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Steps to Fix: Rear Seat Support (Bar or Leg) Won't Retract (Stay Flat With Seat Up)

309K views 405 replies 202 participants last post by  ShaunKris 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Moderator edit: due to the Photobucket fiasco, all images in this post are unavailable. But thanks to member ridged, we have a link to a pdf file that still has all the info:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B_rfj98mktAPd2pZVDhzWGlacnM

Edit 2 to add a link to a Youtube video:

*********************************************************************

One of the seat pulleys failed while mine was in warranty and was repaired under it. That was about 2 years ago. The other side failed and I was out of warranty.

Although this post http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showpost.php?p=554138&postcount=387 and the one referenced in it were very helpful, I decided more pictures wouldn’t hurt. Having read the various posts and purchased the aluminum replacement pulleys, I decided to install them on 2/6/2011 and document the job in photos. The entire job took about 45 minutes and would have been shorter had I not stopped to take photos.

This is the start of the job. The passenger side bar was not retracting


Here’s what the replacement pulleys look like


I’ve done some looking and found replacement pulleys at the Honda Club Store here http://www.hondaclubstore.com/ridgeline/pulley.htm
I also found them advertised on Ebay at http://stores.ebay.com/AUTO-INTERIOR-KITS Look under the “Other” category.

Put both seats in the up position and note that there are 6 separate trim pieces at the bottom that need to be removed. The middle one is two separate pieces of trim. This is a photo of the start


This is the passenger side with the first trim piece removed.


This is the driver side with the second trim piece removed


Next remove the center trim pieces. There are two parts


After the center trim pieces are removed, this is what you have


There are 3 bolts at the bottom of the seatback that need to be removed. They are gold in color. You can see the middle one clearly in the picture above. While the middle one is visible after your remove the center trim pieces, the two side ones are hidden behind the 4th and 5th trim pieces that are to be removed. This is a picture of the driver’s side trim piece after removal.
and this is a closeup showing what you will see when the trim is removed


This is a picture of the center area showing the bolt and the casings for the pulleys - sorry for the blurry picture, too much coffee


Now put the seats down


Note at the top of the seat on each side are two small covers. Remove them. One removed is shown here

These enclose two hooks at the top of the seatback. Here a picture of one


Get into the back and at the center of the seatback lift upwards and the hooks on the seatback will come loose and the seatback will naturally fall into this position


Move the seatback forward to this position so it is out of the way. Note, you don’t have to remove the seat belt. I did it in two steps shown here


Now you can see and have access to the casings for the two pulleys


Pry the casing cover off. This is where I screwed up and broke some of the plastic holding the two parts together. There was enough left when I put it back together to hold them in place. If there hadn’t been, I would have put some glue on it since I doubt I’ll ever have to take them apart again. This shows one part of the cover.


Continue on to next posting ---------
 
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#2 ·
Re: Rear Seat Support (Bar or Leg) Won't Retract (Stay Flat With Seat Up)

Here's the rest of the posting.

Here is what the broken pulley looked like



Here’s the new one mounted in place. You’ll find out why there is a slot on one side of the pulley when you go to install it. And, you’ll also find that there’s an up and down side to the pulley. In other words it will slide onto the shaft one way but not the other.


At this point, check out to see that the bar is retracting properly as shown here


When I took the cover off on the driver’s side I saw that there was a black mark on that pulley. I knew the pulley was good but decided it best to replace it while I had everything in pieces. This is the one that had been done on warranty and the mark is to show where the cable attaches (remember above I said there was an up side and a down side and that’s the purpose of the mark). Don’t worry about marking yours, if the new pulley won’t go onto the shaft, rotate it 180 degrees and it will.


And, here’s the new pulley on the driver’s side.


Now just go in reverse to put everything back together.

This is all a one person job except when I was putting the bolts back in for the seat back I needed some help to jockey the seatback a little to line up with the bolt holes.
 
