Hi everyone, I have a BMW E36 (W reg) and would like to know if it is possible to do a straite swap of the 2 front seats from right to left the reason for asking is that the leather on the driving seat is getting a bit worn on the right side of the sqaub both the seats look identicle apart from the fittings on the bottom of the seat which i would think are interchangeable, could some kind pearson advise me on this before i try swaping them over only to find that it doesn't work.The seats are NOT electrically operated, any advice on this would be very very much apreciated.

I don't know about your bolt placement for floor pan but I do know that you can swap the leather skins! Good Luck!

All e36 seats will all bolt straight in. Just remember sedan and tourings won't have the tilting backrests.

do a search, i was reading on these forums and somebody had posted "how to swap your front vaders round" it was only in the last day or so, good luck finding it

i did this on my car.

take both seats out and swap the left cushions & leather onto the right seat frame and vice versa.

if you have heated seats, you will need to take apart the butt cushions and swap the heating elements. those are side-specific. if you dont keep them on their proper sides, the wiring wont be long enough to plug in.

so when you are done, the left side of the car should have the left seat frame and left butt heating element with the right back & butt cushion and right back & butt leather.

i did this on my car.

take both seats out and swap the left cushions & leather onto the right seat frame and vice versa.

if you have heated seats, you will need to take apart the butt cushions and swap the heating elements. those are side-specific. if you dont keep them on their proper sides, the wiring wont be long enough to plug in.

so when you are done, the left side of the car should have the left seat frame and left butt heating element with the right back & butt cushion and right back & butt leather.

Why did you change cushions?

Btw, how hard is it anyways. I mean, did you take of the leather? From what I have seen so far, the leather is clipped on at the back, not stitched. It looks like you can just get some fresh cushion foam and then re"plug" the leather back.

Why did you change cushions?

Btw, how hard is it anyways. I mean, did you take of the leather? From what I have seen so far, the leather is clipped on at the back, not stitched. It looks like you can just get some fresh cushion foam and then re"plug" the leather back.here is a thread i made about replacing the heating elements. http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=669338

i changed the cushions because the passenger side was much less worn than the driver side because i am alone in my car 90% of the time.

my driver's side leather wasnt cracked or discolored - just the grain had been flattened out over the past 10 years and 140k miles. Swapping the leather & cushions just helps to even out the wear so that they match, as opposed to having a pristine passenger seat and a well-used driver seat.

the edges of the leather are clipped on. this is really easy to undo. the seams of the leather are held to the cushion with small metal rings - these are no fun to work with. the rings are very stiff and it is difficult to open them up and unhook them without damaging the cushion or pulling the anchor bar out of place. http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c296/palomino328/Write-Up%20Pics/HogRing-A.jpg

this pic shows why you have to swap the heating element on the butt cushion - the wiring comes out the side of the cushion. on the back cushion, the wiring for the heating element comes out the center.
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c296/palomino328/Write-Up%20Pics/AssembledButtCushion-A.jpg

Many thanks to all that have helped on this queery especialy Palamino its most instructive incidentaly is there an easy way of removeing the right and left studs at the rear of the sqaub so as to remove the seat (the bit you sit on) there are 3 or 4 torxs screws then the 2 studs at the rear they have little serations on them and so far have not been able to remove them.

Thx for that P'mino.

Only question left: to replace the heating elements, do you need to take the leather off the foam?

I heard from a buddy (very attention to detail oriented electrical engineer) that the hog rings are NOT fun to work with. at ALL

I heard from a buddy (very attention to detail oriented electrical engineer) that the hog rings are NOT fun to work with. at ALL Yes those rings are a pain in the piles, i have just changed my leathers from driver to passenger by using Palamino's instructions and it works a treat but instead of the hog rings i have used "cable ties" throughout,the job is very time consuming but at least the leather will last longer...i suppose its a bit like changing the tyres over to even the wear out. Thanks to Palamino for a very instructive thread. Ken UK.

Thx for that P'mino.

Only question left: to replace the heating elements, do you need to take the leather off the foam?

yes. the heating element is sandwiched between the leather and the foam.

here is a pic of the new element layed out over the foam. it comes pre-cut with the holes exactly lined up to where a hogring (or ziptie) should be. in the upper right corner of the pic, you can see the old pad - it still has the shape of the seat.
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c296/palomino328/Write-Up%20Pics/ButtHeatPad.jpg
I heard from a buddy (very attention to detail oriented electrical engineer) that the hog rings are NOT fun to work with. at ALLi guess they're alright if you have the proper upholstery tools at hand. i used bent-nose pliers to open the rings and slide them out. i used small zipties in their place when i put the seats back together. using zipties allows you to pull the leather in tighter in the seams, which looks better IMO.

Yes those rings are a pain in the piles, i have just changed my leathers from driver to passenger by using Palamino's instructions and it works a treat but instead of the hog rings i have used "cable ties" throughout,the job is very time consuming but at least the leather will last longer...i suppose its a bit like changing the tyres over to even the wear out. Thanks to Palamino for a very instructive thread. Ken UK.

no problem. glad it worked out for you.

Great post Palomino! I got some cracking on my drivers side seat in one spot. Wondering what to do with it. Sand it and re-dye? Anyone dealt with any cracking?

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c296/palomino328/Write-Up%20Pics/AssembledButtCushion-A.jpg

did you install a super nintendo in your vert, too? hahah...

did you install a super nintendo in your vert, too? hahah...

it would be age-appropriate for my 1997 bmw, especially considering that it was a pretty baller ride back in its day, but no.

i just felt like playing Super Mario World last summer and found a SNES + SMW and a few other games for $30 on craigslist. :D

Good pics Palomino!

Nice to see that the whole seatbase is heated. Although now I know mine are broken as the only thing heating up is the lower back portion.

Doesn't seem like a simple job though! How much are these mats?

btw...how is your backrest heated? I mean...I can't imagine a heating element being partly broken. It's either the whole thing or nothing (right?) Which does not explain why only the lower back portion on mine heats up. I take it the entire back should heat up.

And in that pic...the element is quite longer than the foam. Where does that part go? Or is even the thigh support heated!?!?!

Backrest has its own heating element, too. In my car, on the driver's seat, the back rest element has died while the bottom piece is still working. Long story short: there are 2 heating elements per seat. One can go out before the other.

Backrest has its own heating element, too. In my car, on the driver's seat, the back rest element has died while the bottom piece is still working. Long story short: there are 2 heating elements per seat. One can go out before the other.

I know that.

Please read again for what I really ask.

I'd just check for a loose connector. If not that then replace the pad.