B7100 Seat Pad?

Lil Foot

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
1979 B7100DT Gear, Nissan Hanix N150-2 Excavator
May 19, 2011
7,283
2,236
113
Peoria, AZ
I recently got my paws on another B7100 seat pan, (1st pic) and in my never ending quest to make my tractor better/prettier, I ordered a new seat cover. Imagine my surprise to find it does not come with padding. All the parts houses I called say there is no padding available, no part number, & it doesn't show on any parts lists.
The seat pan I got had well-rotted, random pieces of foam & carpet padding glued to it. (completely unusable)
My current seat cover (2nd pic) is somewhat different from the factory one, (no grommets, aftermarket?) and is heavily padded, 1.5" to 2".
3rd & 4th pic is the new seat cover.

Did B7100s originally come with no padding?
Does anyone have a pic of a B7100 pad if they exist?
How about a recommendation for a foam material if I have to make my own?
Any help/opinions would be appreciated.
 

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procraftmike

Member

Equipment
1977 B7100DT w/B219 FEL
Jan 27, 2016
277
10
18
Neenah, WI
I ordered a complete seat from Messicks a few years back. Attached is what they sent me. My tractor is up by my cottage. I will be up there this weekend, if you want me to look at anything closer.
 

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Lil Foot

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
1979 B7100DT Gear, Nissan Hanix N150-2 Excavator
May 19, 2011
7,283
2,236
113
Peoria, AZ
I'm beginning to think that any factory pad must come with the seat pan; in other words, to get the pad, you have to buy a new seat pan, or a complete seat assembly.
 

Butch

Active member

Equipment
Kubota 2410, RC60-24B, FL1000- kubota hydrolic front snow blade- plug aerator
Sep 10, 2009
633
82
28
74
Rising Sun, MD
I saw the whole B7100 seat at seats-warehouse.com this morning... I can't remember was it sold for... but the price seemed low for what I purchased several years ago from Kubota... you may want to check it out
 

Lil Foot

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Lifetime Member

Equipment
1979 B7100DT Gear, Nissan Hanix N150-2 Excavator
May 19, 2011
7,283
2,236
113
Peoria, AZ
Nothing factory replacement, seats are generic for B & L series, different mounting, not compatible with my raising/reversing BH seat mount.
$99.95 and up, plus shipping.
 

Lil Foot

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
1979 B7100DT Gear, Nissan Hanix N150-2 Excavator
May 19, 2011
7,283
2,236
113
Peoria, AZ
Looks right, although it doesn't say B7100, just L series, but that's another $119, on top of the $65 I spent for the cover, plus what I paid for the seat pan. This is getting pretty pricy for something I really didn't need. Who would have thought a foam pad would be such a pain in the ass?
 

wgator

Active member

Equipment
L4701HST, FEL and other stuff.
Jul 28, 2018
482
147
43
NC
This one HERE says genuine Kubota seat, steel pan with a padded vinyl cover. Looks like your 2 pieces but put together.
 

Lil Foot

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
1979 B7100DT Gear, Nissan Hanix N150-2 Excavator
May 19, 2011
7,283
2,236
113
Peoria, AZ
This one HERE says genuine Kubota seat, steel pan with a padded vinyl cover. Looks like your 2 pieces but put together.
Yep, that looks like the one, padded and everything, but damn, I only wanted a pad.:(
 

D2Cat

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Lifetime Member

Equipment
L305DT, B7100HST, TG1860, TG1860D, L4240
Mar 27, 2014
13,022
4,393
113
40 miles south of Kansas City
Most upholstery shops will have foam of various densities. You need something pretty firm for machinery seats.
 

Lil Foot

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
1979 B7100DT Gear, Nissan Hanix N150-2 Excavator
May 19, 2011
7,283
2,236
113
Peoria, AZ
Sean & Len, I will check it out, thanks!
 

Lil Foot

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
1979 B7100DT Gear, Nissan Hanix N150-2 Excavator
May 19, 2011
7,283
2,236
113
Peoria, AZ
Well, depot is a bust. They carry nothing, have to order sight unseen & unfelt.
 

torch

Well-known member

Equipment
B7100HSD, B2789, B2550, B4672, 48" cultivator, homemade FEL and Cab
Jun 10, 2016
2,595
837
113
Muskoka, Ont.
I recently found myself looking for a new seat. The cover was patched with duct tape, the pad not so well padded anymore and the pan making ominous creaking noises at every bump:



After considering the various options and taking careful measurements, I picked up a universal replacement seat from Princess Auto. The bottom is laced with tapped mounting holes (most are 5/16" NCT). Two sets were the perfect spacing and about the right distance from the front edge of the seat:



I had cut the two mounts from the old seat pan, used the single existing hole in the centre and drilled an additional hole in each. It lined up perfectly:



It looked pretty good, and the backrest just cleared the windshield wiper motor. Flatter than the original, without that annoying bump between the legs, I think it will be more comfortable when twisting around to reverse:



Ooops. Not so fast. The original Kubota pan curves upwards, but this one is not only flat, it has a lip hanging down underneath. Far enough to rest on the 3ph lever!



