1997 ZJ Seats in 1997 XJ

My stock driver's seat frame broke at one of the mounting bolts. The result was an unsafe sway for the driver when turning corners or changing speeds. I took the opportunity to do the cheap and easy upgrade to ZJ seats after finding a decent set at the salvage yard that would match my interior for wear and color. They sit about an inch higher than stock seats and have a bit more cushion; I like the added support. I washed them with soap and water a few times and then used a strong vinyl foam to get clean them up before putting them in my Jeep. The seat on the left has been cleaned and it looks and feels like new.

It sounds like this is a common failure for these seat frames. You can see the fragment of the frame which tore away from the front mounting hole. The back of the frame was also cracked and separated, which likely contributed to the failure up front. I hadn't been able to track down that 'seat squeak' for years, meanwhile the crack had been growing worse and worse up inside the seat.

For comparison: stock tan XJ seat and 'new' black ZJ seat.

Both seats have the same mounting locations on their frames. There are differences in how the adjustment rails mount to the interiors, though I'm not too sure about the details. The salvage yard wanted way too much money for the powered adjustment rails out of the ZJ, so I decided to forfeit that luxury that I've never had anyways. My stock seats are manual adjustment and the ZJ seats are powered. I won't get powered adjustment working, though, as I am attaching the seats to my manual rails in the XJ. I should be able to research the wiring and get the recline and lumbar adjustments to work, though, as those mechanisms are attached to the seats (and contribute to each ZJ seat's extra 5-10 lbs of weight!). I'm not sure if these ZJ seats were heated or not.

Unfortunately, my 'new' ZJ seat has a tear in it. It's an improvement over my worn and torn stock XJ seat, though! This wear must be common from getting in and out of the vehicle. I'll have to see about patching it (I'm not a fan of seat covers). If anyone has any ideas, let me know!

Before:

During:

After:

I like the map pockets on the backs of my new ZJ seats!

These seats look good with my interior. It definitely classed up the XJ a little bit. I only did this because my stock seat broke, but to be honest, I'm glad it did.

Nice, I will have to keep this in mind next time I switch seats.

How about pulling the cover off the lower seat, and replacing the side panel? I picked up a rotary singer on CL fot $50, and it will sew through 25 sheets of printer paper, or 4 layers of marine vinyl without much issue

finally a member with tan interior!! doing something I was thinking about doing as well. Looks great I really like it. Any chance you will be doing the rear bench seat?

souske said:

How about pulling the cover off the lower seat, and replacing the side panel?

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You're right, this is surely the best course of action! Thanks!
I might have to just replace it with part of the side panel of the stock passenger tan seat.

Outlander560 said:

Any chance you will be doing the rear bench seat?

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I wasn't going to originally, because the salvage yard up here charged $250 for both fronts alone, and wanted another $500 for the ZJ adjustment rails/motors! I went back today, and scored the rear bench for $50. I'm just a little worried about losing the fully flat cargo area when the ZJ seats are folded. All the ZJ bench conversions I've seen create a 1" -3" lip when folded. I've seen a false floor help hide this height transition, maybe I'll go that route and finally get some 'secure storage' for peace of mind. (I've had my tools stolen before, not fun).

I like the idea of this swap.... but I have a sunroof in my XJ, and I'm 6'3"..... so with already having decreased headroom with the dropped head liner, that extra 1" of seat height (and the extra cushioning) might pose an issue for me. But those seats ARE tempting!

Yep, I think you're too tall! I'm going to wait another week to see how I like it, then report back with my findings after getting comfortable with the new seats. There are a lot of things I like, and some things I don't like. Will report back later.. ..I'm just finishing up some work on the back seat swap from this weekend! Pictures to follow later this week/next week.

Its been over 6 months so I thought I'd report back and let you know what I think. There's been a few things that I had to get used to which I hadn't thought about. For example, it's slightly more difficult to reach the passenger side manual window crank because of the higher side cushions. And sometimes it can be hard to see stoplights if you're the first vehicle in line on a hill. The door arm rests feel like they are in a slightly different location, a little lower, which took some getting used to. Sometimes my key ring bangs my knee. So ultimately, these seats are a lot higher and there are little things to consider. If I was any taller, it would be more of a problem, but none of these things are deal breakers, just things I had to adjust to.. I'm 5' 10" or so.

The pros are obvious. The black leather looks great. It really does feel a lot nicer now when driving or riding in the Jeep, like a luxury XJ! My passengers always comment on how comfortable the seats are and how much nicer my Jeep looks now. Everyone from Jeep buddies, to computer programmers, to my mother has been impressed. Universal appeal! And the seats are super comfortable, long drives are a lot more fun.

And.... ...I put the rear seats in! They look sharp, and work great!

They fold nice and flat

I need to do this with my interior, i currently have the stock gray leather, but is ripped up worse than yours.

40/60 split fold has come in handy for carrying more than 2 passengers and some larger cargo.





The back seat headrests are stowed in slots on the lower seat cushions when folded flat. They can be pushed all the way in flush, but I find the mechanism for release is a bit stubborn.

Map pocket doing it's job.

The optimal bracket locations for a fully flat fold resulted in a slight difference in floor height. The hinges and upright lock mechanisms also stick up a bit at the corners near the wheel wells. I flipped the center bracket 180 degrees to keep it from interfering with the flat cargo area like it does when placed in the stock orientation. The stock upper seat back brackets had to be removed for clearance. It's a good tight fit!

The lower seats hinge forward on these brackets.