Dadeeo Posted November 5, 2003 Share Posted November 5, 2003 As most of you may know I bought a '88 XT-6 on eBay and after talking to the owner I find it is in need of a front air strut. Somebody suggested replacing the air struts with coilover struts. I may do that if the cost of a air strut is prohibitive. Could you guys tell me what year(s) and model(s) have coilovers that would work on my '88? Thanks, Dadeeo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WagonsOnly Posted November 5, 2003 Share Posted November 5, 2003 I believe any coil struts will do, from an XT4 DL or GL 1985-1991 (without the air struts). Air struts from the dealers are over a grand to replace all 4, and you have to keep them all or do the coil conversion to all 4 wheels (otherwise you'd have an adjustable-height car for front/rear/side, the car would go out of alignment, etc.) Given the price of XTs, I'd either look for a used air strut or do the conversion. Bear in mind air struts only last 60-90K miles, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
electryc_monk Posted November 5, 2003 Share Posted November 5, 2003 nationwide salvage yards search for air struts i used this for the following data fields: 1988 Subaru XT Strut assembly ALL states Then i opened a second window before I clicked on the "Search" button. that way on the next window i could search one for the left and one for the right. well there are prices from $50 each on the left and prices from $65 on the right these are front struts some are air ride there is one place that has them both ... 1989 Subaru XT AIR ADJUST 3H0089 $100 for each side Universal Auto Recycling USA-CO(Englewood) if you do this search you can do a right click on their NAME and it'll open up to the site. and then there is this place with one a little bit cheaper: 1989 Strut Subaru XT LH 2WD, 6 Cyl-LH AIR TYPE U A4151 $75 A1 Auto Wreckers USA-CA(San-Jose) Truck# 1-800-825-0064, Car# 1-800-997-3254 or this #1-800-459-5865 i have found that the usual shipping charge is about 20-25 per single shock... and i'll bet if you talk nice they may even cut back on the shipping and even cut you an few dollars of the 'NEt price.... I've had this happen on more then one occasion . ... Karma is a good thing. And well its spreads the happiness when you can help other like now. so if you'd rather go all 4 springs then you could also call thouse on the list that is at the bottom of the search list to see what they charge as the price says "$Call" which means that sometimes it a rare cheapy or they end up being "very proud of their parts" AKA near dealership new costs :>) best of luck.... but before you invest in the struts you may only need to replace the o-rings in the airline on top of the strut or in the solenoid??? never hurts to listen to the system as it inflates to see if you really do need to replace the strut..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dadeeo Posted November 5, 2003 Author Share Posted November 5, 2003 Originally posted by electryc_monk nationwide salvage yards search for air struts I've had this happen on more then one occasion . ... Karma is a good thing. And well its spreads the happiness when you can help other like now. best of luck.... but before you invest in the struts you may only need to replace the o-rings in the airline on top of the strut or in the solenoid??? never hurts to listen to the system as it inflates to see if you really do need to replace the strut..... No doubt you'll have some coming your way. Many thanks, Dadeeo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. RX Posted November 5, 2003 Share Posted November 5, 2003 NO, the EA82 front struts will not work, the front strut is closer to the Legacy/Impreza type struts. The front knuckles are totally different as are the axles. I've done some investigation for 4 to 5 bolt conversion and have found that the Impreza struts, knuckle and axles can used instead of the XT6 stuff, so with a little filing to holes where the strut mounts to the car, the Impreza stuff will work. I know that there were air struts on Legacys, so those should work also. I personally would remove the air struts and replace them with conventional struts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesFox Posted November 5, 2003 Share Posted November 5, 2003 would an EA series strut cap swap over to the xt6/impreza style strut? if not, i would think the xt6 strut cap would swap onto an impreza/legacy strut. you would need coil spring tools tough, if you were to do it yourself.......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. RX Posted November 5, 2003 Share Posted November 5, 2003 Fox, it is so close that it almost ifts, there is just some very minor filing that needs to be done. I would be more of a hassle to swap the caps. The EA series strut cap and the XT6 strut caps are the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NanoSoob Posted November 5, 2003 Share Posted November 5, 2003 For the conversion I did on my XT6, I used early Legacy front shocks with FWD XT6 caps on them and rear shocks off a 1986 GL wagon on the back. You'll need to bend the bottom bracket on the Legacy shocks out a little, the bottom mount on the XT6 is a little wider than the Legacy. I have some new struts for a 95 Impreza sitting in my barn right now, so as I was installing my new suspension I compared the legacy struts with the Impreza struts. They seem to be the same dimensions externally, so it would seem that either would work. The XT6 seems to ride a little higher all around, but handles well and rides smoothly down the highway... Hope this helps, ~NanoSoob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeakingOil Posted November 5, 2003 Share Posted November 5, 2003 You can also go to http://www.XT6.net and do a search for what your looking for. There has been many threads on this topic there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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