K5 rear seat just wont latch!

[Edelbrock]

77 K5.

Cant get the rear seat to latch. The hooks just wont grab the ... striker? Not sure what its called. But the bottom line is that the seat folds forward without using the release lever. Tried slamming very hard, no luck. Nothing is obstructing the seat from lowering down, except maybe the carpet.

Any ideas?

 

[bucket]

Do you mean the passenger seat?

In '77, the rear seat was stationary.

 

[Edelbrock]

Well, ya the passenger seat has the same issue. But no, I'm referring to the rear bench seat. It has a parallel bar at the rear bottom that you lift up to release it, and then the seat pivots up and forward. Maybe its a '78?

 

[TotalyHucked]

Have you tried unsticking/lubricating the latch so it moves freely? No amount of slamming will make it work if the latch is frozen

 

[Edelbrock]

Have you tried unsticking/lubricating the latch so it moves freely? No amount of slamming will make it work if the latch is frozen

I have not, but the latch moves freely. The problem is that the seat will not move down far enough for the latch to close. Imagine a truck door that wont close far enough to latch onto the striker. Like if the striker was adjusted too far in for the door to close, no matter how hard to press on it or slam it.

 

[TotalyHucked]

So the next question is, what years is the truck? You say '77 but the fold down seats didn't start till '78. Post a picture of the rear floor, I'm wondering if someone "added" the fold down seat

 

[Edelbrock]

So the next question is, what years is the truck? You say '77 but the fold down seats didn't start till '78. Post a picture of the rear floor, I'm wondering if someone "added" the fold down seat

Well ****. Thanks for suggesting pics, because you single handedly solved the problem. The new carpet mostly obscures the strikers. I had previously checked the right side striker to see if it was adjustable, which it is not. So to take the pictures, I pulled the carpet back enough to get pics of both strikers ....


Guess what I found under the left striker...

 

[bucket]

So is your rig a '77? If in fact it is, someone installed the '78 and later rear seat. You may want to pull up the carpet and check on the quality of work. Also, it shouldn't just be some slits in the carpet. There should be a larger opening in the carpet, along with a chrome trim bezel. The larger opening let's you see if objects are down in the striker pockets.

 

[Edelbrock]

I double checked. Its a 78. So I am assuming its a stock rear seat.

 

[Edelbrock]

I was slamming that seat down pretty hard several times. I'm surprised the coins and stuff didn't bounce around and rearrange themselves to allow the seat would close. But I'm sure glad that was just a spent bullet casing and not a live round. Slam slam slam BOOM! That would wake me up better than coffee. A live round would probably not fire under these conditions, but I would not want to test that theory!

 

[Bennyt]

10mm socket?

 

[Edelbrock]

10mm socket?

That's a good question. I think its probably closer to a 13mm based on the size and weight, but I did not check that actual size. I was more curious about the spent cartridge. Its not a .22 and its not a large caliber either. No where close to a rifle round, but if memory serves its longer and narrower than a 9mm. Never seen that size round before. So... I guess I will go check and let ya know.

 

[Edelbrock]

10mm socket?

Update:

16mm
38 Special

 

[TotalyHucked]

Lesson here is, brute force is rarely the answer

 

[idahovette]

Lesson here is, brute force is rarely the answer

Yeah.......NOW you tell me...........lol.........I'm pretty much out of brute force, at this stage of the game