Important: Before removing the seat(s) you must disarm the seat belt pre-tensioners. Open the front bonnet and disconnect both the positive and negative terminals on the battery using the ratchet and 13mm socket. Then wait a full 10 minutes for the system to discharge.

Step 1: Using the ratchet and Torx socket, remove the front two bolts (picture 1).

Step 2: Wind the seat back forward & slide the seat base as far as it will go. Then remove the two rear bolts (pictures 2 & 3). Tip: Loop the seat belt around the headrest to keep it out of the way.

Step 3: The seat is now loose in the car; carefully tip the seat towards the center of the car to reveal the seat belt pre-tensioner wiring in the yellow cable cover, under the seat base (picture 4). Disconnect the cable.

Step 4: Lastly, again using the ratchet and Torx socket, remove the bolt securing the seat belt to the side of the seat (picture 5). The seat is now free from the car, be careful as you pick it up, as it is quite heavy.

Notes:

Removing the seat is usually the first step in a greater task, such as replacing the seat belt clip or fitting the Newton Commercial seat lowering kit. Replacing the seat belt clip just involves undoing an additional Torx bolt (picture 6) & fitting the seat lowering kit is just a matter of replacing the wire clips securing the under seat webbing (picture 7) with Newton Commercial's springs.

Refitting is the reverse of the above; I always take the opportunity to clean the carpet once the seat is out (picture 8). Things to note when refitting are as follows:

• It is important that the seat belt pre-tensioner wiring is not trapped under the seat frame during the refit. Tip: I pass the yellow cable cover over the diagonal bar under the seat (picture 7) to prevent this happening.

• Do not operate the seat-sliding lever whilst it is unbolted from the car. Each runner is separate from the other and if they are allowed to slide it is possible to get them out of sync with each other. This makes re-fitting trickier.

• Tip: Re-fitting the bolts can be a little tricky, to make this easier, I usually start with the rear, transmission tunnel bolt (picture 3) & then fit opposite corners. Bolts should be tight, but it is possible to over tighten them, so once each bolt starts to stiffen up, proceed to the next one & then when all four are in fully, nip them all up at the end.

• Don't forget to reconnect the battery! :)

8th April 2001, Andy Phillips (AKA: Scarlet Fever)