93 AWD Legacy SW to Forester strut swap advice needed

[SubaruFred]

I have a 93 Legacy AWD wagon with worn out air struts. I've already acquired 4 used loaded strut assemblies from a 2000 Forester and 4 new KYB GR2s. I've read that the rear strut mounts will require some slotting and/or re-drilling to fit or that I could use 92-94 Legacy rear strut mounts and spring perches. My primary question is whether to keep the Forester (Outback) mounts or spend the extra $100 for Legacy mounts and perches. I haven't found any pics that show how much work is involved to use the Forester rear mounts. I'd really appreciate any advice about this and any other things I might need to consider when doing this swap. Because of the cold weather, installation time is a factor. It would be nice to just bolt them up but it would also be nice to save $100. I've already got a dremel, carbide bits and any other tools I might need to adapt the chassis for the Forester mounts.

One other thing to note is that the Forester mounts appear to hold the strut 1/2-1" higher than the Legacy mounts. Considering that the Forester front struts are 1.125" longer than Legacy struts and the rear Forester struts are 2" longer, I'm inclined to stick with the Forester mounts to maintain an even ride height but I really don't know what the in-situ ride height will be. For reference, 96-98 OB rear struts are .375" longer than Foresters. If you've installed OB struts in a gen 1 Legacy, is it even or a little higher in back?

Also, what's the easiest way to disable the air suspension and get rid of the flashing dash light? Thanks in advance.

[Legacy777]

I don't have any experience with the different struts and what it takes to get them to fit. Personally, I'd probably spend the money for the Legacy mounts, but that's me. However, not sure how that will affect ride height if at all.

Regarding the air suspension, I would remove the computer for the air suspension. It is located under the driver's seat. You'll need to unbolt the seat to get at it. Here's some pics showing where the different control units are located.

http://www.surrealmirage.com/subaru/fil ... tion05.jpg
http://www.surrealmirage.com/subaru/fil ... tion06.jpg

I'd also suggest removing the compressor and air tank since that's a decent amount of weight. It's located under the battery in the fender well. You'll need to remove the fender liner to get at it.

[SubaruFred]

I've got some people saying that these Forester struts will bolt up front and rear and others saying that the rear mounts require modification. I had planned to disassemble my used struts today but got side-tracked with other things. Hopefully I'll get them apart tomorrow so I can compare the mounts to what's on my car now. If they match, great! If not, I may order Legacy mounts and spring perches. I've also got people saying that my rear will sit too low with Forester struts although they are 2" longer than oe vs only 1.25" longer in front. There's a lot of good info available for this sort of mod but it's far from complete or organized into any one useful reference source. Perhaps if I have time I can help pull some of this together into a reference guide.

Thanks again for all your help. Any thoughts on converting the compressor and tank to run air tools and fill tires, etc.? I'm sure someone has done or tried this by now.

[Legacy777]

I'm not sure what the pressure rating is on the compressor, but It is not a high volume compressor. You could probably fill tires, but not run air tools.

[canubaru]

from what i hear the early legacy top hats are different than the forester or outback top hats. so you will need the legacy tops from your year or similar. and you may not even have top hats on your current set up, i've never seen an air shock.

the reason for the saggy butt is that the forester / impreza setup is slightly different than the outback / legacy setup. the outback rear struts are about 2.5? inches longer vs. the forester which is about 2? inches longer , for the rear. i'm not 100% on the actual numbers but the difference is there and that causes the saggy rear.

[SubaruFred]

I'm not sure what the pressure rating is on the compressor, but It is not a high volume compressor. You could probably fill tires, but not run air tools.

Just as well, I don't have any air tools anyway, just electric. I like the idea of keeping the compressor to fill tires but it may not be worth the trouble considering how cheap small portable 12v air compressors are.

Hopefully I'll get my new struts installed tomorrow. I hope I don't run into too much trouble making the rear Forester mounts fit. I read somewhere that the center hole is different as well as the 3 bolt holes but then others say that only the 3 mounting holes need to be slotted while others say that they used one and slotted 2, and others used 2 and drilled a new hole. There is definitely no definitive guide to this!

