93 Legacy Wagon with 04 Forester Suspension Issues

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NW_Legacy
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93 Legacy Wagon with 04 Forester Suspension Issues

Post by NW_Legacy »

Background: About 6 months ago I installed 04 Forester suspension on my legacy. While doing this i replaced front tie rods, ball joints, wheel bearings, Axles and end links while i was working on it. Tires are newer and good. I am running 04 WRX wheels.

Issues: After about a month i started getting clunking around turns. I have came to the conclusion that my, less than two months old, driver side axle is the culprit. I have not yet replaced the axle yet. It hasn't gotten any worse or failed yet so i kind of went with it. But after doing the forester suspension install i noticed the cars steering felt loose and jerky at the same time. Example would be while I'm driving straight i'm correcting constantly but then when i hit a bump or groove in the road i get a jerk from the wheel. And when i get on ice on the roads the steering gets VERY light feeling, like i have no traction whatsoever. I did have a alignment done after installing the suspension. And when corning it feels totally fine.

After doing some research these are the problems i think it may be.
- The axle that is going out could be catching and just failing all together
- Power steering pump may be going bad
- Front end links are too short (I used brand new front end links for the legacy. Should i have used forester ones?)
- Steering box is going out.
- Suspension Geometry is totally off (I have not done the outback "add ons" yet.

I am replacing the Axle tomorrow but contemplating buying the Forester front end links while i'm there. But money is tight so if i dont need them i dont want to buy them. If anyone can add some input/advise on this it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
beatersubi
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Re: 93 Legacy Wagon with 04 Forester Suspension Issues

Post by beatersubi »

Do the outback lift parts. It will the put the axles at a more normal angle. Without them, the axles are at a more extreme angle and could be causing your handling issues and very likely be the cause of the premature failure.
93 legacy wagon L, 22T swapped (TW imitator) now with five forward speeds. (Gone, but never forgotten)
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James614
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Re: 93 Legacy Wagon with 04 Forester Suspension Issues

Post by James614 »

I believe the Outback/Forester lift parts also modify the lower control arm geometry to correct caster with the lift, which would also have a pretty big effect on your handling.
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mike-tracy
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Re: 93 Legacy Wagon with 04 Forester Suspension Issues

Post by mike-tracy »

Yeah the front and rear subframe spacers on Outbacks make a huge difference.
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BoostedSubie
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Re: 93 Legacy Wagon with 04 Forester Suspension Issues

Post by BoostedSubie »

I'm about to do the same swap on my wagon and I have all struts/springs, front control arms or you could just do the rear bracket that bolts to the body, front and rear subframe spacer, rear trailing arm bracket that bolts to body, and the bigger outback sway bars. Also you may want to adjust the steering intermediate shaft to accomodate for the bigger distance from steering column to the lowered rack and pinion. This is why you are most likely having issues with the axles and sloppy turning.
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Legacy777
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Re: 93 Legacy Wagon with 04 Forester Suspension Issues

Post by Legacy777 »

I think what the other guys have posted is probably your best bet, but just out of curiosity, have you had an alignment since you swapped everything?
Josh

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deadhp1
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Re: 93 Legacy Wagon with 04 Forester Suspension Issues

Post by deadhp1 »

I'd have to say that when I did my forester suspension sway the biggest changes in feeling came when I finally added the forester control arm bushings and the front subframe spacers. It drove like a loose truck before that with an odd steering feeling. Afterwards it drives a bit like a tank.

I just got to test out my ground clearance with this last blizzard here on Long Island.
I was one of the only cars on the road not getting stuck in +2ft of snow on unplowed roads.
However later the ice rutted roads left by the plows finished off my axles and 1 wheel bearing.(axles and wheel bearing may of been original!)
northcoast
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Re: 93 Legacy Wagon with 04 Forester Suspension Issues

Post by northcoast »

If it's only making noise around turns its probably just the axle.

One thing you will want to change is the steering shaft like Boosted mentioned. Just go to PAP and grab one from an OB. They're about 1/2 inch longer than what you have now.

Sub frame spacers aren't necessary just an added bonus. I ran around for several years without them and had zero axle issues.

As far as end links go, I think I'm still running my original Legacy ones and I have a 7" lift. If you want to go longer then check to see which are longer as the Forester ones maybe the same length. STI rear end links are about 3/4" longer if you want to go that route.
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wtdash
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Re: 93 Legacy Wagon with 04 Forester Suspension Issues

Post by wtdash »

I don't see it shown or asked:

What brand of CV axle did you buy? My 'autozone special' lasted 6 months. Bought a used OEM one and it was still going strong 20K miles later even after my turbo and 5-speed swaps.

FWIW, I put OB struts and then Forester struts on my '90 Legacy wagon. I never had any issues and I had it aligned w/out a problem, too. The Forester struts do make the front gap (top of tire to fender) higher than the rear's. I thought it drove fine...but not as well as when I lowered it back down w/WRX struts/springs all 'round to go AutoX.

GL,
Td
Turbo Subies:
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'04 FXT, Forged internals, VF39, STI TMIC, Cobb AP- SOLD
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