After some testing I’m reasonably certain that my drivers side heated seat element is broken (Passenger side works). How bad is this to replace? Do I have to remove the seat? I’ve never done anything even remotely related to upholstery or seat repair.

 

Not too hard, instructions are page 76-5-20 & 76-5-21 and of RAVE shop manual (google and download). I'm abbreviating but...

Overpay ($100+ I think) for the new heated seat element
Remove seat from car (easier but it is possible with seat in car if you are a good tech)
Remove leather seat cushion cover w/ foam from the seat frame .. very fiddly
Carefully remove existing element from foam without tearing foam up
Put new element on foam of seat (the seat element includes a self adhesive backing) and plug in.

My advice: You'll want the seat out of the car and you'll break at least 2 of the 4 plastic upholstery "j-hooks" that hold the seat cover down. I ***VERY*** carefully removed my pass seat for this reason on a 2000 I acquired, having done it many times before and 3 of the 4 broke. You cannot reattach the leather without these J-Hooks so pay to have new ones sewn in if you break them, otherwise your leather will be loose and awful like lots of the Disco's you might see for sale.

A local upholsterer can sew in new "j-hooks" for a bit of $. I paid $45 for someone here to do mine. it looks like this https://www.sailrite.com/Automotive-...-Seat-Clips-54 and it is sewn into the leather/vinyl and then clips under the seat frame.

It's not a bad job overall. But it might be worth paying someone to do it.

 

Oddly I found the best price on the element was Rimmer Brothers in the UK, Even with shipping is was cheaper than US dealers.

I agree that it is much easier to pay to have someone put the seat back together. You'll save some money by removing the seat yourself and taking that to a shop.

 

This might sound stupid, but what kind of shop do I bring it to? An automotive upholstery shop?

 

Yes... There is a really good shop near Paulsbo actually... I heard they had a long waiting list before the Covid, but you could try them. Stitches Custom Upholstery. Hopefully you have some damage to your seat upholstery to make it worth doing the work.

 

Awesome, that place is just a few minutes from my house! I'll inquire with them as I move forward. I think I'll remove the seat myself and bring that in for the work...I think I would just make a mess of it.

 

I believe that shop bought out the business of a guy in Ballard where I had my seat done around 5 years ago. They look beyond legit, as was the previous guy.

 

Thanks for the tips and advice. After much thought I’ve decided that I’m going to give it a crack myself, but only because a guy near me was selling an extra drivers seat for $25, plus a major point of my Disco is to be the car I can work on myself. The heater element checks out so I’m going to swap that out and get some practice on the extra seat first before ripping in to mine. Honestly, part of me just wants to swap out the whole seat but my “extra” is black and my interior is beige, not that I have a concourse quality vehicle to begin with but that might be a little too jarring for even me. Plus I’ve experienced black leather in the sun before...I’ll pass on having that experience again.

 

I just replaced my heating element. The RAVE gets you most of the way there, but the details are a little vague when you get to remove the leather cover. Overall it really wasn't too bad and is easy to figure out. The black plastic lip-clips on both sides of my seat had already broken. As long as you take time to re-attach the leather bottom using the wire clips (really like a heavy-duty round staple that you can bend with a pair of needle nose pliers) it comes out looking nice.

One tip -- the back left seat bolt uses a nylock nut. You can easily access it from underneath the truck.

 

I guess I should have updated everyone seeing as how I started the thread. I ended up doing it myself with good success. I bought a hog ring pliers kit (with hog rings) and it made short work of reattaching the seat.