2001Millrunner

I just bought one of these things http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=2420248665

they seem to be in very good quality, very thick as well.

If anybody has done it, would you be willing to give me a little write-up or some tips before i tear everything apart?

Nolan

personally I think it would be better to have an auto upolster do the job. My friend switched from cloth to leather on his maxima and he said it was going to be a lot of work and he had it done at a shop and it looks great.

pfdaxe

I installed the leather kit myself. It was a task but once you get the hang of it...it's not too bad. Just make sure you buy new hog rings and some hog ring pliers. I takes awhile to complete so I opted to do one seat a day. My finger tips were sore from attaching the hog rings because there are alot of them and some of them are in tight spaces. Once installed it was a nice feeling that I accomplished it all. The leather is very comfortable. I did mine 1 1/2 years ago. I did it once but probably wouldn't do the install again just because of the time it takes. Check some pics on my site of the finished product.

Paul

shazaam

hey-
I bought the same kit about a year ago. The leather is kind of cheap. You have to poke holes in the leather in order to make it fit properly, b/c it was a little too large. Also the pieces that slip over the rear seat bottom are a snap on contraption, and they didn't fit properly. There are no cut outs for the headrest to slip into the seat. SO again you have to cut the leather. When you instal the door panels, they have a thick foam insert that overlaps onto the door sill (where te power window buttons are) and covers up some of the controls also the little space where you can hod the door to close it is covered up. lastly I've had this kit for a little less then a year, I use the interior conditioning on it once a month, despite that, the leather on the drivers seat has already began to wear away ... its not cracked, there are just spots where the leather is worn. I've only put about 12k miles on the truck in the last year, so its not like I drive it alot, and I use the windshield blocker to block out the sun, and my front windows are tinted dark black. So I don't know how else to explain it other then, its cheap leather.

the next thing is that I've noticed that the seats have lost their firmness especially the lateral portions of the bottom seat. It just sags now as compared to when the cloth was on them .... I don't know how to explain it, but its just something I noticed.

lastly if you are going to instal it, it is easy to do .. it took me about 5 days working about 5 hours a day to get it done. Its not hard, it was just time consuming, and I tried to do a neat job, and took my time. Also instead of the hog rings, I used zip ties, it made things go a little faster. Also make sure you prefit the door panels before cutting off the excess trim. also your going to have to trim the foam in order for the door opener to fit into, and you have to cut the foam more in the front, then the rear, so that when you slide it back in it works, otherwise the door won't lock. Again you have to cut the leather for the door openers, their not precut. I know this doesn't make sense the way I said it. but like the other guy said I would pay someone else to do this for you. If I get a chance I'll take a picture of it tonight and post it here for you.

hope this helps

pfdaxe

WOW:

Sorry to hear about your problems that you encountered. I don't have the kit advertized on Ebay. I have a Classic soft trim kit(same as the dealers install)and didn't have those issues with mine. I'm in and out of mine alot and I am showing some minor wear on the drivers seat cushion on the side but if it ever gets too bad I'll contact Classic soft trim because they'll warranty it. The best price when inquiring for install was $300 which wasn't too bad.

Hey sdastg1: Do you have a site or pics of your ride??

shazaam

yeah if I had to recommend this to someone I would tell them to pay a little extra and get the classic soft trim. As far as the install I was happy that I did it, but I will never do it again. The cheapest install price I was able to find here was $550.

I have had another idea for some time now. I was thinking I would try to find some nice leather front seats out of a lexus landcruiser (from a junkyard) and then retrofit them into the runner. and then have classic soft trim fit the rest of the vehicle to match. The other option was to go with sparco or something like that, but I kind of like the leather with wood trim look.

pfadxe- So no site yet (I don't know how to make one) but I will snap a few pics (hopefully tonight), any particular view?

pfdaxe

Let's see all angles...and interior and engine

As for a site. I just used a free one through msn.com There are plenty of site where you can set something up for free. When I find some time I would like to set my own domain up instead of the MSN one.

Paul

2001Millrunner

hm.......i thought i was getting a good deal but looks like im going to have a lot of problems with it. o well i'll get it installed somehow, thanks for your feedback...*sigh*

im wondering if i should send it back? i'll lose about 90bucks.....

PhxTRDRunner

I would love to see pix of that Ebay kit installed, especially the wear after a year! I've been putting off getting that exact kit, just because I've been weary of the finished quality. I'm not at all concerned about the install, nor having to trim the leather in places, but I am concerned about how it holds up through a year of use. So sdastg1 lets see some pics!!!!!!!!!!

2001Millrunner

u know what? im just gonna say f#$k it and install it next week and i'll take some pics with digital camera and put it up. I know it'd be pointless but im gonna get one of those sheepskin seat covers on to preserve the seats as much as possible hopefully my light-gray kit wont fade out or start cracking(cross fingers). well not it's off to my car taking off the seats!!! my bank account hates me be cause i flirt with it too much . but my SC funds are still building up slowly

shazaam

sorry guys .. long day at work, just got home .. its too dark to take pics. I promise, first thing in the morning

2001Millrunner

sdastg1
what tools did you use? did you buy all those hog-ring pliers and etc. as it says on the instruction? and did you have to tear everything up on the headrests take off the cloth cover? it seems that it's all glued together im wondering if i'd be able to wrap it over the existing cloth cover....dang it what have I gotten myself into...

