They weren't too expensive, so I bought one and then went to YouTube to see how to install it. That's when I discovered that I needed a large pipe wrench. I don't have one of those.
I started searching for how to replace it without the large (and expensive) pipe wrench and I found this kit that used two split clamping collars and some screws to force the cylinder out of the chair seat. I ordered it because I figured I could use those collars with the other cylinder if it happened again.
So on a Saturday afternoon, my dad and I got to work on the chair. There was a snag. Of course. There wasn't enough room on the cylinder to use the Allen wrench with the short end in the screws. Which meant I had no leverage to tighten the screws and separate the cylinder from the chair seat.
After messing around with this forever, we conceded defeat.
But we decided to leave the collars on because at least they would stop the chair from sinking all the way down. Then I said, If I bought three more of these collars, the chair would stay up completely.
And that's where I left it. Until later in the week when I was so frustrated with the chair sinking and sinking and sinking, that I decided to see if I could buy some more of the split collar things. Keep in mind, that I have no familiarity with these things, and as far as I knew, they'd been made especially for the chair kit.
A quick search at Amazon, though, turned up a plethora of choices. I took one of the collars off that I had, measured the diameter of the bore, and ordered three of them.
As soon as they arrived, I laid that chair on it's side and started putting them on. I'd say my bore size is about an 1/8" of an inch too large, but it still works around the cylinder shaft. I ordered three of them and that turned out to be exactly the right number.
I don't adjust my chair height. Once I found the right position, I just want it to stay there and that's a good thing because the cylinder is locked in position now. That's fine because I'm no longer sinking and all the other features work.
Score another one for Handy Patti. Not quite the way I expected, but I'll take it.
