W124 Squeaky Seats

[Charles Morgan]

Driving back from Glyndebourne on Saturday evening, my Coupe performed like a dream - a relaxed, effortless drive, the engine powering ahead quietly and the transmission shifting as though made from cashmere. After the hard seats of the opera house, the sprung seats of the W124 were a delight, but for one thing.

I am pretty large, as was my passenger. The W124 Sportline ride is normally excellent, but too many undulations in the road cause it to bounce a little. The effect of this combination of large passengers and pitching up and down a bit caused the seats to squeak in a metallic sort of way, so either the springs or the fixings underneath were squeaking a bit.

Is there anything easy like lubrication to be done, and given I am a mechanical eejit, how best to do it?

Help, as always, greatly appreciated.

 

[Charles Morgan]

Anyone?

 

[WDB124066]

I gave this a bit of thought Charles and it is really hard to pinpoint exactly where the squeek is coming from. But a couple of thoughts anyway,

It is likely that any remedial work will require the removal of the seat cover which can be time consuming, especially to refit. Best left to an upholsterer of some merit.

Once removed it may not be entirely obvious where the squeak is coming from.

124's do have a habit of sagging in the spring box then the springs can shear through torsion, quite common I am lead to believe. I wonder if it is general wear and tear in the spring box on the seat base, sounds like it might be from the description at least.

Is it coming from the base or the back rest?

I had a metallic squeak on the blue car in the base and it eventually went away all by itself.

How different does the passenger's seat feel to sit in as opposed to the drivers seat? This may give an indication of how much the driver's seat has sagged.

All parts to rebuild the seat are available from MB (except the base cover which can be got from DKS) but they are very pricey from the dealerships.

If you do find the source and it needs a long lasting lube use Krytox. It is VERY expensive but cheaper than a R, R & Refit. It works and it lasts!!

Hope this helps a little........

W.

 

[WDB124066]

Maybe try putting the seat in different positions and see if the squeak is still there, this may point to hinge assemblies rather than the spring box for example.

Try pushing down on the seat in different locations to see if you can simulate and isolate the area where it is coming from.

 

[Charles Morgan]

Thanks W. Certainly moving the seat does change the squeaks, and it only seems to be triggered by undulating road surfaces when I have a passenger (but in both seats, oddly). I think I need to take a passenger out and have a play around with positions.

 

[andy27168]

Hi,
On my C43 I use to get a squeaking sort of noise from the seat Ortho control unit rubbing on the centre console, my weight (at the time I was nearly 30st) would flatten the seat which would push the control unit against the console, since losing 10st this does not happen any more.
You could try shifting your weight from one side to the other on the seat to see if it is more pronounced or dissappears entirely, put a lighter passenger in the passenger seat see if this makes any difference, worth a try.
The Ortho control I have noticed should of had a felt tape wrapped around it which would eliminate it in the case of my car C43.

 

[kth286]

on the tunnel side of the front seats you have the felt strips (attached to seats) that hide the gap.

these can squeak against the fabric of the tunnel.

push them down/pull them up and see what difference.

also move seat further back/forward.

talcum powder (where they rub together) can work.

 

[Charles Morgan]

Hi,
On my C43 I use to get a squeaking sort of noise from the seat Ortho control unit rubbing on the centre console, my weight (at the time I was nearly 30st) would flatten the seat which would push the control unit against the console, since losing 10st this does not happen any more.
You could try shifting your weight from one side to the other on the seat to see if it is more pronounced or dissappears entirely, put a lighter passenger in the passenger seat see if this makes any difference, worth a try.
The Ortho control I have noticed should of had a felt tape wrapped around it which would eliminate it in the case of my car C43.

First of all, congratulations on losing 10st. That is a great achievement, well done! If only I could do so....

I had quite a thin passenger recently, and it did the same, but certainly where I sit does make a difference.

 

[Charles Morgan]

on the tunnel side of the front seats you have the felt strips (attached to seats) that hide the gap.

these can squeak against the fabric of the tunnel.

push them down/pull them up and see what difference.

also move seat further back/forward.

talcum powder (where they rub together) can work.

I shall try that. I might also clean them at the same time!

 

[d w124]

I had quite a thin passenger recently, and it did the same, but certainly where I sit does make a difference.

What you`re on about ,i`ve never been in your car

 

[Charles Morgan]

In order to qualify, you would have had to have been a very heavily hungover Royal Marine Officer, in between Glasgow and Perth. I shall say no more....

 

[WDB124066]

Thanks W. I need to take a passenger out and have a play around with positions.

This is a family forum Charles.....

 

[Charles Morgan]

A very traditional way to start one too.....