Just purchased my first Subaru.  Being 20 years old and 140K on her I want to refresh a few things. .  I want to put new struts on all four corners.  I have read that the Amazon and Ebay  struts are junk.  I was looking at the KYB struts.  What is the best handling brand?  I drive on winding mountain paved and unpaved roads on a regular basis.  What about the springs.  What springs are highly regarded?

Edited November 28, 20196 yr by The Grand Pooh-Bah

KYB is the preferred brand for Subaru struts.

Springs - unless there is an obvious problem the stock springs should be fine to re-use. there are aftermarket springs out there, but i have no experience with them myself.

something to pay attention to are the top mounts - especially the fronts.. there is a bearing that allows for turning - carefully inspect from the top looking for grease oozing out, rust, or other signs of deterioration...

I personally recommend ordering a pair of mounts for the front at least so if there is a problem you can swap them out easily while you have things apart and you only have to do it once. once apart, if the bearing is anything but smooth rotation, the mount should be replaced..

And welcome to the world of Subaru!

I am on my 4th, a 2002 Forester with over 255k on the clock

 

Are you talking about the wheel bearings?

 

44 minutes ago, The Grand Pooh-Bah said:

Are you talking about the wheel bearings?

 

no, i am talking about the bearing in the top mount of the front struts. Yes, there IS a bearing in there that takes a lot of stress.

 

KYB for the strut bearing too?

 

yes, it is a part of the top mount.

https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=503098&cc=1389405&jsn=422

 

Often I'll find KYB struts in the self server yards.  Pull them yourself for$40 each and they are ready to install.

1 hour ago, lmdew said:

Often I'll find KYB struts in the self server yards.  Pull them yourself for$40 each and they are ready to install.

I'm not near any wrecking yards like that unfortunately. One of the disadvantages of living deep in the woods.

 

 

Like you, I have a 99 Outback. I bought it back in 06, with 148K on the odometer. I now have 256K on the odometer, and she still runs strong. I put on KYB struts at around 160K miles. I did not replace the springs, and have not regretted it. The KYBs run great, and last a long time. The probable original springs still seem good as new. 

99 Outbacks have an inherent problem with the transmission, in that it will develop a delayed forward engagement from park. The problem is that Subaru went to a revised tranny in 99, and a valve unit fails to operate properly. It can be corrected with a tranny additive. If your car has, or develops this problem, do a google search for "Subaru, delayed tranny forward engagement." I started the topic back in 2008, and it has helped many Subarus.

I ran across that post.  It is nice to see it is still going strong.