I'll try to take a bunch of photos and possibly put together a DIY for 98-02 Forester struts into 92-94 Legacy.

[SubaruFred]

from what i hear the early legacy top hats are different than the forester or outback top hats. so you will need the legacy tops from your year or similar. and you may not even have top hats on your current set up, i've never seen an air shock.

the reason for the saggy butt is that the forester / impreza setup is slightly different than the outback / legacy setup. the outback rear struts are about 2.5? inches longer vs. the forester which is about 2? inches longer , for the rear. i'm not 100% on the actual numbers but the difference is there and that causes the saggy rear.

I'm going to have to see how this works firsthand. The 96-98 OB and 98-02 Forester front struts are 1.125" longer than 92-94 Legacy struts. The 98-02 Forester rears are 2" longer than Legacy and 96-98 OB rears are 2.375" longer. Unless the rear Forester springs are too soft, the Forester struts should work out great. I guess I'll find out soon and I'll post the results with photos.

[SubaruFred]

I hate Strutmasters!!! If they hadn't discontinued their 92-94 Legacy air to coil conversion kit I'd have 4 new struts installed instead of only one. I spent 4 hours today installing one rear Forester strut. Not only are the upper mounting holes different, the center chassis opening is smaller than the Forester/OB strut mount. The slotting required to keep the strut centered is extensive and even then it requires a spacer or the only contact will be between the mount "dome" and the inside edge of the chassis hole. I had to stack 3 washers on the strut studs and I'm not happy with this as a long term solution. I guess I'll need to get spacers now.

I probably should have bought new Legacy mounts and top perches but I couldn't confirm that Legacy top perches would work with these Forester springs. It's too early to tell about the ride height but it was a PITA getting the longer Forester strut installed. I had to disconnect the sway bar link. At full extension, the spring and bottom perch hit the fenderwell.

Oh well, this turned out to be much more of a PITA than I anticipated. Hopefully I can get the 3 remaining struts installed tomorrow. The second rear will be a lot easier and the fronts should be pretty easy. I'll post some pics and height measurements when done.

[Legacy777]

That too bad to hear things aren't going well. Keep us posted how the remaining three go.

[SubaruFred]

I got the left rear installed today and it went a lot easier. I'm still a bit ticked off that I listened to the various people that said all you had to do was modify the mounting holes to use Forester/OB rear mounts and only one of them noticed that the mount doesn't fit properly even when the holes are slotted. If I had known that up-front, I never would have used these rear mounts. This isn't directed to anyone here in particular, I did a lot of googling on the subject and read this at various places, here, USMB, NASOIC, etc. Using Forester/OB rear mounts in a 90-94 Legacy is pretty damb ghetto IMO.

Anyway, here are some pics with the rear struts installed and the front air struts deflated. I like the height and am optimistic that it will match the front when finsihed.

* BTW, please note that I had nothing to do with that hideous body filler repair work on the rear quarters. It was like that when I bought it and I plan to fix it when weather permits.

[Legacy777]

That is definitely jacked up! Are you going to get larger tires?


As I guess you found out, different people have much different opinions as to how things "fit" and how ghetto something may be.

[SubaruFred]

I got the fronts installed today and they were very easy. The only problem was one wheel was frozen to the hub. It finally broke free after a few dozen hard kicks. The front does look higher because the fender gap is larger but I think the ride height is actually level, maybe even a little rake. I may go with some 3/8" saggy butt spacers after all.

I really want new tires but haven't decided whether to get some 15" rims or stick with 14". I've found BFG A/T's and Cooper Discoverers in 195-75-14 and General Grabbers in 27x8.5x14. I'd have a lot more options with 15" rims. Any suggestions on tires and rims?

[Legacy777]

Sounds like things are coming around. I think the biggest thing for tires would be to make sure you have clearance. The USMB has more people that do the off roading thing and may have some lifted legacies so you could get some feedback there.

www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum

[SubaruFred]

Yeah, I had my share of complications with this project but at least it's finally done. Well, 90% and driveable anyway. I still want to add rear spacers and remove the A/S computer, pump, tank, etc. It's so cold I just pulled the relay and fuses for now.

