Cut down Sprinter crew van bench from 3 to 2 seats

The Problem

The owner of a 2014 Mercedes Sprinter Crew Van wanted to replace the factory 3-person bench with a 2-person version to improve access through the sliding door footwell. No OEM 2-seat bench was available and captain's chairs were out of budget, so they cut down the existing seat themselves.

Important — before you start: a passenger seat frame and its seatbelt anchorage points are safety-critical, load-bearing structural components. Cutting and re-welding the frame is a modification that can affect MOT roadworthiness, vehicle type approval and insurance. Under DVSA rules, seats and seatbelt anchorages must be secure and not so corroded or weakened that their strength is significantly reduced. A modified seat frame or seatbelt mounting that an examiner judges to be weakened can be an MOT failure, and a badly executed repair could fail in a collision. If you are not confident in the structural soundness of the work, have the finished welds and anchorage points inspected by a competent person before the seat is used to carry passengers, and consider seeking professional or dealer advice on type approval compliance.

Solution

1. Remove the plastic seat-back cover by undoing the screws on the sides and underneath, then pull out the plastic pieces covering the outboard ISOFIX child seat loops.

2. Pry the seat fabric away from the steel frame — it is held by plastic clips that snap or twist into the framework.

   • At the seat/back junction, the back-bottom fabric curls around a bar and slots into a V-channel, with the seat fabric sitting on top; note this layered order for reassembly.

3. Remove the headrests, then drive each headrest socket upward from below by inserting a roughly one-foot (300 mm) length of half-inch (13 mm) square wooden stick underneath it and striking the stick with a hammer.

   • Do not pry the sockets upward from above, as this breaks them.

4. Remove the seatbelt hood at the top of the seat-back by driving the retaining pin fully rearward with a 5/32" (4 mm) or smaller punch, then prising out the plug with a screwdriver; retain both for reuse.

   • The hood slides upward off the seat-back — note the guide grooves before removing it.

5. Pry back the outboard foam to expose the armrest brackets, undo the bolts and nuts, and slide the brackets outward.

   • Note the position of the thin spacer sitting under one of the interior nuts before removing it.

6. Unbolt all seatbelt attachments from underneath the seat, immediately re-inserting each bolt and spacer back into its own hole after removal to preserve their order.

   • Note the seatbelt anchorage bolts are safety-critical: keep them in their original positions and torque them to the manufacturer's figure on reassembly (verify the correct torque with a Mercedes dealer or workshop manual before refitting).

7. Lift the seat-back foam and fabric assembly upward and over the seatbelt brackets on the uprights, then lift the seat-base foam and fabric straight off independently.

   • Two people are recommended for the seat-back assembly.

8. Unbolt the seatbelt retractors and move them clear of the work area, shielding the belt webbing from cutting and welding splatter.

9. Cut the horizontal pipes and bars of the frame to remove the centre seat section, aiming to maintain the 18¼" (464 mm) on-centre floor leg spacing (17¾" / 451 mm edge-to-edge between the vertical leg tubes).

   • Leave enough clearance from the upright frames when cutting to allow grinding and welding access — do not cut flush against the verticals.

10. Fabricate internal sleeve inserts to align and strengthen each welded joint by taking pipe sections from the removed centre piece, splitting them lengthwise to reduce their diameter, and press-fitting them into the cut tube ends.

    • The factory already uses an inset sleeve on the driver's side front tube — retain this one as-is.

11. Weld all cut horizontal pipes and bars with the sleeves in place, then grind and finish the welds flush.

    • This is a load-bearing structural repair. The welds must be sound, full-penetration joints capable of withstanding crash loads. If you are not an experienced welder, have the welds carried out or inspected by a competent person before the seat is used to carry passengers — a weak weld on a seat frame can fail in a collision.

12. Trim the foam cushions to the new width using an electric turkey carving knife, which gives a clean and controllable cut.

13. Check whether the seat covers are made in modular sections before cutting any fabric — on most NCV3-generation seats (NCV3 covers the second-generation Sprinter, roughly 2006–2018), ripping the existing seams at the centre section and re-sewing is enough.

    • Pattern-matching "V" notches on the seam edges aid realignment, and headrest and seatbelt mount holes should remain correctly positioned if the right section is removed.

14. Reassemble in reverse order: seatbelt retractors, latches, armrests with spacers, headrest sockets driven back in from above, seatbelt hood aligned with its guide grooves, and plastic covers.

15. Before carrying passengers, have the finished frame welds and all seatbelt anchorage points inspected by a competent person, and check that the modification will not compromise MOT roadworthiness or type approval compliance.