Seat Rattles and Groans..

[IB635]

I'm getting a really annoying rattle in the seatback, and the from the location, it appears to be the slider assembly for the headrest. It's secured firmly where it bolts up at the top, but the lower section of the slider has a lot of play in it. Unfortunately most of the connection points in the seat are a rivet-type fastener. Has anyone dug into their seat to tighten things up? The other thing driving me nuts is when I take off in first or second, the seat shifts slightly and has a ratcheting sounding 'groan' that I can't seem to pin down. I'm thinking it's moving slightly on the adjustment track, but I don't see a way to tighten it up. Suggestions?

[dmac156]

What kind of seat, manual sport seat?

[IB635]

Sorry, 1985 fully adjustable powered seats. All the adjustments work, but things just seem loose enough to let it move around on itself.

[DesktopDave]

The rattling headrest is a new one on me. I'd probably just lube the rails with some silicone and hope for the best. The nylon guides look delicate but they tend to last.

You could have a split drive gear in one of the seat traverse gearboxes...I've seen a few here & there. It's not difficult to dismantle the gearboxes and replace the drive gear, but you do have to take the entire lower seat apart to get at them. They're a composite piece - looks like nylon with a pressed steel insert. I believe those still available brand-new but I couldn't find a part number for them; seems like BMW recommends replacing the entire gearbox. I kept some spares from an old E23 if you needed one or two.