did you check any shops? maybe you could use a metal gear

 

Not much input as far as a fix goes, just that my front vertical motor has stopped working. Upon removal and inspection of the motor and gear box it turns out that it is the plastic gear inside. I haven't found anywhere that I can obtain just the gear. If anyone knows where to find it post it.

 

As all said before, it is sold as a unit. No small individual pieces are sold. Sorry.

 

A guy on ebay sells the individual motors. They are brand new and starting bid is $74. He starts with 1 bid but it is his own. Mine just arrived, and it looks great. The gear case broke on mine but the gears are still good.

 

Ya'll are not alone on this. We have the 1991 Dodge 3500 with the Cummins motor. About 1995 the forward/back motor quit moving the seat. Same thing... can hear it running but nothing happens. Took it back to the dealer then and was told the same story "can't fix it but we would be happy to replace it, oh by the way it will be about 350 bucks". When spotted hogs fly. The fwd/back motor is a dual output shaft motor that takes a piece of steel flex on both ends. There were two machine screws with 1/4" hex heads holding the motor to the mounting plate. It was easy to get out. I examined the ends of the flex to make sure it was not rounded off. With the motor out I still could not slide the seat by hand. Best guess, there is a gear in there that is driven by the flex and the gear must be malled or jammed or just wore out. I think the dealerships took the "ease way out" on this problem. To fail so early I believe we would find that this is a case of poor engineering.

 

Sounds like the little plastic gear in the motor is stripped. Dodge does not sell the motor assembly by itself, only the whole seat base for around $800 which has all three motors. A guy on eBay sells replacement motors for around $80. I bought one and it is of same quality as original. The mounting ear broke on mine. The motor and gears are still good. I will take $30 for it if you are interested. You would have to swap the gears out on your housing, a fairly simple job.

 

Hi iwo2nt

I have a 2003 1500 Q/C, just stripped out the front up/down motor to find the gear stripped. I am having the same problem with the rear up/down motor as well so I would be in for two gears.

I have found a guy in germany making them for a UK ford model that uses a similar motor, however he makes his from Brass.

Just a thought but if you can make the large gear out of metal would it not be beneficial to also make the small gear out of metal as well, to avoid the gears running metal on plastic, and then fit them as a pair.

Robin

 

here is Loghopper's DIY Motor change write up;

http://www.*********.com/forums/showthread.php?t=336167



How To: Change a Seat Motor
2003 Ram 2500 – Quad cab but Should work for most/all 3rd Rams

Overview: I could not find a DIY on this project so hopefully some other members will find this useful. This is for the up/down seat motor only. I assume the other motors can be done the same way but I’m not sure. It’s done with the seat out of the cab. It would be nearly impossible to get the roll pin out with the seat in the truck. I found the motor on Ebay for about $85 shipped. Not cheap but the motor is now fixed and it’s much better than spending the $300 for a new seat track which some members have quoted on here. I also like fixing my own stuff and knowing that it’s done the right way.

Tools:
Channellocks, hammer, drift bar/punch, ½” + 18mm sockets, grinder/Dremel, flat blade screwdriver, patience
Ebay link for motor: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...OC%3AUS%3A1123

Install Time: 2 Hours (estimated) It took me about 3 hours but some was trial and error.

Below is a pic of the motor to be changed.


Motor Test
FIRST test your new motor. Unplug your old motor under your seat and plug in your new motor. Test the switch both ways to ensure it’s working. It wouldn’t be fun to do all this and then find out your motor doesn’t work.

Seat Removal
View the following picture of what the seat looks like so you know what you’re dealing with. The 2 brackets are arrowed.


1. Loosen passenger seat – I removed the 2 front bolts ONLY (½”) on the passenger seat which made it easier to get to the center console bolts that are underneath.
2. Prepare driver’s seat for removal – (2) ½” bolts in front, (2) 18mm bolts in back
3. Remove the center console nuts – There are 2 in the rear and one in the front and they are all ½”. Move the seat all the way forward for the rear bolts. I fit a ½” socket/ ¼” drive underneath without lifting. Now move the seat all the way back and find the front nut. If you push on the headrest both seats along with the center console will tilt back. This will allow easier access to the front nut.
4. Disconnect plugs – Disco the main seat plug towards the front. Also disco the small plug going to the center console.
5. Detach seatbelt receptacle – Remove the driver’s seatbelt receptacle from the center console. There is a fabric rubber band thing holding it to the seat.
5. Remove seat – The bolts on the center seat point down so when removing the seat you have to tilt the driver’s seat so it clears these. I propped up the center seat (front and back) with a piece of wood to make it easier. You’ll need to tilt the seat back forward to get the seat out. Once the seat is out turn it upside on a table and let the back hang off.

