My 98 Legacy GT seats did not work well without mods
Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2003 10:14 pm
So first, it is possible just to bolt the seats in. However it royally SUCKS! You cant use the plastic trim to cover the "feet" in the rear, the lower seat belt is basically hidden from use in any seat position except all the way back, the upper belt gets stuck half the time agains the seat and the lower seat belt is very hard to snap into place.
In other words it would be stupid to use them in this fashion.
What I did was modify my original rails, which included the upper seat belt guide and lower seat belt clip, to fit the seats. I also modified the outside plastic of the seat to use the lower seat belt guide.
The rails are pretty much the same except that the original rails are just slightly too short. To get them to work you need a hack saw. Instead of using the front most mounting hole you have to cut it to create a mounting "slot"
Although not necessary a washer will help to hold the rail in place. Some of you will complain of safety, realize that the SEAT BELT is not effected and the front mount of the seat does very little to hold it in place (why do you think the strut top nuts are only tightened to 14ftlbs?)
The modification to use the lower seat belt guide on the bottom is fairly simple. First remove the seat angle adjustment lever, one screw and the plastic will come off.
You will have to create two holes about the size of a nickel. Use the old seat belt guid and mark the area. Once the holes are large enough slide the old guide in place and using a zip tie connect the two mounting "studs" together. The zip tie prevents the guide from pulling out.
The height is EXACTLY what is was before. I dont have pictures yet and Ive only dont the passenger seat at this time.
One part that sucks is that the new seats dont have forward/backward ajustable head rests. Not sure why subaru cheaped out on them.
In other words it would be stupid to use them in this fashion.
What I did was modify my original rails, which included the upper seat belt guide and lower seat belt clip, to fit the seats. I also modified the outside plastic of the seat to use the lower seat belt guide.
The rails are pretty much the same except that the original rails are just slightly too short. To get them to work you need a hack saw. Instead of using the front most mounting hole you have to cut it to create a mounting "slot"
Although not necessary a washer will help to hold the rail in place. Some of you will complain of safety, realize that the SEAT BELT is not effected and the front mount of the seat does very little to hold it in place (why do you think the strut top nuts are only tightened to 14ftlbs?)
The modification to use the lower seat belt guide on the bottom is fairly simple. First remove the seat angle adjustment lever, one screw and the plastic will come off.
You will have to create two holes about the size of a nickel. Use the old seat belt guid and mark the area. Once the holes are large enough slide the old guide in place and using a zip tie connect the two mounting "studs" together. The zip tie prevents the guide from pulling out.
The height is EXACTLY what is was before. I dont have pictures yet and Ive only dont the passenger seat at this time.
One part that sucks is that the new seats dont have forward/backward ajustable head rests. Not sure why subaru cheaped out on them.
Not that it matters now that I've got the 98 RS seats.