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The seat frame may have damage that you can't see without taking the upholstery off. Many years ago,on our 90 square body Burb, the driver's seat back frame broke, going down the highway. We were on a trip to Beaumont and Port Arthur at the time,and had Dad's big tool boxes in the cargo area. So he had me get them and brace the bucket seat back with them, against the second row seat, so we could get home. Then he pulled the upholstery off and welded it back together. Still holding when we got rid of the truck....
I've seen a number of the 1995-up seats break the frame right at the corner where the seat brackets bolt to the frame. I've also seen quite a few badly repaired with chicken **** welds complete with burns through the surrounding material..
Um, actual work is what I am doing. Asking opinions doesn't mean I am waiting for someone to hand me the answer or do the work for me. Forums are full of people with previous experience, and in this case, more than myself. Was simply asking for some guidance or a "hey, anyone dealt with this?". It doesn't mean, in any way, that I was not or am not willing to do the work. Sometimes, the luxury of time is not one all of us have. Thanks for the life lesson though.
They can definitely be fixed better than what I mentioned, it really comes down to laziness in my examples. Someone just thought they'd burn a few passes at the problem and hope it held. Proper repair would require removing the seat, pulling some of the upholstery apart, and doing a proper weld job with possibly a bit of reinforcing metal added. In other words, if your seat frame is broken, it's not the end of the world. I've just seen some really poor repairs.
