hameedx

I am getting a good deal on a set of multi-contour seats. Want to retrofit them in my car (00 e430), as I only have the regular heated leather seats. I have access to the donor car (97 e420 sport). I am getting both front seats, the PSE pump and the pressure reservoir.

Replacing the seats appears to be relatively simple. I have a few questions about getting the multi-contour function to work.

1 - Do I need anything else from the donor car?
2 - How do I get the PSE pump out?
3 - How do I get the pneumatic tubing for the seating out?
4 - Can I just put in the donor car seats, plumbing and PSE and would it all just work?

Any and all input is appreciated.

raymond g-

1 - Do I need anything else from the donor car?
2 - How do I get the PSE pump out?
3 - How do I get the pneumatic tubing for the seating out?
4 - Can I just put in the donor car seats, plumbing and PSE and would it all just work?

#2 - it's a no brainer as far as I recall. if your pump is functioning properly
i don't see the advantage in pulling the donor pump but to save it for the
future

#3 - remove the seats and carpeting. however, bear in mind that you're talking
about 15 yr old tubing which isn't the best quality material so they age and
harden. i don't recall the price but if you find some relatively inexpensively,
any tubing with the proper inside diameter should suffice, leaving you to buy
the connectors. or, just harvest what you can out of the donor vehicle and
pick and choose by condition afterwards. door tubing tend to give up before
seat tubing...possibly due to environment inside the door (speculation).

#4 - no. Pump needs to be version coded using SDS/STAR, first for your car
(if it's a take-off pump), second to introduce the pump to the airbags in the seats.

illest

would pulling the pump from the donor can and swaping it avoid the need for version coding?

raymond g-

good question, to which I do not have the answer. at issue is whether the
pump is to be matched with the car, or with the seat bladders. since my
seat upgrade was using my existing PSE pump... from no air seats to Designo
air seats, the pump needed to be tweaked with SDS.

I thought I had read that the pump (too) needed to be introduced the the
specific vechile, too. I may be wrong in this assumption

hameedx

Thanks Raymond. I was able to get the seats and PSE pump yesterday.

I will connect the new PSE pump to my car and see if the seats work. Then we will know if the pump has to be coded to the car or not.

Anyone know how to unclip the hose connector from the seats (and pump)? I tried pulling as hard as I dare, but stopped when I thought they might break. Ended up cutting the hose to free the seats and pump. Is there a technique or tool I need to use to remove them?

hameedx

Also trying to put in 4 fans in the seat to make the seats ventilated since I have the seats free to work on. Should help in keeping my back and legs dry on long drives. I'm planning on using 4 80mm PC fans with a 2 setting switch and a resistor on one line to give it 2 fan speed settings.

SUNILP

Raymond,

Did I retrofit a set in your car?

hameedx

Got the multi-contour air bags out of the old seats and installing them in my seats.

I don't think the seat ventilation mod I was planning would work. I was going by the mods some people have done where they have put in larger fans in the w211 and where they have installed fans and heating elements in the seats of other cars.

The padding on the back of the seat appears to be somewhat dense foam. I tested some 12v DC fans behind this foam padding. The fans are not able to move any air through this foam.

Does anyone who has the seat ventilation option have a picture of what the seat looks like with the cover removed? I looked up some pictures of the w211 seats and they appear to have some kind of 3d spacer mesh instead of the foam padding on the w210.

hameedx

So I installed the multi-contour air bags in my passenger seat and have 75% success. The lower back, upper back and side bolsters work, but the seat length/depth adjustment does not work.
On the donor seats the front of the seat is slightly different. It has elasticated material on the bottom where it connects to the frame. On my seats it is full leather. No elastic material, so there is no room for the seat to extend.

raymond g-

forum members, I'd like to introduce you to MB retrofitter extraordinaire Sunil.

here he is during the install. He is the equivalent to Steve in the Netherlands

are you still in the business of customizing MBs, S?