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Raising driver's seat


Sippi

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Hey guys and gals, I decided to do the mod to raise the drivers seat. Bought (4) 4 1/2" bolts and (4) 4" galvanized pipe nipples as others have done. Took the seat off and immediately noticed there's noway to get the new bolts in (have to go in from bottom) unless I can remove the seats sliding brackets or the whole platform the brackets bolt to. The brackets would have to be taken off from underneath the platform. I found 8 screws in the carpet of the platform but that didn't allow it to come up. What's the easiest way to do this? If I could figure out how to release the sliding part of the bracket so that it comes all the way off I could do it that way too. Any suggestions?

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On our 03 RLX I recall removing a circular inspection hatch between the rail to gain access to the bolts holding down the rails. Then removed the whole rail.

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i would be willing to bet that you have only found half of the screws holding that piece in.

there were a bunch of them.

Plus1.gif

There are really a lot of screws.

Approx 20 or so.

Keep on searching in the carpet.

The plate has to come off!

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So there is a circle plate between the rails? I would imagine that I would have to cut the carpet with a utility blade in order to remove this plate and to help me see it right? I'm pullin up at my house now to give this another try

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A vertically challenge friend of mine had an upholstery shop make a nice matching cushion that sits right on the seat, it looks like a bolster but covers the whole seat not just half and fits like a glove. That Way your not stuck with a permanent hi chair.

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I understand the problem...I recently added a strip of composite wood as a spacer on the track/rail of mine. About 1 or 2 inches thick. That was about as high as I could go w/out removing track. It is so close to the floor, you will not be able to get a longer screw under it w/out removal. 4 1/2" would be out of the question.

I can't quite recall, but is there any way to thread the screw down from the top (through the seat base) and have a washer & the nylon locking nut on the bottom (or would this interfere w/ track action)?

I'm 5-10 & still wish my seat was a little higher...even w/ the flip up bolster.

Edited by davemac
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BigD, I achieve that already by sitting on 2 throw cushions, but the problem is you lose backrest area that way. The whole seat is so comfortable when sitting w/o throws, so it'd be nice to have the back of the seat.

Dave, I just tried looking for more screws but only found 2 and I really don't want to have to cut the carpet. I just left the house for a while but when I get back I'll try putting the bolt through the seat with the nut under the track. The only trouble I foresee is getting to it to tighten it. That I'm going to have to make sure the bolt is long enough to go all the way through but not so long that it goes down to the bottom of the track.

Question: for those of you that used pipe nipples, what size did yall use? The ones I got are 3/4" x 4". I was going to get the 1" x 4" ones for stability, but didn't know how big I could fit. Also, did yall put like a rubber grommet between the pipe and track and/or seat bottom? I though that might help keep it place or do yall not have any problems with slipping?

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BigD, I achieve that already by sitting on 2 throw cushions, but the problem is you lose backrest area that way. The whole seat is so comfortable when sitting w/o throws, so it'd be nice to have the back of the seat.

Dave, I just tried looking for more screws but only found 2 and I really don't want to have to cut the carpet. I just left the house for a while but when I get back I'll try putting the bolt through the seat with the nut under the track. The only trouble I foresee is getting to it to tighten it. That I'm going to have to make sure the bolt is long enough to go all the way through but not so long that it goes down to the bottom of the track.

Question: for those of you that used pipe nipples, what size did yall use? The ones I got are 3/4" x 4". I was going to get the 1" x 4" ones for stability, but didn't know how big I could fit. Also, did yall put like a rubber grommet between the pipe and track and/or seat bottom? I though that might help keep it place or do yall not have any problems with slipping?

Mine are 3/4 x 4". I did use any grommets. When all is tightened up it is pretty darned stable. If you can't access the track to put the bolt up through the track, can you put the bolt down through the seat first and just put the nut on the bottom of the track?

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So there is a circle plate between the rails? I would imagine that I would have to cut the carpet with a utility blade in order to remove this plate and to help me see it right? I'm pullin up at my house now to give this another try

I certainly didn't need to remove or cut any carpet. Perhaps US mande And Australin made Responses use different parts betwen floor and seat rails

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Didn't get a chance to do it yet, but I will this afternoon. I looked at it yesterday and I can put the bolts in from the seat first and put the nut at the bottom under the track. One concern is how long the bolts need to be. I think the stock bolts are about an inch long. I have the 4" pipe nipples and 4 1/2" bolts. I may stop by lowes on the way home and grab some 5" bolts just in case they aren't long enough. From what I remember, the stock ones being about an inch long, had about 1/3" sticking up through the seat bottom. I know if I go through the top and put the nut at the bottome I won't have but MAYBE a 1/4" between the bottom of the skidding rail and the bottom rail. I didn't see any bolts last time that were like 4 3/4" long but maybe they'll have that bc I'm thinking that's what I'll need. I'm also going to search for more screws in the base plate to try getting that up first. Those 4 bolts that go through the tracks don't assist in holding the base plate down do they?

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Didn't get a chance to do it yet, but I will this afternoon. I looked at it yesterday and I can put the bolts in from the seat first and put the nut at the bottom under the track. One concern is how long the bolts need to be. I think the stock bolts are about an inch long. I have the 4" pipe nipples and 4 1/2" bolts. I may stop by lowes on the way home and grab some 5" bolts just in case they aren't long enough. From what I remember, the stock ones being about an inch long, had about 1/3" sticking up through the seat bottom. I know if I go through the top and put the nut at the bottome I won't have but MAYBE a 1/4" between the bottom of the skidding rail and the bottom rail. I didn't see any bolts last time that were like 4 3/4" long but maybe they'll have that bc I'm thinking that's what I'll need. I'm also going to search for more screws in the base plate to try getting that up first. Those 4 bolts that go through the tracks don't assist in holding the base plate down do they?

