Hi everyone, so my 2006 Navigator's driver's seat as some play somewhere on the underside. It's becoming very annoying every time I come to a stop and accelerate from a stop. Here's a video I took from the back side of one of the seat rails as I move the seat back and forth by hand:


From some quick research I did when I first got the vehicle this seems to be a common issue for both Navigators and Expeditions of this generation at least, but I have found no suggestions to fix this issue. Has anyone seen any resolution for this?? Thanks!

-Andrew

 

I fixed mine by loosening the bolts holding the tracks to the floor and forcing one track forward and the other back as I tightened them. There was enough play in the bolt holes to take up the slack.

 

Thanks for the response alloro! To me, this sounds like your method would aid play between the seat rail and the floor of the car, rather than between the seat and the seat rail... am I mistaken? The part of the bottom of the seat that mates to the seat rail seems to be where the play is, and what I believe I recall others finding in the past is the play being in either the seat motor internally, or the external seat motor gears, but not not sure how accurate that is since I haven't removed my seat to examine closely.

 

I did something similar to Alloro in my '05 Expedition. I basically disconnected the drive motor, then I "preloaded" the tracks slightly by adjusting one side forward and then reconnecting the drive. Basically the same I guess. I tried to disassemble the seat and see if there was any hope of fixing the issue, but it's not an easy thing to fix. The play seems to be inside the "nut" for the worm gear, and looks like you would have to make a new one. Probably doable if you have a machine shop handy, but not really a DIY thing. Not sure if even new tracks don't have pay, as I don't think it's due to wear. In any case, I recommend turning off the easy entry feature so the seat won't move every time you turn on or off the ignition.

 

Yes, you are mistaken.

 

Thanks guys, I'll give that a try this week and see if it helps!

 

Hey so I forgot to update this thread but I tried what you guys said (with the seat motor unplugged) and the play still exists between the seat rails that attach the seats and the mounts that bolt to the floor. Any other suggestions?

 

Elongate the mounting holes and slide the track a bit further. You're sliding one side forward and the other back, correct?

 

Thanks for the response. Yes Sir, pushed the inner bottom track forward, and the outer one backward and bolted them down as far as each would move in that direction.

I might try to look for a new seat motor or something.... because by the time I go through the hassle to make my seat sit crooked, lol, I might as well investigate the gearing and this nut that Skauber mentioned inside the seat motor assembly. Maybe I can get someone to produce what we need, I know some CNC guys and machine shops in the area.

 

I'm having the same issue. Although if I back the seat all the way back, then the seat doesn't move lol. Only does it if another driver (short person) drives it.

 

That's the problem, you're doing it to the inner and outer of the same side. You need to be doing it to the left and right lower tracks...one forward the other back.

 

Crude drawing, the box on the front is the motor. What I did is to disconnect one of the links represented by a black line, then I adjusted the seat a little forward with only one track moving, like half an inch or something. Then I reconnected the link and no more loose seat..

 

It's not that crude, in fact it really gets the point across that a picture is worth a thousand words. +Rep points!

 

Thanks Alloro.

"You're doing it to the inner and outer of the same side".

.....I don't think I understand what you're saying. Or maybe you didn't understand what I was saying. When I said outer I was referring to the left track, closer to the outside of the vehicle. And "inner" was referring to the right-hand track, closest to the center of the vehicle (against the center console). Am I still missing something here???


Thanks for the drawing and explanation. It sounds like something totally different than what I understood out of what you and Alloro originally described. Probably my fault, but I understood it as loosen the bolts that hold both tracks to the floor, push/pull the left track one way and fasten its bolts back down, then push/pull the right track the opposite way and fasten its bolts back down as well. Now I'm lost lol. What is this link you're referring to? I though you just disconnected the wiring harness to the motor, which is what I had done originally. I guess I need to duck my head under the seat again and look a little closer at how the motor operates so I can see these links you're speaking of.

 

Yeah, it's not the wiring harness. The motor is bolted to the middle of the seat in the front, then there's two links, one going to each side as represented by the black lines. These links are line the drive axle on the drivetrain. It lets one motor drive two tracks. Disconnect one, and it will let you drive one track only. Then adjust the seat like half an inch or so, slightly binding up the seat, then reconnect it. When it's adjusted slightly offset and slightly bound up, it takes up the slack. I also recommend disabling the easy entry feature to avoid further excessive wear on the tracks, so they don't have to move every time you open and close the door. It's a nice and fancy feature yes, but personally I haven't really missed it..