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Broken drive seat? Common problem?

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Old Oct 20, 2019 | 08:28 PM
  #1  
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From: Lost in the wilds of Virginia
Year: 1998 Classic (I'll get it running soon....) and 02 Grand
Model: Cherokee (XJ)
Engine: 4.0
Default Broken drive seat? Common problem?

I posted on another thread about my broken driver's seat on my WJ. Seems really odd the way it broke. Weird thing is, this is not the original seat. It's black, while the rest are gray, and the PO told me he'd had to replace it because it broke.

I got a replacement yesterday from a parts car, which seemed okay when I removed it. Got it home, bolted it in, and... it's wobbly. Not obviously broken, but... wobbly.

My son is looking at a used WJ but the owner says the driver's seat is wobbly. Hmmm. Looked up "WJ Cherokee broken driver seat known problem" and got a bunch of hits.


I haven't seen any mention of it on the forum here, though. Anybody? Have you seen this as a common problem?


Here's my old one:


Broken seat mount on 2002 WJ.
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Old Oct 23, 2019 | 02:29 PM
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From: Manlius, east of Syracuse, NY
Year: 2000 XJ Sport & WJ Laredo
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Engine: 4.0L
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Yes, it's a known problem. Either the thigh bolster on the door side collapses or the seat base cracks. It has a lot to do with the driver's body weight or the way you get in and out. People who swing in and plop down hard on the seat tend to crack the base and people who sit on the edge first tend to break the thigh bolster.
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Old Oct 23, 2019 | 03:18 PM
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From: Hangover, PA
Year: 1998
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Mine was broke at 3 different spots when I bought my XJ. All 3 had been repaired very poorly and had rebroke.

I took the seat completely apart and welded it properly. It only takes a few minutes to get the seat down to just the frame
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Old Oct 23, 2019 | 07:09 PM
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From: Lost in the wilds of Virginia
Year: 1998 Classic (I'll get it running soon....) and 02 Grand
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Engine: 4.0
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Oh, fun. Then I paid $100 for a seat I didn't need. But the good news is, I got both front and rear seats, plus the center console. Still kicking myself because I could have had a radio bezel for installing a standard single DIN radio in the stock location. For some reason, I left it. Dummy!

I don't know where the new one is broken. At least with the old one, it's obvious!
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Old Oct 23, 2019 | 08:58 PM
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Yup I welded mine up !
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Old Nov 13, 2019 | 07:43 PM
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$35 bucks to have it welded. I can live with that.

I think I"ll probably have the 'new' one fixed, and post the set for sale.
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Old Nov 14, 2019 | 05:45 AM
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From: Hangover, PA
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Not a bad deal. You shouldnt have to worry about it breaking again
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Old Nov 14, 2019 | 04:35 PM
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From: Lost in the wilds of Virginia
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You haven't seen my boys get into a vehicle!


But on a serious note, I figure it's good for 5 or 10 years, which is probably beyond the life of the vehicle anyway.
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