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Electric seat motor 84 olds 98 part # is unobtanium?
I'm trying to start restoring a olds 98 I recently purchased, and I've been able to source just about everything I need with the exception of one thing: the electric seat motor. Aggravatingly, the motor itself is fine, it's just that the plastic bushing that connects to the actual seat adjustment has shattered into a million pieces on both the drivers side and passengers. I'm not against just supergluing it back together, but it'd be a bit hacky and probably wouldn't last long enough to be a solid fix.
Regardless of all of that though, it still leaves me with the problem of being unable to even find a part number for this gen of olds, much less the actual part itself. I can find the styles used in just about every other olds ever produced, but I can't find much of anything for the 80s models. Am I just SOL and going to have to use a drill on a cable to adjust the seats when needed? Ideally I would just be able to buy the plastic piece that's shattered, but I've got a feeling that's a fools errand.
Unfortunately, there's not much aftermarket support for the 98s and Delta 88s. You could find another plastic part from a parts car, but chances are it has already failed like your's. If it's still in one piece it probably doesn't have much life left.
If I understand this right, you need the the plastic part that connects the motor to the mechanism. If so G Body parts has the part for the cutlass which is the same item. Cheers.
According to the GM parts books, the 84 D body used the same motor and coupler as the G-body recliner driver's bucket for the 6 way power seats. Except they used TWO instead of just one.
Coupler, GM p/n 20614175 https://www.ebay.com/itm/203788202862 Get 3 or 4 of these as these couplers get old and brittle and guess what they do then? I have no idea how good these repros are, so I said to get a few extra to have on hand just in case. If you move the seat a lot, you'll be replacing it again one day.
The transmission case and guts used to come as one unit under GM p/n 20225150. Long discontinued. Again, D bodies use 2 transmissions.
They do sell aftermarket transmission cases, though.
If you NEED a transmission casing (reuse your old guts) as these break due to brittleness as well, get one from Capt. Cadillac. He has the BEST ones as far as quality.
There's no "instructions" that I'm aware of as to how to swap all the guts and such, so it's a full DIY experience if you have to do it. But 80 bucks is certainly cheaper than finding an NOS unit. I can't see it being too difficult if you take your time and map out where everything goes as you take the old one apart. As they could be brittle due to age as well, never know.
If you don't feel like you could handle a transmission rebuild, Gbodyparts claims they can rebuild them for you for $50. Don't know if that price is the same as it was several years ago. So you might want to check if they're price is accurate or if they still actually do it. 86 and Older 6 way Power Seat Transmission - Rebuild Service, GBodyParts.com
Unfortunately, there's not much aftermarket support for the 98s and Delta 88s. You could find another plastic part from a parts car, but chances are it has already failed like your's. If it's still in one piece it probably doesn't have much life left.
Yeah, noticing that, but thankfully I've managed to cobble together enough old parts sites to supply pretty much everything I deem super important. Definitely seeing that demand for parts on these isn't as much as the cooler/older models though, that's for sure.
Originally Posted by Hammerdrop
If I understand this right, you need the the plastic part that connects the motor to the mechanism. If so G Body parts has the part for the cutlass which is the same item. Cheers.
You're my hero, don't know how this site managed to fly under my radar but it really does have just about everything I could really think of, including that tiny coupling. Thank you!
In the event some poor guy gets stuck on this same hunt and finds this on google, the item # is G00-AIN-GBP-PSC on their site
Last edited by BoatEnjoyer; Aug 16, 2025 at 12:11 PM.
The transmission case and guts used to come as one unit under GM p/n 20225150. Long discontinued. Again, D bodies use 2 transmissions.
They do sell aftermarket transmission cases, though.
If you NEED a transmission casing (reuse your old guts) as these break due to brittleness as well, get one from Capt. Cadillac. He has the BEST ones as far as quality.
There's no "instructions" that I'm aware of as to how to swap all the guts and such, so it's a full DIY experience if you have to do it. But 80 bucks is certainly cheaper than finding an NOS unit. I can't see it being too difficult if you take your time and map out where everything goes as you take the old one apart. As they could be brittle due to age as well, never know.
Good luck with this.
Thankfully, the seat transmission seems to be in good shape, but I'll definitely keep this in mind. The guy I bought the car from said the seat worked fine "last he used it", so I'm hoping that once it gets hooked back up it comes back to life just like everything else in the car has.
The bushings are readily available as others have said. I am actually thinking of machining a metal one after having to replace the one in my Wife's Rivera twice so far. I am getting ready to order a housing too as the one for her passenger seat is cracked
Most of the body mechanical parts are pretty common GM parts that were used across all product lines.
The bushings are readily available as others have said. I am actually thinking of machining a metal one after having to replace the one in my Wife's Rivera twice so far.
My only concern with a metal one would be you'd be changing the weak link in the chain from the coupling to something else in the chain. If there was an issue with the clutches in the transmission they are plastic, so if the metal coupling doesn't give, guess where the next break point would likely be? Not saying you wouldn't ever have a problem, but if you've had to replace a coupling twice, there may be a reason for it. The gear lube can and does get gooey over the years, so it might be problematic.
If the motor runs, the problem is the plastic coupler. These are readily available. It is a pain to remove the seats when you can't move them. I've had to do this several times on my 1980s Oldsmobiles. You don't need a motor.
For anyone following along that has _60’s-70’s_ era seat motors and posts, be aware that the screw jacks and forward/back rack&pinion gear can be spun by hand with a correct width flat blade screw driver.
A screwdriver to manually jack up the seat(s) got me out of jam (or jamb, heh, heh) a time or 2 when removing the seats for maintenance.
It is a pain to remove the seats when you can't move them. I've had to do this several times on my 1980s Oldsmobiles. You don't need a motor.
The first step in the service manual is "move the seat all the way to the forward position" LOL I have a custom bent 13mm wrench top get to the back bolts on the Riviera
The first step in the service manual is "move the seat all the way to the forward position" LOL I have a custom bent 13mm wrench top get to the back bolts on the Riviera
In the 85 Delta it was 1/8 of a turn at a time with the open end wrench, then flip it and keep doing it.
