Leather seat cover install Ram 3rd Gen by hemiyellow
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Admin formally known as 94rt10ohio
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From: Curtice, OH
Leather seat cover install Ram 3rd Gen by hemiyellow
Alright, so you wanted leather seats but didn’t want to wait for the dealer to find you a truck just like the one you wanted with leather nor did you want to order one and prolong the wait of your new truck. Well, this DIY is going to teach you how you can install leather seats in your own truck without having to spend $1000+ to have a professional shop do it and can be accomplished on a weekend.
Tools Required:[/b]
18 MM deep socket
13 MM socket (deep or shallow)
13 MM wrench (ratcheting is preferred)
10 MM socket
various extensions
18 MM wrench (ratcheting is preferred)
3/8” ratchet
Utility Knife or other sharp blade
Flat head screwdriver
#2 & #3 Phillips screwdriver
Pliers
Ability to deal with soreness, pain, and aggravation
[ul][/ul]
[IMG]local://upfiles/15402/DF5B7D4D0960431FA680597DD7A53278.jpg[/IMG]
Steps to have leather:[/b]
The leather seat covers I’m using came from Auto Leather Inc. You can find them on eBay or www.autoleatherinc.com. Ok now that you have all the tools you’ll need for this job you need to get the seats out of the truck. There’s 2 ways of doing this with the front seats: (A) Remove the seat along with the seat track or (B) Remove the seat from the seat track. Either route works just as good, however, I would recommend going with route B as that is the route that does not require you to unbolt the center console seat from either front seat. This DIY is going through route A, because that’s the one I did.
Now, looking at the seat, you can see there are (4) bolts holding the seat to the floor. There are (2) 13MM bolts in front and (2) 18MM bolts in the back. Simple enough, right.
[IMG]local://upfiles/15402/201CBB7E75DC403792BC70FD602392C7.jpg[/IMG]
Once those are removed, there are total of (6) 13MM nuts holding the center console seat to the other 2 front seats. These nuts need to be removed if you want to take out each seat individually or don’t have anyone to help you remove all the front seats at once. There are 2 nuts in the back on both sides and 1 nut on both sides in the front. If you reach your hand under the center seat and feel the bracket coming from each seat, you can feel where the nuts are at. This is where if gets irritating. There is not enough room to get a ratcheting wrench in there fully, so you have to go old fashioned. You can get one in there cocked at an angle enough to get on the nut, but it is somewhat tedious.
Once you have finished cussing at Dodge for doing something like this, you can remove the seats one by one.
[IMG]local://upfiles/15402/CF4B83836E79411394EB7EA25D1D4078.jpg[/IMG]
Now that the seats are out of the truck, it’s time to start taking them apart and tear off the cloth covers. If you flip over the seat, you can see there is (4) 10MM nuts holding the seat track to the seat, remove these nuts and it will make your life much easier.
[IMG]local://upfiles/15402/94EE5A9AE25D43E190CA444C6A4C530B.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]local://upfiles/15402/5775514E5FE742AE84BF0366CF37207E.jpg[/IMG]
Now, the seat back lever needs to be moved, which just requires a big #3 Phillips screwdriver. Once that is removed, flip the seat over and remove the bottom seat cover by unhooking the plastic “hook”. Just use your fingers and grab the under side of it and twist it up and over the metal frame of the seat. Once they are all unhooked, push the back of the seat cover through between the seat back and seat bottom and carefully pull it towards the front. If you don’t do this carefully, there is a chance the Velcro that is used to hold the seat cover down could tear away from the cushion. To remove the headrest sliders, just simply pull them straight up and set them to the side. The same steps are used for the seat back. On the bottom of the seat back, there is the same type of hook. The back of the seat back is folded over and is snapped into the hook. Once again, carefully peel back the seat cover.
[IMG]local://upfiles/15402/8BA7644D9DE54D8D84A5D0DE28ABFF7F.jpg[/IMG]
Now, with the old cloth seat covers off, you can get the new leather covers ready for install. The one way to tell the difference between the passenger & driver side seat eat back covers is the tag that is sewn on the seat back. If the tag is on the right, then it is the driver side. Putting the covers on is the same as taking them off, except in reverse order. As you pull the seat cover down on the cushion, make sure you keep trying to align the Velcro strips together so the cover doesn’t bulge out, and also run your hand down the cover and make sure the Velcro is secure with the seat, if it’s not, you’ll have to go back through and realign the Velcro strips on the seat cover. Now that the seat back cover is on, you can install the seat bottom cover the in the same order, just making sure that the Velcro strips are lined up. The bottom will require a little more finesse then the back since it just sits on top and then is wrapped around, so this step may take a couple of tries. Make sure when you put the seat bottom on, you have the right one. Look at the long side cover and make sure that is on the outside of the seat.
