drivers seat foam replacement

im about to tackle the drivers seat foam replacement as the left side is worn down to the point I can feel the frame on my a** cheek. thankfully the seat cover is undamaged. ordered a set of hog rings from Amazon. all should be here today and will be tackling tomorrow. does anyone have experience or tips for the foam swap. I have cloth seats so the leatherette wrinkles won't be an issue

 

I’ve only done that job once. It will be easier if you use zip ties to cinch the edges of the cover together before placing the hog rings. And have a pair of actual hog ring pliers to close the rings. Using regular pliers will be frustrating.

Plus remember to observe the standard precautions with air bags.

How about taking some photos of the process and posing a nice how-to?

 

I've seen some use zip ties opposed to the hog rings. bought the hog ring kit off Amazon that includes the pliers so ill see what works easier.

 

The zip ties are easier for sure. When I did the job it was on an antique car and authenticity was a factor, so I replaced the zip ties with hog rings, but if you don’t care, leave the zip ties!

 

my only concern is longevity of the zip ties vs hog rings. I have tons of zip ties. was watching the car care nut on YouTube that shows how to replace the covers and was emphasizing how careful to be with the trim around the bottom the seat so that's one of my biggest concerns to not damage the plastic trim on the bottom

 

And done. I watched the car care nit a couple times and it was extremely helpful especially with the plastic trim at the bottom preventing those pieces from cracking upon removal. I can now throw upholsterer on my resume

 

Excellent!

 

I decided to use the hog rings. They were not bad to use with the Amazon kit I bought. Feels solid now

 

Impressive! Did you just replace the bottom cushion? And, did the foam come from Toyota?

I'm going to guess you got so busy trying to tackle the job you didn't have time to take photos along the way, which is what always happens to me...

 

I've found that buying O.E. Toyota cushions and covers to repair seats is reasonably more expensive than going to an automotive upholsterer. And, at least for cloth seats, it's not the bulk mouse fur upholstery most of them have on hand.

 

one thing I have noticed is that I can feel some type of bar on the rear left side of the seat cushion when sitting. not sure if that just how these seats are or there's something else I missed. when I replaced the cushion it was an exact swap and the left side feels firmer now unlike the worn cushion that was so compressed down that I felt the whole frame.

 

Lovely how-to , the one photo really explains the ordeal you went through

 

Thank you for that mention of the Car Care Nut. I don't yet need to rehab a seat, but it was worth watching the video anyway. :^)

 

Been there, done that. The foam in my ‘13 Trail was completely shot.

 

How much $$ was the foam? On a scale of 1-10 what was the difficulty?

 

I can’t speak for Cisco kid but the whole job from start to finish took me about an hour. My takeaway was taking my time with the plastic trim so to not break any tabs. The foam was strait forward.cut out the hog rings and swap the foam

 

This was back in April of 2021 and I don’t remember how much the foam was. For me personally I didn’t find it difficult. Just took my time so nothing got broke.