'90 Subaru Legacy wagon with "active" suspension??

[tahiti350]

Newbie to this forum, located in the Tacoma, Washington area. I recently bought an Arctic white '90 Legacy LS wagon, A/T, 4WD, pwr everything, sun/moonroof (freshly resealed, thanks to this forum!!), ABS, and it appears it originally came with active supsension??

To explain, while swapping the disgustingly nasty Saddle tan interior to a nearly mint Meduim Blue one I found wiring and air lines to the rear strut mounts that "APPEARS" to be for some type of active suspension, but it's not hooked to the struts (non-factory struts currently installed). Further inspection revealed similar set-up to the back of the front strut mounts, also not hooked to the struts.

Was there an option for an active, or adjustable, suspension in '90, or is it for something else??? If it was an option where can I get the struts and other bit pieces to put it back together, or am I better off without it?

[Legacy777]

It was air suspension. They typically fail over time, and are converted to standard spring/struts.

You may want to check that the compressor is removed from under the driver's side front fender...just behind/below the headlight.

[tahiti350]

Thanks for the info. I take it eh system is not worth putting back to stock? I'll look and see if the compressor is still there. If it is can it be used for anything else, or does anyone here need one?

[Legacy777]

The cost to fix it vs what you get from the air suspension makes fixing it not worth it.

[entirelyturbo]

Air suspension was a joke. Seriously.

My XT has it, and yes I actually plan to recondition it and keep it, but ONLY in the interest of originality. Otherwise it sucks.

Aside from the fact that it's doomed to failure and expensive as hell to fix, it makes for not only terrible handling, but a poor ride. Yeah, that's ride, I don't like the way it rides. I like conventional struts' ride better...

Yeah, replace it with conventional struts. Don't waste your time messing with the air ride. Leave that to me

[206er]

what does it ride like?

[subawhatsubawho]

You know how a car rides like it's "on rails"......complete oppisit.

[DLC]

Modern air suspensions are much better at making a car both ride well and handle similar to that of a normal suspension. These older systems had passable ride quality, but the big draw was the ability to change the height of the vehicle, crazy Subaru.

[Chef]

When failing that automatic levelling system is a real PITA. Whenever I had a heavy load in the back of my wagon that suspension would rise and stiffen immensely, which was good with the load. But once I removed the load, the car took forever to release the extra pressure (days sometimes), and it was like riding with solid metal rods in place of struts. Not fun.

Not to mention the random deflating while driving, needing to keep it in the high position because it stayed inflated, which probably wrecked my CV joints and other suspension components due to the stiff ride.

My switching to a spring/strut setup was a fantastic difference.

[BAC5.2]

Air suspensions are horrible for handling just by their basic principle.

To lower the CG you effectively reduce the spring rate significantly. Raise the CG and you effectively increase the spring rate.

It's the exact opposite of what you really want!

[entirelyturbo]

The air ride in my XT gives it a very boaty, wishy-washy ride. It's most noticeable over speed bumps. The air struts react very slowly to the speed bump, so it jerks the car in the air when you hit it, and then bounces 2 or 3 times when it goes back to pavement, because the strut seems like it's just now reacting to the speed bump after you're already over it. That's the best way I can describe it.

It's slightly smoother than gas struts over something like a brick road, but it's not nearly as smooth as you think it would be.