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Seat Elevation Adjustment

75K views 228 replies 72 participants last post by  Racer Z 
Does anyone know if the seats can be lowered beyond the factory lowest position? Some kit or something..I am 6-1 but tall in the body..head was hitting liner no matter what I tried.
Buy the spider! :p
Sorry for that - I cannot be of real assistance. I know that OscarTango wound up offering his car for sale because he could not fit (different issue). Not sure if you've looked at his thread (classified section) - perhaps he found a solution that could help you?
 
As D-day approaches I travelled down to my dealer for a seat fitting today. I was happy with the lowest setting apart from the lack of tilt of the seat squab. I felt there was no thigh support at all in the current position. I was told there is no adjustability of the seat base angle. What I'm asking is,'Is this correct?' My next questions are,'Has anyone else felt that the seat is a little too flat on the lowest setting?' and 'Do the other higher settings alter the seat base angle?' Or is it just a case of getting the height right and adjust to the car over time. Opinions sought.
"seat squab" = seat pan - the bit you sit on, I assume?

The bottom part of the seat remains fixed, and in the same orientation at all 3 height settings.

I seem to recall someone playing with shims under the seat rails (think it was actually at my suggestion at the time), but good luck finding the posts. I couldn't (yet). I doubt that a dealership would do this for you, but it probably isn't a hard DIY, if a small adjustment is all that is required.
 
I know it's hard to believe 4Canada, but Aussies speak a dialect closer to the Queens English than you might expect.
Right.

Some yobbo's go to the bottle-o and get a roadie , but finish their turps by the time they stop at the serv-o and get out for a sticky beak in thongs, maybe have time for a bonza chook (unles they are vego's), before running to the dunny...

Fair dinkum

:wink2:
 
Didn’t take me 2-1/2 hours to do my seats (I did the tilt, but it is the same job), and I don’t know what I’m doing (story of my life).
And the dealer is supposed to set the seats for the first owner as part of PDI. Or at least they were when the car was first released.

I’d definitely ask Alfa. Start by PMing AlfaRomeoCares on this board to see if you can get some clarification about who is responsible for the height adjustment. To me, it has to suit the driver. And since Alfa didn’t give you a power or manual adjustment, it should be seen to by the dealership as part of delivery.
 
Should I disconnect the battery before removing the connections, or is that not necessary?
I don’t think it is strictly necessary, but can’t hurt.
The only drawbacks are resetting the clock and possibly radio presets. I think that some of the learned tables in the ECU reset as well. Just means you have to drive the car some more to re-build them.

I did the tilt (same as elevation adjust) without fully removing the seats from the car, and left the connections on the seats.
Took the rails off the floor and moved the seats around the cockpit to get acccess to the side fasteners. It is awkward, and probably not a good suggestion unless you have limiited room beside the car in whatever shop you use. It also makes it hard to follow RKBerta’s recommendation re cleaning the nut holes in the tub, which is a good idea.
 
How the hell do you disconnect the 2 connectors under the seat? Having a hell of time reaching under there trying to find how to separate them by feel.
Undo the bolts first, that gives you some room to find the fasteners. I cannot recall, but there might be a tie holding up some slack.

The holes? Use a shop vacuum to clean out any debris. Compressed air is also a good idea. Then run a tap up and odown once with some cuttihg oil. Vacuum once more. Just to be safe, as you cannot replace the nut embedded in the tub!

And re the earlier question, I took the bolts out of the tub, and tilted the seats left then right to expose the sides to change the tilt. Did not think that my bad back would handle removing and replacing the seats from the car.
 
Simply used a small screwdriver to push and twist to separate. Once separate, pull on part attached to carbon tub in opposite direction of piece that came out to release (this is the part connected to seat, part that popped out goes into central tunnel).


Video i just did under seat (wife claims I look for reasons to go out to the newest toy).



https://youtu.be/zSJ96FiwFk4


If this doesn't embed please advise how as I understand not everyone will follow a link to you tube.
Brilliant! Thanks for doing that.
I’ll add a link to this to the DIY reference thread later today.
 
