How-To: Leather Seats with Heaters

RubiconMike

RubiconMike

TJ Enthusiast
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Joined
Oct 25, 2018
Messages
346
Location
Santa Cruz, CA
I bought a Rubicon Unlimited new back in 2005 and have been building on it ever since. My goal is to have a rig that is street legal, comfortable and luxurious, able to be driven cross-country, yet still capable enough to take on some of the toughest trails in the country. I’ve always liked having leather seats in my cars (YMMV), but until recently, I’ve not be able to find leather upholstery for the TJ (didn’t want seat covers – I wanted real upholstery). From a post in another forum, I found out about lseat.com. They make leather replacement upholstery for a variety of cars. I ordered a black leather set with silver stitching (because I have a black Rubicon with silver lettering and hard top).

The upholstery arrived in around six weeks as they had said, but due to an ordering error, wasn’t the right pattern for the front seats. (Their web site marked it wrong, and I didn’t look at my seats to confirm). Even though their web site said they had a 14-day full return policy, and they would pay the shipping if it was their error, they charged me an additional $60 for “restocking” and “return shipping”. The actual upholstery looks like nice thick leather with good stitching and fit well. So, if they had better customer service, I would give them a top rating.

While waiting for the fronts to be replaced, I went ahead and did the rear seat. I was kind of pissed-off about the front seat screw-up, so I didn’t take notes or pictures. It was quite simple, the seat is made to be removable, and it’s straightforward to unclip the fabric and peal it off. The only difficulty was around the seatback release. The fabric has little plastic clips sewn in that fasten to a plastic frame around the seatback release. Two of the clips were sewn in the wrong place and wouldn’t attach, so I had to cut them off. There were enough clips left to hold the material in place though.

Here’s before and after shots. In my next post, I’ll detail how I did the front seats.
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To do the front seats, I first took the seats out. There are only four bolts, three with a ½” head and the one that anchors the seatbelt uses a T-50 Torx. That’s pretty much the only tools you need besides a pair of needle-nose pliers. There is also a wire that needs to be unplugged, I think it’s so the system know if you’ve connected your seatbelt.

Once the seats are out, I started by removing the bottom cushion and pan. There are four 1/2” bolts that hold it to the frame; two in the rear corners, and two in the front sides.

Rear bolt
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Front bolt
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On my seat there is a cable for the seat release that is under the fabric, which is held to the seat page with a plastic clip. Just slip the clip off to expose the cable, and the seat pan will pull off. You will need to guide the fabric around the seat recliner and seat belt latch so it doesn't catch, but there should be nothing else holding the seat pan in place.

Before
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After
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Seat pan removed
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To do the seat bottom, flip it upside-down and pop off the plastic clips holding it to the seat pan.

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The difficult part of removing the fabric from the cushion are these steel rods that run through fabric channels in the upholstery and metal rings in the seat foam.

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I found the easiest way to remove it was to fold the fabric back to expose the wire. They grab one end and slide it all the way out. You may need to squeeze the loop at one end to make it small enough to slide through the rings on the foam. You will need to make sure it doesn't get caught on a fabric edge as it slides in and out. Once the rods are out, the only thing holding the fabric is a velcro strip, just peal the seat fabric off.

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Now is an excellent time to add those seat heaters (or "bun-warmers" as the wife calls them) you've been wanting. Kits sell for as little as $55 on Amazon, might as well do it now. Just peal off the double-stick tape and place them in position. (In this picture, you can see the rings down the side that the rods slide through, and the black velcro strip across the middle)

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Place the new upholstery on top making sure to seat the velcro, and slide one rod through the fabric channel and seat rings. (note: the lseat channels do not have cutouts where the rings are attached. I places the old and new upholstery side-by-side and cut in the same place as the old ones.)

New fabric on top, old below. You can see the notches I cut in the black fabric tube.
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Once you are done attaching the upholstery to the foam, flip it over, insert the seat pan, and snap the clips on. You are done with the bottom, but don't put it back on yet. The top is much easier to do with the bottom removed.

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For the seat backs, start by unclipping the fabric where it wraps around the seat hinge. It's another of the plastic clips that hooks into a piece of plastic sewn into the fabric. (If you do this before you unbolt the seat bottom, it makes it easier to get to the rear seat pan bolts - seen in the background next to the foam).

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Start pealing the fabric up - there will be two thick steel rods running up each side of the seat back. The end of the rod is a loop, and the loop is hooked through a ring in the seat foam. Slip the end of the loop out of the ring, and pull the rod all the way out. Do the same for the other side.