I ended up with 3 trips to the store for different length bolts unitl I found the roight one. Also matters how many washers you intend to use.

Send pics when done.

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Alright, FINALLY got it done! Ran into a snag the other day as I got it all done (bolt through the seat with nut under the track) and everything was fine except when I went to slide the seat, the bolt was a little too long but somehow slid past the bolt that holds the rail down. Then I couldn't get it back out to add washers haha. So I took a break for a few days. And found the BEST remedy! If any of you are wanting to raise the drivers seat but can't pull up the tracks, do this!!

Instead of using the bolts that I bought I went back and got 4 plain SS threaded rods. They only had 6" (5" would have been better). I put the rod down through the track, put a locking nut on there under te track to where the rod was just barely past the nut. I superglued 8 thick rubber washers to each side of the 4 pipe nipples to act as grommet. Put them over the rods, then layed the seat on top (when I started I was having to try an allign everything while keeping the pipes on there and it was frustrating. Added a couple washers and put another lock nut on top and it works great! Might cut a bit off the top or go get a 1"x5" pipe nipple and call it a day. I'll post pics with step by step just in case anybody is looking to do it in the future

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Alright, FINALLY got it done! Ran into a snag the other day as I got it all done (bolt through the seat with nut under the track) and everything was fine except when I went to slide the seat, the bolt was a little too long but somehow slid past the bolt that holds the rail down. Then I couldn't get it back out to add washers haha. So I took a break for a few days. And found the BEST remedy! If any of you are wanting to raise the drivers seat but can't pull up the tracks, do this!!

Instead of using the bolts that I bought I went back and got 4 plain SS threaded rods. They only had 6" (5" would have been better). I put the rod down through the track, put a locking nut on there under te track to where the rod was just barely past the nut. I superglued 8 thick rubber washers to each side of the 4 pipe nipples to act as grommet. Put them over the rods, then layed the seat on top (when I started I was having to try an allign everything while keeping the pipes on there and it was frustrating. Added a couple washers and put another lock nut on top and it works great! Might cut a bit off the top or go get a 1"x5" pipe nipple and call it a day. I'll post pics with step by step just in case anybody is looking to do it in the future

What!! No duct tape anywhere in this installation?? That's never going to hold up!! :)

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Alright, FINALLY got it done! Ran into a snag the other day as I got it all done (bolt through the seat with nut under the track) and everything was fine except when I went to slide the seat, the bolt was a little too long but somehow slid past the bolt that holds the rail down. Then I couldn't get it back out to add washers haha. So I took a break for a few days. And found the BEST remedy! If any of you are wanting to raise the drivers seat but can't pull up the tracks, do this!!

Instead of using the bolts that I bought I went back and got 4 plain SS threaded rods. They only had 6" (5" would have been better). I put the rod down through the track, put a locking nut on there under te track to where the rod was just barely past the nut. I superglued 8 thick rubber washers to each side of the 4 pipe nipples to act as grommet. Put them over the rods, then layed the seat on top (when I started I was having to try an allign everything while keeping the pipes on there and it was frustrating. Added a couple washers and put another lock nut on top and it works great! Might cut a bit off the top or go get a 1"x5" pipe nipple and call it a day. I'll post pics with step by step just in case anybody is looking to do it in the future

With the rubber washers installed, is the seat rock solid firm or a bit flexible?

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It's actually rock solid, and it wasn't without the rubber washers. All they do really is keep the pipesfrom sliding at all. When your sitting in it, getting in/out of it, or climbing over it, it feels just as solid as the stock height. I think I'm actually going to go back and get the 1"x5" pipe nipples to get rid of the extra bolt length at the top and give me another inch of lift. With 5" under the seat I'm gonna have to come up with something cool to do with the space.

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It's actually rock solid, and it wasn't without the rubber washers. All they do really is keep the pipesfrom sliding at all. When your sitting in it, getting in/out of it, or climbing over it, it feels just as solid as the stock height. I think I'm actually going to go back and get the 1"x5" pipe nipples to get rid of the extra bolt length at the top and give me another inch of lift. With 5" under the seat I'm gonna have to come up with something cool to do with the space.

Mini cooler??

Wine cellar?

Edited by Baddog
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(worth posting here too)

Has anyone heard of an adjustable, gas charged, swiveling seat post....just like those in an office chair. Possibly a heavy duty office chair shock unit could be modded so it can't tilt, but can still raise and lower....as well as providing some cushion effect while underway too....

Would be cool to be able to push/pull a lever and have the seat rise!!!

Of course, the positionable seat cushion could still be used then too....

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The raise and lower part would be cool but I'd think if you were going to do that, you might as well go ahead and have electric motors to just raise (even raise front or back of the seat bottom seperately) and the seat back. Kind of like my Denali. If you were going the "office char" route, I'd think you'd want one shock at all four corners and just fab up a lever that controls all 4 together. My reason is because I know if I was driving in that seat I would want to "work" to keep the thing from swiveling on me constantly. Actually, now that I'm thinkin about it, I believe my grand dad's Premier pontoon has a seat like your talking about, single post, gas adjustable raise and lower, and another lever that releases it to swivel and then locks into place. But that seat would be way too high in any wakeboard boat I've seen. You might try to search on overtone. I know they have a bunch of seats.

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