... I haven’t yet toyed with disconnecting the battery. It’s not as straight forward as on any of my other cars. It seems to have a plate on top of the battery rather than having two basic and easily accessible +/- connectors.
As I’ve mentioned a few times, I’m still getting to know this car. I got it only 2 weeks before having to put it into storage so I have zero play time with it.
Disconnecting the 4C battery is EASIER than any other car you've owned.
Check the negative terminal - there is a cam lock on it - use a screwdriver (or maybe just your hand if you have strong fingers) to rotate the lever 90 degrees or so and you can lift the connector from the terminal. Use your thumb to tighten it back on. While you have it off, it is a great idea to clean the contacts (terminal and the connector) with a battery brush and then apply some dielectric grease. Both of these things can be found in the battery terminal aisle at Canadian Tire.

Battery brush

Dielectric grease
 
whered you order the PPF?
If you cannot find it locally, there are ebay and Amazon vendors who will sell you bulk.
No-chip.ca out of Kitchener sells various kits for our cars, and will also sell you various widths by the foot.
Be sure to get a self-healing variety lke Xpel Ultimate, Suntek, or 3M Scotchguard Professional. There are others which I cannot remember. But you won’t be as happy with older tech film.
 
Supplying dealer (3rd Party) is being very awkward and won't do the adjustment before I collect. So I'll have to DIY when I get home, does anyone have an up to date guide/video?

As I understand it:
1) Disconnect negative terminal
2) Disconnect 2x sensors under seat
3) Unscrew T40 x2 behind seat
4) Unscrew T40 x2 in front of seat
5) Remove seat + Make adjustments
6) Try T40 in holes before re-seating, lube if necessary (what exactly do I need for this? WD40?)
7) Replace seat and screw in, 35-39nm torque & reconnect sensors
8) Reconnect negative battery cable and hope the airbag doesn't explode...
By Jove, I think you've got it.
Although you might need to change the order of #2 & 3, also 7 & 8 due to not being able to get your hands under the seat to connect/disconnect the plugs with the rails screwed tight to the tub.

I did them without taking the seats out (didn't even need to disconnect the plugs IIRC, but maybe loosen a harness strap). My way was awkward and can result in scratches, though. But my back wasn't up to wrestling seats in and out of the car, and my garage did not afford me the width required on both sides without moving the car between doing driver and passenger sides.

Might want to add "4B) put padding down over sill and against centre console." to prevent scratches.

I'd use only a very gentle spray of WD-40 or similar, onto the bolt (not in the hole) to test fit the bolts prior to reassembly. I don't think that lubrication is the answer - the thread is either clean, or it isn't. Not convinced that any kind of oil is great for the tub long term (but I don't know that to be the case). Blow it out with canned air, or be prepared to vacuum out the holes or even run a tap through if you encounter much resistance. There is just enough room to work, with the rails installed. So knowing that you have 4 good holes before you start is very helpful.
 
(y)What are the side bolts? Regular Phillips or still Torx? Just want to check I have all the right bits before I order a torque wrench.
Sorry - the cool cars are in hibernation. And I did mine years ago - my memory isn't that good.
You're going to have to look at yours, or maybe some other kind member will pipe in.
 
This is with the seat tilt removed (set to upright) to give you more room to work?
Don't forget, if you haven't changed the rear tilt from before, then you have effectively increased it by tilting the seat pan backward.

Just a thought.
 
Does anyone have the original photos for this thread saved? I’m trying to do the seat adjustment, but none of the photos are loading :(
Sadly no. Photobucket stopped allowing photographs that were hosted on their site to be linked on other commercial websites about 5 years (+/-) ago, and all of the links were broken by them.
You cannot even click on the pictures anymore to get to them.

Go to the Engine & Technical section of this forum, and check out the contents of the 4C Cloud (has its own sticky thread) for perhaps a procedure that will show you all the details.
I don't know what all is in there and don't have the time to dig through it all, but I did find that the last page of the doc at this link has a picture and brief description of seat height adjustment, in case that helps you orient yourself.

Good luck!
 
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