Hi! I've taken my chair apart and I'm looking at how the lumbar support works. The mechanism itself seems fine, but the support is barely noticeable. It feels like the strap isn't pushing out enough because it's not tight enough. Is there a simple, homemade way to fix this?

I've recorded a short video showing how the mechanism works:

tomke92z said:

Hi! I've taken my chair apart and I'm looking at how the lumbar support works. The mechanism itself seems fine, but the support is barely noticeable. It feels like the strap isn't pushing out enough because it's not tight enough. Is there a simple, homemade way to fix this?

I've recorded a short video showing how the mechanism works:


View attachment 342179

Click to expand...

I've repaired both of mine and all I did was superglue the flaps back in place to where they were when fitted. I get the feeling you didn't relax the mechanism to its max and then pull the flaps back to exactly where they were before trying to reattach.
It does look as if you can undo what you have already done so no harm done.
Best of luck mate!

Hmm, I don't think I get it I didn't do anything yet, just took off the fabric to see what's under the foam. I didn't mess with the lumbar support yet. The strap is nicely attached to the flaps but the strap itself is too loose.

I dont know the seats.
But as you tension it just sort of pushes the cushion forward with a bit more support, yes?

If so could you not just put it to the slack position and the place some 5-10mm medium/high density foam in there.

J

Right, first off, those rows of stitches are not how they come from the factory. some previous owner must have taken it off and stitched them together like that. from the factory the flaps are glued down.
Secondly, I can tell from looking at the pics that the shamus who did the repair didn't pull enough of the flap material through each of the end metal loops before stitching it down.
I don't think mine had any name on it or anything like, so the material is not original either.
So the solution is pretty obvious. Undo the stitching, set the mechanism to its loosest setting. pull the flaps through until they are tight then restitch.

PS I can see that the replacement part has lines on it, presumably to tell the owner or person mending it where to place the flaps to, but if you cannot feel it pushing into your lower back when you tighten the mech, either the mech is beggared or the material is too loose.

As @marjon has intimated, it might also be that the foam in front of it has got flattened over years. But using common sense and ignoring the marks, testing it and judging it with safety pins or summat, you should come to a sensible position to glue or stitch it together again.

First of all, thanks a ton for your responses! You helped me a lot!

Stanleysteamer said:

Right, first off, those rows of stitches are not how they come from the factory.

Click to expand...

Have a look at this screenshot from Exmoor Trim's video:

Looks pretty much the same as in my seat, doesn't it?

marjon said:

If so could you not just put it to the slack position and the place some 5-10mm medium/high density foam in there.

Click to expand...

I took this advice and did just that. I tested it and the lumbar support does work now. Not sure how it was meant to be working by Land Rover but it works well enough for me.

I'm so happy I could fix it! Thanks again

tomke92z said:

First of all, thanks a ton for your responses! You helped me a lot!

Have a look at this screenshot from Exmoor Trim's video:
View attachment 342284
Looks pretty much the same as in my seat, doesn't it?

I took this advice and did just that. I tested it and the lumbar support does work now. Not sure how it was meant to be working by Land Rover but it works well enough for me.

I'm so happy I could fix it! Thanks again

Click to expand...

Ahem.
Exmoor trim is NOT original Land Rover. It looks as if some previous owner has done an Exmoor trim job. Believe me the flap at the end is about 2 to 3 times as wide on an original.

I took the originals off both front seats in my Disco 1 Anniversary and they had both been STUCK down. Not a stitch in sight.

Restuck down into their original position they went back to working as normal. No need for extra foam so I hope yours lasts.

At the end of the day, well done for sorting it. We all do bits of non-original work to get things fixed .
Cheers Stan.

PS a lot of owners wouldn't dare to take their seats apart like you have done!

Thanks. It's my first and only Disco so I don't have much experience. I saw the video from Exmoor and thought it's the default setup.

I'm not very good at sewing, so I was afraid I might mess something up – adding extra foam seemed like a safer option. But actually, removing the stitches, stretching the fabric, and sewing it back together doesn't sound too complicated. Maybe I'll try it on the other seat. I started with the passenger one to get some experience and left the driver's seat for last.

PS a lot of owners wouldn't dare to take their seats apart like you have done!

Click to expand...

Haha, thanks! I don’t lack courage, but I do lack a bit of skill and experience

tomke92z said:

Thanks. It's my first and only Disco so I don't have much experience. I saw the video from Exmoor and thought it's the default setup.

I'm not very good at sewing, so I was afraid I might mess something up – adding extra foam seemed like a safer option. But actually, removing the stitches, stretching the fabric, and sewing it back together doesn't sound too complicated. Maybe I'll try it on the other seat. I started with the passenger one to get some experience and left the driver's seat for last.


Haha, thanks! I don’t lack courage, but I do lack a bit of skill and experience

Click to expand...

Funnily, because I have a dodgy back, I swopped the seats when the one on the driver's side went, A little awkward when it came to adjusting the back etc but feasible, and drove it like that until it went too!

So I took the original driver's one apart, very gingerly as they are leather and found it was much easier than I thought.
So once that one was fixed and proved to be OK, I just did the other one.
It was easier for me as it was intact except for the end flap having come unstuck, so all the marks were there to tell me where to stick it back to.

TBH I was amazed that superglue held it, but then there was a huge area to stick it to.