rear seat removal

[Matty Moo]

I did mine the other day...swapped seats from a 99 XC into my Platinum wagon.

This is the 3rd time I've pulled wagon seats, it gets easier every time but still a pain in the ass.

[chax]

First, the clips: they look like they can be pulled out simply by pressing the central part of the clip in one direction, and the "fangs" in the other direction: this is NOT the case. Tilt the seat bottom forward, to get access to the bottom of the clip. There's a "tongue" on the bottom of the clip that prevents it from moving up: press in on that tongue, and pull or pry up on the top of the clip, and it'll come out. To lift the seatback out of the outboard bracket: there's a round spring surrounding the axle on which the seat pivots: you must apply pressure towards this spring (ie, in the outboard direction) in order to be able to lift the seatback out of the bracket. I used a 3-foot prybar, between the seat and the mounting bracket on the inboard side of the seats. Note that the hingepiece of the seat that sits in this outboard bracket is spring-loaded (to make it easier to return the seatback to the vertical position, I think), the rotational pressure of which can inhibit lifting it out of the bracket: the further back the seat back is tilted, the less rotational pressure there is on this hingepiece. In summary: push in on bottom of clip, and lift out; pull seatback in outboard direction and lift at outboard hinge.