Expedition Seat and Console Options

[Ginther]

I'm looking at doing an Expedition console and seat mod but have a few questions.

Instead of buying the parts listed in the How To Thread NEW from the dealer....... and still having to scavenge junk yards for second hand consoles, I figured why not scavenge ALL the parts and save some money.

Can the seat parts I need be removed for an existing Expy seat? They aren't welded together are they? Can seats and/or parts out of a Lincoln Navigator be used?

I'm confused cuz I called my local Ford Dealer and gave them the part number for the seat pan......... it shows to be for a 2000-2002 Expy. The part number for the seat bracket/support shows to be for a 1997-1999 Expy.

I'm confused?!?! LOL!! :dw:

Do we HAVE to mix years to get the right parts to make these seats work in our trucks? Or would a front passenger seat out of.... say a 2001.... Expy bolt right to the floor in our trucks? :??:

I found several wrecked Expys and Navigators in a local junk yard, but the year models and available parts vary from each one. I dont wanna buy any parts that won't fit and be stuck with them. :cryying:

 

[RIDE THE]

You could take out a complete seat and bolt it in but some of the parts might be wrong or won't work together. The seta pan is the same from L to Expy to Nav. 2000 and up have power passengers seats which is why you need a 97-99 seat riser, if I remember correctly. I'm not sure if the adjusting bar will work out of an Expy. I looked up the number and it didn't go to an Expy.

Hell go get one and see. All you might need to do it swap the L's seat back over to the new expy seat frame. Save a ton of time and cash if it worked.

You get to be the test truck on this one.

 

[Orange95]

That's how my swap was done. We found an expedition at a local salvage yard, and I just bought the entire passenger seat and luckily the console was complete. From there we just swapped the backs, and bought new foam and had them recovered. It was either a 2000 or 2001 and the seat bracket, seat pan, and I believe I had to use the adjuster off the original seat all went in with no problems. I can't remember an exact dollar figure, but it was not bad at all.

 

[Ginther]

I'm going to take my truck with me to the junk yard and try out the new seat while I'm still in their lot. The guy at the yard I went to is cool and wont mind working with me. :thumbsup:

I figure if I remove my passenger seat, it should be easy enough to sit the Expy or Navigator seat in my truck and see how well it matches the floor pan bolt holes. That way I can make sure the donor seat fits BEFORE I buy it. :idea:

I also wanna mock up a narrow and a wide console and see which one I like best. They have both, but they are tan. No factory gray ones.

 

[nathank]

I'm going to take my truck with me to the junk yard and try out the new seat while I'm still in their lot. The guy at the yard I went to is cool and wont mind working with me. :thumbsup:

I figure if I remove my passenger seat, it should be easy enough to sit the Expy or Navigator seat in my truck and see how well it matches the floor pan bolt holes. That way I can make sure the donor seat fits BEFORE I buy it. :idea:

I also wanna mock up a narrow and a wide console and see which one I like best. They have both, but they are tan. No factory gray ones.

Post up what year seat you find that works, and how everything turns out. I am hopefully doing this swap very soon.

This is good information that ChrisNelson can maybe add to his FAQ (which is an awesome write up by the way)

 

[1s9v9t3]

I would say get the wide version of the console. It looks much better then the narrow version.

 

[Terminal206]

Hey, guys. I'm new to the site and probably too late to help with this one. I have a 98 F150 Ext. Cab and I am doing the expy console swap on it. I just went out and bought both front seats and the center console from a 2002 Expedition and the passenger's seat and console bolted right up. Haven't put the driver's seat in yet, it's power so I have to run the wires for it. And the console is not in yet, but I did test install it and it does fit perfectly. I am doing fiberglass work on it to delete the back radio controls and the hook thing (not really sure what it is, maybe a headphone hanger?) and then re-texturing a dying it black to match my interior.

 

[Ginther]

Update.

I went to the junk yard today and pieced together 2 nasty expy consoles to put together ONE decent console that was complete and not all cracked up. I also bought a 2001 Expedition passenger seat to rob the brackets, tracks, seat pan, seat belt, etc etc....... to transfer to my factory passenger seat.

I got the console and all associated parts, including the brackets to mount it to the floor and all the screws and rubber mats etc etc..... And the complete 2001 Expedition passenger seat........... all for $300. Not too bad of a deal I guess.

I took the seat home and set it in the truck. The two outer track holes lined up perfectly. The rear inner hole lines up perfectly with the hole for the stock seat belt.

The inner front hole took about 5 minutes worth of work.

Once I had the other three holes lined up and bolted down, I marked the last hole, then removed the seat, cut a 1" hole in the carpet, exposing the rubber plug where the hole in the floor is already located. Just pull the plug out of it.

I didn't have the correct metric tap so I tapped it with a 3/8 x 16 standard tap. It was good enough to get the bolt started, the bolt then finished threading the hole.

That's it. The seat then mounted up like it was made to fit the truck. Expeditions seem to common in junk yards too. Apparently soccer moms like to wreck them. :dw:

 

[Stewie 03]

This is great info and a very informative thread. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Ginther]

I started tearing the Expy seat and my stock seat apart to swap the parts/pans to save some time/money at the upholstery shop.

I got both seats taken all the way down to the pans and began swapping the parts over and noticed something.......

