I got lucky at a junk yard and got a full set of struts and springs from a 99 Forester for the whopping price of $52.

 

I also pulled a pair of rear swaybar brackets from the forester that should hopefully fit with little to no modification. I am still trying to track down a set of 97-99 Legacy outback trailing arm brackets. So I'm looking to lift my 97 Impreza Outback within a few weeks. Here's the car as it sits now.

 

 

I have a few questions on the lift.

 

For the longer front endlinks. Is there a car that these came on stock? Or was this only an after market option? I was looking on Kartboys website but was hoping to go cheaper if possible.

 

I put a lot of miles on this car and am wanting to keep it reliable. I'm not picky about the ride being perfectly smooth, or the handling being top notch. But I do want the car to be as reliable as ever. A busted CV would not be fun during a road trip. Given the amount of hieght I'm adding with a forester strut/spring combo, are there any other lift parts I should consider as a requirement to maintain that reliability?

The trailing arm bracket on the forester is the same as an Outback one, so you could pull that off the same car.

 

I would honestly chuck the rear swaybar. The added articulation offroad more than makes up for the slight loss in flat cornering on road. The front swaybar is worth keeping if you do mostly on-road driving. There aren't longer endlinks on outbacks/foresters because the swaybar is attached to the engine crossmember. The whole crossmember is dropped down, so the swaybar moves down with it. That said, don't worry about the sway bar. They work fine with the extra height, and just flex the endlink bushings a bit more.

 

From the factory, subaru put spacers between all the crossmembers and the body to match the extra height of the struts, so all the axles and balljoints are at the same angle. While that's nice, it also defeats the ground clearance that just a strut lift gives you. I haven't had any problems with ball joints or CV's on any of the cars I've Outback strut lifted, and some of them have 50+ thousand miles on them with the lift in.

Mostly due to cost, I'm fabbing my front end links. Since I can pretty much go any length on them, is there more benefit to going longer than an extra 3/4 inch on them?

 

Similarly, I may just weld up an extra spacer for the trailing arm brackets as well. Any reason to go more than one inch higher?

Who told you that you needed longer endlinks? You don't, they work fine the way they are.

 

Why not go back and get the trailing arm brackets off the forester you pulled the struts from? You don't even need those if you don't go bigger than 205/75r15's. Or, hammer/trim the rocker panel where it sticks into the rear wheel well.

sadly, the forester is 3 states away from where I lived. I picked up the shocks/struts while visiting family. And I am hoping to fit a 215 or 225 size tire. This is just thinking for now. I will have to get a junkyard tire and see just how tight things will be after the lift.

i would love to see pictures of your OBS with the forester struts and springs. i thought about doing outback struts and springs for the lift but not sure how much i will get.

little inspiration. outback struts and 215/75r15 geolanders. Even with my stock tires I liked having the bigger bracket to keep the rear wheels centered. Also, I haven't had a rear sway bar for.... almost a year and I do probably 90% on road driving and its fine, bit of body roll but not near as much as my 4runner has with the swaybars.

gwilson87, i love the look of your OBS!!! i dont want to go quite that extreme but that thing is BADASS!!!! would the 96 legacy outback struts/springs give me about the same lift as your car? dont want to buy the parts if they wont work for me. thanks

Pretty sure mine came from that generation of legacy (95-99). If you can make it to a junkyard and measure the length of the shock tube that might help you know how much lift (approx) you will get. The springs should help some since an outback is a tad heavier than your impreza.

yeah, thats what i was thinking with the OB being a little heavier. hopefully i can get to the junkyard soon and get these parts before anyone else. i think the part that will pay off the most is that noone around here that i have seen has a lifted subaru. i am so ready for the weird looks and all the questions about having a lifted subaru wagon. that will be the biggest payoff for me. everyone around here has lifted jeeps and toyotas. ready to join them on the trails.

I'm actually selling my car to a buddy and just got a toyota 4runner... haha

JUNKYARD SCORE!!!

 

For just over $100. I managed to get a set of 97 Outback front struts and springs, a set of 03 Forester rear struts and springs, and a set of nearly new 215 75 15 tires. (Off a horse trailer of all things!)

 

These are all added to the full set of 99 Forester Struts and springs I already have.

 

So, I'm sorting out my options and trying to decide which way to go forward. I want to clear the 215 75 15 tires with a little fender trimming etc. zzz Of course I'd love to keep this project low budget. Just looking for some advice on what's the best way to go on my lift.

 

Option #1. Use Outback front struts and 99 Forester front springs with the 03 Forester rear springs/struts.

 

Option #2. I can buy front 03 Forester struts/springs for an additional $100. and do a full 03 Forester Strut/Spring swap.

 

Mostly wondering what the height difference would be between these options. I've heard that the front tends to need less of a lift than the rear. How much difference could I expect between 03 Forester rears and 97 outback struts/99 Forester springs?

 

Thanks for all the advice. Lift to be underway within a week I hope.

A few other questions.

 

I found a 97 Legacy Outback from which I purchased the rear control arm brackets. I am thinking/planning on getting a few more goodies tomorrow and I'm wondering how much work they are worth.

 

1. If I undo the bolts holding the transverse links to the frame, does it slide off the back of the control arm? Or must I remove the whole arm?

 

2. For the front and rear sub-frame spacers - Again, can I undo the bolts to the frame and slide them out? Or do I have to drop the whole sub-frame?

 

3. Where is this pitch rod on an outback? (Having read up in the "how to lift your impreza" sticky) Am I assuming correctly that it's the end of the steering shaft like the EA series that needs to be lengthened with the lift?

 

4. If I want longer spacers than 3/8 on my strut tops, whats the easiest process for removing the bolts from the strut top?

 

These are the last few bits I think I'll need before I do my lift. So far I've acquired

 

1999 Forester Front struts/springs

2003 Forester Rear Struts/springs

1999 Forester rear swaybar brackets

1997 Legacy Outback Trailing arm brackets

4 nearly new 215/75/15 Sentry LT Super R/H tires

3/8 HDPE Strut top spacers

Beastly 3x4 custom roof rack I welded up a while back.

Pair of Wal-Mart fog lights to accent the roof rack so the rig looks legit.

 

Anything I'm missing/should know about? Wanting this thing ready for the snow.

Edited January 5, 201214 yr by AdventureSubaru

Im running 98 Forester struts/springs on mine. I was running 205/75-15 all season passenger tires but have since switched to bridgestone blizzaks in stock 205/60.

 

I have my rear sway hooked up still, no problems there but both my front endlinks broke so no front bar...

 

Im using stock sway bar brackets but trailing arms and brackets from a 96 leggy outback.