gen 2 Rear crossmember (rear diff) swap to gen 1 leg?

[Bosco]

Doing an AWD swap on a 93 legacy .
Will the rear diff crossmember swap from a 97 legacy?

Pretty sure it will, but I'd hate to find out I was wrong after I get a hold of one.

[Legacy777]

It should. I think there may be a difference in the rear diff mount setup, but that shouldn't really matter.

[adema2626]

It should. I think there may be a difference in the rear diff mount setup, but that shouldn't really matter.

As he said it will bolt up, but you will have to use the 97 rear diff. Because the x-member is set up a little different for mounting. I could be wrong but i vaguely remember hearing you could swap the mounting studs to get your diff to work. All go take pictures really quick.

[adema2626]

Style 1: The bushings are not part of the x-member.



Style 2: As you can see the bushings are in the x-member.



Older style: The studs are short compared to the later years.



Newer style: As you can see the studs are longer then the earlier style.

I apologize for the crappy pictures. They came off my phone.

[n2x4]

^ Very useful info! One thing to add, not only are the studs longer, but the design of the diff cover is also different. I make it a point to match the diff cover up to the crossmember in the car. Some more pic pleasure from my adventures. The shorter studs are from a 91 Legacy diff with the bushings NOT integrated into the xmember:

[Bosco]

Doh!
Should've remembered this from my first MT swap.
NOW i remember about the diff stud lengths and bushings being a little different.

I'm going FWD to AWD this time, not just auto to manual.
The rear crossmember is actually broken on my donor car, so I need to source another. That is why I ask.

Thanks very much guys.

[thenicky0]

Is the consensus here that a second generation Legacy rear crossmember will fit as long as the differential and diff cover match?

What about from the 94-01 Imprezas?

[Legacy777]

In addition to the rear crossmember and differential/diff cover if you swap to the newer style diff the rear section of the driveshaft will be a different length. I believe you should be able to use the second gen Legacy rear section of driveshaft.

As for the 94-01 Impreza, It looks very similar if not the same as the second gen legacy, but I don't have any direct experience to say 100% yes or no.

[thenicky0]

Interesting...

I've been doing a lot of digging for parts, numbers, and compatibility regarding part numbers using this website: http://subarupartsforyou.com/

From here, I've concluded the following.


The 1990-1994 LEGACY / 1993 IMPREZA/JUSTY/LOYALE/SVX all yield part number: 20151AA001
The 1995 Legacy also uses rear crossmember part number: 20151AA001
The 1996-99 Legacies use rear crossmember part number: 20151AC021
The 1994-01 Imprezas use rear crossmember part number: 20151FA102

It seems like the best bet would be to find a 1993 Impreza/Loyale/Justy/SVX or a 1st gen Legacy rear crossmember. If you get lucky and find a 1995 Legacy, you could also use that rear crossmember. It seems like Subaru started changing the part in 1994 on for the Imprezas and 96 on for the Legacies. However, I think if people have experience bolting up different crossmembers with the corresponding diff/cover/shaft, that would be a good resource as well (would love to hear from people who have done this and what setup they used).

However, this is all a result of matching part numbers together. There could have been mistakes from vendors and/or my research. Again, would love to hear from people with direct knowledge.

[86BRATMAN]

The loyale and justy crossmember most definitely will not fit, don't bother even trying. I'm not sure an svx will either, but no hands on experience with one of those cars.

[Legacy777]

If you can get a hold of a first gen Legacy crossmember, that's the easiest and best route IMO.

[mike-tracy]

The loyale and justy crossmember most definitely will not fit, don't bother even trying. I'm not sure an svx will either, but no hands on experience with one of those cars.

And yet they share the same part #.

[thenicky0]

The loyale and justy crossmember most definitely will not fit, don't bother even trying. I'm not sure an svx will either, but no hands on experience with one of those cars.

The loyale and justy crossmember most definitely will not fit, don't bother even trying. I'm not sure an svx will either, but no hands on experience with one of those cars.

And yet they share the same part #.

I suppose we're better off listening to the person with first hand experience. Anyone have concrete evidence that they won't work? I don't wanna put false information out there and will edit my post. However, they do in fact share similar part numbers...

[mike-tracy]

They share the same part number, but I bet all ancillary parts are different between them.

[86BRATMAN]

They are nothing alike.

Justy


Loyale



Legacy/Impreza

[mike-tracy]

Good one 86BRATMAN, I wonder why there is a huge discrepancy online with that part #. The first bunch of websites I looked at have it for the legacy and SVX, including Ebay.

[86BRATMAN]

Who knows, the part number he's got is legitimately for the legacy. They've just got the interchange screwed up.

[86BRATMAN]

Svx

part number 20150PA100

Bottom line is as long as you remove the complete rear suspension assembly from the donor vehicle you shouldn't have any issues. All subaru r160 diffs have the same spacing for the 4 main studs to go through at the front, the rear can be made to work in any of them by swapping the rear cover. This is true from the 70s till current. There are other differences throughout the years, like the driveshaft mounting flange and the way the axles attach, but don't over think this one.

Find a first gen legacy, or first gen impreza and rape it's rear end. Struts and all will bolt into your car from either of these.