Squeaky Ikea JÄRVFJÄLLET

This may seem very simple and obvious to many, but I finally got around to stopping my office chair from squeaking when you lean back. A quick internet search led me to this Reddit post. There are some useful tips on Reddit. They describe the following:

1. Unscrew the seat with the 4 screws.
2. Slide the seatholder all the way forward so you can see two huge springs inside.
3. Apply lubricant on those springs and any other moving part you can see (the best lubricant for these springs is ideally WD-40 white lithium grease or silicone, in a spraycan with a long nozzle so you can reach inside. But any type of lubricating oil should work. Don’t use regular WD-40, it will only last a day.
4. Put everything back together and enjoy the silence.

I did exactly this and used silicone oil from FORCE. It was primarily intended for my bike, but I figured it would work just as well here.

Below I go through the steps above with pictures. A small warning about the photos: I hadn’t looked under my chair in years, so quite a bit of dust had accumulated.

Step 1. Remove the seat by unscrewing the four screws. To access the screws the seat must be all the way back. You need an Allen key H5 to remove them, it should have come with the chair.

Step 2. Slide the seat holder all the way forward by pulling down the flat handle and pulling it forward. It should be positioned so you have access to the two large springs as shown below.

Step 3. Lubricate them. Test that the chair no longer squeaks when you lean the backrest back. Be careful not to tip the chair or otherwise injure yourself, I nearly had an accident.

Step 4. Put the seat holder back. This is done again by pulling down the flat handle. Watch your fingers, as a spring may pull it back.

Now enjoy your office chair that no longer squeaks.