#35 ·
Re: Rear Seat Support (Bar or Leg) Won't Retract (Stay Flat With Seat Up)

Here's the rest of the posting.

Here is what the broken pulley looked like



Here’s the new one mounted in place. You’ll find out why there is a slot on one side of the pulley when you go to install it. And, you’ll also find that there’s an up and down side to the pulley. In other words it will slide onto the shaft one way but not the other.


At this point, check out to see that the bar is retracting properly as shown here


When I took the cover off on the driver’s side I saw that there was a black mark on that pulley. I knew the pulley was good but decided it best to replace it while I had everything in pieces. This is the one that had been done on warranty and the mark is to show where the cable attaches (remember above I said there was an up side and a down side and that’s the purpose of the mark). Don’t worry about marking yours, if the new pulley won’t go onto the shaft, rotate it 180 degrees and it will.


And, here’s the new pulley on the driver’s side.


Now just go in reverse to put everything back together.

This is all a one person job except when I was putting the bolts back in for the seat back I needed some help to jockey the seatback a little to line up with the bolt holes.
I paid big bucks to get mine fixed, and it broke again -same side. Now I know why, and I also know I will try to fix it myself this time. I hate anything that's unreliable. DSW and I just fixed the tailgate with help from another post, and I took pics like yours I will try to upload to this site. Thanks for all the help. As a girl, I never thot I would voluntarily do "truck work" but it's a better option than paying again and again for the service department to fall short of my expectations.
 
#3 ·
Re: Rear Seat Support (Bar or Leg) Won't Retract (Stay Flat With Seat Up)

A really informative post. Thanks for taking the time to document the procedure.

Dan
 
#6 ·
My pulleys are not broken (yet) but if and when they do I will know where to find just the right information to fix them. This is one of the best DIY posts I have seen on just about any forum.

I don't think anyone could ask for any more information than this. Great job and well done meng.
 
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#9 ·
My replacement pulleys came in, and the truck goes in Monday for the CPO warranty fixes I've racked up. Just hope the service department doesn't give me a hard time using the metal pulleys over the plastic ones that come with the official fix kit. If they do then I'll just use this guide and do it myself when I get the RL back.
 
#10 ·
It has been done before, but I guess it depends on the particular dealership.
Worse case, they may have you sign something saying if it goes out within a certain time again, they will not cover it since you are not using Honda parts ..who really cares anyway, right? Good luck either way!
 
#15 ·
Before I went online and found the forum, I pulled the seat apart and can say with certainty that the mechanism that locks the seat in the upright position is different. When you pull the handle and start moving the seat upright, the cable that goes over the pulley has tension applied and that's what pulls the black bar down against the seat bottom. At the end of the travel when the seat is in the upright position there's another mechanism that holds it there. My recollection is that you can get at it by removing the seat bottom and a panel near the handle. I did remove the bottom part of the leather but I don't remember if that was necessary to see the locking mechanism. It wasn't a big job. But, it's tricky removing the edge of the leather.
 
#16 ·
I completed the installation of both pulleys last evening. The process took maybe 30 minutes. The instructions were bang-on correct. The replacement components are of the absolute highest quality and well worth the $84'ish. Knowing that I will never have to go through this process again is comforting. Beats the heck out of paying Honda $750 +. This forum is of tremendous value. I love it.
 
#17 ·
Got my RL back from the dealer after having them fix a few things including the rear seats. I had them put the pulley's that I ordered from the store here in. Very cool to see them working the way they should!
 
#18 ·
Congrats to MENG for excellent Posts on how to remove old Pulleys and install new ones. Fantastic!

Here is an update on Pulley Availability:

First, I am the seller and all the info is in the Ridgeline Owners Club Store. Just click on the Honda Club Store link and then the Ridgeline Link and you will see a link for the Pulley page. FYI, Honda calls them Cable Guides.

Second, I am also the seller on eBay. Selling them there to give Ridgeline owners another way to find them. Prices are the same.

