soloracer34

On the slicks used on race cars we know all to well how important proper storage is. The ideal thing is to put the tires into sealed black trash bags this will slow the outgassing and hardening of the rubber. Store in as stable tempratures as possible. On a street tire this will keep them fresh as long as you'd likely keep them. On our race rubber just 6 months of age decreases grip noticably. After a year though they still have rubber left but they're too hard to heat up and grip anymore.

I found I had one bad lower balljoint on my left front when I did my strut swap. It causes an occasional clunk, primarily coming in and out of my driveway. It's easy to check, jack up that corner and push and pull on the wheel, or remove the wheel to check. Mine had noticable play. if that's not the case I agree that the strut tops are the next likely culprit. Also make certain you put the spacer back in between the top hat and the spring perch, that sometimes gets left out and can cause clunking as well. Some models have one piece top hats and this may not apply

KYB GR-2's are supposed to be 15% stiffer valving than stock. I like mine, although it's hard to compare really really worn out struts that were subaru factory struts on a 270K mile car (I think they were replaced once before, maybe)

I'm going with Hella 500's available in drivng light and yellow or white fogs. At $75 pair I think they're the best bang for the buck if you're into that big round rally style. I plan on having 2 fogs on the front bumper and two driving lamps on the roof for "off road use only" Since I don't actually have them yet this is all speculation of course. I did have KC Daylighters on a ride years ago and they were rediculously bright. They do have that cool chrome old school look which may suit some rigs well.

If you choose to change springs as well you may or may not need to change the strut tops as well which was mentioned previously. I suggest just the strut and keep your springs. On rough roads stiffer springs (if the OB springs are stiffer which I'm not certain they are) are not necessarily better in my opinion. I think you'll find the 15% stiffer than stock valving of the KYB GR-2's coupled with stock springs are great on rough dirt roads. If you go with new struts only the junkyard part hunting step is eliminated. You could always continue to build off the strut lift later by adding different springs, lift blocks etc. if you decide you still want more. I only mentioned camber bolts previously because in my swap puttting 98 OB struts on a 90 Legacy wagon the extended ride height left me with positive camber in the front even with the factory camber adjustment bolt turned full negative. The aftermarket camber bolt would only be needed if you could not get the alignment back into spec with the factory hardware. At $25 a pair they're not expensive and would be installed in place of the factory lower strut bolt to allow additional adjustment if needed. In my case I ended up with .5 degrees positive camber at the limit of factory adjustment which I've continued to drive with until I get the camber bolts. Keep in mind on your 99 there may be different range of adjustment and you may be just fine without them. A proper alignment would be best after altering suspension geometry as control arm, tie rod angles etc. are all different now.

Surco makes a 40"x50" aluminum safari rack listed as perfect size for a Subaru, light brackets, spare tire brackets etc. optional. I've seen it listed as low as $167at Summit Racing of all places. I'm tempted to get one for my now outbackified wagon. Searching for opinions on it I saw a Land Rover forum that complained it was flimsy and cheap, but since that's coming from LR guy's who knows how sturdy it may be, those same guys likely refer to our rides in the same manner. I like that the aluminum may be much lighter than a HD steel rack. I plan to attach it with yakima adapters for the factory crossbars and some custom hardware. Now to figure out how I want to mount the Hellas on the front bumper... (fogs on the bumper, driving on the rack)

If you've got a pull and save type lot nearby they are usually the best bet. The high volume places turn over cars fairly often so if they don't have what you need one week the next week they may. Besides pulling difficult parts off the junk cars gives good practice at replacing yours without breaking clips etc. particulary important with interior trim bits. Many of the places that pull parts for you know their parts books and charge 75% of the cost of new. The pull and save types are usually much cheaper. For example for a total of $70 I got last weekend, HVAC control panel $12.99, Power window motor and regulator $24.99, Guage Cluster $17.99, Misc interior trim $2.50 ea., and the bargain of the bunch, Idle Air Control Valve at $2.50 marked as "misc engine part" The IAC alone made the trip worth while as that is a $380 part new. Now my $1300 wagon feels like a $2000 car.

Funny you mention a F350, my other ride is a F250 SD which was trying to bankrupt me on fuel bills which is why I picked up my beater Subie in the first place. http://www.tirerack.com/suspension/Susptabl.jsp?autoMake=Subaru&autoModel=Outback&autoYear=1999&autoModClar=&brand=&category=Shocks I ordered my struts from Tire Rack, $83 ea front $69 ea rear. This should be all you need assuming nothing is broken or otherwise funky underneath. Take it to your shop of choice or break out the spring compressor and have at it. With mild goofing off it took about 4 hours to complete the install. If you get it done and get a taller tire on it and it still not high enough get the lift, you probably needed new struts anyways. FYI searching Tire Rack it appears a stock 99 outback has a 205/70-15 which is about 26.3" tall. Stock 99 Legacy appears to be equipped with a 185/70-14 which is approximately 24.3" tall. A 2" taller tire yeilds a 1" increase in ground clearance. Combined with the strut lift another 2.75" is nothing to sneeze at. If you end up with 10" from oil pan to ground you'd be hard pressed to damage something on nearly any public road. If there are still issues a fancy skid plate would help as well. Does your drive home look anything like the Safari Rally?

On the cheap just replace the struts, keep your springs and strut tops. unless someone can correct me the Outback does not have stiffer nor longer springs. I put 98 outback struts on my 90 Legacy using the stock springs and tops and ended up with 1.25" lift in front and 1.75" in the rear of my Wagon. The ride is perfect on road or off with the KYB GR-2's, firm and controled without being harsh. You may need camber bolts to bring your alignment back into spec. they're fairly inexpensive at $25 a pair. Your stock wheels will be fine you can get a little more ground clearance by using a taller tire. Your local Discount Tire or other dealer should be able to tell you what will and will not fit. There are plenty of good choices in 14", 15", 16" or whatever you desire. A 1" taller tire will fit fine and adds another .5" of clearance. Odd side note, for a 90 Legacy AWD the 98 outback KYB's were over $100 less than 90 legacy AWD struts. Go figure. Good luck with the lift.

I just completed mine today. I put 98 Outback KYB GR-2 struts on my 90 Legacy LS Wagon. I kept the original springs and strut tops. Measuring before and after as well as the parts I got 1.25" lift in the front and 1.75" in the rear. It looks pretty level as it was a bit saggy butt before. I had to crank the camber adjust bolts all the way in in the front to dial out positive camber, aftermarket camber bolts would help get it back into spec. I would guess right now I've got close to zero camber in the rear and about .5 degrees positive on front. Measuring things after the swap I have 12" clearance to the bottom of the bumper lip and just shy of 10" to the bottom of the oil pan. The axles are at a much higher angle than stock of course but do not appear to be excessive. Subframe spacers would give a bit better axle angle and down travel but I think the additional axle stress is minimal. So far I give it two big thumbs up.