Changing the motor
1.Remove the knurled ¼” pin – This pin attaches the tube nut to the seat frame lever. I used a pair of Channellocks and a big flat blade screwdriver. You might try a hammer and punch as well. Once removed the whole assembly will tilt up and down and pivot on the roll pin.

2. Prepare the roll pin – !!!READ THE WHOLE STEP BEFORE PROCEEDING!!! This is where my trial and error will benefit you. The roll pin could be removed towards the center of the seat but it would be extremely hard. The easy way is to hammer it out towards the track BUT the roll pin is too long to get out. First hammer the pin till it’s flush with the housing. This will only be hammered about 3/16”. Here is where you take your grinder/Dremel and cut out 3/16” of the roll pin. The cut will be made between the motor housing and the seat track. We WILL reuse this later so do NOT throw it out. The following pictures show what it looks like.


This is the pin AFTER being cut…


3. Remove the roll pin – Finish hammering out the roll pin using a drift bar, punch, bolt or whatever will fit inside the hole without getting stuck. The roll pin should fall out. I had to pull it out with pliers between the track and the motor housing.
4. Remove the motor – This should just pop right out. Do not throw out. We need to remove the tube nut in the next step.
5. Prepare the tube nut for removal – The tube nut seems to be a press fit over a bushing. I didn’t want to waste energy trying to pull it out so I just cut the shaft right at the motor housing. Then using my thin cutting wheel again, I ground a notch in that same end. This notch will allow you to use a screwdriver to turn the shaft inside the tube nut and remove it. Keep the tube nut but the rest you can throw out. 2 steps shown below…


6. Install tube nut on new motor – The new motor came with a REVERSE THREAD nut instead of the press fit bushing which is much better. Your motor might be different. Coat the shaft with white lithium grease or some kind of grease. Screw the tube nut on and then thread the shaft nut (LEFT HAND THREAD) inside the tube. The tube is too skinny to get a socket in so I threaded it by hand as far as I could. They I used a small punch on the side of the nut to tap it into place. It doesn’t need a lot of force but just something more than hand tightening to hold it. Note small dimple on nut in picture…

7. Install motor – First smooth out the roll pin with your grinder. This will make it easier to hammer in or you could use the other side. Put the motor in place and hammer the roll pin in gently. The roll pin will be shorter but it fits in so tight it won’t move. I guess you could use a hardened bolt as well which would make it easier to change IF (hoping never) it happens again.
8. Prepare and attach tubing nut to the seat frame lever – I enlarged the tubing nut slot on both sides because the motor did not line up perfectly. You don’t have an adjustment on this and didn’t want premature wear on the motor. After doing so connect these 2 parts using the ¼” knurled pin. Again, I used Channellocks to squeeze this into place.
9. Plug in motor – I put dielectric grease on all my electrical contacts and did so for the new motor connection. You don’t have to but this is a habit I have. Grease and anti-seize are your friends. Plug in the motor from the harness. Finished motor shown below..


Reinstall Seat
1. Put the seat back in the truck and reverse all the first steps. It takes a little jockeying to get the 2 seat brackets under the center bolts. Be patient and it will go back in.
2. Put the seatbelt receptacle back through the fabric rubber band type holder.
3. Attach all the nuts to the center seat. 2 nuts in the rear and 1 in the front. Remove the braces (if any) that were under the center seat.
4. Install all 4 seat bolts.
5. Tighten the 2 front passenger seat bolts.
6. Make your connections – Connect the small plug going under the center seat. Connect the main power to the seat motor harness.
7. The new motor is a tad slower but operates much smoother than the stock one ever did.
8. Smile that you saved yourself money from buying an entire track and you did it yourself the right way.

I haven't posted any How To's on this forum so if I've missed something please let me know and I'll be happy to correct it. Thanks for reading.
END

 

I would be interested in the gear(s) I agree that having the two metal gears together as a set may be better in the long run, but at this point I just want the thing to work.

 

The motors are made by Fasco in the US. Maybe somebody over there(I am in the UK) can call a local distributor and see if they can supply them. the part number I think is 5609780

Robin