Lifting 98 Legacy 4"+ Lift. Need info/advice!

BoxerLove

Forum Member
Joined
Dec 14, 2016
Messages
14
Location
Michigan
Car Year
1998
Car Model
Legacy
Transmission
Auto
Hey guys! Looking for info from some of those out there that have already or know more about what all is needed for a lift kit on my 98 Legacy GT. This is the first subaru i will be lifting and i have the luxury of a friend who works as a CNC machinist who will be helping me make parts. You may ask why dont i just purchase an already Fab'd kit? I like the challange of designing and making my own kit, Should be a fun little project.

Here is a list of what i have planned out so far of what i will need to perform the lift. This is just my current plans. Some of the parts i already have. Correct me if im wrong here :) :

1. 2004 Forester Struts (Already have)

2. 215/70/16 Tires on Snowflake wheels (Already have, and they just barely clear the 04 Forester struts with no spacers!)

3. Outback Trailing arm brackets ( Already Have)

4. Outback Steering joint (Already Have, I know this may/will need extended)

5. Subframe Spacers Front+Rear - 4.5"

6. Trailing Arm Spacers - 4"

7. Strut top spacers - 4.5" (Need some help calculating the top plate offset. Current plans are 2 1/4" plate steel with 4" of tube steel welded between for a total of 4.5" lift spacers.)

8. Diff mount spacers

9. Driveshaft Cradle Spacer - 3"-4"

10. 4.5" Transverse link spacers (Plan to swap out to forester transverse links)

11. All the longer/extended bolts needed where spacers are being used

12. ? Anything else im missing/forgetting?


Here is a pic of the car the lift will be going on, Picked the car up for $300 and i have a recently overhauled EJ25D+4EAT that i will be putting in the car from another 97 Legacy i own that was in an accident.




This is the lifted look i am going for, If not a big larger :

 
G'day & Welcome BL. Great project! ATM ( 6am and still sleepy) how about extended brake lines?
 
Kevin said:
G'day & Welcome BL. Great project! ATM ( 6am and still sleepy) how about extended brake lines?
Click to expand...

Liberty Valance said:
Radiator hose extensions
Exhaust modification
Click to expand...


Both things i didnt even think about. It should be a fun project.

The 98 LGT at some point had a 2.2 put into it. My 97 LGT was in an accident (although it still drives fine, it is quite ugly) and i will be dropping the whole 2.5L and 4EAT from that car in the new 98 LGT. Im thinking of just swapping the whole subframe with everything attached and simply swapping them being my 97 has quite a few less miles on the body and engine i just did headgaskets, valve shimming and timing on 20k ish ago.


So as far as the brake lines do you recommend any websites that sell them at the length ill need?
 
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tuckerbag said:
Why not cnc the bottom strut lift
Click to expand...

Happen to have more info on this? We are still in the planning/design stage and im very open to opinions on the best way to achieve what i need :) The initial idea was to make the spacers out of solid chunks of aluminum, but if we happened to do strut bottom spacers that would obviously change. When i read a bit into the strut bottom spacers i remember someone saying something about wheels size being an issue possibly? I have the 16" snowflake style wheels with my 215/70/16 Hankook i*pike snow tires on them and will run those most of the time.
 
I wouldn't do a strut bottom lift, they put a lot of strain on the bottom of the strut which results in a lot of bent struts! You also need to use 1" wheel spacers to fit the wheel on, which makes using them kinda pointless. With just the wheel spacers and SG Forester struts, you can fit 235/75/15 tyres (29") or even bigger
 
Bringing this back from the "dead" :)

I just purchased a Brand new never used 4" Allied armament kit from a guy on facebook for $300 shipped. Going to take it to my buddy for him to recreate and tweak to prevent infringing on any patents or copyright type things they may have made on the kit, Even tho they are out of business. My buddy should be able to reverse engineer it in a weekend he says. So i will keep this post updated!
 
Yeah, it's pretty good. There's a few places that do them, and apparently a Brumby bullbar will fit with a little modification to the mountings.
 
NachaLuva said:
Yeah, it's pretty good. There's a few places that do them, and apparently a Brumby bullbar will fit with a little modification to the mountings.
Click to expand...

I was excited until i realized shipping it to the USA would cost a boat load lol :lol:
 
G'day mate.

If your cnc/engineering mate can build a lift kit I'm 99.999% sure he could make bullbar for your legacy.
There are also whole bumper replacement bars available over here. Google image search subaextreme Gen2 and see what you find for inspiration ;)

All the best.

Cheers

Bennie
 
Just giving an update :

Heres a shot of the lift kit parts i purchased off a guy on facebook. Couldnt pass up the deal, Although after starting to fit parts to the car i believe it may be missing a few pieces such as trailing arm bracket spacers. Ill know better tonight once i get everything laid out. I have both subframes out of the car right now and hoping to swap a good engine and trans i have over this coming weekend to finish up the project :)!






 
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Those are the lower control arm spacers. It is missing the trailing arm spacers, I can supply them, PM me for details :)
 
Shot you a PM

PS, Sorry for the extremely large pictures. Didnt know they posted like that lol!

I purchased this kit from a kid on a subaru facebook group and expected to get everything as he said. Welllllllll thats not the case. The kits missing Diff outrigger bolts (need to be 4" longer) along with the bracket bolts for the outrigger (same thing, 4" longer) and the trailing arm spacers and bolts (again 4" longer.)

I also have one question with the lift kit. Why are the rear subframe blocks not as tall as the fronts? Is this due to the rear having a longer strut? Slightly confused there. This whole thing has been one hell of a learning experience.
 
It's always a risk buying2nd hand and not being able to inspect before purchase, I've been burnt too, & that was from someone I thought was a friend :(

I'm guessing they made the rear crossmember spacers lower because the rear CVs can handle a bigger angle than the front. The usual is to make it all the same size
 
Update : Ended up getting $80 back from the deal through paypal. Had to buy $100 in bolts to make this all work. What a project lol. Finishing the project hopefully this upcoming weekend.
 
Ahhh well, probably better off with nice new bolts! The process for refund would've been a pia though (been there).
 
I know ive been terrible at updating this. But I FINALLY got the lift done! Drove her to work today for the first time.

So happy with the lift results. The car looks massive in person. Still need some tweaks to the rear caster even with the 4" Trailing arm spacer blocks i made. Adjustable trailing arms are on their way. I appreciate the help from all those who input their wisdom. Some trimming and such to take care of my rubbing and shes ready for the trails! Steering is a bit "Chunky" with the extended shaft but im hoping that will become easier as the joints break in a bit.


TznlTqRl.jpg
 
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