YnotDIY Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 (edited) Hey Everyone! Been a while since I've posted, I've been spending most of my time on FB, but it isn't the same. Honestly I miss "hanging out" on this forum. ANNNYWAY. I upgraded my suspension by following @Loyale 2.7 Turbo 's thread and getting a lot of help from my buddies and it's been seriously awesome. I should have done it immediately after I got the car. I've had everything on since the beginning of the Summer and about two weeks ago I noticed both inner axle boots in the back were spraying grease all over. The axles are original and I think the combination of old axle boots and my new CV angle due to the lift the new suspension gave me finally made those inner boots pop. Not a huge deal, I've already got them fixed, but I'd like to drop the rear diff 2" to prolong the life of the outer boots. There is already a bit of superficial cracking and I really don't want to have to change these axles outside come winter (no garage here).QUESTION IS HERE So my question is how do I go about dropping the rear diff? I see it's attached with 4 bolts to a hanger / bracket in the back and then 2 bolts for the mustache bar. I have access to a metals shop and could fab up a bracket for the mustache bar if need be, but how does this generally work? Do I need to drop the drive line hanger towards the center of the car as well? I get I'll need to get some longer bolts for that 4 bolt hanger, but what about the mustache bar? How does dropping that part go? Pictures would be awesome if anyone has them! Just want to make sure it's all aligned as best as possible so I don't start having drive line issues as well as axle boot issues. Pics for fun, do you think my camber is okay? action shot mid suspension install, and side shot of how it's sitting today. Any help is appreciated! Edited October 15, 2020 by YnotDIY Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Numbchux Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 Can be done several ways. SJR makes a plate to lower the back of the diff from the mustache bar (seen in the upper middle of this picture of his kit). AA and BYB both used blocks between the mustache bar mount and the frame rail. While the axle output is so much closer to the rear mount, the biggest effect on axle angle will happen from dropping the rear mount. BUT, I didn't like the angle the diff was at in mine, so my AA-lifted EA82 and my DIY lifted Brat I spaced down the diff from the front hanger (removed the 4 studs from the bracket and replaced with longer bolts. SJR made a cool cast spacer for my EA82 years ago, but on the Brat my buddy just turned up 4 spacers from round steel stock). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ionstorm66 Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 (edited) I would replace the boots and see if they hold up. Generally when the cars get old, the rear is sagging to the bump stops. So there isn't much movement. New springs not only raise it up, but give it more travel. Literally the same thing happened to me this week after the same mod. Car has 130k on the clock and factory axles. If you do anything to the diff, I would highly recommend doing the upper diff bushing. Installing a diff drop is 80% of the work to replace it. Mine was completely buggered at 125k. I could rock the diff over an inch with one hand. Now my 4wd engage and disengage is like butter, quiet and smooth. Definitely increased the life of my drive shaft and center bearing. Edited October 19, 2020 by Ionstorm66 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YnotDIY Posted October 20, 2020 Author Share Posted October 20, 2020 On 10/18/2020 at 11:43 PM, Ionstorm66 said: I would replace the boots and see if they hold up. Generally when the cars get old, the rear is sagging to the bump stops. So there isn't much movement. New springs not only raise it up, but give it more travel. Literally the same thing happened to me this week after the same mod. Car has 130k on the clock and factory axles. If you do anything to the diff, I would highly recommend doing the upper diff bushing. Installing a diff drop is 80% of the work to replace it. Mine was completely buggered at 125k. I could rock the diff over an inch with one hand. Now my 4wd engage and disengage is like butter, quiet and smooth. Definitely increased the life of my drive shaft and center bearing. Ah awesome, good to know! Do you have a part number for that upper diff bushing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ionstorm66 Posted October 20, 2020 Share Posted October 20, 2020 16 minutes ago, YnotDIY said: Ah awesome, good to know! Do you have a part number for that upper diff bushing? Yeah check here: https://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/171596-upper-rear-differential-bushing/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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