flyingmachine Posted July 11, 2005 Share Posted July 11, 2005 I tried swapping out the stock suspension with a set from a forrester. Unfortuantely, the 1 inch lift seems to be incompatible with the OBS' rear setup. The CVs just don't offer enough articulation for the hub to line up w/ the new shock location. Just wonder how some of the guys with the older OBS' are lifting their cars. Is there a way to drop the rear diff 1/2 inch or so to help w/ the CV angle? thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offroadsubaruguy Posted July 11, 2005 Share Posted July 11, 2005 did you try unbolting the rear sway bar first? i couldnt get the outback struts to fit in ther rear without unbolting the rear sway bar first....... the fronts went in just fine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingmachine Posted July 11, 2005 Author Share Posted July 11, 2005 yes, the rear sway bar was unbolted. Once the original shock is removed and the sway bar disconnected, it there anything else that would limit the movement of the rear suspension? thanks, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjo Posted July 12, 2005 Share Posted July 12, 2005 The CVs should be able to move... ALOT especially without the struts in there. You might want to throw in the read forester strutcaps...? you might also want to try to bolt the knuckle on first, then bolt up the caps.. which seems to be the way i always put them in... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingmachine Posted July 12, 2005 Author Share Posted July 12, 2005 The CVs should be able to move... ALOT especially without the struts in there. You might want to throw in the read forester strutcaps...? you might also want to try to bolt the knuckle on first, then bolt up the caps.. which seems to be the way i always put them in... Thanks for the reply, I'm not sure what you mean by trying to bolt the knuckles first, how do I get the shock in there w/out the top caps being on? or am I just off in terms of vocabulary? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjo Posted July 12, 2005 Share Posted July 12, 2005 well, first you bolt on the strut cap, get a spring compressor, and do all that jazz, so you have a strut/spring assembly. At this time the knuckle should be hanging down a good ways (supported somehow) because you had to get the other strut out. If you have all the right stuff disconnected (sway bar shoudl be it..) the forester strut should just fit right in there, then you bolt on the knuckle/hub, and then you lift all the junk up and allign it with the holes for the strut cap on the top. But you're saying you don't have enough room to put the strut in there? try sliding the assembly up from the back-outside of the wheel well, put the strut cap in the holes when you do this, and then lower it down to the knuckle maybe? with all my experience in there there has always been tons of room in there for struts/springs & lift Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingmachine Posted July 12, 2005 Author Share Posted July 12, 2005 andy, for the quick replies. I have a complete strut setup w/ top caps pre mounted (off a Forrester w/ 7K miles) I'll take some pics the next time I get in there, but it seems the rear is not dropping as much as I expected when the OE strut is removed. With is completely drooping I'm still more than 1/2 inch off from the stock Forrester struts. I'm also afraid of damaging the CV by prying the hub down further. BTW, I was able to get the strut in there, and sorta lined up w/ the hub. but just can get the hub down enough to line up w/ the holes in strut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezapar Posted July 12, 2005 Share Posted July 12, 2005 I added the OB strusts/springs to my OBS. I attached the assembly to the top first, then it easily went together at the bottom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingmachine Posted July 12, 2005 Author Share Posted July 12, 2005 I added the OB strusts/springs to my OBS. I attached the assembly to the top first, then it easily went together at the bottom. Zapar, what year is you OBS? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n16ht5 Posted July 30, 2005 Share Posted July 30, 2005 does anyone have a write up with photos of this swap? I just bought an OBS and I wan't to do this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjo Posted July 30, 2005 Share Posted July 30, 2005 does anyone have a write up with photos of this swap? I just bought an OBS and I wan't to do this I'll do it in a week or so.. or maybe longer.. depends whether i want to lift it at school, or here.... need $$ to get it alligned afterwards too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SubyNoobie Posted August 17, 2005 Share Posted August 17, 2005 does anyone have a write up with photos of this swap? I just bought an OBS and I wan't to do this I will be creating a write up with photos of my raising my 95 Legacy with OBS struts. I did one strut a week ago to figure out what the hell I need to do, and now that I KNOW what to do, when I do the other 3, I'll take pix, and take notes to do the write up. If I'm lucky, I'll get the 2nd strut done this weekend, and then 3 and 4 done on this upcoming Monday. (No, I've not been driving it around with only one strut raised, although I may be forced to do it this Saturday in order to tow a CRX with some towing straps, seeing that my Legacy is the only car I have with enough power to tow a car.