Loose Passenger's Seat

[Jeeves]

Every day when I go to work, I travel on a gravel road for about half a mile. Of course, I'm not going 55 down this gravel road, but about 25 mph. This may seem nit-picky but there's an annoying shaking/rattle that is coming from the passenger's side. I've narrowed it down to what I think is the passenger's seat. Has anyone had a problem with theirs being loose/rattly? I'm not familiar with the seat setup so when I get a chance I'll have to see if something has loosened due to normal wear.

 

[dirtyhick42]

There are 4 bolts that hold the seat to the frame and another 4 that hold the frame to the cab. Check those, unless the back is loose and I have no idea what to do about that. Also these trucks have a lot of creaks and squeaks that you will never be able to get 100% gone.

 

[smokemgood]

My passenger seat does the same thing. I guess I have never really looked to see what makes it shake. I know the mounting bolts are tight though.

 

[Jeeves]

Thanks, I'll have to check the mounting bolts. Is there anything that could become loose in the lumbar/back part? I don't think the mounting is shaking, rather the part of the seat that sits upright.

 

[Fobroader]

My pass seat forward fold mechansm didnt work when I bought the truck and the seat would just flop forward and backwards. Turns out the main pivot bolt was broken, after i replaced that bolt, the seat worked like a charm. I also had to bend the brackets back into shape with a adjustable wrench.

 

[sewlow]

Does the seat have a recline mechanism? Pull the seat cover down, on the outside, which can be a bit of a PITA, so that you can see the mounting bolts. 12mm,13mm, or 1/2" socket. (Can't remember which) if that's not loose try the where the mechanism is attached to the backrest. Fold the seat forward, undo the zipper at the very bottom of the B/R. Pull the cover up until you can access the bolts holding the bracket. Same size as the other bolts. If in doubt, tighten 'em all. These will loosen up over time because of the spring that flips the seat forward quite hard.
Are these factory installed seats? If not, have the inside floor bolts been braced with some LARGE washers, or a plate welded in? If that hasn't been done, this will cause the floor to flex, and will make your seat seem like it's loose.

 

[sewlow]

There is also a plastic washer with a large shoulder, on the inside backrest pivot. Goes over the pivot pin, & through the pivot hole. Without it there will be a fair bit of play in there. Through normal usage these will wear out, break &/or fall out.

 

[Jeeves]

Does the seat have a recline mechanism? Pull the seat cover down, on the outside, which can be a bit of a PITA, so that you can see the mounting bolts. 12mm,13mm, or 1/2" socket. (Can't remember which) if that's not loose try the where the mechanism is attached to the backrest. Fold the seat forward, undo the zipper at the very bottom of the B/R. Pull the cover up until you can access the bolts holding the bracket. Same size as the other bolts. If in doubt, tighten 'em all. These will loosen up over time because of the spring that flips the seat forward quite hard.
Are these factory installed seats? If not, have the inside floor bolts been braced with some LARGE washers, or a plate welded in? If that hasn't been done, this will cause the floor to flex, and will make your seat seem like it's loose.

This seems right on the money. They are reclining stock seats. I'll try what you suggested as soon as I get home on my next break.

 

[BLACK_1979_TA_SE]

For me I have the same issue although probably not to an extreme as others here do -I am pretty particular though. There is an excessive amount of play IMHO -a slight rocking back and forth it seems loose to me. I removed the passenger seat to install some custom seat covers so I checked mine. My analysis is that it is not what others have found in theirs. Mine has slop between the track mechanism channels, and I'm sure it is inherent to the original build of the seat track. My seat track doesn't appear worn with the usual evidence of silvery metal coating the track grease. I have determined there is no way to repair it outside of disassembling the track assembly and somehow fabricating some wear gibs to reduce the play. However, I decided to not delve into fabricating a solution. I don't even know if I could disassemble it completely without turning a working seat with some play into junk.

 

[A97obs]

For me I have the same issue although probably not to an extreme as others here do -I am pretty particular though. There is an excessive amount of play IMHO -a slight rocking back and forth it seems loose to me. I removed the passenger seat to install some custom seat covers so I checked mine. My analysis is that it is not what others have found in theirs. Mine has slop between the track mechanism channels, and I'm sure it is inherent to the original build of the seat track. My seat track doesn't appear worn with the usual evidence of silvery metal coating the track grease. I have determined there is no way to repair it outside of disassembling the track assembly and somehow fabricating some wear gibs to reduce the play. However, I decided to not delve into fabricating a solution. I don't even know if I could disassemble it completely without turning a working seat with some play into junk.

Same minor issue with my donor set of
95-98 buckets I just got sounds about accurate, I’ve hand checked the slight rocking play the back rests have on the 95-98 seats by hand and you can slightly rock the back rest 1/4”-1/2” play with no weight in the seats . If you look at the seat track where it’s slides into the frame to floor track it just seems like loose fit /play I don’t see a way to tighten it some of that stuff is riveted.

Now if it’s just rocking with play only where the back rest hinges/ attaches on the seat bottom maybe there’s a fix for that worn area ?
I was reading @sewlow’s write up about these issues.
Full Power seats usually never end up with back rest wobble or slop to bad GM didn’t do power /lean with the 95-98 buckets :/