So i know there are some post on here on how to do this and that you can or cannot use a passenger side cushion on the drivers side. Well on the 01-04 you can. I went to my local junk yard (LKQ) last weekend to test the theory. I found a passenger side cushion out of a 01 sport and just ripped the seat to get it out. Other post have said that the number stamped on the seat was the same and that is true...it is. It is the exact same part number. I could tell right away it was in much better condition than mine and the truck it came out of wasn't the best condition truck. But it made sense that the passenger side saw a lot less asses then the drivers. $6.00 and i was out the door (They had a sale..$14.00 otherwise). Changing it out was SIMPLE!!! Just pull your seat out with 4 bolts and 2 seatbelt bolts and its out. The cushion is held in by 8 clip style holders that you can pull off with no tools. Then there is velcro on top of cushion under the seat cover that you just slide your hand under the seat cover to push apart. Optional is to get some thick foil tape and run it on top of the metal seat frame to keep the cushion from rubbing on the metal and causing the same problem down the road.That easy. Reverse to put back together. It took me a half hour. GUYS this is a must do!! I was so impressed with how much better the seat looks and feels. It's not flat anymore,it has the bolstering back on the sides,and i sit up higher in the seat. For anyone who has this problem with there seat its really this easy to fix. I cannot tell you how much more enjoyable my truck is to drive with the new to me cushion!!! Just wanted to share this with you so everyone knows you CAN use a passenger side cushion on the drivers side.
Seat Cushion Replacement
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My truck has 191k on the odometer and the seats still look like new.
Mine still look new in my 99 club cab, but the bottom of the driver's side seat is definitely clapped out
We went camping and wound up switching off drivers at a gas/munchie stop and when I sat in the passenger seat I noticed a huge difference, I don't sit on the passenger side of my own truck very often. My wife took a 600 mile trip in this truck with the mother in law and complained about the driver side seat for a week afterwards.
Well, after seeing this thread and a couple of other ones saying it was possible to swap in a passenger side bottom cushion I went to the junkyard and got one out of a 2000 (maybe 01) 4 door Dakota.
I noticed some differences once I got mine apart.
Mine was stamped June of 98 and the replacement from the junkyard says Aug of 2000.
On the original one, the cover was glued to the foam, where the newer one has 4 Velcro strips on it for that
It looks like my cover will work on top of the newer cushion, will know more when I get home from work and try to put it back together.
I glued a piece of reflectix to the bottom of the replacement cushion last night, have stuff sitting on it waiting for it to dry. I got that idea from another post that said to put some kind of foil tape on the bottom of the cushion on the spring wires to help keep the problem from repeating itself.
I know that I can't have that truck down more than a couple of days because of this.
We went camping and wound up switching off drivers at a gas/munchie stop and when I sat in the passenger seat I noticed a huge difference, I don't sit on the passenger side of my own truck very often. My wife took a 600 mile trip in this truck with the mother in law and complained about the driver side seat for a week afterwards.
Well, after seeing this thread and a couple of other ones saying it was possible to swap in a passenger side bottom cushion I went to the junkyard and got one out of a 2000 (maybe 01) 4 door Dakota.
I noticed some differences once I got mine apart.
Mine was stamped June of 98 and the replacement from the junkyard says Aug of 2000.
On the original one, the cover was glued to the foam, where the newer one has 4 Velcro strips on it for that
It looks like my cover will work on top of the newer cushion, will know more when I get home from work and try to put it back together.
I glued a piece of reflectix to the bottom of the replacement cushion last night, have stuff sitting on it waiting for it to dry. I got that idea from another post that said to put some kind of foil tape on the bottom of the cushion on the spring wires to help keep the problem from repeating itself.
I know that I can't have that truck down more than a couple of days because of this.
Ok got it back together, feels better now with the replacement foam, but with the 99 cover on the 01 foam the cover is loose on the indented center portion of the seat cushion, and on the outer portion of the seat edge, where we are constantly sliding as we get in and out of the truck, the part of the cover most likely to be torn up on most vehicles. Both Hobby lobby and Joann fabrics show 1" foam "suitable for chair cushions" anywhere between 12"x12" to 22"x22" for not a lot of money, that I'm gonna check out and see how high of density foam they are, would be just enough to take up the looseness in the bottom center. It already feels better than original, at worst that will buy me some time to scout out the junkyard til they get a Dakota in with good seats that someone else doesn't beat me to.
I also have had several 87-96 series Dakotas, and the seats in my current 96 4wd has been better since day 1 than the one in this 99 ever was and the 96 has 218k miles to the 99s 117k miles. Past owners of the 99 must have just been fatter and heavier I guess than those who have had the 96 before me I guess.
Myself I am 5'11 and 220 lbs
Myself I am 5'11 and 220 lbs
Ok in case anyone is following and possibly interested in case it might be helpful to them, I went to Joann fabrics, carrying my replacement form bottom and my original seat's cover and asked one of the employees there what she would do in this situation. Very helpful. I had a couple of ideas for how to fix the situation, she said that she would buy the 2x22" (what they call) high density foam (slightly bigger than the seat bottom) and shape it to size to fit within the original contour of the foam the best that I could. When asked what to use to cut with she suggested an electric knife/ you Know, like you'd shave a ham with..... So next stop was wal Mart, they had 2 models in stock, for the purpose of what I was trying to do I bought the cheaper one ($12) and it worked great.
To start with I cut the 22" square down to 18x 21" (yours may vary) which was the outer dimensions of my seat cushion bottom. I then cut notches of 2x 3-1/2 out of each side of what ended up being the back of the new cushion addition. I took some time and eyeballed the contour of the existing foam and went to work with the electric knife til it fit down into the original recess of the foam, fit it, cut some more, beveled the edges as I felt necessary, then glued the new foam to the old foam, with some 3m "77" spray adhesive and reassembled the seat. So far so good, I used my original 99 seat cover (so it matches the seat back and the other side) with the 2001 foam cushion and modified it with the added cushion. The added foam isn't quite as dense as the original foam but combined with it, big difference from original clapped out configuration. And no, there wasn't enough left of the original foam cushion for me to have started with that to rebuild the seat.
To start with I cut the 22" square down to 18x 21" (yours may vary) which was the outer dimensions of my seat cushion bottom. I then cut notches of 2x 3-1/2 out of each side of what ended up being the back of the new cushion addition. I took some time and eyeballed the contour of the existing foam and went to work with the electric knife til it fit down into the original recess of the foam, fit it, cut some more, beveled the edges as I felt necessary, then glued the new foam to the old foam, with some 3m "77" spray adhesive and reassembled the seat. So far so good, I used my original 99 seat cover (so it matches the seat back and the other side) with the 2001 foam cushion and modified it with the added cushion. The added foam isn't quite as dense as the original foam but combined with it, big difference from original clapped out configuration. And no, there wasn't enough left of the original foam cushion for me to have started with that to rebuild the seat.
Good tips pal, I'll just finish installing the parts from cost co and 4WheelOnline on the Wrangler and I'll discuss this to uncle for seat upgrade for his '99.
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