I once added plywood to the floor of one of my vans and did not wish to cut the studs either so I put carpet underlayment down first then added the plywood to cover it all. But it was use to haul DJ equipment so it worked for me then.
If you can get them out without destroying the hole or sheetmetal you can replace them wi a thing called rivnuts, kinda like a poprivet with a threaded insert. They are pretty available these days on the internet, I got one from a company called capital something, sorry I don't have a link right now.But this one will give you an idea.
Thanks bigforkg I guess I was hoping for simple. Will cut and re weld if the future has seat replacement. I had/have horse stall rubber mats in there. The mats were over the carpet as a test. The mats are 3/4 thick and super tough. An unfortunate oil spill soaked the carpet and pad, so out they came. Test over It's stall mats for this van. Great insulation and great sound deader.
Fixed studs in the floor for the rear seats....I had never noticed that before.
Was that an aftermarket addition?
I have crawled around in the back of many JY vans, and never noticed anything sticking up. They all seemed to have the flat floor in the cargo style and/or the recessed pockets for the VERY HEAVY seats to lock into on the passenger models.
Those are the heaviest removable seats of any I have ever encountered.
No Rod this is stock. LT2002 it had the captains chairs in the back. When the carpet and pad are in place they don't stick up that much. I'm in no hurry to cut them and I don't want the weight of 3/4 inch plywood. I thought I would look around for some plastic milk crate type under liner. Light weight and durable. I use horse stall mats for flooring.
Ken,
Good to know...I guess I have never I have never been in the back of an LT.
I wonder why they used studs, instead of captive sockets like for the seat belts.
The read luggage tie-downs are captive threaded inserts, and very large ones similar to the seat belt anchors.
That seems rather curious to me...but whatever...
It is fair to say I think I learn something new every day, from this group.....the problem is recalling it when needed. Luckily, I am not to the stage of 'everything being new every day'. ray:
Gen I RR seat in the LT is 375 lbs. ( no no, really it's 257 lbs )
It uses 4 huge depressed slots with 5/8 cross steel lugs for the hooks on the "Jaws of Life Steel" Feet that slid into , then hooked into 2 more rear units with a sickening, deadening, yet strangely satisfying click/thud/ugh.
Yes, the releases can be mastered by one fool w/ long arms...
The Center Seats are set in the floor w/ studs that project above the floor level a good 1" ( 25.4 mm ).
The nuts have to go down 3/4" - 7/8" to tighten and there is a pilot diam., 1/4" tall, on top of the threads.
I ended cutting them off so there was just the "Nut Hgt" above the seat frame.
281 Middle Pass Seat Bolts Cutoff - BOX
Someone on here gave me this idea when I was ready to cut - sure saved a mess and made the threads easy to clean up.
It would have been freaking awesome had they done that. But I'm sure it comes down to ease of assembly at the plant, saving x seconds to align each one saves a lot if you have 9-12million seats to install.
I have a 2000 cargo van that has 4 studs sticking up in the front passenger seat area - are those also welded? Or am I able to 'double nut' them to unscrew them?
double nut method:
Vander...
Yep, Those front seat studs are are welded also.
My 1998 LS has floor 'sockets' for the very heavy middle and rear row seats.
I had a Dodge mini-van and I used to take the seats out and replace them pretty regularly. No so with the Astro seats. It takes two of us to maneuver them into place.
Rod J
Issaquah, WA
I certainly agree with this. A simple grade 8 bolt and nyloc nut with fender washers will give a far better hold.
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