"How To" remove the rear armrest assembly.

pab · 11th June 2013, 13:31

This is a question I have been asked before, and an area I have never been. The forum contains no details of this task. It's a job that I need to do soon, so I set about looking how the mechanism works.

The Ski hatch and the hinge seem to be riveted into place and form part of the structure of the back rest.

Removing the plastic face plate reveals the hinge mechanism.

The retainer is a clip which is pushed into the hinge, and is very tight. I tried long nosed pliers but couldn't get enough purchase on the head, I used a small screwdriver to literally prize the tight clip out.

And with a little effort the clip popped out of the housing.

This is the clip removed, repeat on the other side and simply lift up and pull the assembly out of the back rest.

Arctic · 20th June 2013, 23:47

Hi Pab.
i think i have a few pics on how to remove these as once about 2 years ago i was going to replace my rear arm rest in the Tourer facelift for one with the lid and cup holders once removed i realized it was not as straight forward as just swapping them over and would need a bit of fettling so went on the back burner, i would need to dog deep into the archives to find the photo's

what are your doing with yours / Arctic.

pab · 21st June 2013, 06:55

The reason I wanted to find out if this armrest assembly was removeable was I was in the process of buying a set of Black Alcantara seats. The damage which the seats had sustained was a split in the face of the rear arm rest, the surface of this panel was vinyl, I suppose it had been damaged by a child seat or similar.

Over the life of these cars the armrest covering has changed, both portions of the assembly. The early Cowley built cars had a complete real leather item with a pull down strap. Around 2002 the deletion of the pull down strap and it seems most ZT models had a full vinyl version of the armrest, well at least the majority do.

I have sourced a 2002 version for the Alcantara seats, which will make a nice little upgrade. As you know these seats are only leather on the inner bolsters, or the parts which are in contact with your body.

The forum has no documentation on this removal, once the retaining system is worked out, as above, the assembly is easy and quick enough to do.

It would be interesting to see which covering members have got on their cars with leather or sports seats.

11th June 2013, 13:31	#1
pab Banned MG ZT V6 190+ Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Leeds Posts: 33,223 Thanks: 41 Thanked 1,614 Times in 1,416 Posts	"How To" remove the rear armrest assembly. This is a question I have been asked before, and an area I have never been. The forum contains no details of this task. It's a job that I need to do soon, so I set about looking how the mechanism works. The Ski hatch and the hinge seem to be riveted into place and form part of the structure of the back rest. Removing the plastic face plate reveals the hinge mechanism. The retainer is a clip which is pushed into the hinge, and is very tight. I tried long nosed pliers but couldn't get enough purchase on the head, I used a small screwdriver to literally prize the tight clip out. And with a little effort the clip popped out of the housing. This is the clip removed, repeat on the other side and simply lift up and pull the assembly out of the back rest.

21st June 2013, 06:55	#3
pab Banned MG ZT V6 190+ Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Leeds Posts: 33,223 Thanks: 41 Thanked 1,614 Times in 1,416 Posts	The reason I wanted to find out if this armrest assembly was removeable was I was in the process of buying a set of Black Alcantara seats. The damage which the seats had sustained was a split in the face of the rear arm rest, the surface of this panel was vinyl, I suppose it had been damaged by a child seat or similar. Over the life of these cars the armrest covering has changed, both portions of the assembly. The early Cowley built cars had a complete real leather item with a pull down strap. Around 2002 the deletion of the pull down strap and it seems most ZT models had a full vinyl version of the armrest, well at least the majority do. I have sourced a 2002 version for the Alcantara seats, which will make a nice little upgrade. As you know these seats are only leather on the inner bolsters, or the parts which are in contact with your body. The forum has no documentation on this removal, once the retaining system is worked out, as above, the assembly is easy and quick enough to do. It would be interesting to see which covering members have got on their cars with leather or sports seats.