mjeff87 Posted March 6, 2006 Share Posted March 6, 2006 I yanked a set of black cloth/vinyl bucket seats from an XJ yesterday to mount in the MJ, but can’t get the seat tracks unbolted from them :( They’re the spiffy ones with the back-and-forth “cradle/rocker” adjustment, and I can get 5 of the 6 torx bolts off, but one of them is blocked by the forward/back handle where it’s riveted to the track. WTF was Jeep thinking when they built these things? The junkyard was going to charge me $7 ea extra for the tracks so I tried to take them off there...they ended up trying to help me but finally we all gave up and they just gave them to me along with the seats ($12/ea:)) I got them home and screwed around for over an hour with them and still couldn't get to that one bolt! Woody, how’d you get yours off? Just how different a footprint are these brackets from the MJ bench ones, like if one set of holes line up (front or rear), could I redrill the other set? TIA, Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87manche Posted March 6, 2006 Share Posted March 6, 2006 I think if you use te XJ brackets then the seats sit way up high in the cab. That's what I read while web wheeling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88Sport_Truck Posted March 6, 2006 Share Posted March 6, 2006 yeah i took some buckets out of a cherokee for my mj and left the original mounting brackets and the seats are REALLY tall......but i like it kinda cause the steering wheel has no tilt and it helps with steering .....a lil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjeff87 Posted March 6, 2006 Author Share Posted March 6, 2006 Well, I could stand to sit a bit higher, so that's not a problem. I just can't understand why somebody would engineer something that's damn near impossible to service :roll: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87manche Posted March 6, 2006 Share Posted March 6, 2006 cause it's a Jeep! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woody Posted March 6, 2006 Share Posted March 6, 2006 Sorry it took so long to reply but I am not exactly around the house right now. When I did my swap I measured thebrackets that were on my bench seat. Armed with this I went to the junk yard and tore through 4 XJ's and found on that the rails on the bucket seat matched my bucke brackets. I really lucked out. I have a 89 MJ and the doner was a 86 if memory serves me correctly. Good luck or atleast good hammering.... :D . Let me know how it turns out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woody Posted March 6, 2006 Share Posted March 6, 2006 Oh yeah, all I had to do is drill out the rivets on the bucket tracks and my bracket bolted right up! :wink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr4x4 Posted March 6, 2006 Share Posted March 6, 2006 Oh yeah, all I had to do is drill out the rivets on the bucket tracks and my bracket bolted right up! :wink: thats what I had to do for my swap and they bolted right up the xj brackets were different than my mj but easy fix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjeff87 Posted March 6, 2006 Author Share Posted March 6, 2006 Thanks guys. I'm gonna look at them again tonight. I saw the rivets, but it looked to me like the bolts were the key to everything. I need to get a new driverside bracket anyway, since my bench one rusted thru (there's nothing attached at the front now :oops: ) I had a set of them pulled off an MJ with buckets about a month ago in the 'yard but decided not to buy them (stupid, I know). I'll cobble something together... Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yj2mj Posted March 6, 2006 Share Posted March 6, 2006 Oh yeah, all I had to do is drill out the rivets on the bucket tracks and my bracket bolted right up! :wink: Did my bucket swap Sat., took the plasma to all the rivets, used 1/4" bolts in their place with the xj floor brackets. I was expecting worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oizarod115 Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 i don't know if I'm feeling the bucket seat all that much. it does give lots more storage room and posibility of a XJ center console but idk i think id like the bench too... anyone give me some reasons the bench is always getting swapped? (or is cause all of yall are tired of the wives? lollll just kidding) thanks in advance -nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 Buckets feel more comfortable to some. They certainly hold your butt in place better. But there are those who like the bench too. Jeep on! --Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woody Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 I did it out of an almost necessity. My bench was in bad disrepair, and I could't find a bench to match my interior, and there were plenty of XJs in the junk yard....so... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjeff87 Posted March 10, 2006 Author Share Posted March 10, 2006 X2 My bench is shot (but only on the driverside LOL) 99% of the time I don't have passengers with me, either. I need better/easier access to all the crap behind the seat, and if I have stuff sitting on the bench, I have to move it all to fold the back of it forward which is a big PITA for me. Plus, I can't stand not having an armrest on my right side! With buckets, I can put in a full XJ console, or fab something up inbetween them for a little bit of comfort. Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pingpong Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 I did it cause I Initially had a set of xj seats, then I did it this last time cause I wanted a set of suspension seats (PRPseats.com) and I needed a way to mount 5 point harnesses. By far the prp seats are the most comfortable seats I have ever sat in. To think I almost went with the plactis elchepo racing seats :shock: Patrick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jftimbo Posted March 14, 2006 Share Posted March 14, 2006 Ive posted this question in a thread on another forum, but I thought that maybe since this a much more specific thread I might get a better answer to my question. I am thinking about doing a swap from bench seat to XJ buckets, and my main question is about the room. Will there be less or more room behind the seat with the swap? I have subs that don't have much room behind the seat, and I didn't know if I would need to make a new box to fit behind the seat if I did the swap to buckets. Also, is there any year seats that will look the best and also be easy to swap in? Ive seen some really nice seats, then Ive also seen some seats that I wouldnt want to swap in for my bench. Thanks in advance, Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjeff87 Posted March 14, 2006 Author Share Posted March 14, 2006 I'd look for a 2 door XJ as a donor because those buckets have a forward folding seatback (just like the MJ bench). 4 door ones, like the ones I got don't fold forward the whole way, which I'm hoping doesn't pose too much of a problem. I just couldn't pass these ones up because they're in such good shape and they're black (hard to find interior color, at least for me it is). I measured the brackets this past weekend, hoping that they were the same so I could just put them in with as they were, but no dice :( the holes are spaced differently, and just wouldn't work. So now I have to get creative and figure out how to get the #$&@ off them so I can mount MJ ones (once I find a set of them LOL) And I think the buckets are gonna take up a bit more room behind than the bench, but not too much. The bench is thinner than the bucket backs, and not quite as padded (I guess the padding is for back seat passenger protection ??) Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oizarod115 Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 jftimbo: ive got 4 door XJ buckets in my MJ and have a ton of room behind them... i can put a duffel bag behind my seat. granted ive never been in a MJ with bench seat so i don't know how much room is there. but ive got plenty. anothing thing to consider is the buckets sit a little higher i think.. if you're much taller than 6'1 your head might hit the ceiling in my truck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jftimbo Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 In reference to the being closer to the ceiling, its one of my few advantages of being short. I'm only 5'7" so I won't have any problems with that. Looks like Ill just go ahead and put the seats in and then see what I can fit after that. Anyone noticed a difference after putting buckets in AFTER having a bench?? Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CWLONGSHOT Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 I recently also did this swap. I am 6' and not a small guy @ 250lbs. YES I noticed the seats sitting taller. I have the sport seats from a 2 door XJ. The ones that Rock, Tilt and Slide. I have a TON of extra room around and behind the seat after the swap. The height of the seat is tollerable, I just have to be careful entering and exiting the truck. OH and I can NO LONGER wear my cowboy hat in the truck!! CW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 The rocking/sliding ones will put your head a couple inches or so closer to the ceiling. The NON-rocking/sliding ones are identical to MJ buckets (but you still need the MJ floor brackets from the bench). Avoid the power XJ seats unless you want a serious project. Jeep on! --Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CWLONGSHOT Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 The rocking/sliding ones will put your head a couple inches or so closer to the ceiling. The NON-rocking/sliding ones are identical to MJ buckets (but you still need the MJ floor brackets from the bench). Avoid the power XJ seats unless you want a serious project.Jeep on! --Pete Too bad I found this out AFTER I bought and installed the seats!!! OH Well, I got buckets and they really are not that bad..... CW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjeff87 Posted March 16, 2006 Author Share Posted March 16, 2006 I recently also did this swap. I am 6' and not a small guy @ 250lbs. CW note to self....try not to get CW cheesed off :) I'm only 5'8" (when I wake up in the morning), but my bench seat is so worn out I sink down about 4" in it anyways. I won't know how to act sitting at normal height behind the wheel. It'll be a whole new truck to me! Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jftimbo Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 Well it sounds like there is really no good reason to not go ahead and do this. Sounds like Ill be going with sport ones from a 2 door. My final question about this top is to CW Longshot: Was the install of the rocking/sliding seats any more difficult than it would be with just regular ones, or was it the same old cut out the rivets and bolt it up deal? Thanks in advance, Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CWLONGSHOT Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 Tim, I got really lucky and bought mine from another Comanche owner that did not need them anylonger. SO they where all ready mounted to MJ bracketry, ready for me to just bolt in!!! :D 8) CW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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