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LosDiosDeVerde86 Posted August 18, 2005 Share Posted August 18, 2005 I tried swapping out the stock suspension with a set from a forrester. Unfortuantely, the 1 inch lift seems to be incompatible with the OBS' rear setup. The CVs just don't offer enough articulation for the hub to line up w/ the new shock location. Just wonder how some of the guys with the older OBS' are lifting their cars. Is there a way to drop the rear diff 1/2 inch or so to help w/ the CV angle? thanks! i had a problem doing it to my legacy. the rear was tough, but enough pry-baring did the trick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free Range Posted August 20, 2005 Share Posted August 20, 2005 The bushings in the control arm and trailing are preventing the extra flex which can make getting taller struts in a struggle, and I highly doubt you will damage cv's just prying the control arm down. The trick shown to me was to use the factory scissor jack in between the body and the control arm to get more wiggle room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SubyNoobie Posted August 22, 2005 Share Posted August 22, 2005 I'm going to attempt a small write-up as a rough draft for the front strut replacements on a Legacy.. My friend was going to be taking pictures while we were doing all of this, but we ended up forgetting to. 1. Jack up your target wheel. 2. Take off your wheel. 3. Take off your disc calipers using the two bolts. Should be 17 mm. 4. Support your calipers with something like a box until you're ready to disconnect the brake line and lose fluid all over the bloody place. 5. Take some white-out and mark along the bottom portion of the strut that mounts to the rest of the hub assembly. 5a. You probably will have a brake line running through a portion of the strut. You'll have to remove the brake line from the caliper at the caliper, then run the thing through the strut to get it out. Reverse this procedure with the new strut. You'll have to bleed the brake lines and calipers after you put it all back together RIGHT BEFORE you put the wheel back on. Don't attempt to do the bleeding before you put it back together like my moron self did. 6. Loosen the two bolts that hold the strut in place. DO NOT take them off yet. 7. Use your spring compressors to compress the spring on BOTH sides as far as they will compress. I must emphasise that you MUST do this step. Failure to do so may cause serious injury/damage. 8. After you're sure the spring compressors have fully compressed the springs, remove the two bolts holding the strut to the hub assembly. 9. Pop the hood, remove the strut by pulling it down and to the side. (Towards the back of the car is the easiest.) 10. If you haven't already, pop the protective rubber nipple off the top of the strut assembly to obtain access to the 17mm bolt. 12. Use an appropriate Allen-wrench or screwdriver to secure the strut (thingee) while using an offset 17" wrench to get the bloody thing off. 13. Take off all of the items from the strut assembly. There will be the plate on the top that rotates, a large slightly cone shaped washer, and the top that the spring pushes on. Also get the nice cushion for the spring too. 14. Take the spring off the old strut. 15. Marvel at the length difference between your old strut and your new strut, and then wonder HOW THE HELL you're going to get it on your car. 16. Put your new strut bellows and bumper on your new strut if the one on your old strut is messed up. (Likely, and even if it's not, do you REALLY want to do this whole thing again just to replace a $15 part?) Follow the instructions on the bellows carefully for the bumper. They are initially quite deceiving. 17. Push in on the new strut, and release the rod by taking off the little clip. No, it will not shoot out at you like I initially thought it would. Now, reverse the procedure, and put it all back on. Tips: You may have to move the spring compressors around and compress them further to get the new struts on. Push down on the hub assembly if necessary with your foot while shoving the new strut up into where it belongs. Have someone help you. You may want to use a screwdriver to fit into the two bottom bolt-holes to assist in aligning the strut and the hub assembly to where you can actually FIT the bolts in. Lastly, I know NOTHING of fixing the camber on the car after you've raised it up using this method. Any ideas/help from anybody? I'm sorry I don't have a bunch of photos, but I forgot. Also, this is for the front two struts of a 95 Subaru Legacy LS. I haven't done the back two. I'll do another one for that... Once I have both done, I guess I'll post a FULL write-up in it's own thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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