GMC Sonoma Bucket Seat Problem...

Seems like GM can't design a seat adjuster that lasts.. the handles broke off of my 1992 S10.. if you can get a hold of a parts list and exploded pic, it may give you an idea as to replacing the shafts.. failing that, do the Canadian thing.. use duct tape..

for 1001 ways to use duct tape productively.. and remember, if the girls don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy..

-- History is only the past if we choose to do nothing about it..

Good idea for finding a diagram, that should give me an idea as to what is involved.

As for the duct tape, my old man ran an HVAC business for 20+ years. I was fixing stuff with duct tape before I could walk. I didn't take it on as a career because I bleed to easy.

Come to think of it, the interior of the truck is gray, so some silver highlights might not be so bad...

Thanks again!!

You're welcome.. the high level brake light housing on my Jeep GC broke during an attempt to load a large item into the back.. two minutes later, a short strip of duct tape saved the day.. silver on grey is ok by me, and a far cheaper option than a visit to the local Chrysler dealer for a replacement.. my wife now agrees that I am handsoem and handy.. lol

Good luck with your problem..

-- History is only the past if we choose to do nothing about it..

Yeah, but have you convinced her yet that the distance between your thumb and forefinger is 12 inches?

. . . . Dear Daddi, take the seat out of the truck to expedite the repair. Then.....take a trip down to see the "welder dude"......carry yer trusty seat and handle with you. Calmly, and humbly, explain to the "welder dude" that you're the father of

7 kids under the age of 12......and "Christmas is uh come'n".......and how's yer light bill and rent are a month overdue. Then leave the seat, the handle, your phone number, and the job to the "welder dude".

In a day or two.....go get your seat and put it back in yer truck, and on top of the $10 he charges you....buy him lunch.....he's probly got kids too.....and could stand a good free meal.

Suggestion.....use an old "welder dude"..... the older the better.

respectfully submitted,

Marsh Monster

*Master Fool* ~:~

~experience is a hard school to learn in..... but fools will learn in no other~

======== ======== snipped-for-privacy@no.spam.for.me.verizon.net (Yerdaddi) wrote in.....

I have a 2000 GMC Sonoma extended cab,

I bought the truck used and the passenger seat came with the handle to recline the seat back or forward broken off.

This isn't the lever to fold the seat up and roll it forward; it's the one to adjust the angle for your "comfort."

Well, I just reached down the side of the driver side seat to adjust my angle and I managed to snap that one off too.

From the looks of it, the plastic handle is held onto a metal shaft with a hex or torx head screw. The metal shaft has splines on it that lock into matching splines on the handle. On both seats the end part of the shaft with the metal splines (or teeth maybe) has snapped right off and stayed inside the plastic handle, screw and all.

Looks like I need to new metal shafts.

My main question is how difficult is it to replace one of these shafts?

Any comments or info on their replacement would be appreciated.

-Thanks!!

What is Grease Monkey made of?

Welding sticks and bricks Things of fire A man who'd start his own funeral pyre

I can remember welding weird stuff... ahh the days of my youth in school....

Sometimes I wish I had just taken my 1/4" and 1/2" welding exams.... I was trying to get my highschool to pay for them... :-)

And while he is professional (because your paying him) and experienced (because he's old) I would ask him if he plans to use his tig welder, and request that he doesn't replace your pretty plastic handles with re-bar. I would find some funky-looking, STEEL (as in not plastic, not ceramic, not brass, not copper, not unobtanium) faucet handles for him, just so he doesn't have to roll his own....

-The Lonely Grease Monkey

1985' K5 305CUI TH700R4 NP208 KJ's successor

"Ignorance is preferable to error; and he is less remote from the truth who believes nothing, then he who believes what is a wrong." - Thomas Jefferson

I will mention that welding this recliner assembly will be very difficult.. it's kinda like pot metal... almost the characteristics of aluminum.. but it's not... most welders will balk at the sight of this metal.. not to mention that it's so easy to remove the recliner in the truck, you must be riding the special bus if you pull the whole seat out to have this repaired... no welder will probably touch this job anyways , but there's no way they will do it with a damn seat attached to it.....gee let's burn a hole in the seat and then own the job.... unless it's some moronic wanna be who says..."I can weld anything with my amazing JB weld... Bobo oh ya.. 10 bucks????? sounds like the person I just described....... most shops have a minimum way higher than that.Try the I'm broke story.. most will tell ya to use some visegrips....You may be able to take the recliner apart and reverse engineer a new shaft made out of better metal.... that's one idea, but very expensive if you have to pay for it to be done.....

Thanks for the info, but the metal is made out of looks almost like aluminum or something not very welding friendly and the handle is plastic.

By luck I found this auction on eBay for a replacement assembly that supposedly will do better than the GM version that has a "75% failure rate."

If nothing else the pictures will help explain how the setup looks. If you look at the picture with the blue arrow you will see exactly where both of my handles snapped off...

Better yet, here is a website for the company that sells the "improved" handle for $37.99 + $4.00 shipping:

Looks like my only option at this point, kinda steep price...

==================== ahhh, an easy fix, aint the internet great!

First, I've never actually seen this mechanism. I would have assumed it was real steel, so I can appologize on that. And shame on Chevy for using pot metal, and eternal damnation to those who invented it.

Second, who the hell welds for you, I'm not certified but I know I could get a strong enough weld (on real steel) for a handle to use on a recliner, without burning it at all, all day long. Don't need more then 2 opposing tack welds, and if your welder isn't smart enough to use a piece of sheet metal as a shield and to push back any cloth or plastic.....

But you did give him a good idea, he should try some JB weld-bond on his original or a new handle(I still like my faucett handle idea).

-The Lonely Grease Monkey

1985' K5 305CUI TH700R4 NP208 KJ's successor

"Ignorance is preferable to error; and he is less remote from the truth who believes nothing, then he who believes what is a wrong." - Thomas Jefferson