I just ran out of the 3rd batch of Pulleys and have a 4th batch on order. Should receive them in about 3 weeks and will ship immediately. I suggest you check out the ROC store post for info on how to order. Reserved orders will go out as soon as I receive Pulleys.

Regards,
Bryan
 
#20 ·
I just wanted to take a minute to thank Bryan for the nice job on the aluminum pulleys and Meng for putting the instructions together for the pulley change out.

I received my set of pulley's today, 2/25/2011 and with Meng's instructions I completed the job in 42 minutes with zero broken parts!

Thanks again fellas, you saved me a ton of money!

Regards, Sparetyme
 
#19 ·
Thanks, that was a good post. I have had such good luck with my RL, that I haven't had to do anything except oil and filters twice now. I noticed you had what looked like a seaker box in a couple picture. Mine, unfortunately doesn't have that. Did that come from Honda, or did you put that in?
 
#21 ·
I just ordered the pulleys for my Honda Ridgeline even though my backseat is working fine. I want to put these in so then I will be problem free for the years to come in my Ridge. Great posting of how to insert the pulleys. How do you remove the plastic pieces right at the start though? I don't see anything connecting them from the front. I only see the clips on the other side of them once their removed. Thank you :act035:
 
#22 ·
Hey Kevin- I just replaced mine Saturday and it was a breeze. Getting those trim parts off take a little time and patience. If you don't have trim/clip tools, what you want to do is find something like a flat blade screwdriver (if you use a metal screwdriver be careful!)preferrably a hard plastic stick and wedge it under one end and give it a good yank. It most likely won't just come off on the first try and you're going to think it's about to break. If you can get your fingers under it, give it another good sharp pull. It has several clips holding it on and a few will stay attached to the truck and you will have to pry them out and slide them back on the part. It's really not too hard to do, and once you do the first one you will get the hang of it. I would advise buying a trim tool, you will use it again.
 
#23 ·
Note also, that after you install the pulleys and while seats are still up and before installing the floor trim, look underneath at the plastic shells that enclose the pulleys. You can make sure those shell halves are well snapped together all around.
 
#24 ·
Excellent post! I took printed copy of these instructions to my local body shop with the new machined aluminum pulleys. It took 1 1/2 hours at $40 per hour labor rate to replace - - no problem! The $60 was well worth it to save me the frustration of broken plastic clips, etc.

I'm now once again a happy Ridgeliner with "limp" back seat brackets. :act024:
 
#27 ·
Just got my pulleys in the mail today. A buddy from work is going to help me install them in my Ridgeline when we both have time. The pulleys are very high quality. I'm glad I made the plunge to get a set. I see their selling quickly as well. He's currently down to 21 from the 30 he just put on ebay. Thanks again everyone for the input.:act035:
 
#28 · (Edited)
Performed this fix on my newly acquired '06 RTL tonight. Relatively easy, and very nice quality aluminum pulleys from Seatz.

One of my pulleys was broken, and the funny thing is that there were two of the red washers on one side (the broken one) and none on the other, which tells me that both had been replaced at least once before.

Does anyone want the good plastic pulley? I'll send it for postage cost, which shouldn't be more than a couple of stamps. I have no need for it, and thought someone who doesn't want to pop for the aluminum replacements might be able to put it to use.
 
#29 ·
Just ordered a set of pulleys from Brian last night. Hoping he still has some left. I, like a few others, am just purchasing before they break.
 
#30 ·
And you will be glad you did!

It's a nice feeling knowing you can use those seats as you want and not worry about pulleys breaking.
 
#32 ·
Thanks for the post with the great photos. Me and my buddy got it done in less than an hour and the new pulleys work wonderful. Glad I'm rid of the plastic ones. Couldn't believe how flimsy the plastic ones felt.

Thanks Brian also for having these available for all of the Ridgeline owners. Keep making them as long as you can.:act035:
 
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