is a comfort thing that I want to deal with it. Otherwise the car is pretty much perfect, other than the driver's side seat belt button is gone so my clasp falls to the floor and the mirror control works but falls inside the opening. Which I will ask about in another thread when I feel like looking at them.

[TheTrader]

I have this same problem in my 2002 2 door GA... problem is, all the scrap yards around me have all kinds of GA's, but no 2 doors... the nearest 2 door I could find is about 1.5 hours away... and its from a 1999, but would be the same...

did you ever try taking apart & bending ??

-Daniel

[mikem220153]

Try these folks. They have a pretty good rep.

UGAP (Used Grand Am Parts) (http://usedgrandamparts.com/)

Even if they don't show the part on line, give them a call. They may have it.

[rixGAphx]

This happens frequently to driver's seats, especially after many miles with a hefty male driver.

Upholstery shops are accustomed to this, and are knowledgable on re-bending/tweaking/reinforcing/welding the pan/skeleton.

Go to a small but decent mom-n-pop outfit and explain the problem.
I'll bet one of their guys can remove the seat, remove the covering and padding, fix the problem, and re-install it in perfect working order in two hours / $50.

Lots easier and cheaper than you running around, dealing with shipping, and spending hours figuring out how the !#@$$%^-hell GM attached the damned thing to the rails.

Good luck.
-Rick

[xenon2000]

Thanks for the link and the new information. I haven't tried doing the seat repair myself yet, since I just haven't had the time with all the descent weather we have been having in Portland this summer. If I do it myself, it will most likely be on a rainy weekend.

I may also try a local shop too depending on quotes.

As for the comment about a "hefty" driver. The original ower that I bought it from was a medium height Asian man. Maybe 150Lbs tops. And I myself am only 200 Lbs. (need to loose weight, was only 175lbs when I got married.) Anyways, unless the original owner loaned his car to a very heavy friend or relative, I am still very curious why the seat would have such a failure in only 4 years.

Thanks again for the info. Unfortunately I probably won't solve this until a rainy weekend. Which is usually every weekend in Portland, Oregon. But has been a nice end-of-summer time. Thanks.