Ducato seats, again.

RichardHelen262 said:
I swapped the seat bases on a sprinter van for the same reason as you,
It was a very simple job as once I had the seats out the bases were just held in place with 4 bolts, no need to do anything with the seat belts,
Next time you are passing this way call in and let’s see what we can do with them
Click to expand...
That’s why I think I am missing something in the thread, so easy to swap the complete seats on a Sprinter. Saying that the passenger seat on mine doesn’t have the IMSI(?) label that drivers seat has.

In fact Del, fit a pair of Sprinter seats, they are real comfy 😂😂

Edit: it’s ISRI suspension seat on drivers side 👍
 
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nabsim said:
That’s why I think I am missing something in the thread, so easy to swap the complete seats on a Sprinter. Saying that the passenger seat on mine doesn’t have the IMSI(?) label that drivers seat has.

In fact Del, fit a pair of Sprinter seats, they are real comfy 😂😂
Click to expand...
Just because you can do something on a Sprinter does not mean you can just repeat it on a Ducato :rolleyes:
I think if it were as simple as suggested, Del would have sorted it long before now.

Many (most?) seats are handed and the left and the right cannot just be swapped over without doing a fair few other things as well.
For example, you may have armrests on just one side and swapping over will put them on the wrong side. Seats may have the receiver buckle fitted on a strengthed area of the seat that is not strengthened on the opposite side, so swapping the buckles over may not be safe? there may be a moulded plastic form around the buckle and swapping the seats will means swapping those parts. Some seats have height adjustment and lumber adjustments on the drivers side only so swapping seats you will loose that for the driver. Swivels would go the wrong way if they were part of the seat if you swapped them over.
Probably other things as well to consider (here's another one ..... Side Air bags if present would be on the wrong side and face IN instead of out if you swapped the seats over).

Here's a photo of the seats I fitted to my T5 ...

T5 Seats by David, on Flickr
Just look at the photo and you can clearly see you can't just take the seats off and swap them ... The Seat receivers, the moulding around them, the seat adjusters, the lumber adjustment, the side airbags (and maybe other things as well) all need to be dealt with.

Seats I fitted to my VW LT (Sprinter Mk1)

LT Seats by David, on Flickr
Armrests would go to wrong side, the swivels would go in the wrong direction, the lumber support would go to the passenger. (but at least the belt receiver might be able to be moved easily?)

(FWIW, I dumped my LT Drivers Seat (which is the same as the Sprinter seat) and fitted the Seats above which are from a Ford Galaxy. Much much nicer :) )
 
Can’t remember if Del has arm rests. I know mine doesn’t have arm rests on side airbags and receiver can be easily swapped. Never had a Fiat so no idea how they are. I don’t think Del really wants to get into dismantling the seat cushions though, looks like it could be a bit stressful. If that was something I was looking at I would probably buy new seat complete
 
To confirm.
I only want to swap over the sit upon. Not the entire seat unit.
Thank you,Richard for your offer of help. I reckon, once I take a seat assembly out, the way the seat is constructed will be revealed.
1, It is not going to be done in a French aire.
2, As I’ve recently realised that I am now a, Elderly person, they are bl…dy heavy.

Thanks for everyone’s advice, it’ll be sorted one way or another.👍
 
If it is (as it seems to be) a big task just take the van to a van reupholsterer I think it'd be a cheap almost while-you-wait job to simply swap the squabs as they know exactly how to do it, they do it for a living and not worth putting your back out.
 
When I decided to sell my van, I took off the Ducato specific covers which I'd bought for it when I got it and threw them in the bin 'cos the dog(s) had wrecked them. When I then decided not to sell this year after all, I found the covers I had for my Mitsubishi Outlander (again supposed to be vehicle specific) and fitted them to the van. They fit better than the others did.
The seats themselves are in pretty good nick and I'd like them to stay that way, plus they are dark blue which just doesn't match the rest of it.
 
Problem I’m having Caz , is the new loose covers, are made from, probably, some kind of material that’s not that comfortable to sit on for long periods. The van is doing around 10,000 miles a year. So you can imagine how long I sit on the seat.
My way of thinking is, while I’ve got a perfectly good seat, not being used, on the other side. It makes sense to do the swap..
Plus, the seat base is becoming mis shapened
 
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Did you contact an upholstery company?
 
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