I'm sure mine are bad, I have them apart, how to tell if there bad? I see no leaks, but I can expand and contract them with little resistance. Is this the only sign? 122k. I have new ones, but just wondering how bad they are.

 

 

Thanks,

 

Geo

they should have lots of resistance for the most part. the valves in them wear out and don't seal any more or actuate.

yep, they are shot. If i pull up there is some resistance, but pushing them down just about nothing. 4 new ones going on

is there a top and bottom to oem springs? I dont see any markings other than an ogange and yellow dot painted on the center of the springs how do i tell what end is up? Or does it not matter

 

Thanks,

 

Geo

I took struts out of my 95 legacy some time ago they were really shot.. it was no effort to compress them and when you did they never popped back up...

All done, 1broken spring and all 4 corners if I held the piston the strut body weight would be enough to expand them. They were shot. Also replaced the springs with oem with sensatrac struts. Car sits like a 4wd... Well not really, but a lot higher than before. I do now remember why I hate working on suspensions! Spring compressors are a pain On Subaru front springs...

Edited July 16, 201114 yr by Rpm90001

they are a pain on the back springs, too

any tips or tricks for why/how on compressing the springs?

 

i just received my struts in the mail and this will be my first time ever doing coil over work.

 

did you replace the springs? i'm wondering how much height i'm loosing with old springs?

 

how much do springs cost, i couldn't find any at auto parts places so it's subaru or aftermarket only i guess- meaning big $?

best i can tell you is to tighten slowly - a little on each side, and try to keep them even.

 

the HF spring compressors work ok, but DO NOT use an air gun on them - the threads will get trashed pretty easily if you do.

 

as for how much lost using "old" springs - how do you tell if you have old springs??? seriously...

struts are pretty obvious when you get them off the springs - no resistance, dont pop back out when compressed...but the springs themselves??? how do you tell??

unless they were broken, i have never changed out a set of springs for something else before - but i dont offroad either, so stock is fine for me....

as for how much lost using "old" springs - how do you tell if you have old springs??? seriously...

struts are pretty obvious when you get them off the springs - no resistance, dont pop back out when compressed...but the springs themselves??? how do you tell??

unless they were broken, i have never changed out a set of springs for something else before - but i dont offroad either, so stock is fine for me....

good, i'll leave them then if they aren't wear items. i didn't know if they lost their k-constant over time or what. i just want stock performance so if they don't loose much i'll keep them.

The only thing to note is how the springs sit in the top hats. The hat has a definite set in it as time has passed. When reinstalling make sure the spring position stays the same. They may have a tendency to move as you tighten. The orientation is important so that the struts will not hang up on the wheel well, since the top hat studs will only allow them to go up one way.

If the lower bolts are not aligned, just jack the wheel up til it does.

If doing KYB's, you can't reattach the brake lines as given. What I and most others have done is to slot the bracket that the line passes through. Just enough so that the clip will hold. Keep the old clips, sometimes the new ones won't grab properly.

 

O.

Edited July 16, 201114 yr by ocei77

Back springs were cake compared to the front. There is more spring coils for the spring compressor. I used my impact on the compressor but I oiled the threads real good. I had no issues. I bought new OEM Subaru springs, very inexpensive. $31 for the front, I ordered from Fred beans, but they actualy came from parts.com. I would buy directly from parts.com they were a little cheaper. Front springs are a pain, it is hard to situate the compressor on the spring to evenly compress. Taking them the apart is cake, but I won't get in not that. My biggest tip is to mark each part of the spring componets before it's apart. Your spring will sit in a certain way, the rubber and top mount will all need to be installed the same. I have a paint pen and just put a dot on each part. Another issue I had was tightening the top strut nut. I just took a 19 ml socket and held it with vice grips, this left the top open so I could use a Alen wrench to hold the shaft. Worked very well. Once tight I was able to torque it. Rear shocks I had to put a jack under the bottom of the new shock to compress it up enough to put in the bottom shock bolt. The shock was about 2 inches lower than the shock mount. Not a problem with a small jack to put it in position. This project started with a broken spring, but ended up with struts and top mounts. When I went to change the springs, the struts were so bad you could move the shaft with no resistance. It is a huge pain in the rear to swap springs. Next time I will take them to a shop and have them swap the over, most shops have a hydraulic spring compressor and it is a piece of cake. I don't have a clue on cost...but if you do it on your own you will see. Removal and installation is a piece of cake.

 

I ended up buying Monroe sensatrac, from advance auto. They matched amazon.com price of $225 I was looking for a factory ride. KYb was my first choice, but they had Monroe in stock.

 

Ps...don't forget to mark the camber bolt position. I believe it's the top bolt of the 2 mark the bolt head and not the nut. This way you can put it back the same position.

 

 

 

Good luck

Wow.. I would of thought the springs would of been $60+ each at the dealer..

Mine is a 2000 legacy l sedan. I don't know if they are any more for other years. Link to mine. http://www.parts.com/oemcatalog/index.cfm?action=getPartLocator&siteid=2&chapter=ARL7522&sectionids=19,2512&groupid=2523&subgroupid=2340&componentid=9499&makeid=32&model=Legacy&year=2000&catalogid=2&displayCatalogid=0

96-99 have 3 strut mount bolts on top.

2000+ have 2.

 

O.

My 2000 has 3 bolts on top for he front, 2 on top for the rear.

My error, should have been clearer, the 96-99 have three in the rear versus the two in the 2000+

 

O.