water leak - remove rear side panel

[Kim]

Loren, or anyone else whose had a lot of wrenches on their car:

2000 Cab. I have water in the rear pax side floor carpet, and under the pax side emergency seat. AFter looking at the water drain plan in the service man., I am assuming (hoping) a drain hose has come loose behind the side panel, and is dumping rain water in there.

Manual, 70-45, says in removing that side panel, the first step is to remove the rear seat holding peg with an Allen wrench. Very tight, then the shallow recess just reamed out. I tried the driver's side (gently) to make sure I understood correctly. It came loose right away, and back out as expected.

Back to the pax side. Since the peg was damaged already and would have to be replaced, I grabbed the vise grips intending to back it out. Several complete turns later, it is no looser. With the top standing up, I can reach into the mechanism there with my other hand and feel something turning (looks brass colored maybe?) on the inside, but it is no closer to coming out.

Any thoughts on my next step? I believe I must get behind this side panel to diagnose the water source.

Any hints on removing the carpet under the rear seat? Floor carpet looks pretty straightforward (after I remove the front seat rails).

Thanks,

Kim

[Loren]

I had mine out a couple years ago and I can't remember what holds that seat bolt. I think it might be a nutsert - a flat metal clip with threads but I don't see that on the parts list. I guess if you could get a screwdriver or something else on it to stop the rotation you might be able to get the seat bolt out. (Don't think I've ever seen one that tight.) Good Luck!

On the carpet - pretty much everything that bolts through the carpet must come out.

[Kim]

I had mine out a couple years ago and I can't remember what holds that seat bolt. I think it might be a nutsert - a flat metal clip with threads but I don't see that on the parts list. I guess if you could get a screwdriver or something else on it to stop the rotation you might be able to get the seat bolt out. (Don't think I've ever seen one that tight.) Good Luck!

Thanks, Loren. I got a look at the back side by raising/lowering the top to the best position. It appears to be a round, brass bushing with no flats or anything similar on the inside of the wall. The seat peg comes in from the other side and stops just short of filling up the depth of the bushing. As I turn the seat peg, the round bushing turns also ... with very little chance of getting the strong grip a pair of pliers would take to hold it. Can barely get my hand in there. Really frustrating.

Also, while I have your attention .... any suggestions on where to find sockets that amount to a female Torx, so that I can remove the seat rail bolts. A 3/8 socket worked on 3, but, as one might expect, 4th is fighting me big time.

Just a another relaxing Sunday afternoon.

Kim

[Loren]

I got my Torx E12 (for the seat bolts) here.

[Kim]

I got my Torx E12 (for the seat bolts) here.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

OK, got that one on the way.

How about the star bit (like Torx, but with twice as many points) that is used to remove the bracket upon which the rear seat back swivels?

Thanks in advance.

Kim

Edited February 6, 2005 by Kim

[Loren]

Sorry, I just saw your reply. That bolt is a metric triple square - 8mm I think. I don't have a set of these -- but I guess I need them.

Here is a link to an SK set. SK are very good tools and usually expensive so you might be able to find them cheaper somewhere else.

http://www.sjdiscounttools.com/sk19704.html

[Kim]

Thanks, Loren. A set is on its way to me.

For any other Cab drivers here, the fitting that the rear seat back clips to is known as the seat "peg", and screws into a brass pressed insert in the aluminum plate just behind the side panel at that point. If the fitting is not totally tight, it may rotate when you attempt to remove the peg with a 6 mm allen wrench. The only solution I found was to loosen all other fasteners for that side panel, flex it inward, and get behind with a pair of vise grips on the back side of the fitting. Voila, its out, the panel is off, and I could examine the drain situation .... the original reason I started this whole nightmare.

Found something that is probably typical. Just under the rear window, pax side, a black plastic drain tray is the low point for collecting water that enters around the Cab top. It drains into a downspout (about an inch in diameter) to which the overboard drain tube is attached. That downspout was clogged with debris (leaves, etc), and the water apparently flowed over the side of the tray (less than 2" tall), down into the area under the rear seat cushion, and on to the main floor behind the pax seat.

Moral .... don't let debris accumulate in the drain tray.

Kim