The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Interiors Seat adjuster assembly

I have a '53 GMC. I'm looking for help in assembly of the seat sliders. The front roller and ball bearing-cage assembly have fallen out of the adjusters(sliders)-. The adjusters have been knocking around in the garage for far too long and in the process of moving, cleaning, etc the front roller with cage with the 4 ball bearings have separated from the upper and lower slide bars. THEY DO NO FALL BACK INTO POSITION. As with most things there is a trick to getting these sliders back together. Can anyone shed some light no how to assemble?

My opinion is you need to find some replacements. If they're worn enough that the rollers have fallen out it will be nearly impossible to get them put back together correctly (and be confident that they can be safely used).

Not saying it's not possible, but I believe that there were stops that were staked into the rails after assembly at the factory, and you'd need to remove those stops, reinsert the roller and ball bearings with the cage (which may also have been damaged) and then find some way to restore the stop on the rails. I don't think I'd attempt to repair them myself and I've taken on similar tasks previously (sometimes with success).

You might try posting in the swap meet. I'm sure someone could come up with working seat adjusters for you.

thanks for the reply. I didn't notice any missing stops, but now I'll look harder. They show very little wear, roller or balls and the cages are in good shape. Will give it another go. Cheers

I'll take a closer look at my seat adjusters (laying in the garage). The stop may be a tab that's bent down at the end of the rail.
[on edit] Yep, there's a tab on the rear of the rail. See the first photo. You'll need to bend that up so it's flush with the rail, then insert the rollers, balls, and cage and bend it back down to keep the roller in place. The second photo shows the tab on the side that limits the movement within the slot on the rail.