Hi,

First time poster, so hi everyone! (And sorry if this has been covered before, but I did a search and didn't see any threads on this.)

I just bought a '99 Ram 1500 work special. It is a regular cab with a bench seat. It has a manual transmission.

The seat in it is shot - looks like a dog has been chewing the seat so it is not a simple seat cover replacement. The slide adjustment seems to only work marginally too.

I was wondering if it is a simple bolt-in swap for the split seats? I would think so, but was looking for a definitive answer.

Is the 60/40 the only other type of seat that was used on the second gen trucks? I did a bit of searching and saw others that looked more like individual bucket seats with a center console, but those were labeled as for a 2002 (3rd gen). (Are those called something like 40/20/40?)

Would the seats from a quad or extended cab work in mine?

I have a younger child and so would want to go to an arrangement that preserves possibility of a middle seat, so no permanent console like a Tuffy box. (This would be for short drives in town, not cross country, so it wouldn't have to be a great seat in the middle, just the possibility for a short drive.)

Also, will there be any issues with the manual shift lever? (Besides trying to shift around the kid in the middle seat?)

Anything else to consider?

It is a nice, basic, older truck so I don't want to go nuts on it, but if I need to replace the entire seat I may pop for a few extra bucks and get something better than the bench.

Thanks in advance!

 

You can get the bucket seats and center console from any 94-01 1500/1500/3500 (and 2002 2500/3500) and should bolt right in replace of your worn out bench. The center console are handy dandy and they flip up to make that third seat. You will not have any problems with the stick on this setup. But expect to pay 200-400 bucks for good seats of that generation unless you get lucky at the salvage yard...but most seats are already trashed if they are at the junk yard...

What area are you in?

 

Thanks for the reply, and really appreciate the info.

I am in the Charlotte, NC area.

I think I would need the seat base frames too, not just the cushion units, since the bench is on a single base. (Not sure if I am using the right term, but I mean the steel frame under the seat, to which the base/bottom cushion unit bolts).

Or are the bases essentially one unit with the bottom cushion unit?

 

It looks certain seats have an integrated seat belt built into them. Are those the ones out of the extended cab?

 

You are going to want to find one that is complete, cushions frame and all. You don't want to just try and swap cushions. When you take out your seat the only thing you want to see is the floor and some bolt holes. Then just place bolt your new seat unit frame and all. Also, (and this may not apply to you) keep in mind for your little one that there is no shoulder strap in the center jump seat.

 

I could be wrong but I think they started building them into the seats in 1998 on the extended cabs when they put the back doors in. My truck is a 96 extended cab and the seatbelts are attached to the truck not the seats.

 

Great point that I had not considered. However, the bench seat does not have the shoulder belt either.

Guess the kid only gets to ride when the wife is not along.

Thanks for the info (and on the base frames too).

 

Exactly...4 bolts per seat and they pop right out. It should actually be fairly simple to switch out in just an hour or two if tools and new seats are ready to go. If you need a nice set of dodge ram bucket seats/center console, I have a set for sale asking $350 and it came out of a 96 Ram.(No seat belts in the chair) Only 98 and up have belts integrated

 

I found 2 sets at one local junk yard, and 3 sets at another (modern times - even the junk yards are computerized and on-line!). But they could be complete rubbish. Will go check them out this weekend.

Thanks for the offer, but the shipping would probably be hundreds. If the ones locally are junk, I may ping you. Thanks!

 

Update: I bought a set of the 40/20/40 seats for $45 at a local junkyard. Mine is a '99; I think the junkyard said the donor was a '97.

Bolted right in.

They were in quite good shape except very dirty (but it was actual soil-type dirt, not grease or God knows what sort of stains. The seam on the side of the driver's side seat (bottom) had come unraveled for about 3", but was not torn. Should be a pretty simple sewing with needle and thread.

The set I got had the bases/brackets, which obviously are different than the bench seat, so that was good.

The "new" set had the seat belts still attached, so I didn't have to re-use the ones from my old seat. The belts on the bench seats also were mounted to the seat. So this was also a no-brainer. (The only other belts needed were the ones mounted to the door posts, and I didn't take my old ones out, so everything was cool. The belt latches looked identical and clicked right in.

This was very easy.

The only tip I would offer that might not be obvious is that the middle (console) seat is bolted to the driver and passenger seats, and it is hard to get the bolts out while it is in the truck, so remove these as a single unit. In putting them back in, I bolted the middle seat to the passenger seat and torqued down, with the bolts in exactly the same spots as they were in the donor truck. (You can see small rust rings there, but if not, center the bolts in the slot in the bracket.)

BUT... for the bolts that attach the middle seat to the driver's, leave a little play in them. Put the seat in, drop the passenger side floor bolts and nuts in, then the drivers side. Torque those and THEN finally tighten the ones down that hold the middle seat to the drivers. Since every truck may be slightly different, I found that leaving one side loose made it easy to line the floor bolts up.

I also used a Bissell SpotBot "steam" cleaner (the kind that has a hand attachment) to clean them up. I say "steam" as I thought that is what they used, but it is really just a cleaning solution. But it worked great!

The only warning there is I bought a bottle of Oxy Gen II additive in addition to the normal cleaning solution, and it changed the color of the plain grey fabric a little (it is still grey; just has taken on an ever-so-slightly purplish hue). My wife doesn't think so, but I see it as slightly off-grey. Maybe this is normal fading and removing the dirt simply revealed it? Probably just stressing over nothing, especially on $45 seats. But the seats were so dirty before, the results were amazing!

It took about half a day to do get them from the junkyard, clean them and install them. (Less if the clowns at the junkyard weren't idiots).