Legacy / Liberty Shock swap question...

cbrianroll

cbrianroll

Forum Member
Joined
Aug 15, 2021
Messages
51
Location
United States
Car Year
1999
Car Model
Legacy, SUS, 30th anniversary. EJ25D
Transmission
auto
Hello! I got the 99 legacy sus running so now to the fun! I read that the forester strut swap is good and easy to get a couple inch lift so that's the plan. The question I have is should I get the whe cradle and swap or just the struts? Also open to any suggestions on different options I may not be aware of....thank you!
 
Pretty sure most people just swap the struts.
 
That's what I thought...but then I over thought it...
 
cbrianroll said:
Hello! I got the 99 legacy sus
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Awesome! I love the SUS but we never got it here. I think it was North America only

When asking for help with your car, it's important to specify your model, as well as the year. In this case, a 99 could be either BD /BG or BE/BH. And when it comes to a Legacy/Outback,, avoid using the gen. Some idiot in the US decided to ignore the official Subaru Japan naming system & created his own, inventing a gen 1 Outback. Which of course doesn't exist

If yours is a BD Leggy then yes you can fit SG Forester or BG Outback suspension - you will also need the taller trailing arm brackets to keep the rear wheels centered, or 2" spacers

If you have a BE Leggy, then you can only fit BH Outback suspension, nothing else will fit
 
Awesome, thank you....and sorry...I though I had it in my signature, but should have been more specific. First time working on a subaru...used to motorcycles...much easier lol. Still learning alot, especially the ej25d motor. ..
It is a BD. Thank you about the brackets! I think that is what I was thinking...I watched the "OUTFAP" build on youtube and they had mentioned a bunch, I need to rewatch and take notes now that I am running.
Thanks again!
 
cbrianroll said:
I watched the "OUTFAP" build on youtube and they had mentioned a bunch, I need to rewatch and take notes now that I am running.
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That's a 3.0 H6 BL/BP Liberty/Legacy that they did a full Outback suspension conversion on then added one of my lift kits :)
Yours is much easier to do this
 

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Nice...I've read to much and blended it all together! Soooo many awesome builds out there! After dinner I will be getting to my parts list. A guy down the road has a parts forester, I'm hoping it's the right year...free parts! He only wants the transmission so I may bring the whole car home, pull the transmission for him and jeep the rest.

Your lift kit! Cool.. gonna have to rewatch tonite!
 
G’day @cbrianroll

I notice you mention the EJ25D (DOHC) - a notorious engine that pretty much gave all EJ25s a bad reputation (a factory head gasket issue on the next model EJ251 [SOHC] didn’t help this reputation either).

A heads up for you: at the first sign of a blown head gasket STOP driving the car! Don’t even baby it along for a while (other than to get home, even then take it easy).

The EJ25D apparently runs the thickest head gasket on Subaru’s inventory and the EJ25D will pop one at the slightest idea of getting hot. I’ve read countless accounts in the US where these engines throw a rod through the top of the block shortly after head gaskets are replaced! I’ve not heard of this in Oz.

From what I’ve read the throwing of the rod is from the blown HG. By babying the engine to use the vehicle while the HG is dead allows the coolant to mix with the engine oil. This apparently damages the big end bearings that let go after all is well and good again with a head shave and new HGs (with fresh oil and filter!). I’ve replaced head gaskets in engines with milky oil several times before without any issues on EA engines but have managed to avoid milky oil in the EJ engines thus far so I have no personal experience with this, I’m only sharing what I’ve read on the USMB which I take as a reliable source of info 99.9% of the time.

All the best with your Liberty/Legacy, it must be a heritage or RX model if it’s got the EJ25D in it!

Cheers

Bennie
 
Thank you! I Got the car 200 bucks knowing it neede head gaskets. I k ow who I got it from and it only got hot once, no water in oil....very lucky lol. I just got it all together, heads surfaced, new gaskets everywhere, water pump, timing pulleys, belts, etc.
 
Another question...what years are SG AND BG forester and outback? Thanks!
 
Ha, wikipedia....how did I miss that....thank you!
 
Well....darn....guy down the roads is a 1998 so no go on that. And our local wreckersonly have older too. Guess that leaves ebay or some strut spacers. So there's a question, how big is too big for spacers, are they a consistent thickness or do the have a "slant" to help with keeping the wheel in place?
 
well same strut spacers from that year outback, think they will be up to 2'' no more.. you just put them on legacy. will make it into outback heights. about that. subaru scarpyards for sure should have those years struts there.
but rly why no pics no nothing. its just so easy to see all from pics rly.
then again do you rly want to look of lifted legacy ..? they can look bit off . saw enough pics allready to make your decision ? just making sure you rly want to ruin legacy looks and handling on road.
 
Thanks! trying to all my ideas sorted....currently thinking struts and spacers...
 
cbrianroll said:
Thanks! trying to all my ideas sorted....currently thinking struts and spacers...
Click to expand...
only struts from obk or forester will lift your legacy enough, if cant ge those put spacers. in any case you could allways go back later. its never will be some awesome off offroader just because you lifted it , but it will gain some ground clearance ... thats all
 
Yep, that's all I need, fireroads, primitive and beach runs...I'm to old to mud run and crawl lol.
 
Ok..one more question since I've confused myself..why dont earlier forester struts work?
 
They may work but the spring perches are lower i.e would lower your vehicle
 
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