INsr5runner

Shavad, sent you a PM

pfdaxe

I bought a bag of I think 100 or was it 1lbs. hog rings and hog ring pliers for around $20 at a local upholstry supply store. The kits don't come with them. You slip the new covers over the existing cloth headrest.

shazaam

hey-
I tried taking pics, but the pics aren't transferring to the computer, I dropped off the camera at best buy they said there is mud or dirt inside the connector where the wire goes to the computer .... I wonder how mud got in there? they will have it back by tomorrow

As far as the headrest, you simply slip over the leather pieces over the headrest, and then there are plastic connectors on the bottom of the leather that hook together, and then stuff inside the groove in the bottom of the headrest. You have to be careful here too, do not try to stretch the leather over the headrest, otherwise it will fit loosly over the headrest, and look like ˟˟˟˟ (like two of my headrest). Instead, bend the original headrest foam (by squeezing it together with your hands) and then try to fit them into the leather without stretching the leather. :pat: good luck .. you really just have to have patience. I have some, but not enough.

oh and I don't know if I mentioned this earlier .. but instead of hog rings, I started using zip ties. It was easier on my hands to just thread them through and snip off the ends. They have held up just as good as the hog rings. Also when you slip the seat covers over the foam inserts, your going to notice that your going to have to pull it snug, and in order to do that, your going to have to puncture the leather. It was easier to just poke a hole with a knife, and thenslip a zip tie through, rather ten mess with the hog rings.

oh one more word of advice. On the two front seats there are plastic sensors attached to the foam. DO NOT REMOVE THEM. simply cut your original cloth to release the wires and then reconnect them once youve installed the leather.

ALso when you get to the door panel inserts, I left the cloth on them. I went to home depot and got the 3M spray on cloth glue. and sprayed over the cloth, as well as the back of the new leather inserts.

I hope I'm not discouraging you too much here. Its not as bad as it sounds .. just a lot of little things to watch out for.

shazaam

you know what? if it were me I would send it back to him, and take the $90 loss. your going to regret it. When I got the kit in the mail, I was like wwooohhoo leather finally, I loved the smell, and only $375!! I thought I had gotten a bargain. and when I finally got done putting in myself, I was like "ok its not perfect, but it will do. At least I got leather for next to nothing" but then finally when the aura wore off. I was like, ˟˟˟˟ I kind of wish I had the cloth back again. at least it looked like quality, and its not worn or faded, and didn't feel like cheap vinyl. I choked up my loss to experience, and I'm going to have to pay another grand in order to get this fixed. Its not a priority right now, but it is on the to-do list. If your just going to put sheepskin seat covers on, just put them on over the cloth. If your paying for leather, your going to want to sit on it. not some goat's hairy ass.

I would suggest just save up a little more and get the catzskin or the soft trim, and get the warranty, b/c you know it is going to crack some day. but if your still going to do this, feel free to ask any questions, I'll try to help as much as possible

butnut

I think sdastg1 said what I feel after reading your post. Not that I think you can't do a decent job, but more, will the test of time and labor spent be worth it in a few years? I'm an old fart, so cliche's like, you get what you pay for, can't make a silk purse from a sow's ear yada, yada...it sounds like very low quality leather. Yes it's leather...looks like, smells like it, glad I did'nt step on it. I've been an upholsterer 25 years, had my own custom shop for 10. Cheap leather will not last, it's poor grade to start, and most importantly, it's top coated to get it's color. The color is just on the surface, feels stiff. There is 'raw' brown leather just under the 'paint'. The good stuff, analine dyed, is colored all the way through, feels soft and will last way longer. I buy leather by the hide, in the shape of a cow, legs and all. A full hide of cheap leather will be around $100.00+...analine dyed, $300.00+. this is my wholesale cost. Seat manufacturers obviously get huge discounts as they buy tons of skins. The point I'm trying to make is that, to sell a set of covers so cheap, something must be cheap. The time/labor to cut and sew a set of fitted covers and the cost of the leather. Overseas labor and cheap leather = seat covers at a low price. Consider, the 'seller' has to make some money too, how much is he buying for or his 'cost' per set. It blows my mind how cheap a set of decent looking leather covers can be even made so cheap.
I know the Soft Trim is what the dealers use, Catskinz has been around a long time, I've never seen 'em though. Quality will stand the test of time, much longer than the big savings. The final decision is yours, just thought I'd throw my 2 cents in. Kudo's to you guys who did your own installs. I'm gonna sew up a nice 2 tone blue leather set for my Runner one day...

2001Millrunner

yea after reading you guy's opinions i think im just gonna eat the $90.00, send it back and call it a lesson. I am VERY anal about my cars and keeping it clean all the time, infact when i sold my old prelude i've gotten almost $2000 over the book value for having such clean interior/exterior. I am gonna put a hold on my leather seats for a while and keep saving up for my SC. I'm just a little bitter because i've been looking at this kit for almost a year now.
I'm not gonna settle for anything less than perfect for my perfect truck. i hope ppl will learn from my mistakes as well as stastg1's

*sigh* im just thinking about what i could have done with my $90bucks that im about to lose....

Thanks for all your inputs and concerns

williemon

This is what I would do. Keep it for a few months, THEN put it back on ebay and resell it. You might even make a few bucks at it.

INsr5runner