idosubaru Posted June 6, 2008 Share Posted June 6, 2008 I have a 1996 AWD Legacy LSi Sedan body. I ordered a Legacy hitch it's supposed to be for a 1990-1999 Legacy. It doesn't appear to fit. But at the same time there do not appear to be any bolt holes. The impreza has a few bolt holes for the tow hooks that it's hitch easily bolted to. Am I missing something or how does a Legacy hitch attach? Thanks, Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psyko Posted June 6, 2008 Share Posted June 6, 2008 I just pulled one off a Legacy at the yard for my '95. I'm not sure what yours looks like, but mine has four bolts. Two runs horizontally through the tow points and the other two go vertically up into holes on the bottom of the frame rails. There isn't a nut, to bolt to, up in the frame rail though, so there is one as part of the hitch set. As you can see in the pictures below it's attached to a metal strap. That's to feed the nut up through one hole, in the frame rail, and position it above a second that the bolt goes up through. As for the Legacy itself, mine doesn't have two holes, per frame rail, like the donor car does. It just has one, so I'll have to drill another hole for the nut to feed up through. I realize my words are a bit of a mess, but you're smart, so I'm hoping you'll understand. If you don't, just ask. Left bolt goes through the tow point and second into frame rail. End with nut goes up into hole one and the tail left sticking out is used to position the nut above second hole. The part of the strap before the bend will all be up in the frame rail. The rest just hangs down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted June 7, 2008 Author Share Posted June 7, 2008 fantastic, thanks psycho, i'll try and compare these pictures to mine. do you have any shots of the other side? that appears to be the drivers side? that doesn't look terribly different than mine. it did look *close* so maybe it is right. but i'm almost positive my legacy doesn't have any holes or tow points on it??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psyko Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 That is the driver's side. The passenger uses the same concept, but a little different shape. I just took some more pictures. In them you can see that I don't have much by way of holes, just a couple of rubber caps I assume are holes that are way too far forward to actually be used as the bolt holes, for the hitch, now that I look closer. I'll have to drill my own new ones. As far as tow points go, I can't imagine your Legacy not having the loops. In the last two pictures you can see that they are built in on my '95 L, just as they were on the '96/'97 L (not sure of the year, but it didn't have the facelift my sister's '98 L has) the hitch came off of. Hope these can tide you over. I'm gone for a while. Full hitch. Passenger side. Passenger side, looking from the back of the car. You can see the rubber cap I was referring to. I need to drill holes too. Driver side from the front. Same story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted June 7, 2008 Author Share Posted June 7, 2008 okay i have the tow hooks, but they're like welded on, not bolted on like the impreza. so it looks like you'll have to drill at least some if not all the holes as well? thanks, i guess mine is usable, i'll check this weekend. no need to appologize i'm in no rush about it. heck i was thinking i wouldn't get any replies or people that recall the details, this is fantastic help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesFox Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 i have installed several legacy hitches at u-haul. the holes on the side of the hitch will bolt thru the tow hooks with metal spacers for to give it sturdiness. the holes on the top of the hitch will bolt thru holes on the bodt into the captive nut thingy in the photo. the holes you will use will be the rubber plugs you pop out from the framerail. in order to get the captive nut thingy where you want it, lift up the carpet in the back and pop out the rubber plugs on that side to feed it thru. if you have too much difficulty, you can go to the nearest u-haul and they should be able to print you off the instructions. whatever part number you have will be the same on eon u-haul inventory. otherwise they might have to mock a install quote to get the part number, then the instructions hope this helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnceggleston Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 the holes on the side of the hitch will bolt thru the tow hooks with metal spacers for to give it sturdiness. the holes on the top of the hitch will bolt thru holes on the bodt into the captive nut thingy in the photo. the holes you will use will be the rubber plugs you pop out from the framerail. in order to get the captive nut thingy where you want it, lift up the carpet in the back and pop out the rubber plugs on that side to feed it thru. that's the way mine worked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnceggleston Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 double post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted June 7, 2008 Author Share Posted June 7, 2008 thanks miles and JCE. funny thing mr. miles, mine says uhaul on it. but it didn't come with any hardware....like the captive nut/bracket thingy. i don't have any of that. do they typically come with installation hardware (when bought new?). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psyko Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 The Legacy this one came off of did not require coming from above and the rubber plug hole isn't the one the bolt runs up through; it's too far back on the frame rail (or what I'm calling the frame rail). The captive nut band goes up through one hole and has to be oriented above a second, as mentioned earlier. I'm making a run up to the yard again today and, if I remember, I'll take some pictures of what it looks like on that Legacy. I can't remember if this hitch, or the one on my Brat, is a U-Haul. If this one is I'd imagine your's is supposed to be the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psyko Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 First off, my Legacy hitch is a U-Haul. Now for the pictures I took at the yard today. This is the driver side. The larger hole is the stock one that has a rubber plug in it. The smaller is one that had to be added later. Closer shot, of the smaller hole, to show how unclean it is. Certainly not stock. How's all that for picture overkill? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnceggleston Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 now that i think about it , i had to drill the hole from below in the frame rail ,one each side. i mounted the other bolts through the tie down loops first, see below, and then drilled the holes where i needed them. i didn't care too much as long as it bolted up tight. i fished the nut 'with the handle' in from above, i was working with a wagon, 97 obw,, and had to pull up the carpet covered hard frloor panels on either side of the spare tire compartment. mine didnt have the extra long curved device pictured above, but it was a nut mounted on to a oblong flange so when tightening the bolt from below, it would not spin. or it could have been a bolt from above with the flange and thre nut from below. i used a coat hanger to snake/sneek it in to the right place. the other two bolt on points were as mentioned, they bolt through the existing tie down loops on the a$$ end of the frame rail. there is a bolt, matbe a spacer the same thickness as the tie down loop or slightly less and then a bracket it to clamp to the tie down, and then the washer and nut. i tink i mounted mine one on the outside and one on the inside. it was just easier, and again i didn't care as long as it bolted up tight. if you bought yours new for a subaru, go back and get the hardware you need. you were short changed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted June 8, 2008 Author Share Posted June 8, 2008 awesome! the hardware was actually taped to the receiver part of the hitch. it was packaged so tight and taped up so much i didn't realize it was under there. i also have a set of installation directions. the .pdf is too large to post though, it's 122kb or i'd post it here. not sure how to render an adobe file smaller? the directions say this hitch installs without drilling, it's a bolt on affair - 45 minutes? hmmm...we'll see about that!? it says to use that 1 1/4" frame rail plug opening to bolt to. it comes with spacers to put in there i believe? i'll let you know when i get a chance to mess with it. actually i'll post a link the company sent me. not sure how long or if it will work but give it a try and save this if you need it: http://fileresource.sitepro.com/filemanager/66/filecollections/252/CF6EA2DA-1E7A-E3DD-3D16-8D5ED007C146.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted June 8, 2008 Author Share Posted June 8, 2008 looks like that link works, so snag it while it's good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted June 8, 2008 Share Posted June 8, 2008 If you remove the bumper, you can look into the frame rail to line up the nuts. Makes it easier than working blind up in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psyko Posted June 8, 2008 Share Posted June 8, 2008 Interesting. There is sure as heck no way mine is bolting up through those two rubber plug holes. It hits way too far back on the frame rail. Perhaps it's an older model that was put on back when the car was new. After all, the car had every other option known to man installed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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