Back hurting from seats ?

I just bought a 2012 Tacoma, the seat was hurting my back .... So i decided to lift the back of the seat up a little more then a inch with some metal tubing, took a little work to cut, paint and make holes in the square. (I didn't have to remove the seats) Everything worked out and my back has stopped hurting .. Just wanted to share as i heard about a lot of other people having the same problem !!

 

That is a lot of lift/tilt in the seat, doesnt look super safe, thinking there is a potential for shearing that bolt in an accident. Might want to look for a grade 8 bolt.

Did you tilt the seat more forward or more backward? Which side are the spacers on?

I am always surprised to hear when people dont like the seats, I have a herniated disc in my lower back that bothers me all the time, and the seats in my 06' TRD dont make it worse, granted they dont make it better, it isnt a message seat or anything. But I always think that if I dont have issues then others really should be very happy. Back problems suck the big one....

Nice truck too, the 12' is growing on me, and wish I could get one.

 

I think you're way over-estimating the amount of force applied to that bolt.

Virtually none. Even in an accident -- the seatbelt does the work in an accident.

Further, it will NEVER be subject to shearing force. Pushing the seat forward will drive the front mounts down and lift on the rear, no shearing force.

Any kind of bolt will be fine there and stronger than the seat's slider frame.

 

I think you will be surprised how much force a seat takes in an accident, especially in a situation where the rear end hits first (like you get rear ended or go back end into something).

With that said, i wouldnt worry about adding spacers as long as the hardware is the correct length and is of correct grade; 8.8 or even better 12.9.

 

I have Multilevel disc degeneration of L5 thru S1, a bulging disc and major narrowing of the nerve pathways, needless to say, my seat kills my back after more than 5 min of sitting. Do you have back issues or just not like the seat how it was? How tall are you and how close is your head to the ceiling?

 

I bought the truck five hours away from home and drove it back. My back stated hurting within the first hour, then shoulders and neck. Im 5'7 with no back issues and in my twenty's. The seat was to low, my legs were in the air. The seat wasn't supporting me like a seat should. I only rasied the back of the seat so i'm only a little more then a inch to the roof, which is fine for me. I was just scared of hitting the top of the door frame getting out which i don't.

 

I used the original bolt to re-bolt it to the floor and a 8.8 metric bolt for top. I raised the seat from the back so its more forward to raise my butt. Thanks !!

 

Agreed, that bolt will see loading in an accident and the bolt is the weak point if it isnt the proper grade, if it is a Home Depot/Lowes bargain bin bolt, you may want to take a trip to a specialty place and atleast get a proper grade 8+ bolt.

Also, I would have probably added washers to the front of the seat to tilt the bottom of the seat backwards more rather than tilting it forward, I feel like I am falling forward out of my seat all the time.

My herniated/bulging disc is between L5 and S1, it blows the big one. I get radiating pain out my hips and then down my legs below my knees when it gets really bad. But I dont find that my seat gives me anymore pain than when I am standing or sitting in any other seat. I am 5' 9", 190lbs and standing kills me, laying on concrete to do car work kills, but the seats really dont bother me for some reason, and I am happy with that, everyone is different.

My wife has no back problems at all, and we drove my truck from MD to TX (in 23 hrs straight) and we were sore but neither of us complained about the seats, atleast anymore than you would expect after 23 hrs straight sitting and driving, and sleeping sitting up, and we even tried to sleep in the back seat, with the second row folded down (very bad idea, unless you are under 4 ft tall).

 

Herniated disc with deg disc disease here, too. Had mine cut in '05 and been fine since but we all know I'll be back under the knife again at some point. Such is life.

The seats in my truck don't bother me at all. I've taken multiple 10 hour trips in them since '07 and never felt a twinge. I guess I'm lucky in that regard.

I'd be REAL careful with effing around with the seat bolts/mounts.

 

I'm thinking about doing the spacers, but under the front. I'm only 5'10", but have stupid long legs, so I get very little support from the seat bottom when it is correctly placed. I'm planning on using a 3/4" spacer from solid stock and the correct length bolt. If nothing else, nice clean job on the mod, OP.