Hey Gang,
So this week I was able to pick up a nice set of 2001 40/40 Ranger buckets to replace my dead/dieing worn out uncomfortable 1999 60/40 seat combo.

Unfortunately when I got them home I noticed two major snags that prevent this from being a straight bolt in conversion.

-The Regular Cab ranger uses different seat mounts then the Extended cab.
-The 99 regular cab seat tracks are integrated into the 60/40 seats so they cant be easily swapped to the 2001 buckets.

I have heard it possible (with drilling cutting and lots of modding) to make the 60/40 seat mounts work on the 40/40 seat tracks but I have not found any documentation on this.

I am hoping to tackle this project this weekend, one way or another the new seats are going in my truck
If any of you have any feedback on this conversion, suggestions, or have done it before I would really love to hear from you on this before I get started!
All halp is appreciated.

PS: Its worth mentioning that the Ranger buckets I got are Identical to the 2001 Explorer sport buckets in every possible way. Even the tracks are identical.

 

So I did my bucket swap today and...Success!

I want to start off by saying it was a hot sandy beach with salty lemonade.
The stock 2001 Explorer/Ranger extended cab seat tracks don't bolt into the regular cab ranger in any capacity. Not even close. I spent a good hour trying to jimmy it in there and she wasn't having it. On top of that the 2001 tracks sat about 2" higher then the stock 99 60/40 tracks. Not a big deal but the 2001 Explorer/Ranger buckets have much more padding on them and sit higher themselves.

So that was that there was no way around it. I HAD to use the 99 seat tracks.
Unfortunately unlike the 2001 Explorer/Ranger seat tracks the 99 60/40 seat tracks don't just unbolt cleanly from the seat frame, they are integrated into the seat itself. More specifically they are permanently ATTACHED to the seat frame with 5 super strong super dense heavy duty industrial rivets in each rail...oh and 1 8mm bolt...as if the designers were having a good joke on you. Seriously these rivets were a NIGHTMARE.

I busted 2 sawzaw blades, burned 3 titanium drill bits dull, and ground down 8 angle grinder cutting wheels to dust in my pursuit to get these darned tracks off the stock 60/40 seat frame. But I did it and once they were off it was pretty easy putting them on the new seats.

One of the holes is already there for you once you get the bottom most rivets out however you have to drill a new top hole in each rail to bolt the rails to the new seats. Fortunately I was able to use the stock 2001 Track bolts to attach each seat rail with ease and after that it was just a matter of reassembling the stock 99 60/40 track on the new 2001 explorer/ranger bucket seats. (cross seat release bar and springs)

Next it was time for the Seat belt receiver... Well the 99 doesn't have a nifty belt receiver track to slide on like the 2001 does, aaaaaand the old mount was attached to the 60/40 seat frame its self.

Dilemmas...
Turns out the 2001 Explorer/Ranger buckets have a pre-drilled hole in the side of the seat frame itself in the same position as the Old 60/40 frame. Just needs to be threaded and your in business. The seat belt receiver will mount to the sturdy base frame of the new seat with no problems.
The hole was a little small for my liking tho and I ended up drilling it out in favor of a beefy half inch bolt, 2 lock washers, 2 fender washers, 2 regular washers, and 2 nuts (per seat belt receiver).

Hooked the spring back onto the 60/40 tracks and connected the other end to a random hole in the middle of the seat frame, Bolted the seats in the truck and I was in love.

If I had to do it again...I would use a drill press to drill out the rivets.
This is not an easy job. If your a metal worker, welder, or metal fabricator not afraid of beefy power tools then you could do this job in a long summer day with a few cold ones and ALOT of cussing. If you are not an experienced metal worker I would NOT advise this conversion... Its HARD, it requires a lot of THOUGHT, PATIENCE, and ENDURANCE.

If your a really tall person you probably don't want to do this swap either. The over all seat height even with the stock seat tracks is raised around 2" due to the thicker 2001 seats.


Was it worth it? HECK YEAH, my *** is in heaven. The new seats give it comfort that I could never have fathomed even in my wildest dreams!
Anyone need any stock manual 2001 Explorer/Ranger 40/40 seat tacks? Shoot me a PM I have 2 drivers side tracks and 1 passenger side track left over from this and another project.

 

Semper fi...adapt and overcome. I've done similar getting buckets into an XLT supercab and I know others would love it as a resource if you can post some photos...as long as getting the seats out to photograph isn't a major pain in the rear. Congratulations..seats make the ride.

 

Gonna be detailing the carpet here soon so I can take the seats out then and snap some after math pictures for you all, with some notations. I will shoot pics of the old seats as well so you can see where I ended up cutting.

I probably would have done step by step photos this weekend but I had alot going on, Ended up working on top of doing this project and doing a power seat conversion on the explorer at the same time

Was a busy weekend.

 

Been keeping busy with work but I did manage to grab some pictures of the old seats before they headed off to the recyclers.

Heres a shot of the stock 60/40 seat rails on the old 40 (passenger side) The driver side rails are pretty much the same. To access them I had to unbolt pretty much everything I could and pry the seat rails and seat frame out from the seat to get enough room to start cutting.



Heres a shot of what the seats Frames looked like after I cut the rails free.





Will see about getting some shots of the Rails sitting pretty on the new seats.
I can definitely say without a doubt it made a huge difference. Like driving a brand new truck!