I'm taking apart the sport recaro seats

[Ronin]

Has any of you done this?
Both front seats in my car have leaky lumbar support.
I've taken apart one of the seats and will be doing a leak test to see where its actually leaking from.
I can't find much info on this online so will post here and update you with my findings.
So far I've tested the air bags themselves and they are holding up just fine so the fault must be somewhere else in the system.

[Ronin]

OK, i tested every single part of the air system and found it all to be OK except for one of the outlets on the valve block, it has a little crack that quickly lets air out. My car is a 2002 so i doubt it was ever fixed.

The second pic shows the brass insert with an O ring, and the red lines show how tall the 'collars' so to speak are. Only one (the tallest one) is cracked.

I'm not gonna risk fixing that with some epoxy after taking all this time to carefully take apart the seat, i think ill look for a similar pump in other VAG models, or maybe pre fl A8 had a metail manifold on the valve block or something...
I also thought about submerging the whole thing in some sort of liquid rubber or tar and letting it set, but thats a bit extreme.
suggestions are welcome.

[Ronin]

Update:
7 series e38 valve block appears to be suspiciously similar to the audi one, except they don't seem to have the cracking issue as the inlets are completely recessed in the plastic. I bought one to try and will let you know how it goes.

[Ronin]

OK people, I'm glad to confirm that the above BMW valve block is a direct swap with the AUDI one and is a much better and sturdier design, even the mounting tab matches and the threaded clip fits the BMW part too. No modifications required at all, the plug from the loom in the seat fits perfectly too.

You should budget around 4h to do the first seat, 2h after that for the second seat.
There is no special tools required other than a zip slider to zip up and then staple the bottom of the back rest as it was done at the factory.
Attached Thumbnails

[HPsauce]

Revisiting a 2yo+ thread......
Years ago I bought a replacement OEM valve block to try and fix this problem in my drivers seat, but then I looked at the seat and couldn't see how to get inside it!
The passenger seat suffered the same issue and in the end I bought some foam pads that slipped in behind the back rest - there's a lengthy open slot just inside the side bolsters to get quite easy access.
So a few relevant questions:
Do you need the seats out of the car to get at the valve block, if so is that a 2-person job?
How do you actually get the relevant cover sections off the seat (and back on) and what equipment is needed?
A good source and part number for the BMW valve block please?
Cheers!
Edit: Part number seems to be 8360408.

[HPsauce]

I was also wondering if there was a way of getting at the plumbing/wiring to replace/bypass the valve without dismantling the whole seat?
IIRC the actual valve unit is fairly high up in the seat back, offset to one side (left?) but maybe clear of the bolster?

[MikkiJayne]

From what I remember of them you have to have the seat out of the car. Its possible solo - remove the headrest first, and stick a towel or blanket over the sill so you don't scratch the plastic trim with the seat runners. The seat weighs about 40kg iirc.

You can't get to the gubbins without dismantling most of the backrest unfortunately. Its a terrible design for accessibility.

[HPsauce]

I don't have plastic sill trim, remember! Nice shiny metal plates that you sold me and installed. Same problem though.

[MikkiJayne]

Even worse with those! It mostly catches on the lower B pillar trim as you lift it out, not where your shiny bits are.

[HPsauce]

Hmm I think this another for the "next careful owner" list, along with rear headrests stuck down and rear parcel shelf not as secure as it should be....