Seat Compressor Problems

[Black91SHO]

I have a '91 SHO and the compressors in the seats are having problems. They air up, but will deflate fairly quickly, like a check valve is no longer holding the air in the airbags. Are there any write-ups on how to pull those out and fix them?

 

[Bill Strobel]

There is no check valve per se. The switch acts as the check valve, releasing it closes off the system. There is an overfill valve that will bleed off excess pressure once the bladders are fully inflated. In order to service or find the problem it is best to remove the seat and turn it over. Check for leaks in the lines by inflating and listening for leaks. If you find a leak in the line it can be fixed by cutting at the leak and slipping some very tight fitting vacuum hose to join the 2 parts together. It maybe that the switch is not sealing but that is rare. It may also be that the bladders are leaking. The real weak point are the lines, they can get chaffed, develop a hole and begin to leak. I found a hole in each line on my 89. I found both of my leaks where the line goes into the side bolsters and the lumbar cushion. It comes from underneath the seat up by frame to the seat back cushion. Just follow the line. It is partially hidden by a piece of carpet at the back of the seat bottom. That carpet just snaps on. Pull it off and it will expose more of the line.

 

[demon]

There is no check valve per se. The switch acts as the check valve, releasing it closes off the system. There is an overfill valve that will bleed off excess pressure once the bladders are fully inflated. In order to service or find the problem it is best to remove the seat and turn it over. Check for leaks in the lines by inflating and listening for leaks. If you find a leak in the line it can be fixed by cutting at the leak and slipping some very tight fitting vacuum hose to join the 2 parts together. It maybe that the switch is not sealing but that is rare. It may also be that the bladders are leaking. The real weak point are the lines, they can get chaffed, develop a hole and begin to leak. I found a hole in each line on my 89. I found both of my leaks where the line goes into the side bolsters and the lumbar cushion. It comes from underneath the seat up by frame to the seat back cushion. Just follow the line. It is partially hidden by a piece of carpet at the back of the seat bottom. That carpet just snaps on. Pull it off and it will expose more of the line.

Very informative That is my problem also . Now I can go about fixing this prob too.

I do have a question. Will like a mustang seat work in one of these cars? Its a 1990.

 

[Black91SHO]

Very informative That is my problem also . Now I can go about fixing this prob too.

I do have a question. Will like a mustang seat work in one of these cars? Its a 1990.

That's a new one. Never heard of that before. There are a few factors to consider. I can't give an answer to that from directly trying it, but the answer is probably something like this:

- Will the seat fit onto the stock studs in the Taurus? Most likely not. Seats are very car-specific, unlike radios, which you can often switch between different model Fords. Ford can save money by making radios interchangeable between models, but seats are designed to be exactly the right height for each car's dash, and to fit the floor of that specific model.

- Will the seat fit in if you weld the Mustang's seat studs where the Mustang seat need to be mounted? Maybe. Depends on the shape of the Mustang's floor and where the mounts are positioned on it. Usually, major seat modifications require a welder. If you want to find out, go measure your Taurus seat's stud spacing, then measure the Mustang seat's stud spacing and you'll get your answer pretty quickly. The question then becomes, "Will I be able to see over the dash with the Mustang seat? Probably. I think the racing seats in El Toro are pretty low and they seem to work fine.

Good luck finding someone who's actually done it. There's probably a very small pool of people who've tried that little venture. lol If you do it, take pictures along the way as you do it and post it here as a write-up on how to do it!

 

[Black91SHO]

There is no check valve per se. The switch acts as the check valve, releasing it closes off the system. There is an overfill valve that will bleed off excess pressure once the bladders are fully inflated. In order to service or find the problem it is best to remove the seat and turn it over. Check for leaks in the lines by inflating and listening for leaks. If you find a leak in the line it can be fixed by cutting at the leak and slipping some very tight fitting vacuum hose to join the 2 parts together. It maybe that the switch is not sealing but that is rare. It may also be that the bladders are leaking. The real weak point are the lines, they can get chaffed, develop a hole and begin to leak. I found a hole in each line on my 89. I found both of my leaks where the line goes into the side bolsters and the lumbar cushion. It comes from underneath the seat up by frame to the seat back cushion. Just follow the line. It is partially hidden by a piece of carpet at the back of the seat bottom. That carpet just snaps on. Pull it off and it will expose more of the line.

Bill, thanks so much. That's very helpful. When it warms up a little, or when I get a space heater for my garage, I'll have to try that. Or, I'll just drive my car around till it's hot, park it in the garage, and close the garage door and use motor & catalytic converter heat as my SHO heater. lol I have a feeling I'd have to be quick about repairing the seat if that were my heater. Oh, the joys of mechanic work in the winter.

 

[rubydist]

the typical place for the line to get a hole rubbed in it is at the base of the seat back - the steel stampings are not trimmed, so the edges are very sharp and typically cut through the little plastic tubing.

what I did in several cases was to just cut the tube where the hole was, and then slip a tight piece of rubber hose over it.

be aware that you either need leather gloves when you do this, or you will be bleeding by the time you are done. I usually ended up bleeding, because its hard to fit in the space and with gloves on I generally could not feel what I was doing well enough to accomplish the task, hence the gloves had to come off to get it done...

 

[Black91SHO]

be aware that you either need leather gloves when you do this, or you will be bleeding by the time you are done.

Sounds like a blast! Thanks for the warning!