Blurry photo of the rod in place
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One rod removed, other 1/2 way out
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Keep pealing the fabric up until you come to the next obstacle. It's another rod in a sleeve, like the seat bottom had. Because it's sunk in between the seat bolsters, it's difficult to slide out like I did in the bottom. Here I used needle-nosed pliers and a small screwdriver to pry the seat ring apart just enough to slip the rod through. (You might be able to compress the foam enough to slide the rod out, but I think it might be difficult trying to line everything up while compressing the foam when you put it back together.)

Seat pealed to expose the rod
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Ring twisted open to release rod
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Rod released (there are only two rings holding it in)
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Next up, if you have a '03 - '06, is to remove the fold and tilt lever. I hate to just pull on stuff until it comes off, but thanks to a tip from Chris, that's what you do to remove the plastic end. Then unscrew the plastic surround and take it off.
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Keep pealing the fabric up until you get to the bottom of the head rest. There is another velcro strip there, peal the fabric away and you should be able to completely remove it. You should end up with something like this:

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Did I mention that this is the perfect time to install seat heaters?
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Installation is a reverse of disassembly. A couple of tricks that you may find helpful: You might notice in the picture above some clear plastic over the top. That is actually from the factory and makes it easier for the fabric to slip over the foam rubber. I also sprayed some dry lubricant over the seat for the same reason. I think it really helps the fabric slide over the foam.

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To reassemble, slide the upholstery over the headrest, align and press the Velcro into place, push the rod through the rings you spread earlier, and squeeze the rings shut.

The thick steel rods slide under a metal bar in the foam, then the loop end goes through a ring to hold it in place. What worked best for me was the pull the upholstery all the way down, then slide the metal rod into the sleeve. Reaching under the upholstery, I guided the end of the rod under the metal bar, slid my arm out, and hooked the end in the ring. It's easier than it sounds.

Here's what the rod looks like installed, with the upholstery removed.

Top
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Bottom
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After that, you pull the ends around the bottom and clip them together. (picture shows two clips on left connected)
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The back rest is done!

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Next, you put the seat bottom in place, making sure to pass the seat belt and recliner levers through the folds in the upholstery. Reinstall the four bolts holding the seat pan in place, fold the front upholstery over the seat cable and fasten into place. Wrap the bottom upholstery around the hinges and fasten the clips and the seat is done. Reinstall the seat, connect the wires, and enjoy your new seats! (I took a heat gun, warmed up the leather, and smoothed out most of the wrinkles. I expect that after heating in the sun next summer even more will go away.)

Before
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After
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Not everyone likes leather, some people say it sticks to them, some say it's too cold or too hot, or whatever. I'm one of the people who like leather and appreciate how well it wears and cleans up. Not to mention the smell of leather.... I hope this will help anyone who is thinking of going this route, (or just wants to replace worn-out fabric with new). It's actually quite easy, the only tools you need are a 1/2" and T-50 wrench, and some needle-nosed pliers. No special skills are required, just take your time and work through the fidgety bits. I'm happy to answer any questions if I can, just post here or PM me.
 
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Awesome thread, thanks for the write-up.

You and I have the same goals in terms of making our vehicles as comfortable as possible, but also as capable as possible.

I plan on doing this to mine, but I am going to stick with the cloth seats as I prefer cloth over leather.

Job well done!
 
I used the exact same place for new covers on my Lj. Did them black with perforated centers and yellow stitching. One tip I will give you and anyone else looking to do this mod is to use a steamer on the foams before you replace the covers. Over time the cells in the foam close up, the steam will open them up and you will actually see the foam swell up quite a bit as you are doing it. Once the covers are installed use the steamer to get any wrinkles out of the leather. The covers tighten up quite a bit when you do this.
 
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jeepndogs said:
I used the exact same place for new covers on my Lj. Did them black with perforated centers and yellow stitching. One tip I will give you and anyone else looking to do this mod is to use a steamer on the foams before you replace the covers. Over time the cells in the foam close up, the steam will open them up and you will actually see the foam swell up quite a bit as you are doing it. Once the covers are installed use the steamer to get any wrinkles out of the leather. The covers tighten up quite a bit when you do this.
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Got any pictures? Black/yellow should look pretty sharp in a yellow Jeep.
 
Those are some good looking seats. The tribal pattern of the stock seats has always been an eyesore IMO. A def good aesthetically appealing upgrade. Well done
 
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