Rear seat stuck in up position

[garylmoore]

My rear bench seat is stuck in the raised position and apparently the wire that pulls the latch has stretched to the point that they will no longer pull the seat latch.
Can anyone tell me if it is possible to manually spring the seat latch while the seat is up?
If you look below the hinges on each side, there is a metal tab in a hole that I originally thought was the latch. I have pried on these and they did not budge.
I am now guessing the latch is built into the seat hinge.
If anyone knows how to trip these latches I would appreciate the information.
Thanks.. Gary
2001 Dodge Ram 2500 Diesel

 

[BigPapa]

Have you tried pushing the seat bottom toward the wall and pulling the lever at the same time? Maybe even put someone on each side? Mine occasionally will get stuck if I fold it up with a jacket or something in it putting pressure on it. Pushing it back while pulling the handle has always worked for me.

 

[garylmoore]

Yes. I pushed in while working the release. I also pulled hard while working the release. Neither worked. Thanks for the suggestion... Gary

 

[B.G. Smith]

There is a write up on here somewhere if you can find it about solving this problem. bg

 

[BigPapa]

I can't find anything about getting it "unstick", but I did find these instructions on how to remove the entire seat. Maybe if you remove it you can figure out what's wrong.

"to remove the seat completely, remove the 4 bolts holding the bottom brackets, and lift the entire seat assy up. The seat back has U hooks that slide down into loop brackets to hold it in place."

 

[Bill Lins]

Gary- if you're able to resolve the problem, please let us know how you did it. Good luck!

 

[DavidC]

From what I can tell the seat needs to come out. This may help along with some interesting posts between the initial problem and the fix
https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen-ram-tech/326953-rear-bench-won-t-fold-up-4.html

 

[BigPapa]

This is what was posted:

"There is a plastic cover over the latch mech on each side. A single Phillips screw holds the cover on. However, that screw is a little behind the wall of the cab so you can't get a long Phillips lined up with it to turn the screw. I ended up using a Phillips bit and a 1/4" gear wrench. Hold pressure on the bit with a finger, and turn the gear wrench which will slowly ratchet the screw out. BTW, the screw is way too long for the application so it takes forever until it's loose enough to finish with your fingers.

Once both plastic covers are off you can see where the cables connect to the latch, which has a spring, and the latch pivots and has a notch and track. The one on the passenger side actuated just fine but the driver's side latch was frozen solid. I had to pry it back with a flat head screw driver and I was able to lift the seat. Basically one frozen side kept the seat from going up.

I sprayed some penetrant on it, and worked it back and forth a few times to break the corrosion and rust and soon it was loose enough to actuate by hand. I reconnected the spring and the cable and tried both handles to make sure it would work.

Overall, assuming you have the right tools, it's a 10 minute job. Not hard at all. Based on how frozen it was...it's been that way for a long time."

 

[garylmoore]

This is what was posted:

"There is a plastic cover over the latch mech on each side. A single Phillips screw holds the cover on. However, that screw is a little behind the wall of the cab so you can't get a long Phillips lined up with it to turn the screw. I ended up using a Phillips bit and a 1/4" gear wrench. Hold pressure on the bit with a finger, and turn the gear wrench which will slowly ratchet the screw out. BTW, the screw is way too long for the application so it takes forever until it's loose enough to finish with your fingers.

Once both plastic covers are off you can see where the cables connect to the latch, which has a spring, and the latch pivots and has a notch and track. The one on the passenger side actuated just fine but the driver's side latch was frozen solid. I had to pry it back with a flat head screw driver and I was able to lift the seat. Basically one frozen side kept the seat from going up.

I sprayed some penetrant on it, and worked it back and forth a few times to break the corrosion and rust and soon it was loose enough to actuate by hand. I reconnected the spring and the cable and tried both handles to make sure it would work.

Overall, assuming you have the right tools, it's a 10 minute job. Not hard at all. Based on how frozen it was...it's been that way for a long time."

I thank Everybody for the replies and this is exactly what I was looking for. I have a Chapman Ratchet set which will have no problem getting in there to remove the screws. I agree that it happened because I put the seat up 3 years ago and never put it back down. I will go at it and see if I can get it freed, I will repost at the end.. Thanks to Scott and Everyone who replied!
Gary Moore

 

[DavidC]

Yeah, your welcome