The Lightning seat pan has some additional metal supports welded on the front, back, and outside edge to support the large foam bolsters on the Lightning seats.

The expy seat pan does not have these supports.

I imagine the seat foam would be fine without these supports, but worry that it may deteriorate over time.

To add additional confusion....... Chris Nelson's Expedition Console How To has a pic of his left over parts.

The Lightning seat pan in his pic is different from mine. It does not have the front and rear supports, but does have the side support still in place.

Did the Lightning seat pans change over the years? Did his upholstery shop remove the supports? But forgot to transfer the side support to the new Expy pan?

Here's some pics:

Chris's left over parts-

My junkyard Expy seat pan-

My 2003 Lightning seat pan with supports-

I'm going to cut/grind these supports off the Lightning seat pan and transfer them to the Expy seat pan just to be sure the seat foam has the same supports.

I wonder if upholsery shops do this when they do the conversion? I wonder if the guys who have had this conversion done at upholstery shops know whether these supports were transferred or not?

For that matter........ I wonder why Chris's seat pan does not have the supports? It my seat a freak? Or do certain years have them and years dont?

So many questions........ things to ponder.

Discuss............

 

[castellscl]

The ones on the back are on the newer trucks only, I believe 03-04. I'm pretty sure they are the baby seat tie downs. I've never done the mod, but that's what they look like to me. As for the side bar, the drivers side has the same thing. From what I understand, a lot of guys just remove it because it is what causes that crazy seat wear on the drivers side. It doesn't normally happen on the Pass side cause it's not used as much. I would say you don't need it, but it wouldn't hurt to transefer the part, just be sure to put some extra padding over the bar so it doesn't cut through the seat foam.

 

[bda1855]

Great Thread!!!!

I have had a wide Console sitting in my garage for almost 2 years now... i have come across a lot of Expis and Navigators in junkyards... this will really help get the conversion done....

I think ill start looking now... and have my seats recovered...

anyone know what it costs to recover both seats?

 

[RIDE THE]

The two supports on the back are for the baby seat hold down.

Don't worry about the front support bracket. If your donor Expy seat pan is the same as the one in Chris's how-to, it will fit just fine.

I cut off the side support and welded it to the new seat pan.

Factory:

Removed:

Measured and welded in:

 

[Ginther]

The ones on the back are on the newer trucks only, I believe 03-04. I'm pretty sure they are the baby seat tie downs. I've never done the mod, but that's what they look like to me. As for the side bar, the drivers side has the same thing. From what I understand, a lot of guys just remove it because it is what causes that crazy seat wear on the drivers side. It doesn't normally happen on the Pass side cause it's not used as much. I would say you don't need it, but it wouldn't hurt to transefer the part, just be sure to put some extra padding over the bar so it doesn't cut through the seat foam.

Yeah, I've read about the driver seat problem with that side support.

I guess I can assemble the bottom half of the seat without the supports first to see how it feels. If it feels sloppy/mushy then I can go ahead and transfer the supports.

 

[bda1855]

This is fantastic!!!!

im so going to the junkyard tomorrow after work and finding parts... haha

 

[bda1855]

PS anyone know what it would cost to recover the modified seat and the stock passenger?

or would it be better to just take the factory cover off and take it into a shop to have a new cover made?

mine are beyond repair... i was thinking of going with a microsuede... fake suede thats easy to clean and cheap.... leaving the factory block mesh and doing hte grey in the microsuede

 

[Ginther]

Don't worry about the front support bracket. If your donor Expy seat pan is the same as the one in Chris's how-to, it will fit just fine.

Do you mean dont worry about the pipe looking piece that runs along the top front of the seat pan? Doesn't that add support under your knees when sitting in the seat? Or is it just over kill and not really necessary?

 

[bda1855]

Do you mean dont worry about the pipe looking piece that runs along the top front of the seat pan? Doesn't that add support under your knees when sitting in the seat? Or is it just over kill and not really necessary?

i think its mainly to keep the middle seat from colapsing when someone sits on it...

 

[Ginther]

PS anyone know what it would cost to recover the modified seat and the stock passenger?

or would it be better to just take the factory cover off and take it into a shop to have a new cover made?

mine are beyond repair... i was thinking of going with a microsuede... fake suede thats easy to clean and cheap.... leaving the factory block mesh and doing hte grey in the microsuede

I'm not sure what it's gonna cost at the upholstery shop. By the time I'm done with the seat, all they'll have to do is cut some fabric and stitch it back together. Shouldn't be too dang expensive.

Now, to re-cover a whole seat........ that's a different story price wise. :shrug:

 

[bda1855]

I'm not sure what it's gonna cost at the upholstery shop. By the time I'm done with the seat, all they'll have to do is cut some fabric and stitch it back together. Shouldn't be too dang expensive.

Now, to re-cover a whole seat........ that's a different story price wise. :shrug:

Yeah i plan on doing most of the work myself, and taking them the original seat covers and telling them make the gray suede into this micro fiber suede...and then make the passenger seat cover into a bucket... i can fix the seat foam and stuff like that... its not too bad

I have found several auto and furniture upholstery sites that have the microfiber suede for about $15 a yard... i think 2-3 yards would be plenty... so i dont think it would be TOO MUCH... maybe $150 to do the stitching????

I think i would get enough to do the navigator console too and the speaker box...

HAHA this could be a fun summer/fall project...