jamal

You could get a set of used spindles, but taking the old ones out won't be easy either. But is the backing plate rusted or just the dust shield? If it's just the thin piece right behind the rotor it's not a big deal. The backing plate is what the caliper bracket bolts to, and is pretty thick.

it should help a lot. I've removed my brakes and most of the suspension components on a 93 with the help of PB blaster and breaker bars. And a torch and a sawzall...

as far as I can tell the only thing WD-40 is good for is holding a lighter to and shooting fire. I'm a fan of PB blaster.

if the parking brake is on the rear rotors won't come off. Otherwise, a big dead blow hammer works pretty well. I don't think the rears have that threaded hole you can use to pop them off like the front (that I believe is M8x1.25.

the two sides of the suspension are sprung together with a swaybar. A swaybar acts to reduce body roll, and is attached to the control arms with an endlink. In this picture the vertical silver bar is the endlink, attached on the top to the swaybar and on the bottom to the control arm. The upright/knuckle/spindle is the thing the strut, balljoint, and steering arm attach to that holds the axle and hub/brake/wheel. So, if the endlink is attached and only one wheel is off the ground, the swaybar is going to hold everything up and prevent the strut from fitting in. Also, rear struts are longer so make sure he's not trying to fit them in the front. Are the strut/spring/top assemblies all put together? Edit: forgot the picture.

If he's jacking up one corner at a time he's not going to get the upright on that side to drop down far enough unless he disconnects the endlink because the swaybar will hold it up. The only way the tops won't fit is if he has rear 95+ Legacy or rear 02+ Impreza tops. All the front ones are the same for pretty much every subaru.

I've replaced my struts and springs and taken an assembly apart so maybe I can help. Yes, it will be a pain in the rump roast to get some of the bolts off. A nice piece of pipe fitted over a flex handle is useful at removing those strut to spindle bolts. The top one up front is cammed to adjust camber so make a note of where it was rotated, although you'll want to get the car aligned right away afterward. Since the parts are from a 95, your best bet would probably be to find a set of used suspension for a 94 wagon, and buy new struts. Then you'll have all the spring perches and top hats and little rubber boots and whatnot, so you can transfer all that to the new struts. Post a wanted here or at bbs.legacycentral.org (it's a legacy right?). Also try PMing Blackbart, he might have a set laying around. Next up is installation. The only thing I can think of is to make sure not to over-tighten the strut top bolts because they're prone to snapping off. Torque spec on them is 14lb-ft. Well, that probably covers most of it, do you have any more specific questions? Here are some scoobymods writeups: http://www.scoobymods.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36 http://www.scoobymods.com/forums/showthread.php?t=346 and here's what I did: http://bbs.legacycentral.org/viewtopic.php?t=21883

02-03 WRX springs will fit without a problem, but will lower the car at least an inch. There's a company called scorpion that does lift kits, but I'm not sure if they sell springs or just blocks. Also, King Springs is an Australian company that sells what you're looking for, but I don't know of any distributors in the US. One more option would be ground control coil-overs. You modify the strut with a threaded collar to fit a 2.5" spring, which you can get in any length and spring rate you want. A set goes for $300-400 I think.

Here are some pictures: When you put your car in on the thule website it comes up with the bars, feet, and fit kit you need. Price was $305. Then from that you'd have a pretty good base to build something or put ski holders on or whatever.

http://www.thuleracks.com You put in your car and what you're looking for. Here's a basket: The stuff isn't cheap though. $300 for feet, bars, and the fit kit, $100 for bike and ski racks, and then $200-600 for baskets and boxes.

huh. I can't lock my car unless I lift the handle as the door closes or use the key from the outside. I've still managed to lock my keys in there though.

Set the breaker bar on a jackstand and then drive the car forward (or backward depending on the side). Worked for me.

I wouldn't think so. What kind of a rack is it? Subaru? I think yakima makes them and if so it uses little lock cylinders that can be removed/replaced etc: It's nice because you can get a set of 6 or 8 or whatever and then have the same key open everything.

yeah that'll happen sometimes. When I changed my lateral links I had to cut one bolt off and destroyed a few more bushings. You might have to order new hardware and have him take a sawzall/cutoff wheel/torch to some things.

looks kind of like 06+ WRX wheels. You could get a used set for around $400 without tires and be sure you have the right offset and center bore.

you mean the drive gear ratio? VDC autos and the STi use a reduction gear and a different rear end ratio to put more power rearward. If you don't have one of those it's 50:50. And yes, understeer is inherent of the drive system. After all, you're asking the front tires to do more than the rear, and they're the same size and there is more weight on them. More front negative camber will optimize the front contact in a corner, providing more front grip. A bigger rear swaybar will reduce rear grip. These two things together are a fairly simple way to reduce understeer, but it's really only a small part of the whole picture. You can also mess with tire pressures, and what you'd be shooting for is the optimum pressure for grip up front, and then something else in the rear. Less than ideal if you ask me.

more front negative camber would help, and so would bigger swaybars. Evenly sized front and rear bars create a pretty good balance. Most Subarus come with a smaller bar in the rear than the front. Whiteline and PDX sell swaybars that will fit your car.

I know the brakes are pretty small, but you probably only need good pads/shoes and fluid. I have only cooked my brakes once, and that was after a pretty good session of unsafe driving to catch up in a road rally with generic pads. Now I have hawk hps pads and will soon be flushing my lines with RBF 600. Although I'll probably bump up to wrx or rs brakes once they wear out since I have most of the parts sitting in boxes. Really you should probably slow it down on public roads and go to an auto/khana/rally cross. You did just stuff a TT Legacy in a ditch, and at 17 you're not as good of a driver as you think. As for the other stuff, only Legacy rear swaybars will fit because of the spare tire well. Also the lateral links will be a pain to remove. I know because I've done pretty much the same swap. While you're at it you may want to look into solid endlinks and urethane swaybar bushings. Whiteline comes to mind as as a supplier. They also make springs for your car. As far as stock used springs, 04+ Impreza stuff will work and lower the car about an inch. I wouldn't recommend Impreza aftermarket springs because that would be way too low.

Has he been doing neutral drops? When reverse mysteriously stopped working I ended up having to get a replacement transmission. Actually check the front axles. if one popped out or broke somehow the car would not want to move forward and would do better with 1st selected.

To be fair, the center clutch pack reacts faster than the viscous coupling, and new (VDC) autos can split power 80/20 either way.

yeah that was almost three years ago. Nasioc thread is still going: http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=527529

no, don't put used struts on your car. GR2s are only about 15% stiffer than stock and your old springs are fine. New sets on e-bay go for around $200. The only way I know of to lift the car is with a scorpion kit. They sell lift block kits. King Springs of Australia also sells lift springs for Subarus but I don't think they have a distributor in the US.

The benefit of yakima (who, last I checked, makes the Subaru stuff) is that they have round bars. The square thule bars will look wierd on a rounded roof and cause your ski holders to be slanted, unless thule has a specific kit for your car. Not a problem for my old legacy but I think you'd be better off with Yakima. My roof rack:

04 STi is 5x100, 05+ is 5x114.3

check the nasioc regional classifieds. Expect to pay between $200-300 for 16" WRX wheels with tires.