Seat Latch Wear

[Cav73]

I just noticed that the latches for my Challenger's bucket seats do not actually latch.

I have had the seats out of the car for many years and after cleaning them and restoring the seat tracks, I am getting ready to put them back in the car.

The jaws of the clamping mechanism inside the upper seat appear to have carved notches in the metal catch bolted to the lower seat. I will attach a photo, but I noticed on other members' photos on seat latches that similar notches are visible.

Do we know what causes this? Is it possible to adjust the mechanism in the upper seat so the latch jaws are not clamped so tight they won't give enough to actually latch the catch? I tried to move the jaws with my finger but they don't budge. Maybe the spring pressure is too high to do that anyway. Pressing the release button on the side of the seat does not appear to move the jaws.

My seat stops are intact - is it possible to adjust them to allow the catch to work better?

My thought is to weld some new metal into the catches to avoid yet another part expense, but this might be pointless if the latch mechanism in the upper seat has to be replaced.

Is it absolutely necessary for the seat catches to work for safety reasons?

Thanks! One more feature to learn about...

 

[Ronbo73]

My thought is that they are sticking from years of dirt etc and not being used. They may need to be cleaned and greased.
If the latches are not catching, when you hit the breaks the seat back could come forward and possibly push you forward, probably right when you don't want that to happen.

 

[Cav73]

Yes, that would not be good. I took a look at the latch mechanism this afternoon. It looks like the jaws are wide open. Pressing the release button does not seem to do anything. I can hit it with some WD40; everything in there looks surprisingly clean. No obvious rust or crud, but it may be necessary to pull the latch out and clean it.

 

[heminut]

If the latches are not catching, when you hit the breaks the seat back could come forward and possibly push you forward, probably right when you don't want that to happen.

I don't even have the latches in my seatbacks and in 20 years of driving my Cuda that has never happened!