rpg51

Most of the s2ks I see have a broken down seat bolster on the seat bottom and some extra wear on the door side of the seat back. I assume it is a result of getting in and out of the car. Anyone have any suggestions how to get in and out so as not to cause this damage over time? Is there a trick to it?

hecash

There is a thread on how to rebuild the bolster. Do a search for it. I used it and it came out great. The result is a clean bolster with vastly increased durability by using denser, resilient material.




Below is my driver's seat bottom after being rebuilt and moved to the passenger seat bottom. Reversing the seat bottoms is intended to give me even wear on both bottoms.

rpg51

I see that thread. I think I will let my neighbor do a repair. He is a hot shot interior guy - moonlights. Very well respected around here. I take it you think the problem is a design issue - foam not rugged enough to hold up? So if you pull it apart and install foam that is better suited it should hold up better?

My 02 has almost no miles on it and the bolster is already broken down. The prior owner was a tiny little lady who drove it a total of 8500 miles in 14 years.

BTW - I love your interior. Really nice.

Do you leave the passenger belt buckled to stop the rattling?

hecash

That's right.

Yes. I did mine 6 years ago.


Yes.

GreenmanS2000

Slide the seat fully back to give you more room...

Inspired

I place my hand on the metal close to where the door placards are for support to lift my thigh out to reduce the contact of my thigh on the bolster. It doesn't require any more effort on my end. Thankfully, the gentleman that I bought this car from shared the same habit, so my bolsters are in pretty good condition.

vicrc

Was bored so I fixed my driver's seat with a flattened bolster. At first I tried stuffing foam in, it worked but looked like a hot dog. This time I shaped a thick EPP foam (shipping support material) as I could not find a high density foam that has similar compression as the original. I removed much of the deteriorated foam, shaped the EPP foam block and glued it in with the white foaming guerrilla glue. Use caution as this glue expands and cures within 30 minutes, so only use it within the joint, cut off anything that comes to the surface as you will feel it over the leather material. I strapped the foam block while curing so I have good contact with the existing foam. I then shaped the foam using a sharp knife removing any edges, making a mirror image of the opposite bolster. Putting the leather back and strapping it with zip ties finishes the repair.

cosmomiller

Well done. I have managed to stop wear and tear by getting in and exiting differently than most cars. I sit down at 90 degrees and rotate. Do the same leaving. Absolutely no wear or real contact with the bolster.

rpg51

My first S had a flattened bolster from the prior owner at just 8K miles. My current S is perfect. I do the same method in and out taking as much pressure off the bolster as possible. Seems to be working. I am not a small guy. Still, no sign of flattening so far.