How to: Armrest from 2015 Silverado into a 98 60/40 ext cab

[Burnworthy]

Hadn't seen this done before, thought I'd share.
My old armrest in my 98 K1500 ext cab broke pretty hard.

You must be registered for see images attach

I had played with the idea before, throwing in a newer armrest, but couldn't find any threads or pictures of this being done before. To be clear, this is actually the arm rest/upper portion of a jump seat from a 2015 Silverado.
I had spotted one on Craig's awhile back and was able to get some measurements.
Although it does measure slightly taller & wider than the OEM, I figured I'd give it a go anyways.

The result,

You must be registered for see images attach

It went surprisingly more smoother than I had anticipated. Believe it or not, the passenger side arm bolts right up and the original cover requires no extra work. You just need to use shorter bolts or you will go directly into the interior plastic. I used two M8-1.25 x 20 from Lowe's.

The Driver's side took a bit more effort. And currently I have some more work to do on it before I'll be satisfied. Pic with driver's seat in the laid back position.

You must be registered for see images attach

As you can see the armrest cover is cut, from the factory, allowing a pass-through for a wiring harness that connects the aux/usb/sd and 12V power that's located inside the armrest.

Our factory plastic cover only covers the metal portion, not the entire area, like on the passenger's side. I'm planning on getting a new armrest cover for this reason. AFAIK they come uncut.
Also, because of the pin on the new armrest (visible in the previous pic), I will need to clearance the plastic piece for it to move freely in and out when I raise/lower it.

You must be registered for see images attach

The primary issue with the driver's side is this,

You must be registered for see images attach

This is the stock bracket for our factory armrest. Initially, I thought I could affix the new armrest to it somehow. But the new armrest is threaded and the pin that rides inside the black plastic piece is oversized and located differently than our stock armrest.

 

[Burnworthy]

This is the backside of it. The black plastic piece is held in by 3 rivets.

You must be registered for see images attach

I drilled them out and removed it. But the larger pin in the center needed to be removed as well. It appears to be tack welded. I drilled it out, from the backside, leaving the outer ring in place.
The following pic is with the armrest squared 90 degs to the front seats. As you can see, the hole is off by a fare bit. I slid the black piece back behind the bracket to see how it clearances with the pin. Unfortunately, it just won't work with the pin size difference and the location not being the same as our stock configuration.

You must be registered for see images attach

To keep the armrest square I just needed to push the metal bracket forward so it lined up with the hole. Surprisingly, it took very little effort to bend it forward.

You must be registered for see images attach

I used an M8-1.25 x 30 and a large washer, again from Lowe's, to connect up the driver's side. It's not bolted up very tight as it needs to be able to rotate. Also, the hole is larger than the bolt. I might figure out a bushing for it, to take up the space.

I'm planning on radiusing the plastic piece and riveting it back in place so the metal pin and the armrest cover rubs smoothly, instead of on the metal bracket.

 

[Burnworthy]

I've been driving around with it for a couple weeks now.
I feel there are some things I need to make known if you're planning on doing this yourself.

1. It's wider, mostly on the driver's side. So it will rub a bit when moving the armrest and/or tilting the driver's seat. It's not really a big deal for me.

2. It's wider, so turning the steering wheel clockwise was a bit odd at first.

3. It brings with it 3 extra cup holders. But realistically I will probably only ever use the center or passenger side ones, due its close proximity to the steering wheel.

Some actions shots. Here you can plainly see it rubs tight against the driver's seat.

You must be registered for see images attach

Don't mind the dog hair.

You must be registered for see images attach

Ahh that new car smell...

You must be registered for see images attach

I think I've covered most of it. I'm planning on wiring up the aux/usb/sd, 12V power, and a bluetooth module in the near future. As well as adding a 3-coil fast wireless charger to the lid. Not sure if anyone would be interested in that though...

Fire away any questions you got.

 

[Ken K]

Wow! You have to think one thru. With a bench seat configuration plus the swinging center console, kinda limits what you can do. My donor was a 2003 Tahoe with the arm rest mount on the seat, but this is a different animal.
With a plastic console under the cloth, you would have to modify it to "IN-set it" for more room, then recover with matching cloth or some slate gray vinyl.
Are you increasing the size or thickness of the current arm rest? After all, it's stamped sheet metal under it and welding on pipe or formed metal, then cover with some foam, then re-cover the armrest.

Allow for wire movement as the console swings, but have a "Induction Coil" type phone charger in the lid would come in handy. Many companies are selling "Twin USB" chargers that look like a 12 v accessory outlet with a spring loaded cover. It could be placed in the swinging console, but the depth of these "USB" chargers have to have some room on the backside, so perhaps on the dash center.

The 03 Tahoe arm rest pivot in the same manor are your, but use a door handle type clip. The metal chosen for that bracket is welded onto the seat frame itself and needs a gusset because it bends.

I have a commercial sewing machine, but only do my own stuff, but use WeldWood" contact cement to hold material in place and the backside of "French Seam" or reinforced "French Seam". There are some websites that sell matching GM truck material if needed, but a trip to the bone yard with a sharp knife my get you the exact material from in a none wear location. Just saying...

 

[Burnworthy]

Wow! You have to think one thru. With a bench seat configuration plus the swinging center console, kinda limits what you can do.

True. I would have preferred to have gone with a full center console or possibly a new style jump seat.
No plans to modify the shape, size, or thickness of it, due to the plastic/metal mostly dictating the size and shape. I may remove some foam though, to run the wiring harness for the audio and 12V power.

The wireless charger mod for the upper armrest has been documented by a number of people. So not much guesswork needed. I'll just need to ensure my fabbed harness is routed where it's secure and won't get pinched. Since my armrest didn't come with the OEM harness I opted to make my own. I was able to get the PN's for the connectors and pins, including pinouts from GM Upfitter's website. https://www.gmupfitter.com/files/me...Builders_Manual_Service_Manual_2015_en_US.pdf

I won't be plugging the dual USB adapter directly into the 12V acc outlet. I've opened it up and will solder it into my 12V harness. It will sit in the void underneath the cup holders along with the bluetooth module.

This is the dual USB adapter I'm using. It'll power both the wireless charger and bluetooth module. Capable of supplying the 10 Watts needed for fast charging.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07J6FWK57/
The fast wireless charger.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07D2CWBS1/

Pic of interior. The media connector is PN 22990883.

You must be registered for see images attach

From what I can gather, the USB and SD data is transferred through the mini USB connector on the back. I don't know if getting those to function will be plug-and-play going from the media connector to the bluetooth module... The AUX/3.5mm audio, utilizes 3 pins on the 6-pin connector.

You must be registered for see images attach

Cup holder removed. A decent amount of space for wiring and such.

You must be registered for see images attach

The bluetooth module I'm planning on using. It will ultimately plug into the iSimple PXDX module.

You must be registered for see images attach

The plan is to have a clean install, no wires to or from the armrest will be visible or dangling about.

Ken K you mentioned a gusset for the left armrest bracket. I was thinking it may be worth doing. The bracket has a surprising amount of movement in it. I'll figure out how I'm going to route the harness first and go from there.