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Two questions:  How can an owner determine the build date of the car?  Always thought there was a sticker on the door jam but nothing there. I made did to know if  my car was built before 01/95 or after.

 

Currently  involved is replacing the badly rusted rear suspension cradle. Car is a 95 Legacy that for some reason I think was built before the beginning of 95.  Found a good cradle in a local wrecking yard under a 98 Forester. Was under the impression and cradles/all models from that era essentially the same but what I just found on the internet has me doubting that. 

 

Question is does anyway know if the cradle under the Forester will replace the one under the 95 Legacy?

 

I just about have the 98 cradle about to fall out and plan on finishing the job tomorrow but why buy it if it will not fit.

 

Edit:  found the manufacture build date sticker:  10/94

 

Decided to finish pulling that Forester cradle tomorrow. If it turns out to be a no-go, it goes on eBay. 

Edited by john in KY
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Thanks Mike. Dropped the Forester cradle and had a bad feeling so left it on the ground. Surprisingly had no problems with any of the bolts. Nearly 70 years old. on my back, and had it out in 3 hours. Getting too old for this crap and decided to retire the old wagon. 12 years ownership and pushing 300K miles. In the market for another newer Subaru and maybe a Jeep cherokee.  Was planning on a trip to the Youngstown area in a few weeks but will have to put that on hold. 

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Forrester craddle will not work correctly.  You will lose ground clearance and mess with suspension alignment if you use it.

 

it's 1-1/4" "taller"  Like the outback, but in Outback they used a spacer like the front and the same craddle.  Forester they just made the craddle taller to eliminate the spacers.

 

Need a Legacy or Impreza.  Even an Outback one just without the spacer blocks.

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Legacy and Outback show different part numbers (AC040 looks like an Outback one, AC050 is not a valid US number), but the bushings that are pressed into the crossmember are different numbers, maybe that's the only difference.

 

-1/95, an AWD Legacy would have a 20151AC002, 2/95- it switches to a 20151AC021

 

 

All 98-02 Foresters had the 20151FA113, and I don't see the spacer like an Outback, that could be a problem

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-1/95, an AWD Legacy would have a 20151AC002, 2/95- it switches to a 20151AC021

 

I think these can interchange also......the difference is the older one the rear diff mounts to a plate, plate mounts through bushings to craddle.  Newer ones the diff mount holes and bushings are built into the craddle.

 

So long as you get the longer studs......you could use the newer craddle on older cars.....

 

And if you get the diff mount plate too.....the older one can work on newer cars.

 

But a Forester craddle cannot be used on a Legacy.  wrong height

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I think these can interchange also......the difference is the older one the rear diff mounts to a plate, plate mounts through bushings to craddle.  Newer ones the diff mount holes and bushings are built into the craddle.

 

So long as you get the longer studs......you could use the newer craddle on older cars.....

 

And if you get the diff mount plate too.....the older one can work on newer cars.

 

But a Forester craddle cannot be used on a Legacy.  wrong height

 

That's just '90-'94 Legacy and '93 Impreza that uses that extra diff mount plate. The early '95 Legacy uses a unique part number, although it supersedes to the same number as the '94-'01 Impreza. Then mid-production '95 the Legacy one switched.

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 "The early '95 Legacy uses a unique part number, although it supersedes to the same number as the '94-'01 Impreza."

 

I have the early production 95 Legacy. Does the above quote mean the 94-01 Impreza and the early production Legacy used the same cradle?

 

Asking because I still can't pull the trigger to scrap the old wagon. Sort of a family member after all these years. 

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Should be able to use Impreza. All of this stuff is interchangeable in mounting, you just have to find the right stuff to match what you need. Even '95-99 Legacy should work, you would at the very most have to use all of the parts that bolt to the cradle in yours

 

In a lot of cases, Subaru had different part numbers for the same things

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 "The early '95 Legacy uses a unique part number, although it supersedes to the same number as the '94-'01 Impreza."

 

I have the early production 95 Legacy. Does the above quote mean the 94-01 Impreza and the early production Legacy used the same cradle?

 

Asking because I still can't pull the trigger to scrap the old wagon. Sort of a family member after all these years. 

 

Yep, Even Subaru says it interchanges with a '94-'01 Impreza.

 

Although I'm under the impression that the '95-'99 Legacy or Outback should work as well, and even a '90-'94 if you grab the little diff mount and shorter diff studs.

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Good to know. I decided to go with the Impreza  cross  member. Replaced the right rear knuckle assembly this morning because the original had a bad bearing. While under the car I attempted to loosen 2 of the 4 cross member bolts and to my surprise, both broke free.  Probably tomorrow will see if the 2 on the other side will loosen.  No hope for the 2 differential nuts. Just rusted away. Will try a pipe wrench and then a sharp chisel if need be. 

 

Anyone have a good Impreza cross member for sale?  

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  • 4 weeks later...

Update:  Got it all back together this morning. Never could get one of the lateral link bolts free.  Replaced all the links from a 98 Forester because they where in much better shape than my originals. Part numbers where still visible. Original crossmember was just junk. May post a photo of it.  

 

Found and used a like new crossmember from a 97/98 Outback.

Edited by john in KY
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Lots of rust in the eyes. Why I don't wear safety glasses will always be a mystery. Body of the old girl all not that bad. My fear was the area where the crossmember attached to the body would also be rusted out but not the case. I sort of get attached to vehicles. Still have my 66 Dodge Camper Special I bought back in 1994 in Alaska and then drove it 5K miles to AL. Old truck hardly gets in use anymore, the wife hates it and refuses to ride in it, takes both arms to steer it, and I'll probably die with it. 

 

If someone else attempts this repair, beware a 1/2 impact won't loosen the bolts.  I ended up using a 3/4 breaker bar with an impact socket and a 3 foot extension. Those bolts are really in there.  Another trick I used was drilling small holes in the frame above the hidden nuts.  The holes made access to the captive nuts and I soaked them for several days. Don't really know if all that penetrating oil made any difference or not but once the bolts broke free, they can out easily. 

Edited by john in KY
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Ended up using a 12 inch pipe wrench with a pipe extension.  When installing the "new" crossmember, couldn't see anyway for it to go on with those 2 studs so used vice grips to remove them. Reinstalled them after the crossmember was in place. 

 

 

Edit:  I thought those nuts had to be removed before dropping the crossmember.  Not true.  Discovered when I dropped the member with the differential there was plenty of access to those 2 nuts.  Could have just used a socket.  

Edited by john in KY
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