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96 legacy seat swap

Featured Replies

I have a 96 legacy L and the seat (drivers) is sagging. Long commutes irritate my back. My mothers car (2wd 95 legacy L) has the same problem. Are the seats in a WRX any better, or will they do the same thing? Also, will they bolt right up in place of my Legacy seats, or will they need modification?

 

Rob

  • Author

I am new to the board, but would appreciate any knowledge you can share.

I have a 96 legacy L and the seat (drivers) is sagging. Long commutes irritate my back. My mothers car (2wd 95 legacy L) has the same problem. Are the seats in a WRX any better, or will they do the same thing? Also, will they bolt right up in place of my Legacy seats, or will they need modification?

 

Rob

I purchased a '96 last fall, and found that the driver seat was sagging pretty badly. After some inspection when the weather got warmer I found that one of the bars that runs front to back on the side of the seat was broken. There are a bunch of wires with springs at both ends that run left to right under the seat to hold it up, and the rod that these attach to is what was broken. I hope this makes sense. If you take a look under the seat and this is the issue you will know it right away as there will be some loose pieces of wire down there. I took out the seat, replaced the broken rod and reattached the spring-loaded wires. Seat firmed up nice.

 

As for other seats, the WRX and STi seats are certainly better and seem to be a common swap. Beware, they seem to sit considerable higher which may be an issue if you are tall.

 

 

-Heikki

  • Author

I will check the frame as you said, but probably after I remove the seat, because I bought the WRX seats late yesterday. Thank you for the info!

 

Rob

Another option you may want to consider is to change the seat foam. It's available new from your dealer for about $100.

 

 

I have a 96 legacy L and the seat (drivers) is sagging. Long commutes irritate my back. My mothers car (2wd 95 legacy L) has the same problem. Are the seats in a WRX any better, or will they do the same thing? Also, will they bolt right up in place of my Legacy seats, or will they need modification?

 

Rob

I bought 2001 Impreza RS seats (like new taken out of a car being converted for rallying) and installed in my 87 Brat. They are the same as WRX seats but no side airbag. I think you will love them as they are very comfortable. My wife has a 2003 Legacy and I think my seats are more comfortable.

  • Author

That is good news!

 

I will let you know how it works out. Maybe my mothers car can have new seat foam, or add some "other" seat foam to lift out the sag.

 

thank you!

Rob

  • Author

I put the WRX seats in and they are awesome! They bolted right up except for the 5th bolt (rear inside). Since it still has 4 corners bolted down, I will not worry about the 5th. Feels like a totally different car.

  • 3 months later...
I put the WRX seats in and they are awesome! They bolted right up except for the 5th bolt (rear inside). Since it still has 4 corners bolted down, I will not worry about the 5th. Feels like a totally different car.
I am planning to do the same thing (i.e., wrx seats in a '95 Legacy LS Sedan). What years seats did you get? Do the seats have built in air bags, and if so, did you do anything about the air bags? Also, how much higher did the seats sit than the originals?

 

I have wondered if some of the inexpense (i.e., $200-$300 range) after market seats would have been better or worse choice.

 

Thx!!

  • 1 month later...

Bought a used 2001 Outback wagon last fall, and love it. But...the driver seat seems to sag on the left, or somehow is irritating my hip joint.

 

Any suggestions? Will replacing the foam do the trick? Are Subaru dealers used to dealing with this type of problem?

just thinking about a seat swap...

 

but looking on ebay (first thought) the price per pair is 150 average and then the magic shipping price is the same thing@@@!!!!

 

any where else you think i could get this??

 

thanks

I found a 99 30th Anniversary Edition Legacy that had great seats (with hight adjustment, needed for my slightly less then 5 foot tall wife), since they are from the same body style (95 to 99) as out 95 L model Legacy wagon, they bolted right in. I might get the door panels to. When we first got the Legacy (a week ago today), it felt like you were sitting on the floor, the sag was so bad.

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