I have cloth seats but want to upgrade to leather. Do the "take off" leather seat covers I see (on the big auction site) fit the seats just like the cloth covers do? Seems like a pretty good deal, and some work, too, to get them on.

 

Super easy. I did mine in about three hours. You just need hog rings as well as hog ring pliers. They just slip on and slip off. There is a YouTube video that has step by step instructions except the head rests are slightly different.

 

Changed the 6'ers out 3 months after we got it.

We cut the hog rings off and replaced them with HD zipties. 2yrs and 50K miles later they still look/fit like new.

 

Thanks! I think I am going to get a set soon. I never thought about using zip ties to replace the hog clips.

I might put some heated seat strips in them while I have them apart even if I don't do hook them to power right away. That might come in handy during the 2 months of chilly weather we get here in the south, lol!

 

What size hog rings work the best? Thanks in advance!

 

pretty standard. you`ll find the pliers and a bunch of rings for around $20 or less. check your local auto parts or upholstery or fabric stores. heres a set at cj`s but you wont need 250 rings. maybe a dozen or so.
http://www.cjponyparts.com/hog-ring-...-kit/p/HW1511/
the rings are way superior than zip ties and worth getting. to remove the old ones, the easiest way is to just grab the ring with some side cutters, give a slight twist and they will open right up and unhook in one easy motion.
heres a write up i did for replacing the bottom seat foam in my 05. part 2 shows the cutters i used to twist the rings off. your seats will be slightly different as mine are the base seats with no power, but a few of the steps will be the same.

the rear seat is just plastic clips and real easy to do. the frts are a little more involved. take your time, dont be in a hurry, pay close attention to how you remove the covers. the frt will have the plastic clips, the hog rings and velcro strips that press into the foam.

the headrest have the button on one bar, and a little hole for a paper clip to release it. i found the easiest way was to clamp the headrest bar in a large vice to hold it while fitting the cover on. its gonna be tight, and be careful cause the vinyl will tear easy where they fit around the bars on the bottom. when you remove the old covers, there will be some clear plastic over the foam. make sure you keep it and use it for the install.

 

Thanks! I have watched the KatSkinz video. I'll take my time and be careful. I certainly don't want anything to tear or rip.

 

I don't see the writeup, is it a link or just what you posted in the post?

 

Another vote for zip ties. Made everything a lot easier.

 

I would vote against zip ties. They can become brittle over time and when temperatures fluctuate.

 

I did my back seats and all four headrests yesterday. As soon as my clips and pliers come in I'll do the front. What a huge difference the leather look makes. Now the car smells like new leather, too, instead of just new car.

 

Nice job, it looks perfect.

 

I did the front seats tonight. They are not an exact replacement on the bottoms. I think the driver's side "take-offs" were designed for power seats so the left side of the seat is slightly different because my seats are the manual type. It looks fine though and for $400 it looks great! I will put the seats back in tomorrow. I just ran out of light tonight in my driveway. It took me 1.5 hours for the back and the headrests and took me 3 hours for the fronts.

 

I had the same issue with the driver's side. Worked out fine with a little modification. Probably can't get a manual leather seat from Ford?

 

GtStang, I was thinking the same thing. I also broke the passenger side black trim piece trying to get the seat apart. It looked like the guy on the Katskinz video just pulled and they came off. What you really have to do is get inside of where those clips are and pinch the metal pieces to release them. So to get into there, you have to start taking the upholstery off, then reach between the springs and the foam to get to them. That was probably the hardest part of the whole job, getting those 2 clips off! My hand also sustained damage there because to get to them, you can't wear gloves. I did that on the driver's side and it did not break. I guess I'll try to order one from Ford for the passenger side.

I put the seats back in this morning. 100% chance of rain all weekend so I had to do it while it was sprinkling.

 

I had to replace one of the handles which allow the seat back to recline. Other than that no major problems. Messed up the clip inside the handle. Looks great Automatic 5.0

 

Hello and thanks for taking time to read this, did anyone who did the cloth/leather swap find they needed to add cushion material to the V6 coupe front seats? If so how much and where? This is for a 2014 V6 tech package, so power drivers seat.

thanks!

 

Looks like you did a great job! This is absolutely next on my list.

 

i too broke the plastic "valance" they call it... i had to order a new one.

as for the driver side where the seat height adjustment is, i cut a slit in the leather which allowed that adjustment to go back into and fit properly.