Where to find OEM seat covers
- Thread starter gmcman
- Start date
Wooluf1952
Member
My part time job is at an auto upholstery shop.
Do you want a whole set of covers OR just replace one or two torn/ damaged pieces?
Katzkin or a company called Roadware (maybe Roadwire?) sell complete sets - usually thru local auto upholstery shops or car dealers. Available in any color or combination of colors with matching or contrasting piping. I find Katzkin's web site to be somewhat hard to order from but customer service over the phone is very good IMO.
Where I work we can remove one seat, remove the cover, replace the damaged panel(s), repair any damage to the foam, weld the frame (if needed), put everything back together, and reinstal the seat in your truck for $325 + if you want vinyl. Before you insist on genuine leather answer a question for me: Do you know that parts of your "leather" seat covers are really vinyl? Not just on Chevys either. Accuras, Lexus, Lincoln, Cadillac, BMW, and Mercedes are also part leather (usually just the part you actually sit against) and part vinyl. We often do leather but it can cost two or three times more money.
While the seat is out of the truck and the seat covers are off now is the time to add seat heaters.
Do you want a whole set of covers OR just replace one or two torn/ damaged pieces?
Katzkin or a company called Roadware (maybe Roadwire?) sell complete sets - usually thru local auto upholstery shops or car dealers. Available in any color or combination of colors with matching or contrasting piping. I find Katzkin's web site to be somewhat hard to order from but customer service over the phone is very good IMO.
Where I work we can remove one seat, remove the cover, replace the damaged panel(s), repair any damage to the foam, weld the frame (if needed), put everything back together, and reinstal the seat in your truck for $325 + if you want vinyl. Before you insist on genuine leather answer a question for me: Do you know that parts of your "leather" seat covers are really vinyl? Not just on Chevys either. Accuras, Lexus, Lincoln, Cadillac, BMW, and Mercedes are also part leather (usually just the part you actually sit against) and part vinyl. We often do leather but it can cost two or three times more money.
While the seat is out of the truck and the seat covers are off now is the time to add seat heaters.
- Dec 12, 2011
- 4,656
Penn, thanks for the info. Yeah, I do want to possibly replace the bottom cover since it has likely been compromised from cleaning or just wear. I have a silver dollar size void with just the foam exposed....I will get a pic later.
I am aware about the vinyl but I don't know how much of the seating surface is vinyl or leather...or percentage. ...hard to really tell if there's any leather at all....
Ultimately I would like to get the bottom cushion covers repaired or replaced and the foam returned to factory shape and support. If I could retain the factory color and add some softness to the bottom that would be great, but surely the cost is an issue. The factory covers are firm and tend to crease, possibly from the foam collapsing...that's just speculation.
That's great you are in this profession and are offering your expertise....I appreciate that.
I am aware about the vinyl but I don't know how much of the seating surface is vinyl or leather...or percentage. ...hard to really tell if there's any leather at all....
Ultimately I would like to get the bottom cushion covers repaired or replaced and the foam returned to factory shape and support. If I could retain the factory color and add some softness to the bottom that would be great, but surely the cost is an issue. The factory covers are firm and tend to crease, possibly from the foam collapsing...that's just speculation.
That's great you are in this profession and are offering your expertise....I appreciate that.
How much work can you do yourself? At my part time job the more work you do the less we charge. Even taking the seat out of the Envoy and putting it back in yourself will save you some money.gmcman said:
Just repairing the seat cushion but not the backrest? I have good news for you. If you have a 18mm socket or box wrench, a 13mm deep socket, a #2 Phillips screwdriver, and a friend who can help you for a half hour I can save you alot of money. The way the GM 360 front seats are constructed anyone who knows which end of a screwdriver to hit with a hammer can remove the lower cushion assembly in a few easy steps:
1) Pry off the plastic covers and remove the four nuts holding the seat to the Envoy's floor with an 18mm wrench.
2) Unplug wires and cables so the seat comes free and put it right side up on a clean, padded workbench with all sharp and pointy objects removed.
3) Remove the panel that contains the controls for power seat and the plastic valance. Three of four phillips head screws each piece. No need to disconect the switches, just let the panel dangle.
4) Turn the seat upside down and remove the four nuts holding the seat cushion pan with a 13mm deep reach socket.
5) Take just the seat pan to the auto upholstery shop and let them do their thing.
Assembly is the reverse of disassembly.
The edges of the sheet metal are sharp, you may want to wear gloves. GM does NOT want the air bag connector to come loose. It has a slightly different style connector just to be 110% sure it does not come apart. The friend part is optional. He is mostly to keep the seat from tipping when removing the seat pan and to help align the seat when re-installing it until you get one or two of the nuts started.
Over at Trailvoy.com there is an excellent thread with lots of pics by someone who swapped his cloth seat covers for leather ones. I highly recommend you look at it.
gmcman said:
No, not nearly so much work.
The foam and seat cover are attached to a sheetmetal tray. The tray has a huge hole in it and a few wires and springs span the hole. That is all you will be taking to the upholstery shop. Unplugging the seat heater and removing the four nuts I mentioned will seperate the cover, foam, and tray from the rest of the seat. Lower mechanism, tracks, backrest, motors, seatbelt, and dangling controls all remain together. When the seat is upside down on your workbench the four nuts are very obvious, easy to reach, and arranged more or less evenly in a rectangle.
PennTB02 said:
I was successful at removing the lower cushion while the seat was still in the vehicle.
Just raise the seat base all the way up if electric and find the right combo of extensions to remove the four 13mm nuts holding it on.
You can see the front ones by looking from the back and vise verse IIRC.
At this point there may be some connectors clipped to the frame and/or wiring to unplug (depending on options).
Good luck, this saved me loads of time
Playsinsnow
Member
- Nov 17, 2012
- 9,727
BRomanJr said:
Really? Cool, any idea how long it took? Not to change subject but I need to remove d side so I can replace the seat heater, bum went out last winter.
Playsinsnow said:
That was my project, I took out entire seat, changed element put it back in and discovered I had routed the wire pigtail wrong.
I remembered the nuts that hold the bottom on and was able to remove them. fix the issue and re-install, didn't time it but less than half the time it took to do the whole seat.