Recaro seat parts
 

I managed to take apart a recaro front sear. There was a lot of swearing, but I managed it. Just dont ask me to put it back together again :)

I'll be bringing it along to the open day in case anyone wants to see the insides, and of course for my own experiment trying to fit the leather onto the A8 manual seat.

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1366026463

Good job! I'd like to see where the lumbar support valves are

Me too! Are they in any way accessible/repairable/replaceable without massive surgery?

Recaro seat in bits
 

I have to say you did well.....I ve done this once before to repair the passenger seat sensor....I did manage to put it back together but never again.

Here are some more pics. If you just need access to the lumar support bellows you may be able to get away with just removing the inner backrest cushion. There is a zip just where the backrest meets the seat cushion, if you can tilt the seat far enough forward or back so you can get at it, the rest can be done without dismantling the seat. It is hooked onto plastic hooks in the middle of the seat and on to steel hooks at the top - tricky to remove.

The rest of the back rest foam and leather may need more dismantling. The trickiest part was the steel hoops (?) that secure it to steel wire secured to the backrest frame. I didnt want to cut them off so I opened them up and rotated off on one side. Then I realised that there is a better way for the left side. There is a wire (in the picture) running through the fabric attached to the seat leather, with hooks at either end to prevent it from sliding out. You can fish out the top hook and straighten it, then just pull it out through all the rings and the backrest leather will come off. The foam comes off easily too but it is glued to the top of the backrest frame. Easy to remove but go gently, using a blunt knife, to minimise chance of tearing chunks of foam.

I think the motor at the top in the seat frame picture is the pump for the lumbar support. Hopefully A8 parts will come along and provide better advice for accessing/repairing it.

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1366056052

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1366056052

Pictures with notes may be more useful.

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1366056862

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1366056862

OK, I know this was nearly 5 years ago, but if Goran is around still I'd appreciate a bit of input on how the backrest comes apart. ;)
I don't need to get into the seat base, just to the BACK of the backrest, to replace the lumbar support pump, which is quite high up to one side.

Unlike other types of seats the backrest cover seems to be stitched together as a whole, so should come off as a whole, which can only be upwards!

Having studied my Bentley manual (and Elsawin which is the same) it looks as if the (very brief) outline of the process is:
1. Remove headrests (not sure how yet but I think they come off the support rods somehow)
2. Remove assorted trim, covers etc. around the hinge area.
3. Remove backrest inner/spine cushion - from feeling around this it appears you have start at the bottom - maybe zipped to the seat cushion then work up?
4. Possibly undo some now-exposed fixings behind the inner cushion then slide the entire leather cover up off the seat.

It's all a bit confusing as both Bentley and Elsawin refer to removing a panel on the back of the seat that just doesn't exist on the S8 Recaro seats. And that is definitely in the Sports seats section.
They do both imply that you can remove just the backrest from the base if necessary, though you may need the whole thing out anyway to get at various items.

Hi HP,

It was a long time ago, but I think you can do it without taking off the backrest leather which is a bigger job.
If you look at the photo above, all the pumps and motors are on the front of the backrest frame. I think it may be possible to reach all those components by just removing the backrest cushion insert, which is a separate piece. You have to remove it anyway as a part of the procedure of removing the whole backrest leather.

It is primarily hooked onto the 5 hooks on the front face of the backrest frame as per picture above. You can start to get to it from the bottom, should be just velcroed at the bottom to the seat pad?

If you have a cheap ebay borescope cam it could be useful to guide your hands or a hook under the back rest pad to unhook it, although I did it by hand it is possible, but it is annoying because you have to locate things by touch.

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1518102838

Thanks for that detail, Goran. I think I'd got the backrest frame the wrong way up! :o
Yes I'm pretty sure the pump is in, or just above, that brown pouch.

Pulling the centre section away from the side bolster I can see the lumbar support bladders and pipes to them, so it may well be fairly accessible after all, depending how much those bolsters block access.
Is the bottom of the centre backrest zipped to the seat base, rather than held with Velcro, or does that zip in the picture do something else?

It's also clear from the tubes to the bladders that both seats are the same, i.e. NOT mirror images (apart presumably from the airbags and controls) so the pump is probably behind your left shoulder in both front seats.

I'll investigate further when the weather is warmer.....

Oh yes, you are right! It is zipped to the base. There may be a staple in the zip holding it in place, once you unzip it it will be easier to get to those hooks.