SF/SG 1.447:1 DR differences?

[kiwifoz]

With the holidays, a break and some money from working coming in within the next couple of months, I've started thinking about where I want to go with my Subie next. I've decided that the first thing I'll be doing is a small lift with Kings Springs, as in NZ, the only legal lift before a certification is needed is 5cm of spring lift, and the Kings will get me ~3cm (plus whatever mine have sagged in 207000km).

But this thread is about gearboxes. Since I live in NZ, I can easily and cheaply get JDM parts. What I will be doing is acquiring a GC STi RA DCCD gearbox, and I'll also be using the front LSD from this.

Why I started this thread, is that I would like to know if the internals of a 2.0L JDM SG 1.447:1 DR gearbox are different (ie stronger) than the internals of an SF 2.0 gearbox? Or did they use the same gearbox for both SF/SG 2.0L Foresters? I'm probably going to just go with a standard 1.447 DR as it's a lot more complex to swap in the L-series 1.59 and I have no experience with gearboxes so whatever's easiest is safest. Using the 1.59 gearset will require more tools and work than I have access to/money to pay for.

Anybody got the codes for these gearboxes?

I'll swap in the front LSD and DCCD from the STi box into the 1.447:1 DR, and then sell the STi box as a 4.44 geared non-DCCD box with the Foz diffs. I'll probably also sell my standard SG gearbox to recoup some cash (if anyone in the US wants it...)

And of course, since I'm going to eventually take out the gearbox, I'll pull the engine at the same time and do the timing belt, waterpump, head gaskets (leaking oil slowly, no water thank god) and the clutch. Might also throw in a snorkel and fan cutout if I'm feeling keen too. All I'll need then is a set of muddies.

Cheers guys.

 

[havachat]

Suggest you replace the front and rear struts at the same time as the springs with KYB Excel G struts. The OEM struts (also KYB) are too soft and probably shagged out. That set up will give you a lot more clearance.

 

[kiwifoz]

Cheers for the reply. There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with the standard struts, they don't bounce excessively or knock, but will the damping rate be too low for the stiffer Kings?

 

[havachat]

My belief is the damping rate will be too low. Secondly on the earlier SG I haven't looked at the later SG the spring perch on the front strut will sit too high for the raised King, so if you don't replace the strut the car will sit up at the front.
I replaced mine front and rear and my car sits dead level. I also have a 2004 which has oem struts and springs and you can definitely see the difference in the location of the spring perch when the cars are parked next to each other.
If you want to fit strut top blocks I recommend Gorilla Offroad. They make them out of HDPE for the SG. These are significantly cheaper than Subtle.