airbag retrofit on 92/93 legacy

[semlin]

hi folks

i did a search but could not find an entry. can you retrofit an airbag equipped steering wheel on a 92-93 canadian model legacy sedan that was sold without one and, if so, what is involved? for example, is the factory abs harness in place for all cars and is the ecu the same? i am handy enough to do this if feasible but lacking information about this model. is the fsm available online somewhere?

new here and new to subarus generally although we once had a forester. i am helping my son buy his first car and he likes the early 90s legacy sedan. my wife insists any car he gets have an airbag. i see the airbag was optional on a 92 and 93 model years but there are very few sedans out there and i am having trouble finding one with an airbag. there seem to be plenty on wagons though from that era and so i am thinking maybe i could pick up one inexpensively from a wrecker.

[kimokalihi]

If you're close to tue border just drive down and get one from the states. Installing an airbag on a vehicle that didn't have them is something I'd never attempt. Too scary.

[mike-tracy]

Just buy a car with air bags if you want a car with airbags. Junkyard cars will have busted airbags and airbag sensors most likely. Possibly chewed up wiring too.

[robertpaige]

You could swap the wheel, but making the air bag work is something that sounds sketchy and something I would only trust the factory with doing.

[kimokalihi]

Or why not get a 2nd gen with airbags?

[86BRATMAN]

I think the better question here is, why do you want an airbag? I go out of my way to avoid the damn things.

[cj91legss]

Airbags are only fun when you're setting them off in your back yard with a 12v car Battery...

[Legacy777]

Welcome to the BBS.

As others have mentioned, you can swap the steering wheels between airbag and non-airbag equipped cars, but to make it functional would take A LOT more work. There is separate airbag computers, wiring, and sensors to make it work, and for such a safety critical component I wouldn't personally suggest risking trying to add all that stuff yourself.