[IMG]local://upfiles/15402/366AA8812D65478D90A78664E37A8E9A.jpg[/IMG]
Now that the covers are on the seat, you can bolt the seat track back on and cut a hole in the cover for the recliner handle. I just used a razor blade and cut a circle out around the stud where it was pushing up on the cover. Here’s how it looks when it’s done:
[IMG]local://upfiles/15402/70CB3BFB93294F9A9F1197AA856DC997.jpg[/IMG]
The same steps are applied to the driver seat. Only difference is you have to removed the lumbar handle (it just pops off, put a screwdriver under the handle not the trim piece and it comes off) and the electronic controls for the power seat (remove the bezel and push the controls to the inside of the seat and then cut out the leather for where they need to go after the bottom cover is on the seat and in place. The headrests are pretty easy as well. It uses the same kind of hook on the bottom and I could not get them off in on piece so I just ripped them off. To get them on…basically just take your time and keep working them back and forth. This is where a lot of patience comes in and will be very helpful in doing this.
I’m not going to get into too much detail about the center console, as it’s pretty much self-explanatory. Just remove the console lid (4 screws), unbolt the top of the console from the bottom. The bottom and top of the console are very easy to do, so I won’t go into detail for these. To do the console lid, you need to pop off the plastic trim piece on the bottom of the lid. Be extremely careful when doing this as the tabs will break and cause issues when trying to put it back together. Unluckily for me however, some of the tabs did break which caused a few issues but they were fixable. Once the lid is apart, you need to use some sort of high strength glue to attach the leather cover to the lid on the underside of the lid. Once that is in place, put the plastic trim back in place and snap it down, and the lid can be installed back on the console and installed in the truck.
NOTE: Picture below still has old lid cover on it.[/b]
[IMG]local://upfiles/15402/F474113E409742BB83802A6426E9531F.jpg[/IMG]
Time for the rear seats, which are actually pretty easy. Remove all the bolts holding the seats down; the fold flat floor comes out first. Once the bolts are out, push the seat buckles through the seat and lift straight up on the seats and then pull them away from the back window. They are connected to the cab by a long hook on the back of the seat that goes through a loop on the cab. After the seats are out, unbolt the seatback from the seat bottom and go through the same procedure for the rear seats as you did the front. Bolt it back together and throw them back in the truck.
[IMG]local://upfiles/15402/7692AD2E9DBA4F15A84FC775830727A5.jpg[/IMG]
Now that all the seats are back in the truck, use some leather wipes to clean up the seats and then stand back and look at your new interior and just imagine how much money you just saved by doing it yourself. It’s pretty nice to see that your truck’s interior can go from this:
[IMG]local://upfiles/15402/151749661ACB4782A3FC5D2B6B21F321.jpg[/IMG]
To this:
[IMG]local://upfiles/15402/4BBE1C2CFBC04611BE2701871392EBC0.jpg[/IMG]
If you have any questions, please PM hemiyellowor e-mail me and I’ll do what I can to help. Also, this is my first write up and I’m doing it about 4 weeks after doing the install so everything is coming from memory and pictures I took, so if I missed something please let me know.
Ram3rdGen
Tools Required:[/b]
18 MM deep socket
13 MM socket (deep or shallow)
13 MM wrench (ratcheting is preferred)
10 MM socket
various extensions
18 MM wrench (ratcheting is preferred)
3/8” ratchet
Utility Knife or other sharp blade
Flat head screwdriver
#2 & #3 Phillips screwdriver
Pliers
Ability to deal with soreness, pain, and aggravation
[ul][/ul]
[IMG]local://upfiles/15402/DF5B7D4D0960431FA680597DD7A53278.jpg[/IMG]
Steps to have leather:[/b]
The leather seat covers I’m using came from Auto Leather Inc. You can find them on eBay or www.autoleatherinc.com. Ok now that you have all the tools you’ll need for this job you need to get the seats out of the truck. There’s 2 ways of doing this with the front seats: (A) Remove the seat along with the seat track or (B) Remove the seat from the seat track. Either route works just as good, however, I would recommend going with route B as that is the route that does not require you to unbolt the center console seat from either front seat. This DIY is going through route A, because that’s the one I did.
Now, looking at the seat, you can see there are (4) bolts holding the seat to the floor. There are (2) 13MM bolts in front and (2) 18MM bolts in the back. Simple enough, right.
[IMG]local://upfiles/15402/201CBB7E75DC403792BC70FD602392C7.jpg[/IMG]
Once those are removed, there are total of (6) 13MM nuts holding the center console seat to the other 2 front seats. These nuts need to be removed if you want to take out each seat individually or don’t have anyone to help you remove all the front seats at once. There are 2 nuts in the back on both sides and 1 nut on both sides in the front. If you reach your hand under the center seat and feel the bracket coming from each seat, you can feel where the nuts are at. This is where if gets irritating. There is not enough room to get a ratcheting wrench in there fully, so you have to go old fashioned. You can get one in there cocked at an angle enough to get on the nut, but it is somewhat tedious.
Once you have finished cussing at Dodge for doing something like this, you can remove the seats one by one.
[IMG]local://upfiles/15402/CF4B83836E79411394EB7EA25D1D4078.jpg[/IMG]
Now that the seats are out of the truck, it’s time to start taking them apart and tear off the cloth covers. If you flip over the seat, you can see there is (4) 10MM nuts holding the seat track to the seat, remove these nuts and it will make your life much easier.
