Question Re: Barracuda ('68) Rear Folding Seat

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chrysler2018retiree

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All - I'm having problems with the rear folding seat in my Barracuda fastback. The seat will unlatch and fold down flat but not go back upright, one of the cams is out of alignment it is hitting other sheet metal that stops it. I think root cause might be the release rod (inside the rear seat) being bent, or other mechanical parts loose, etc. I am sharing this picture from the Plymouth Service Manual.

Anyone else ever had similar issue? My question is to understand the best way to access these parts that are inside the seat back, in order to repair/replace what is needed, etc. Also if replacement is needed are any parts difficult to find?

IMG_5641 Rear Seat Back Markup.jpg
 
Do you hold the latch lever "open" when putting back seat into position? Maybe the cam(circled in blue on drivers side) is the issue?
When I put our seat back in position I always hold lever open to make it easier.
 
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One thing that can happen is that cams can come loose from the rod and the rod shifts in the end-to-end direction, causing the other cam to jam. I had this issue. I pulled the seatback for access, then recentered and tightened everything. When bolting the seatback back down, there is a lot of leeway in the bolts, so it can shift left, right and up, down. This alignment is also pretty critical, so you might need to loosen the bolts and shift it around a little.
 
Start by checking the action of the release lever. In its neutral position (up or down) it should be slanted toward the pass. side. Moving it to the drivers side will release it. There is a long hex shaped rod at the bottom that moves the two cams. When you activate the lever, does that hex shaft (and both cams) rotate 90*?
 
4spdragtop said:
Do you hold the latch lever "open" when putting back seat into position? Maybe the cam(circled in blue on drivers side) is the issue?
When I put our seat back in position I always hold lever open to make it easier.
Click to expand...
Thanks for your reply, yes I move the release lever to fold down. I'm not sure moving the lever is necessary to return the seats to upright, but I tried it both ways, the seat will move part of the way up but the issue is that the cam is out of alignment and hits other body metal
 
mvh said:
One thing that can happen is that cams can come loose from the rod and the rod shifts in the end-to-end direction, causing the other cam to jam. I had this issue. I pulled the seatback for access, then recentered and tightened everything. When bolting the seatback back down, there is a lot of leeway in the bolts, so it can shift left, right and up, down. This alignment is also pretty critical, so you might need to loosen the bolts and shift it around a little.
Click to expand...
Thanks, it sounds like you pulled the seat back and were able to re-align things without opening up the seat back, is that right? Or did you open it up to work on the mechanisms?
 
Murray said:
Start by checking the action of the release lever. In its neutral position (up or down) it should be slanted toward the pass. side. Moving it to the drivers side will release it. There is a long hex shaped rod at the bottom that moves the two cams. When you activate the lever, does that hex shaft (and both cams) rotate 90*?
Click to expand...
Thanks, yes the release lever on the upper part of the seat back operates and the rod down at the bottom does rotate, so the linkage I think is intact but the rod itself and/or the cam seem bent or out of alignment. If you or anyone knows the best way to open up the rear seat back for access to the mechanisms, appreciate any comments
 
no real easy way/4 bolts and it comes out anyway get a folding table and disassemble
 
The spring breaks on these with some frequency. You can replace it with an extension spring.
 
You must move the lever each time to release either up or down. Are both of the levers clocked in the same direction. Remember they're clocked on a square rod, they can be mis-clocked by 90*, 180*, 270*.
 
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