Date: Thu, 20 Feb 2003 14:03:22 GMT From: "Greg Bender" <gregnopsamoldtractor.com> Subject: Re: removing leather from seats
I have a 1985 900S....so the procedure may not be the same. I obtained this procedure from the saabnet archives: Start by removing the seat from the vehicle FRONT SEAT BACK Removing and replacing the front seat back is relatively straightforward, but there are a few tricks. Roll the seat forwards using the big round knob until you have access to the zipper on the bottom of the seat back. Unzip the zipper fully, then roll the seat back until it is fully reclined (flat). Pry out the center of the big round knob to expose the spring steel clip which holds the knob. Use a screwdriver and a hammer to knock the spring steel clip which holds the knob in counter clockwise until you can remove the knob itself. Remove the two screws holding the plastic side panel (one is under another removable round plastic insert) and remove the side panel. Using a pair of needle nose pliers, remove the side clips holding the sides of the seat back bottom by grasping the clips and twisting them out of the hole. Working from behind the seat, twist clockwise on the right side and counter-clockwise on the left. Start peeling off the seat, working from the back and front alternately. There are several hooks which connect the front section of the seat to the spring arrangement in the rear. use pliers to grasp the closed side of the hook and unhook it from the spring mesh to free the front section of the seat. Continue peeling off the seat cover and unhooking the seat hooks until you reach the round wire clips which connect a wire imbedded in the cover to the spring backing. Open and disconnect these wire clips. Now the seat cover is restrained only by the headrest. NOW COMES THE TRICKY PART: Working from behind the seat, there is a "torx" sheet metal screw which is barely visible through a hole in the foam. It may be intact or broken. Using a Torx screwdriver and/or a pair of Vise Grip pliers, remove the screw, for this prevents the removal of the headrest. Once this screw is removed, the headrest should be easily removed. The plastic housing which holds the headrest has a tab which fits in a slot just above (and even more difficult to see and reach than) the torx screw. Press in the tab to remove the plastic headrest seat. Now the cover for the back of the seat should come right off. FRONT SEAT BOTTOM Removing the front seat bottom is also fairly straightforward. Remove the big knob and side panel (if you haven't already) as described above. Remove the black spring steel clips holding the seat in front and back by carefully placing a screwdriver perpendicular to the plane of the flat clips and tapping on it with the palm of your hand. Be careful not to tear the seat. Peel the front and rear of the seat previously held by these clips as free as possible without damaging the seat. Unhook the front of the steel rods on each side of the seat by pulling the center of the rod outwards and removing the front connection of the rod with the seat frame. On the "inside" of the seat, opposite where we removed the big black knob, there are two torx screws which constrain the seat bottom. Loosen these screws and you should be able to remove the seat cover. FRONT HEADRESTS The front headrests are held in place on the foam covered steel frame by three tabs holding a wire retainer on the front and back side of the headrest. Use a screwdriver to slightly open each tab and to pry the wire retainer out from behind the tab. Working from the side of the headrest closest to the vertical mounting shaft, peel off one corner of the skin from the headrest and then remove the skin.
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