Front seat removal

I just bought a 96 and I'm going to remove the ripped front seats and replace them with a set from a salvage yard. Can someone tell me the size of the star bolts that are in the back end of each seat rail?
Thanks for the add!

Are you looking for the bolt, or the tool? You can get a set of torx sockets at Wal-Mart.

I read somewhere that it takes a "star" bit but I'm not sure what the difference is between for and star bits. I just picked up a set of star bits at harbor freight. I was wondering what size the bolt takes but I will try the new bits today and post back what size worked. Thanks

I think "star" is what people say when they don't know the correct name for torx.

Sounds like you're on the right path. Just be sure to pull the airbag fuse and wait 20 mins for the system to drain before messing with the seats.

Thanks for reminding me about the air bag. It won't be an issue in the junk yard car but it will on mine. I found out I could also use a 15mm socket which works much better. I looked at the salvage car today and the seats were worse than mine. I'm going to a different yard in the morning and hoping for the best

Good luck. There aren't a lot of Rivs out there anymore, and most of them have been used hard at this point. You may have to have yours reupholstered.

Your right. The second car I looked at yesterday has seats worse than mine. My seats are ok except for the passenger seat cushion which is ripped in four places. I'm thinking of getting two cushion covers and calling it a day for now

Cliff96 wrote:

Your right. The second car I looked at yesterday has seats worse than mine. My seats are ok except for the passenger seat cushion which is ripped in four places. I'm thinking of getting two cushion covers and calling it a day for now

If you have a pro upholsterer near you, consider having the seat "sectioned" - they carefully remove the old cover and stitch in a replacement leather panel, then reinstall it. You'll want to install another seat temporarily so you can drive while waiting for the repair. I can't tell you what seat to get however those junkyard seats might work, swap them in and stretch a one-size-fits-all cover over them for the week or two your good seat will be in for repairs.

Good idea. I wouldn't have to put a temporary seat in though unless a wanted to carry a passenger. How hard is it to remove the complete seat cushion?

Cliff96 wrote:

Good idea. I wouldn't have to put a temporary seat in though unless a wanted to carry a passenger. How hard is it to remove the complete seat cushion?

Never did that on this car -- however, GM/Lear seats tend to disassemble at the obvious points. Might be worth a return trip to the pick and pull, to pull a seat out of that thrashed Riv for the heck of it and see how it's assembled.