Cummins Freak

how hard would it be to fit 1998.5+ seats in to my 97 i like them better

Stamey

Been there, just did that, in my 96. The seat upgrade is no problem, if you can weld. Before I scare you off, it really isn't that big a deal. The newer seats bolt right into the rear hole/stud, but the front needs to be either shimmed, or you must install the front seat support brackets that come on the newer trucks. They are about 20 bucks each from the dealer. I'll hunt down the part number. I suppose you could drill and bolt them down, but I chose not to do that, for convenience and hopefully less rust in the long run. I drilled holes in the brackets, at strategic locations, and spot welded through the holes into the floor board (no holes drilled in floorboard).
I'll try to post some pics tonight so you can see what's involved.
My new ones are for a Quad cab, and I now have an extra set of seatbelts. The in-seat belts do not pull out right now. I plan to fix this, so I can remove the older seatbelts, but I have not found the wiring diagram necessary to let me wire the seatbelt part of the seats. I have wired the power part of the seats and they work fine.

Chris

Hayseed

Sorry but I have had both trucks and my '97 has muuuuucccccchhh better seats than the '98.5. Not to mention the power seat on the '98.5 only moves the bottom of the seat and still feels like sitting on a park bench, while the '97 moves the whole seat and is much more comfortable. If you have a really large rear I guess the '98.5 may be better because they don't conform to your body as much

Rattlerattle

If you are going to put different seats in I think there are way better seats than dodge ones. I picked up some heated leathers out of a VW. So much nicer than dodge seats.

Cummins Freak

got pics

oestreich84

He has pics in his photo area. They look pretty good. How did all the connection hook up? Did you have to cut and splice a lot or just a couple? I've been wanting to put in some heated leather seats in my truck for a while now but I cant make up my mind which ones to go with.

Fueling around

A buddy recovered his 96 seats with Katskins leather. I was very impressed how much it improved the seat. A pair of Rostra heaters and he has a happy wife, too.

Rattlerattle

Actually I have not got around to hooking up the heater controls yet. To many projects not enough time. It does look pretty straight forward though. I managed to get the heater controls along with all the pigtails out of the wrecked VW.

JKM

I thought about changing seats , but instead i just changed the seat covers, the new one is easier to get along with and looks much better in the truck...

durasmack

I put 04 heated leather seats in mine.... spent the day today working on the seat heater controls..... hasnt gone great yet..... seat install went well, i like them, though some people around here really cant stand them...... just my $0.02. I have pics if anyone wants them...

-trey