Tutorial - Dismantling The Interior

[mikeeitup]

Aw man this is an awesome thread! Too bad the pics have been disconnected. Any way to fix that?
Mike

[bajaguy]

import bbc code from a photo host site. I use Flickr and have 1tb of available space for free!

[Trashyaddy]

How does one see the pictures? Photobucket wants money.
Thanks
Al

[mike-tracy]

Anyone have pics with the rear seats removed? I'm trying to see how everything goes together underneath. TIA

baja rear seat.jpg (68.4 KiB) Viewed 49552 times

Not these, the interior rear seats, silly!

[ZUBAJA]

What can't you see with the seat folded? The base is only held in by 2 bolts. The back folds down and (IIRC) there are like 2 bolts on each side. Behind it are the plastic panels, which snap in like most other plastic on Asian vehicles. Dennis

[mike-tracy]

My seats are not installed, and all the trim pieces from the rear are in a pile, a pile that also includes other subarus. A picture of the rear area with no seats installed would help me immensely.

[ZUBAJA]

I have half of the rear plastic removed from mine from when I was changing the shocks. I'll try to get a few pics, but it might be tomorrow.

[mike-tracy]

I have half of the rear plastic removed from mine from when I was changing the shocks. I'll try to get a few pics, but it might be tomorrow.

Thanks, but I got some time off today. Don't worry about the pictures, I'll be hopefully finishing it up in a couple hours. I'll post any random trim pieces I can't find a home for.

[mike-tracy]

PXL_20210905_232655519.jpg (3.07 MiB) Viewed 49517 times

Here's the rear trim all installed to the best of my ability.

PXL_20210905_234832313.jpg (3.29 MiB) Viewed 49517 times

I learned that you have to install the upper rear cushion before this piece of trim goes in. Otherwise you can't tighten the upper bolts of the seat.

PXL_20210906_001001507.jpg (3.82 MiB) Viewed 49517 times

Installed! I'm cleaning as I go, so don't judge.

Here's a complaint I have about this website. If you upload pics straight from your phone, it keeps the personal data attached to that pic. For instance, I had to download these pics to my PC and manually remove the gps coordinates to my house! Is there a way in the PHPBB software to strip personal info from photos it hosts automatically? I do want to keep that data on my pics that are on my phone.

[gremlinkurst]

There's one thing about dismantling the interior that doesn't seem to be covered: removing the back seat. I dropped a tool bit while attempting to remove the headrests, and it fell underneath. The rocket surgeons at the factory tightened down the relevant bolts insanely tight, and it appears that the seat is secured underneath on either side by the same size bolts...probably tightened with the same degree of insanity.

Is that how the seat can be removed, or am I not yanking on it hard enough, as one would for a Subaru Outback?

[Guacamole]

There's one thing about dismantling the interior that doesn't seem to be covered: removing the back seat. I dropped a tool bit while attempting to remove the headrests, and it fell underneath. The rocket surgeons at the factory tightened down the relevant bolts insanely tight, and it appears that the seat is secured underneath on either side by the same size bolts...probably tightened with the same degree of insanity.

Is that how the seat can be removed, or am I not yanking on it hard enough, as one would for a Subaru Outback?

Don't know if it's over-torquing or just the age of the vehicles now, but you will need an impact driver to get the screws out.

[gremlinkurst]

My drill doesn't have the horsepower. The size of the bolt heads in question are 12mm, so I've ordered a metric combo wrench set. That should take care of it. Because of the extreme torque that was used installing the bolts, it would be a mistake to use a socket set not designed to bear such stress. I know; I have broken sockets not designed for such heavy-duty applications (that was how I learned).

[gremlinkurst]

There's one thing about dismantling the interior that doesn't seem to be covered: removing the back seat. I dropped a tool bit while attempting to remove the headrests, and it fell underneath. The rocket surgeons at the factory tightened down the relevant bolts insanely tight, and it appears that the seat is secured underneath on either side by the same size bolts...probably tightened with the same degree of insanity.

Is that how the seat can be removed, or am I not yanking on it hard enough, as one would for a Subaru Outback?

Don't know if it's over-torqueing or just the age of the vehicles now, but you will need an impact driver to get the screws out.

I wasn't ignoring you about the impact driver; I simply forgot to acknowledge your helpful tip regarding that. You are very likely correct about the tool probably used during installation, however, I feel confident that a sturdy solid wrench shall do the trick. Now, the only impact driver I've ever used was an industrial shop tool in a Navy DIY garage that sailors could rent a bay in to work on their POVs (Privately-Owned Vehicles), but just in case the wrench I plan on using doesn't suffice, I went looking online for the cost, and saw mostly battery-powered affairs that...well, leave me feeling dubiously skeptical about their abilities to get the job done. One manufacturer, though, stated, "This powerful tool and cordless convenience delivers a no-load speed of 0-2700 RPMs and a torque rating up to 1,320 inch/lbs."

I must confess ignorance, but would that be sufficient to the task?

[Guacamole]

I wasn't ignoring you about the impact driver; I simply forgot to acknowledge your helpful tip regarding that. You are very likely correct about the tool probably used during installation, however, I feel confident that a sturdy solid wrench shall do the trick. Now, the only impact driver I've ever used was an industrial shop tool in a Navy DIY garage that sailors could rent a bay in to work on their POVs (Privately-Owned Vehicles), but just in case the wrench I plan on using doesn't suffice, I went looking online for the cost, and saw mostly battery-powered affairs that...well, leave me feeling dubiously skeptical about their abilities to get the job done. One manufacturer, though, stated, "This powerful tool and cordless convenience delivers a no-load speed of 0-2700 RPMs and a torque rating up to 1,320 inch/lbs."

I must confess ignorance, but would that be sufficient to the task?

A manual impact driver is far cheaper, and you can find them at your local hardware store too.
https://www.amazon.com/Lisle-29200-Hand ... 0002NYDRG/
If you're not comfortable doing this, take it to your local Subie dealership and ask them to loosen the screws but not uninstall them.
A long wrench will suffice if you can keep the bit from slipping out of the screw head.

[gremlinkurst]

The tool you referenced isn't compatible with my vehicle; it's fitted with parts having imperial measurement units, and the Subaru uses [metric] 12mm measurements. If the tool set I ordered isn't up to the task (I am keenly aware of the danger of stripping the bolt heads), I'll see how cheap it would be to have a Subaru dealer loosen them if the wrench threatens to strip the heads. (oddly, the cordless impact wrenches on Amazon got a lot more expensive overnight)