i wanted to deep clean the inside of my truck (99' sr5) and wanted to know if anyone has taken out the front 2 seats. there is alot of gunk/sticky stuff on the right side of driver seat between the seat and the center console. also the area under my seat has stained areas and i wanted to take care of it

also has anyone cleaned the overhead space? like the the whole top part on the inside of the truck. i wanted to somehow clean it up and make the interior look cleaner.

 

It is possible. I took my driver seat out to install an amp. The seats are mounted by (I think 14 mm bolts) you just have to pry off the plastic covers to get to them. Be careful though, I broke a clip on one and it wont stay on. Bbut not a difficult task none-the-less.

 

thanks tsmith, i have the tools required. do you think my 16 year old brother can do it? hes ur average kid who knows how to work things, not too technical though. i was goign to pay him to clean the whole inside taking out the seats and all.

 

when you do the headliner, do some research. i don't have personal experience, but just from hanging around these boards, i remember horror stories of botched headliner cleaning jobs resulting in a ruined headliner.

seats are easy-peasy. just don't scratch the paint/door panels with the metal rails on the bottom of the seats when removing.

 

thanks man, in that case ill go ahead and do this when i get a chance. what are headliners?
just did my reasearch on headliners, its alright i can leave this step out for now

 

When I used to detail cars we occasionally would clean headliners if there were big stains or gunked up from a smoker. I would not recommend you use a carpet shampoo machine, I've seen people do that and it usually will pull some of the fabric. What I did mostly was get a warm water solution with whatever cleaning product is safe for fabric and put it in a spray bottle, mist it on the headliner and either blot it up or gently wipe with a clean soft cotton towel. For more aggressive stains I would soak the area with the cleaning solution for a few minutes, try blotting up again, re-apply solution and lightly spray with an air nozzle from an air compressor. Whatever you do, DON'T USE A BRUSH ON THE HEADLINER!!! It will tear the threads of the fabric away from itself and look like an old tennis ball and it will be ruined. It's a messy and time consuming process. You might want to start with the headliner and work your way down to the seats and the floors, let dry and then start cleaning your panels, clean windows, and vacuum.

As for the seats, really easy. Should be 4 bolts, and possibly a connector or two for seat belt and airbag sensors and then lift out. You'll probably find a couple ball point pens, paper clips, and french fries down there once out. I would recommend a good steam cleaner for the carpets, that will get out most organic stains. If there are any artificial colored stains like fruit punch, bright colored candy, or ink you may have a difficult if not impossible time getting these out of the carpet fibers. When you're done shampooing the carpets, turn your heat on the floor and let it run for 20-30 minutes with the windows cracked; this will dry the carpet and let the moisture escape out the car so it doesn't stink like old sweat socks. Maybe a sprits or two of Febreze to keep it fresh in there.

Hope this helps, good luck.

 

wow thanks man really helpful, as well as the other posts too. im looking forward to doing this when it warms up. i am a smoker and would love to see my headliners cleaned

 

haha yea im 18 and had no issues.

 

As was mentioned above, be careful prying the plastic clips off the mounting bolts. Some little tricks as well, if the front seats are manual, slide the seat all the way forward to get at the rear anchor bolts (yes they are all 14mm). If they are electric, just position them all the way forward and remove the rear bolts first, then slide (operate) the seats all the way back and you can get at the front anchor bolts really easily. Be careful removing the seats and ensure the electrical connectors are seperated before you start pulling them out! Yeah sounds really simple but if you forget about the cables you can really bugger up the cables.

If they have not been removed before and if they have alot of bio-gunk in there, or the truck had been wheeled much then the bolts maybe a bit "corroded" in place and it will require a bit of guuunting to get them out. Once you get them out just give them a bit of oil, WD-40 and it will help with the install. All he will need to do the job is a small pry bar/large flat tip screw driver, 12 point box or combo 14mm wrench and 6 or 12 point 14mm socket and 3/8 drive ratchet with a 6" extention should be all you need to get both front and back seats out.

Rear seats, pop off the plastic covers (be careful again) for the forward anchors, pull the seat bottoms up, remove the rear anchors, then the seat back anchors and out they come.
"Piece of pie, easy as cake"

 

Your from georgia so rust shouldn't be a problem. I just removed the seats to clean my carpet and it was easy to remove. Upon reinstalling them one of the rusty bolts got caught up on one of the spot welded nuts for one of the forward mounted bolts. The nut then broke off and is spinning in place so be careful.

 

If you take the center console out, then it's not too difficult to get the carpet all the way out. I did this and then power washed it. Looked damn near new after it dried out for a day or two. Stains collect in the jute backing on the carpeting, so cleaning it within the vehicle won't remove the funky smells that linger. Just be careful not too get the MDF rear seat backing wet.

I did my headliner, too. Used some automotive upholstery foam with a soft scrub brush, then wiped away the funk with a damp towel. No adverse affects to the liner at all.