SiriusBlack Posted April 21, 2020 Share Posted April 21, 2020 (edited) Hey all. I have an 86 XT Turbo that will need new air suspension fairly soon in the future. I want to keep it stock, no conventional coil over suspension. Anyone know what after market air suspension parts can be the most easily adapted to this system? The compressor, tank and lines are fine just need the struts/bags. Completely stock parts are impossible to find and i'd like them to be less prone to leaking anyway, so any help is greatly appreciated. Edited April 21, 2020 by SiriusBlack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted April 21, 2020 Share Posted April 21, 2020 do an exhaustive and continuous global search. 2000-2004 outback rear struts do sort of bolt up and are the right form factor, although they're intended to be bolted up flush at 90/180 square angles, not the 45 degree angle of the XT rear strut top mount. for this, there are vague references to issues with bending/breaking i think of the top of the strut when this is attempted. whether this was caused by something else or could be remedied I don't know, those folks didn't share a ton of details. but any air suspension which fits those, will have a nearly identical form factor for XT's. if "stock" means a custom air suspension system which is anything but stock, then it'll largely depending on how much you're willing to spend, how much trial and error and custom work is acceptable. No one has ever done it or, if they have, shared any usable information about it. so it'll be hard to get any information at all, not to mention information for a specific price tag, welding skills, machining skills, parts functionality, etc. Sort through the aftermarket suppliers and see what level of cost/customizing you're comfortable with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carfreak85 Posted April 21, 2020 Share Posted April 21, 2020 Convert to 5-lug and use the air suspension designed for the late model Imprezas and Legacys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiriusBlack Posted April 22, 2020 Author Share Posted April 22, 2020 7 hours ago, idosubaru said: do an exhaustive and continuous global search. 2000-2004 outback rear struts do sort of bolt up and are the right form factor, although they're intended to be bolted up flush at 90/180 square angles, not the 45 degree angle of the XT rear strut top mount. for this, there are vague references to issues with bending/breaking i think of the top of the strut when this is attempted. whether this was caused by something else or could be remedied I don't know, those folks didn't share a ton of details. but any air suspension which fits those, will have a nearly identical form factor for XT's. if "stock" means a custom air suspension system which is anything but stock, then it'll largely depending on how much you're willing to spend, how much trial and error and custom work is acceptable. No one has ever done it or, if they have, shared any usable information about it. so it'll be hard to get any information at all, not to mention information for a specific price tag, welding skills, machining skills, parts functionality, etc. Sort through the aftermarket suppliers and see what level of cost/customizing you're comfortable with. I'm comfortable with a fairly high price actually, as I want to keep this car alive. I will save up over time if their really expensive. As for the custom not really stock bit, I just need to know what's closest. I think I know how to get the level sensing working, and as I said my compressor and lines are fines. I'll even make custom mounts for the new struts if I have to. I just need to know what aftermarket struts are closest to the XT so I can hopefully have a fairly easy time making the new mounts, if indeed new custom mounts are needed. Thanks for the info you already provided, as I said all info is appreciated and could very well help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiriusBlack Posted April 20, 2021 Author Share Posted April 20, 2021 (edited) On 4/21/2020 at 4:21 PM, carfreak85 said: Convert to 5-lug and use the air suspension designed for the late model Imprezas and Legacys. @carfreak85 if I do the five lug conversion, will the impreza/legacy air struts bolt right in? Or will they still need alot of modification to fit? Edited April 20, 2021 by SiriusBlack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted April 20, 2021 Share Posted April 20, 2021 Yes. Impreza and legacy fronts bolt in. Use early Impreza caliper brackets with XT6 slide pin install on it so you can retain XT6 calipers up front. A few threads on that here in this forum. 00-04 rear Legacy coil struts bolt into rear EA82/XT6 as well but the top mount needs swapped over - install XT stuff onto Outback - I’m not sure how conducive air struts will be to that but it’s definitely possible to get it to bolt up...not sure how it would perform or if it would hold air. I’ve disassembled them and wasn’t sure if the top bushings seal the strut rod in some meaningful way in terms of holding the air in. I don’t think they do but I’d want to verify before deciding Also the 2 people that have done the rear struts haven’t been clear. It was said to be possible and then it was said the strut rods would fail prematurely - possible due to the OB struts being designed to mounting flush and XTs mounting at an angle..? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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