e36 Power Seat Gear Replacement DIY

[K20RI211]

Sorry I can't help the poster above - I had another question: the seat motor that adjusts the backrest. Is it the same for all E36 seats? I have a spare frame from a luxury seat and wanted to know if I could just swap the motor onto my Vaders. They look the same but P/N's are different.

[Chapel]

Do you hear the motor turning when you try to adjust the recline? The plastic recline gear is a common failure point.

yeah, it makes noise. just doesn't go anywhere

[eternal24k]

Does it matter if the seat is not in the same position as when the gear was removed? I did mine last night, but did a lot of moving around while it was apart, i put it back together and noticed the seat was further back than when I took it apart, will that affect the range of motion when i hook it back up?

to answer my own question, no it did not matter. But I did have a hard time threading the inner rear bolts for the track when reinstalling the seats. Not sure why but no matter what I had a hard time, almost felt as though they were cross threading on both sides.

[e36fiend]

Sorry I can't help the poster above - I had another question: the seat motor that adjusts the backrest. Is it the same for all E36 seats? I have a spare frame from a luxury seat and wanted to know if I could just swap the motor onto my Vaders. They look the same but P/N's are different.

Yes they are the same. I came across a free set of vader seat frames and took the gearboxes apart looking for a replacement recline gear for my sport seats. Same exact motors and gearboxes. In fact the frames themselves looked pretty close as well.

[YouGuise]

I know you posted this quite a while ago, but your good work made it possible for another E36 owner to repair his recliner gear! Thanks for your efforts. Nick

[ApexEight]

Just wanted to say thanks for making this guide. I just tackled this job and your DIY helped.

It was still such a pain in the ass. I'm jealous that it took you so little time. Also, I have a couple of seat height adjustment gears already on the pins for sale. PM me if interested.

[Chapel]

just did this. Had to get a swivel for my T25 1/4" drive to get that bitch bolt in the back of the top motor.
Otherwise no problem.
Except when I removed the C-clip when it fired across my living room and apparently wound up in my tool bag... at least I found it.

Did my seat switch while I was in there. Now my wife has a fully working passenger seat and my kid knows not to ride the seatbacks in cars anymore

[Javier H]

Bumping up an old thread in hopes that this will help in the future.

First, make sure that the seat is upright before removing. By that I mean make sure the seat is as high as possible, away from the carpet. I usually like to leave the driver's seat low when I drive and after removing it this weekend, it made it difficult to remove the screws. Seems like, the motor gets buried in there, if you set it to low etc.

Speaking of which, the "torx allen" is a must have. A nine piece set sells for like $12 on ebay. Makes loosing and tightening nice and crisp.

This time around I didnt use a bench press to press the gear. A small hammer with slight taps took like 10 seconds. Remember to double check the orientation of the gear. The larger hole, goes in first.

Finally, rubber gloves help. I was too lazy to put them on and man, that grease was impossible to remove from your hands.

This is my forth seat install, so I got a bit overconfident in my repair.

Btw, a T47 appears to be the bit to remove the seatbelt. No one mentions it. I actually never remove it since I just work against the car.

When reinstalling the seat, the bolts should go in easy. If they dont, try to giggle them by pushing the seat back and forth. Eventually the just line up perfectly and enough so that you can twist them on with your fingers before wrenching them in.

[mjpatel]

Hello, I am reviving this thread. How can I make the OP's photo appear? I have tried multiple computers at different locations and they do not appear. TIA!

[brunp]

Same....I just saw this DIY, and hoping the pictures would stay...

[tiger8mush]

thanks for the write-up, too bad the pics are no longer viewable. My seat will go back but won't come back up (though I hear the motor running). Have ordered the new gear and torx allen wrenches and grease. Hope to do this shortly after christmas!

[tiger8mush]

so naturally the gear broke after getting it about 1/2 way on. So frustrated. I don't want to buy another gear just to have it break again. Any place I send the shaft to have a new gear put on? Or buy gear with the shaft already on it? grrr

[tiger8mush]

so NOW i realize what the "c-clip" is ... its at the end of the shaft and you are spoze to remove it before trying to fit the new gear on. Yeah, I'm a moron. Anyway, the c-clip broke at the same time the new gear broke, so I need to order one of those too. Anyone know where I can buy a new c-clip that'll fit?

[tiger8mush]

ordered another gear. Anyone know where I can get another c-clip? Might have to install w/o it ...

edited to add: new gear came in today, went on much easier (couple dozen gentle hammer taps) w/o the circlip blocking it. Wasn't able to track a new circlip down, so just popped in the new gear and put some grease on top and it works!!! Not sure how long it'll last w/o the circlip, I'll report back if it stops working. Thanks everyone

[JamesL71]

First off, great write up. I purchased an E36 M3 a few months ago and have been slowly restoring it. The recline gear on both seats is broken, luckily the motor still works. I bought replacements from Odometer Gears and used this DIY as a guide. Everything went smooth.

Second... If anyone loses the e-clip from the shaft while replacing a gear, just hit up your local hobby store to find a replacement. They are cheap and plentiful. I believe they are 3mm e-clips(possibly 2.5mm?).

https://www.amainhobbies.com/kyosho-...1-e030/p161526
https://www.amainhobbies.com/kyosho-...1-e025/p164543