Suspension Swap

Struts, spring, anti-rollbars, braces and the like.

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SWRT
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Suspension Swap

Post by SWRT »

Borrowing my friend's account here..

I have a 1990 Legacy L AWD auto. My struts are completely blown. There is a donor car that is a 99 Legacy L AWD. My question that I have, can I unbolt the top 3 mount bolts and the two on the bottom of the strut and just swap the entire strut assembly from the 99 to the 90 without modifying anything else? I'm hoping I can just do that without having to disassemble the strut and swap over parts. Will everything transfer as I'm hoping or... ?

Also, will I notice any change in suspension geometry?

Finally, I am ultimately looking to convert to outback suspension at a later date. Will trading the suspension like that cause any extra difficulties when the time comes? Thanks in advance.
mike-tracy
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Re: Suspension Swap

Post by mike-tracy »

Rears have a different bolt pattern between 90-94 & 95-99 body styles. You "could" swap tophats between your old struts to the new ones. The sticky at the top of this forum has more info.

Suspension geometry isn't the same, but it is closer than say 02-07 WRX which is a common swap. The 93-01 Impreza has the closest/same suspension geometry.

96-99 Outback suspension has the same fitment as 95-99 Legacy, so as long as you take the non-fitting newer top-hats into account, you should be good.
1992 Legacy SS 5mt, build in progress
Josh Colombo wrote: Mon Jan 14, 2002 10:23 am Wait....I'm confused now.
SWRT
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Re: Suspension Swap

Post by SWRT »

Thank you for the very thorough reply. I assume changing the tophats on the rear would require disassembling the strut? I was looking to do a straight swap since the donor vehicle needs to be able to roll still. I'm guessing that isn't possible?

EDIT:
I have looked through the sticky quite a few times before even asking. I don't post on here often since I usually find the answers I need, which is why I haven't made my own account yet. The only thing I have really found mentioned doing a strut/spring swap and needing front and rear spring perches, but I wasn't entirely sure what I was reading.... :/
mike-tracy
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Re: Suspension Swap

Post by mike-tracy »

You read that correctly, the rears would need to be disassembled and different top hats would need to be fitted. The front 95-99 legacy struts just bolt in with no changes
1992 Legacy SS 5mt, build in progress
Josh Colombo wrote: Mon Jan 14, 2002 10:23 am Wait....I'm confused now.
SWRT
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Re: Suspension Swap

Post by SWRT »

Awesome. Thanks.
SWRT
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Re: Suspension Swap

Post by SWRT »

Another thread just prompted this question: Both cars need to roll, the donor car, and my car after all is said and done. My question, can I combine my 1990 springs/perches/tophats with the 99 struts as well as 99 springs/perches/tophats with the 90 struts?

Also, I need to be able to tow a mobile crane for my work. Is there a way to increase the rear suspension's weight capacity without increasing overall ride stiffness and reducing quality of the ride? I would like to maintain the driveability and offroad capabilities of the car without breaking my back every time the rear end runs over a speedbump..

Any known strut/spring combinations that could do what I need?

I'm sorry I'm being a nightmare here. Just trying to find the best of my options. Thanks again.
Legacy777
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Re: Suspension Swap

Post by Legacy777 »

The 90 legacy has a one piece strut top mount in the rear and has a smaller diameter top spring than the 99. As long as you keep the 90 top mount, and spring matched together with the 90 chassis and just swap in the 99 struts that should work, and you should be able to put the 90 strut on with the 99 top mount/perch & spring to keep both cars rollable.

As for increasing weight capacity without sacrificing ride quality....the simple answer is no. To increase weight capacity, you need stiffer springs, stiffer springs will give you a harsher ride. Obviously there's a balancing act to find the best combo of both worlds, but I'm not sure which spring would do that.
Josh

surrealmirage.com/subaru
1990 Legacy (AWD, 6MT, & EJ22T Swap)
2020 Outback Limted XT

If you need to get a hold of me please email me rather then pm
SWRT
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Re: Suspension Swap

Post by SWRT »

I kind of figured that was what I was looking at. I'm still learning all the suspension stuff. Thanks though.
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