As for tires, I've been searching USMB and here for ideas and I'm almost settled on 205-75-14LT All-Terains. They're just a little smaller than 27x8.5x14 at 26x8x14. I'm sure they'll fit without any rubbing.

Anyway, thanks again for your help. Here's a pic with all 4 srtuts installed:

[Legacy777]

Looks good! Glad you got it figured out. Bigger tires and it should look pretty good.

[SubaruFred]

Thanks! I'm 95% certain about which tires to get. BFG A/T 195-75-14 are great but heavy and expensive. 27x8.5x14 General Grabbers are also great but a little big and heavy. I think I'll go with 205-75-14 Falken Radial A/P's instead. They're not as off-road worthy as BFGs or Grabbers but they're still A/T, light and cheap.

[canubaru]

if you don't need tires right away, consider buying a set of used tires on 15'' subaru wheels. that may change your search and price structure when buying ''larger'' tires.

once you move of of the ''most common sold'' area for tires it seems the price jumps pretty good.

[SubaruFred]

Well I don't really need new tires, I've got 4 almost new Michelin all-seasons on here now but they won't be very good in snow. Since I plan to do some off-roading and this is my winter car, I was thinking that all-terrains would be a good compromise for 12 month use.

I've been looking for 15" rims but haven't found anything less than $70 each and these 14" Falkens are only $71 each. I also like that they are only 23lbs vs 30lbs for the BFGs or Grabbers. I'd probably lose 2-3mpg with 30lb A/T tires. These are pretty mild A/T tires but they look like they'd be decent in snow and light off-roading which is just what I need.

[bry]

great pics! we appreciate the actual measurements when comparing the legacy, forester and outback struts. this detail and commentary is extremely helpful for others that would try the same mod. and, in my opinion, it looks like a useful mod for preventing high-centering in the north and allowing some back woods fishing in the south. kudos!

btw, what is your ground clearance on 185/70-14?

[SubaruFred]

Thanks! I appreciate all the great info I've received here. If not for this forum and USMB, I doubt I would or could have done this. I started out just looking for a air-coil conversion kit or loaded struts and when I discovered that no one makes them anymore I stumbled on the OB/For strut lift conversion.

I didn't take many measurements but from pavement to the rolled lip on the rocker panels is between 9-9.5" and to the top of the fender arches is 27-27.5". I'd estimate between a 1.5-2" lift overall.

Here it is with the Falkens installed:

[bry]

that came out looking really nice, streetable and affordable. i like the fact that you stuck with the factory rim and selected a taller tire. looks really good.

[cj91legss]

DAMN!!!!!! Now you're ready for some trails.....

[Omega79]

This really has me thinking things... thanks for all the info about your trials and tribs with this. I have a feeling this info will be very useful for me in a month or so...

[SubaruFred]

Thanks guys. I've been driving on this setup for a few months now and love it. The only negative I've found is that in really high cross winds the car gets pushed around more but that's just part of being lifted. It was really great in snow this winter. I did some off-roading in 8" of snow and she pulled through it like a champ.

I don't know if I mentioned it but I ended up installing 1/4" shims from Paranoid Fabrications on the rear strut mounts to even out the loading between strut mount and chassis. The 98-02 rear Forester strut mounts don't fit the 92-94 Legacy properly even after slotting the mounting holes. The "dome" on the Forester/OB mount is slightly larger than the hole in the Legacy chassis. Rather than risk metal fatigue as the chassis sheet metal deformed to the strut mount shape, I installed the spacers to acheive full contact between the strut mount and the chassis strut tower.

In retrospect I should have used 92-94 Legacy strut mounts and spring perches instead. The money I saved on those parts was more than lost in extra labor. However I do not know what effect (if any) the use of Legacy mounts and top perches will have on the installed ride height. My setup sits about 1/2" higher in back than the front. OB rear struts should sit a bit taller than this.

For reference, 96-98 OB and 98-02 Forester front struts are the same (1.125" longer than stock). Rear Forester struts are 2" longer than stock and OB rears are 2.375" longer than stock.

[93 legacy]