Power Seat Stuck

I have searched and have not found any similar post, so any help is appreciated.

I have a 2001 Limited XJ with powerseats. The passenger front power seat has developed a problem.

When using the back most switch that controls the tilt of the rear portion of the seat, the motor sounds as if it is moving but the seat does not move and there is a sound like a slipping gear. I have not tried to duplicate this as I don't want to damage anything that can be fixed.

I checked under the seat to make sure there was nothing blocking the movement and I don't see anything obvious.

Has anyone had this issue? Resolution?

I had this happen on my driver's seat on my 2000.

There are THREE motor/transmission assemblies in the power seat mechanism. One motor controls front to back motion. The other two control up and down motion of the front and rear of the seat frame respectively.

It sounds like a plastic gear in your rear motor/tranmission has broken.

In mine, that's what happened, and even though the motor was turning, the cracked/stripped gear prevented the tranmission of the power from the motor.

I fixed it by MAKING a new gear from aluminum, to replace the nylon one that was cracked.

If you are handy, you can do this. Otherwise, the ONLY way to get a new motor is to buy the ENTIRE power seat base assembly. That's either a dealer or boneyard item. I dont' even want to GUESS what it costs at the dealer, but I bet it's over $500.

For that kind of money, I can spend a lot of time making a new gear.

If you are industrious, remove the seat from the vehicle, flip it over, and take out the rear motor/trans assy, and see if your problem is not as mine was.

AZ Jeff,

Thanks for the information. You have confirmed both my fears and suspisions of what this problem could be. Maybe be a good time to convert to a manual base!

Regards. Cory

coryg said:

AZ Jeff,

Thanks for the information. You have confirmed both my fears and suspisions of what this problem could be. Maybe be a good time to convert to a manual base!

Regards. Cory

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PM sent.

AZ Jeff said:

the ONLY way to get a new motor is to buy the ENTIRE power seat base assembly. That's either a dealer or boneyard item. I dont' even want to GUESS what it costs at the dealer, but I bet it's over $500.

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Thats what the dealer quoted me for the one on my '95. It was right at $500. Mine uses a very similar system of three motors. My problem is that the motor that controls the front tilt on mine is frozen in place. You press the botton and it tries to work but doesnt move. For now, I pulled the seat out and manually tilted the front down with a pair of channel locks (IIRC). It was kind of a PITA but I got it almost all of the way down.

I was thinking of maybe taking the motor to a place that works with electric motors and see if they could rebuild it for me.

Update: It is indeed a gear inside the motor confirmed after removing the seat. Will be taking the gear out this weekend and seeing if I can make a new one or find a source for one.

coryg said:

Update: It is indeed a gear inside the motor confirmed after removing the seat. Will be taking the gear out this weekend and seeing if I can make a new one or find a source for one.

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Is it the worm gear on the motor, or the driven gear on the jackscrew shaft?

The worm gear is a separate part. The one on the jackscrew shaft is molded in place, and to remove it, it must be destroyed. That's the one that failed in my 2000. It was lots of fun to get off. The replacement I made from aluminum, and I loctited and roll-pinned it to the jackscrew shaft.

It is the worm gear in the motor.

A good hobby shop that sells remote control type racing cars and trucks might have a good assortment of gears if you are not into making your own. Thats about the only place I can think of.

RichP said:

A good hobby shop that sells remote control type racing cars and trucks might have a good assortment of gears if you are not into making your own. Thats about the only place I can think of.

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GOOD IDEA. Making the work gear would be tough. It also has to have a square hole thru it's middle to engage on the motor armature shaft. Those are tough to make, but maybe it could be file from round with a small swiss file.

Hobby shop is exactly were I was going to go as well as a couple of industrial shops. Also getting the Mechanical engineer here to see what he can find.

I have also found this site:

http://www.allieddevices.com/web2000/index.html

The have an extensive gear catalog, but I'm not sure if they sell qty 1 items. Will post back once I get a resolution and a source for the gear!