> From: celler@gunster.com
> Date: Sun, 4 Jan 1998 9:43:00 -0500
> Subject: <88 735il> Back Seat Removal
>
> Date: 01/04/1998 09:36 am (Sunday)
> From: C. Craig Eller
> To: BMW Digest Submission
> Subject: <88 735il> Back Seat Removal
>
> My father-in-law has one of these cars and we need to store it for a
> few weeks. Went to access the battery under the back seat a la the
> E36 "grab and pull" method, but this doesn't seem to work. This car has
> those neato cool reclining back seats, but I suspect that makes their
> removal all the more difficult. Any ideas out there for getting the back
> seat out? Thanks.
>
> Craig Eller
> E36 ///M3
> BMW CCA Everglades Chapter
> RM3DR1, UUC
Turn on the ignition, move the electric right rear seat all the way forward. Pull away the leather cover between the upper and lower seats. Remove the plastic cover on the outer edge of the seat, between the seat and body, by pushing it towards the seat, then moving up and out the gap created between the upper and lower seats. Use a 17 mm socket and 9 inch extension to remove the bolt holding the seat belt receptacle in. You will see the bolt through the opening created by removal of this plastic fill. DO NOT remove the plastic on the lower seat, where the switches are. In the centre of the lower seat , at the forward edge, is a clip, just like the E36, etc. Except this one has a lock on it. Locate the clip and push the button in the centre of the clip. Pull up. Imagine a pivot point in the centre latitude of the seat bottom. Rotate the seat on this pivot, so the forward edge comes up , and the lower edge goes down. This will give you access to the wiring connector joining the lower seat to the car. Disconnect this and remove the seat.
When reinstalling the seat, it is necessary to ensure the two metal rods on the lower seat are correctly inserted into the guides in the seat back. This is difficult, especially when combined with having to locate the rails into the slots in the floor. I suggest you take 10 minutes to study the layout of the system, and familiarize yourself with how it is assembled.
If its any consolation, I have yet to meet a tech that likes removing these seats, and after having removed several hundred in my career, it still takes me about 20 minutes to check the battery in one of these cars.
Brett Anderson
BMW and ASE Master Technician
http://www.bestweb.net/~bretta/
