Ebay armrest install

**ChevroletRyan** · 12-06-2006, 06:01 AM

Originally posted by mtlswift

I got one of these from ebay:
http://www.armrest-autoaccessories.com/ ... 6127840969
I posted into the armrest thread in the "wanted to buy" section but thought I'd put it in the right place...
The pictures in the link show it all, and it's actually pretty sturdy. Sorry, too lazy to do my own photographs for a DIY... I was running late, wanted to get it installed quick and it took me all of 5 min, so it was pretty darn easy.
1) Slide both front seats all the way forward. This is to allow you to access the rear of the center console to screw the armrest in place.
http://pbg2user01.doteasy.com/1/3/6/86/ ... 6aff84.JPG
2) Position the armrest so that the cutout for the 12V accessory plug is centered around the plug.
3) The armrest is predrilled for 4 holes. The rear holes go in horizontally sideways into the rear of the center console in front of the drink holder, the front holes go down vertically on either side of the parking brake.
http://pbg2user01.doteasy.com/1/3/6/86/ ... 580b7c.jpg
4) Using the holes of the positioned armrest as a guide, drill 1/8" holes through the center console. Don't go too deep just in case.
5) Using the supplied screws and countersink washers, screw armrest into center console in an X pattern. Don't overtighten or you'll strip the console.
6) Use the supplied screw covers to cover the screws.
I got the black one, which matches the black fabric of my 06 swift, although the black plastic base doesn't match the dark grey OEM plastic. The armrest itself is plenty sturdy. The construction is pretty solid, you can tighten the armrest itself. The OEM center console isn't super sturdy so overall there's a bit of movement, but it's okay. When it's down, it's the perfect height for the manual shifter although it does block the parking brake to a degree but when it's up, it's completely out of the way.

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04-04-2007, 09:44 AM

I just bought this item and can say it's fairly decent and does its job as it's supposed to. The padding part is of high quality so that's really important to me. The plastic base, as mentioned, doesn't color match too well but that's easily solved with some spray paint. The base also isn't as solid as I would like but I think putting a small sheet metal brace in the underside of the plastic structure would beef up its rigidity. Not much you can do for the console's jiggling though. In any case, these quirks aren't a major problem; the armrest does what it needs to do, doesn't hinder the e-brake, and makes long distance driving a heck of a lot more enjoyable.

**subachad** · 04-04-2007, 04:13 PM

Nice, thanks for the write up. I plan on getting one of these after I buy some new wheels for the car and get those springs from Brian.

P.S. quick reply is an endless loop for me and is no longer working at all.

**mcthumber** · 04-04-2007, 07:03 PM

I installed 2 of these (black in my Aveo, grey in my wife's). I thought the color matches are pretty good & overall quality of the units are very good.

As noted before, any side-to-side instability comes from the console, not the armrest structure (that seems pretty rigid to me). All in all, well worth the money IMO.

If anybody knows how to stabilize the console I'd love to hear about it.

(ETA-- I got both through eBay for 2/3 their website price.)