I didn't want to bend the lip on my brand new seat. So I fabbed up some 1-1/8" tall spacers:



(Similar spacers for the rear of the seat, to sit on the springs, but I forgot to take a picture of those)

One wouldn't think a mere 1-1/8" would be noticable to the operator, but oddly enough it did feel too tall. I probably would have gotten used to that, but now the backrest was interfering with the windshield wiper motor, so back to the drawing board. I replaced the spacers with 1/4" shims under the hinge mounts only.



That alone was insufficient. Ok, it cleared the lever when just sitting there, but the operator's weight compresses the springs, bringing it back down onto the lever again. So I slipped the end of a large box wrench over the lever and used it to judiciously apply a gentle downward bend to the lever here (using the box end wrench let me control exactly where the forces were applied -- don't want to damage the valve!!!):



This gave me ample clearance, even when sitting on the seat:



The final result still clears my wiper motor:



I spent an hour or two clearing snow yesterday, both with the rear blower and the FEL and find it quite comfortable.
 

SRG

New member

Equipment
B8200D 4WD........ JD 870, FWA, 300x FEL.......... JD 797, 72" Z-Trak
Jul 15, 2017
490
3
0
N. IL
I recently found myself looking for a new seat. The cover was patched with duct tape, the pad not so well padded anymore and the pan making ominous creaking noises at every bump:

https://picturehosting.verhey.org/Kubota/seat/01_old-pan.jpg[IMG]

After considering the various options and taking careful measurements, I picked up a [URL="https://www.princessauto.com/en/detail/deluxe-high-back-steel-pan-seat/A-p8002695e"]universal replacement seat from Princess Auto[/URL]. The bottom is laced with tapped mounting holes (most are 5/16" NCT). Two sets were the perfect spacing and about the right distance from the front edge of the seat:

[IMG]https://picturehosting.verhey.org/Kubota/seat/02_choices.jpg[IMG]

I had cut the two mounts from the old seat pan, used the single existing hole in the centre and drilled an additional hole in each. It lined up perfectly:

[IMG]https://picturehosting.verhey.org/Kubota/seat/03_installed.jpg[IMG]

It looked pretty good, and the backrest just cleared the windshield wiper motor. Flatter than the original, without that annoying bump between the legs, I think it will be more comfortable when twisting around to reverse:

[IMG]https://picturehosting.verhey.org/Kubota/seat/04_looks_good.jpg[IMG]

Ooops. Not so fast. The original Kubota pan curves upwards, but this one is not only flat, it has a lip hanging down underneath. Far enough to rest on the 3ph lever!

[IMG]https://picturehosting.verhey.org/Kubota/seat/05_3ph_interference.jpg[IMG]

I didn't want to bend the lip on my brand new seat. So I fabbed up some 1-1/8" tall spacers:

[IMG]https://picturehosting.verhey.org/Kubota/seat/06_spacers1.jpg[IMG]

(Similar spacers for the rear of the seat, to sit on the springs, but I forgot to take a picture of those)

One wouldn't think a mere 1-1/8" would be noticable to the operator, but oddly enough it did feel too tall. I probably would have gotten used to that, but now the backrest was interfering with the windshield wiper motor, so back to the drawing board. I replaced the spacers with 1/4" shims under the hinge mounts only.

[IMG]https://picturehosting.verhey.org/Kubota/seat/07_spacers2.jpg[IMG]

That alone was insufficient. Ok, it cleared the lever when just sitting there, but the operator's weight compresses the springs, bringing it back down onto the lever again. So I slipped the end of a large box wrench over the lever and used it to judiciously apply a gentle downward bend to the lever here (using the box end wrench let me control exactly where the forces were applied -- don't want to damage the valve!!!):

[IMG]https://picturehosting.verhey.org/Kubota/seat/08_bend_here.jpg[IMG]

This gave me ample clearance, even when sitting on the seat:

[IMG]https://picturehosting.verhey.org/Kubota/seat/09_final_clearance.jpg[IMG]

The final result still clears my wiper motor:

[IMG]https://picturehosting.verhey.org/Kubota/seat/10_final_result.jpg

I spent an hour or two clearing snow yesterday, both with the rear blower and the FEL and find it quite comfortable.
Very nice. I used that same seat on my old B8200, bolted right up with 5/16" hardware and the old channel mounts on the machine, like what yours has. My local Farm & Fleet store carries them. It's a decently comfortable seat for $80.
https://www.farmandfleet.com/produc...al-deluxe-ultra-high-back-steel-pan-seat.html