Hi All,

I did a lot of searching before asking this question and found several similar threads, but none that have this particular issue. I have a 1996 3.2 TL and the driver's seat won't move forward or backward. The switch engages the fore/aft servo motor with a click, and the flexible shaft at the front of the seat that runs between the rails torques slightly, but still no movement. After much swearing and a few glasses of Scotch, 2 of us managed to get the seat anchor bolts out and the seat track+motors up on the workbench. We found no coins or other objects in the tracks, but the right hand track requires more effort to move by hand than the left one because the lubricant feels sticky. We also found a stripped worm gear on the right hand rail, so I've been trying to source one and have been coming up short because the part itself (sits inside the housing of part 81515-SW5-A02) has been discontinued. I've attached pictures of what it looks like. Has anyone had this problem and found a solution?

Thanks for your help!

Cheers,
Dave

 

Do you have a pick a part of junkyard nearby?


Maybe try ebay? or car-part.com

 

Thanks for responding! I guess I should have mentioned that the closest junkyard with a first generation TL that still has the seat installed is 180 miles away. Yes, they will ship it for the price of the seat ($180 + $50 shipping), but my seat is in otherwise excellent condition, and this should be a $20 part. I should also mention that this car is a project car I'm working on with a friend's teenage son. He's a great kid, and I'm trying to teach him about how to get to the root of a problem and find economical solutions to save himself some money as a high schooler.

I've tried a dozen other sites, including eBay, and the closest thing I can find fits a Nissan Murano, but the teeth are cut in the opposite direction. I was hoping that someone here would know if any other Hondas have the same part in common, or know if an identical part is still available anywhere. All of the usual Acura parts sources online say it's discontinued. Here's a more precise description based on measurements I took with a digital caliper:

What it is:
A worm gear that turns the the fore/aft slider jackscrew for the driver’s seat. It has a center bore that’s round on one end, and has 2 opposing flat spots on the sides of the bore on the other end that grip the forward end of the end of the shaft to prevent the gear from spinning on the shaft as it turns. I'm also attaching some pictures of the shaft and where the part sits in the seat rail assembly.

Overall Length: 27.0mm
Length of gear portion: 12.0mm
Length of collar portion: 7.5mm per end
Gear diameter: 17.9mm
Collar diameter: 12.0mm
Inside diameter (shaft): 7.5mm
Inside diameter of shaft between flat spots: 6.0mm
Gear tooth width: 2.2mm
Space between teeth: 1.4mm (approximate)
Number of teeth: 16
Length of threaded end of the shaft it slides onto: 9mm
Length of the part of the shaft with the 2 flat sides: 12mm The forward end of the driver's seat rail. The stripped plastic gear sits inside this housing and the seat rail jackscrew goes straight through the bore. (pictured upside-down).
The end of the seat jackscrew shaft that the plastic gear slides onto.
The metal worm gear that turns the stripped plastic gear to turn the jackscrew shaft.


Cheers,
Dave

 

And...sorry about the oversized pictures. I tried to edit the post but can't find a way to do so.