Happy Dragon

I have a 2000 T/A but liked the 93 to 97 GT head rests more than the newer
& flatter head rests, so I purchased a set.



From what I understand they commonly had issues with becoming floppy
so I figured I'd post a (How to) thread.

These images were taken with my Pantech C180 on the fly and uploaded to
photobucket. This is my first how to guide so be nice.


Step One.
Two screws from the base of the head rest get removed, this
allows the unit to be taken apart.



Step Two.
Once open, one other screw is taken out to get the head rest
mechanism housing out.



I've isolated the culprit, a spring like coil with one side acting
as a fulcrum and the other screwed into the mechanism housing.



The trick is to get the coil to tighten up adding more stiffness
to the head rest bar that allows the tilting upword and
downward adjustments.



"You do (NOT) want to unscrew the coil screw!", The coil will
unwind and you'll have allot of fun getting it back in
position to turn the screw back in.

Step Three.
Loosen the coil screw slightly (3 1/2 full turns) and lift the coil
tip at the opposite end with a pair of needle-nose pliers and
place a thick enough wedge under it. Use gorilla glue under
the wedge that you insert to insure it doesn't pop or slide out
of place after your work is done, (nothing worse than having to
go back in to surgery after leaving an "Ooop" scalpel in the
patient needing to reopen the bugger up just to fix'em all over
again) and then tighten the coil screw back down.

I bent a pair of non-craftsman (made in China) needle-nose
pliers doing this... that's how tight this coil is! (Wish I had a
girlfriend like this coil).



This will add enough tension to the coil to make the tilting
upword and downward adjustment stiffer alleviating the
floppy head syndrome.

This wedge in the picture is just a crude example.

You'll need to find a more permanent fix as a wedge due
to the multi-tilting and sliding back & forward nature of
the head rests.

A wedge is the only solution but the right sized wedge
and Gorilla glue or it's equivalent, is key so it won't pop
or slide out.

Step Four.
All down hill from here...
Reassemble head rest and reinstall into Bird.


This is all I could come up with on the fly. If anybody has
any comments or further tips... (What you used as a wedge
and how you mounted it), feel free to post them including
images.


Never forget... "Bird is the word!"
Thanks & GOOD LUCK!

Viper

iTrader: (6)

Good write=up, thanks!

rmpitzer

iTrader: (5)

Nice write up, I plan on trying to fix my floppy headrests.

How do you pull the headrest off the seat? Does it just pull out, or is there a release mechanism of some sort?

-Rich

dabeav3

OK I give up. How in the hell do you separate the head rest pad from the head rest base like you have shown in the 1st picture? Also I pulled the clips from the head rest posts and still couldn't get the damn thing to release from the seat. Any suggestins? Damn GM engineers should have to work on these things or get them shoved up their _________!

rmpitzer

iTrader: (5)

Looking at the service manual, you need special tool J39641 to spread open the head rest guide tabs.....after removing the seat back....and it looks like some hog clips and fabric to access the guide tabs.

Looks like a PITA.....I think I'll wait until my head rests get floppier.