[IMG]local://upfiles/15402/94EE5A9AE25D43E190CA444C6A4C530B.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]local://upfiles/15402/5775514E5FE742AE84BF0366CF37207E.jpg[/IMG]
Now, the seat back lever needs to be moved, which just requires a big #3 Phillips screwdriver. Once that is removed, flip the seat over and remove the bottom seat cover by unhooking the plastic “hook”. Just use your fingers and grab the under side of it and twist it up and over the metal frame of the seat. Once they are all unhooked, push the back of the seat cover through between the seat back and seat bottom and carefully pull it towards the front. If you don’t do this carefully, there is a chance the Velcro that is used to hold the seat cover down could tear away from the cushion. To remove the headrest sliders, just simply pull them straight up and set them to the side. The same steps are used for the seat back. On the bottom of the seat back, there is the same type of hook. The back of the seat back is folded over and is snapped into the hook. Once again, carefully peel back the seat cover.
[IMG]local://upfiles/15402/8BA7644D9DE54D8D84A5D0DE28ABFF7F.jpg[/IMG]
Now, with the old cloth seat covers off, you can get the new leather covers ready for install. The one way to tell the difference between the passenger & driver side seat eat back covers is the tag that is sewn on the seat back. If the tag is on the right, then it is the driver side. Putting the covers on is the same as taking them off, except in reverse order. As you pull the seat cover down on the cushion, make sure you keep trying to align the Velcro strips together so the cover doesn’t bulge out, and also run your hand down the cover and make sure the Velcro is secure with the seat, if it’s not, you’ll have to go back through and realign the Velcro strips on the seat cover. Now that the seat back cover is on, you can install the seat bottom cover the in the same order, just making sure that the Velcro strips are lined up. The bottom will require a little more finesse then the back since it just sits on top and then is wrapped around, so this step may take a couple of tries. Make sure when you put the seat bottom on, you have the right one. Look at the long side cover and make sure that is on the outside of the seat.
[IMG]local://upfiles/15402/366AA8812D65478D90A78664E37A8E9A.jpg[/IMG]
Now that the covers are on the seat, you can bolt the seat track back on and cut a hole in the cover for the recliner handle. I just used a razor blade and cut a circle out around the stud where it was pushing up on the cover. Here’s how it looks when it’s done:
[IMG]local://upfiles/15402/70CB3BFB93294F9A9F1197AA856DC997.jpg[/IMG]
The same steps are applied to the driver seat. Only difference is you have to removed the lumbar handle (it just pops off, put a screwdriver under the handle not the trim piece and it comes off) and the electronic controls for the power seat (remove the bezel and push the controls to the inside of the seat and then cut out the leather for where they need to go after the bottom cover is on the seat and in place. The headrests are pretty easy as well. It uses the same kind of hook on the bottom and I could not get them off in on piece so I just ripped them off. To get them on…basically just take your time and keep working them back and forth. This is where a lot of patience comes in and will be very helpful in doing this.
I’m not going to get into too much detail about the center console, as it’s pretty much self-explanatory. Just remove the console lid (4 screws), unbolt the top of the console from the bottom. The bottom and top of the console are very easy to do, so I won’t go into detail for these. To do the console lid, you need to pop off the plastic trim piece on the bottom of the lid. Be extremely careful when doing this as the tabs will break and cause issues when trying to put it back together. Unluckily for me however, some of the tabs did break which caused a few issues but they were fixable. Once the lid is apart, you need to use some sort of high strength glue to attach the leather cover to the lid on the underside of the lid. Once that is in place, put the plastic trim back in place and snap it down, and the lid can be installed back on the console and installed in the truck.
NOTE: Picture below still has old lid cover on it.[/b]
[IMG]local://upfiles/15402/F474113E409742BB83802A6426E9531F.jpg[/IMG]
Time for the rear seats, which are actually pretty easy. Remove all the bolts holding the seats down; the fold flat floor comes out first. Once the bolts are out, push the seat buckles through the seat and lift straight up on the seats and then pull them away from the back window. They are connected to the cab by a long hook on the back of the seat that goes through a loop on the cab. After the seats are out, unbolt the seatback from the seat bottom and go through the same procedure for the rear seats as you did the front. Bolt it back together and throw them back in the truck.
[IMG]local://upfiles/15402/7692AD2E9DBA4F15A84FC775830727A5.jpg[/IMG]
Now that all the seats are back in the truck, use some leather wipes to clean up the seats and then stand back and look at your new interior and just imagine how much money you just saved by doing it yourself. It’s pretty nice to see that your truck’s interior can go from this:
[IMG]local://upfiles/15402/151749661ACB4782A3FC5D2B6B21F321.jpg[/IMG]
To this:
[IMG]local://upfiles/15402/4BBE1C2CFBC04611BE2701871392EBC0.jpg[/IMG]
If you have any questions, please PM hemiyellowor e-mail me and I’ll do what I can to help. Also, this is my first write up and I’m doing it about 4 weeks after doing the install so everything is coming from memory and pictures I took, so if I missed something please let me know.
Ram3rdGen
