We bought our '04 Navigator to be the comfy family hauler for long trips and seems like it will be perfect for such, but one concern we're having right now is that we have a newborn (just over a month old) and with the console in the rear there's no way for one of us to sit in the back with him or to reach him on a trip to check pacifier etc if he gets fussy. With our older boy one of us usually rode in the back on trips in our previous vehicle.

I know some Navigators came with a 3 wide seat that I think was the same 2 buckets we have, plus a center seat. Unfortunately these seem to be few and far between, and we got a nice loaded Navi with the console. I think in a few years the console will be nice to have but for the first year or 2 the center seat would be preferred.

So my question is if I'm looking for a center seat

A) are the outboard seats the same regardless of center?
B) What center seats should be "direct bolt in"?
Obviously I'd expect 03-04 and probably 05-06 Navi unit to drop right in, but what about 03-06 Expy seat? 07+ seat?

Since it's for temporary and specific use I don't care too much if it's a perfect match. Will probably put console back in once kids are a little older (provided we have no more).

Thanks!

 

Adding a center seat to place a car seat on might prove to be more difficult than you might think. Beside the seatbelts, nowadays you have to have the dealer install a car seat tether for which your vehicle might not be equipped to handle. IMO, your first step is to go and talk to the service people at your local dealer and ask if it can safely be done to your vehicle.

 

Per the owner's manual the LATCH points and tether are all integrated to the center seat so this shouldn't be an issue at all. I believe from the pictures I've seen the primary 3 point belt is also attached to the seat.

Only challenge seems to me if Ford/Lincoln didn't use the same mounting points for the seat/console, or didn't provide for both in the floor. I would guess it's interchangeable but stranger things have been done.

 

It isn't the same year, but might hold true for the F150 of our year too. https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/8...h-seat-in.html

 

Right..

But is it possible to go to the 2007+ or is the floorplan enough different it won't work?

 

Don't know if you've solved this problem yet, but I have answers for your questions. I was in the opposite situation. I bought a Navigator, and it had the 3 seat middle row, and I actually wanted a 2 seat with the center console, as I'm a single guy and would mostly be using the truck for transporting people to concerts and games, as well as towing my boat, so I'd rather have the console for the back seat passengers.

I was in the junkyard yesterday getting parts for another car, finished quickly, and remembered they had a Navigator like mine (same color) so I figured I might as well take a look at it. Lo and behold, it had the rear center console (total cost - $20.) At first I though I was going to have to pull both back seats and the center console, but after looking at it a few minutes I realized the outer seats were exactly the same, and the only major difference was the center console replacing the center seat. So I pulled the console and the brackets and brought it home. I installed it today, and the brackets went right into 4 of the holes for the center seat. 2 of the bolts are different (the rear ones.)

There are a total of 7 bolts holding the center seat in (3 sets of 2 and one oddball on the passenger side,) and it is indeed designed to hold a child seat, which is probably why it has 7 bolts holding it down. The center seat actually slides forward and back, according to the owner's manual so you can slide the kid forward if there are only 2 people sitting up front. My truck definitely had all the bolt holes I needed to put in the center console brackets but I didn't check to see if the donor truck had all 7 bolts holes it needed to put a seat in. Luckily for you, I'm going back tomorrow, and I'll check.

The major difference is in the carpet. The carpet with the console has 2 large sections cut out for the console bracket, but the carpet covers the bolts. The 3 seat carpet has 7 sections cut out for the bolts, and has plastic covers that go over the bolts. The console covers the 2 front bolts pretty well. The 3 middle bolts can be covered pretty well with the existing covers tucking partially under the console, but the 2 rear bolts are exposed and the existing covers don't hide it very well. 2 small slits made the brackets go right through. However, for me the rear seats are normally down, and you can't see anything. I think I'm going to cut out a section of the carpet tomorrow big enough to make some patches. So if you replace the console with a seat, you'll wind up with having to find the trim cover pieces, and you'll have 2 sections where the brackets used to be that don't have carpet. However, it'll all be under the center seat and not horribly noticeable.

I'll try to take some pics tomorrow and post them here.

 

Thanks for the feedback. I bought a center seat and got as far as removing the console and seeing the bracket, and haven't had time to pursue it further. Just threw a similar color floormat over the bracket and have left it open sense then.. still want to finish it at some point but replacing the timing chain moved up my priority list.
I think I have all the trim pieces but obviously not the carpeting. Will probably just deal with it until swapping the console back in some years down the line when kids are older.

 

Just got back from the junkyard. The two back holes (not used by the center console) are back there, and filled with two torx head bolts, different from the bolts used with the rear seat. The oddball 7th hole is also there, filled with a rubber plug. However, it isn't threaded, and a tap will need to be run through in order to put a bolt in there.

 

Thanks for the update!