2018 JLUR Right Rear Seat Latch Cabling Replacement?

[Ridge2Far]

Good Evening All,

I am in the process of replacing the damaged right-rear passenger seat latch cabling on my 2018 JLUR using cable assembly P/N: 6QY84TX7AC. I’m trying to do this without completely removing the seat, upholstery and cushion. I have folded the upholstery and cushion back far enough that I think will give me the access I’ll need. There is one thing I’ve encountered that I’m not sure how to approach, and that is the “box” where two cables are joined to release the headrest. I’m thinking the box must come apart or there is a trick to removing the bottom cable that goes to the headrest release point, (see pic), and to attach it to the new cabling. I’ve made a few cautious attempts to open the new box, but I don’t want to break it. I probably just open the old box to see how it works since it will be removed anyway. Does anyone have any information about dealing with this box?

The closest information I’ve found on cable replacement is from this post by @RichD who had the same plastic lever failure I am dealing with.

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[Ridge2Far]

The hole and the slot in the box finally slapped me in the face! And my first thread - I'm so embarrassed.

As can be seen below, the cable housing is held in the box by snapping into a detent. Pop the housing out of the detent and slide the bare cable up the slot and the head comes out of the hole - Duh.

 

[RichD]

Have you been able to get the new cable in place? Fun, huh?!

 

[Ridge2Far]

Have you been able to get the new cable in place? Fun, huh?!

Howdy @RichD,

I just figured this box thing out last night. I don’t know why it stumped me. I guess I was just fixated on what the other cable ends looked like (except at the lever end). I mean, it’s just a variation of how motorcycle brake/clutch or bicycle brake and shifter cabling is attached.

So anyway, now comes Phase II - routing the new cables. I’m going to try tying some stout string or safety wire to the old cables as I pull them out so the new cables will have somewhat of a path to follow back in. Then Phase III - putting everything back together.

Yeah, loads of fun! Do you have any tips?

 

[RichD]

No tips really.... I went to an upholsterer that has done a lot of work for me. He and I removed the seat from the Jeep, then took off the seat cover to get at the cable. A lot of work. Try your way with wires and let me know. Maybe I just overcomplicated the project.

 

[Ridge2Far]

I finished the cable replacement. Overall I’d say it went pretty well, but I did lose a bit of skin and some blood on sharp edges. I still have to try to remember how the upholstery was tucked in around the bottom corners, but I’ll figure it out. I took some photos that I’ll post later along with some comments.

 

[Ridge2Far]

I do apologize, this is not a step-by-step write-up of the procedure to replace the right-rear passenger seat release cabling (p/n: 6QY84TX7AC) to fix a broken latch handle on a 2018 JLUR. It is intended to show what is involved in replacing the cabling without removing the seats, upholstery, or padding so others can decide if they want to give it a try.

To begin, I pulled the seat-back upholstery panel away from the bottom of the seat, it’s kind of a fold-tuck-and-lock attachment that detaches in somewhat of a Ziploc manner. With the panel folded back to the right-hand infant seat top-tether, I could see how to remove the plastic trim around the tether and carefully popped it out.

I then carefully popped out the release handle trim and carefully worked it over the headrest/seat levers – pulling up on the levers, as if you were going to fold the seat, allows enough room to wiggle the trim around the levers. I also unzipped both sides of the upholstery and slid it several inches over the seat shoulders. This gave me access to remove the four screws that hold the seat release levers to the seat. Then I slid the seat release lever cabling out between the metal seat-back and a plastic front that runs beyond where I had the upholstery folded back. The Yellow arrow points to the release lever assembly removed from the seat.

I unbolted the seat legs from the floorboard and propped it up to give better access to the right-hand seat leg where the seat release cable attaches to the release latch. There are instances during this process where the seat will need to be changed from the propped up position to the fully folded position, or somewhere in between, in order to get better access to the area you are working with.

This next picture shows where the release cable runs along the inside of the seat. The two outside arrows point to tabs where the cable runs behind the tabs to be held up in those positions. You need to pull the cable up at these points enough to slide them over the tabs and down in front of the tabs in order allow the cable loom push-mount clips to pass while the cable is being pulled out. The center arrow is approximately where a barbed cable loom push-mount clip attaches to a smooth square hollow tube that divides the right-most passenger from the center passenger. Releasing this clip gave me more trouble than any other aspect of this project while I was working alone. The seat cushions fit very snugly up against the clip. I tried folding the seat down and inserting my hands underneath the metal seat-back, but I couldn’t get enough finger leverage to get the push clip released. I finally got the clip removed by running a door trim removal tool through the tube to destroy the barbs on the clip.

These arrows are pointing to the three cables coming from the release levers to the release points. The Green arrow points to the headrest cable, (you can see more detail in my earlier posts), the Yellow goes to the right release point, next to the door, and the Red arrow points to the cable that runs along the seat-back to the left release point.

The cable that runs to the right release point (Yellow arrow in the previous image) comes out where the Yellow arrow in this image is pointing and runs on the inside of the back seat leg behind a plastic cover. The Green arrow points to a push-mount clip that holds the cable housing rigidly in place providing an anchor point for the cable end (Red arrow) to actuate the latch properly.

This image shows a string tied to the end of the cable end what will be pulled out with the cable and then tied to the new cable to pull it back following the same path. I did the same with the release point on the other side.

This image shows both seat release cables pulled out with the lead strings attached. The headrest cable, shown in my earlier post, is short and doesn’t require a lead string.

As it turned out, the lead strings weren’t really that helpful because the clips on the cable make it difficult to pass through some tight spots between the seat-back and the cushion. Note: One of my Sons showed up after I got the old cabling out and was ready to put the new one in. With each of us standing on opposite sides of the seat (tilting it slightly forward), we could use one hand to push the seat cushion away from the metal seat-back and use our free hand to manipulate the cable and clip very easily.

It took me around 2 hours to complete the process, and I didn’t break anything. If I ever have to do this again, (hopefully not), I’m sure it would take less time with what I’ve learned.

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