porcupine73

For the year of the car. The mount has some studs on the top that need to fit through the holes in the body (or I've seen where some people just drill new holes to match whatever mount they happen to be using but that is probably not optimal).

Ok so it looks like you can't reuse your existing strut top mounts b/c of the air (I forgot about that part). If you download the KYB catalog I know it has some notes in it about what KYB parts can be used in replacing the air susp. Hm ok forget the KYB catalog, it now just says "LINCOLN CONTINENTAL, MITSUBISHI GALANT,SUBARU Air suspension struts; i.e., These systems canot be substituted for without extensive vehicle modification. KYB does not recommend removal." so that is no help. I know some years back, maybe in '07 it had some tips about it but maybe they removed it because of liability concerns in making 'modifications'.

haha that's pretty neat. A coworker was telling me he built something like that about 20 years ago, and one of the neighborhood kids got into his garage and took it out one time. He said the thing would go 35-40 mph. So this kid wiped out on it and I guess messed himself up pretty good on it.

The strut mounts for the rear need to match the year of the car. I believe that era has a two stud mount, whereas the later years (95+) use a different three stud mount that is different for left and right. You don't necessarily have to buy new mounts if your existing mounts are in good shape and you are willing to disassemble your old strut assemblies to get the mounts. Because also you need the bumper, strut boot, and any rubber parts that are in there. Similar little extras are needed on the front (which need to be ordered new or disassemble the old units to get those parts, including the spacers for the front). Another possible option for springs if your existing springs are in ok shape to reuse them (afiak the Legacy springs can still be reused; you will still get about a 1.5" lift from the Outback struts). Or possibly those rubber spring spacers. I'm going to look more into the spring spacers because I have a new set of genuine springs front and rear for a '96 Legacy that I'd like to use. And I should disclaim I'm just describing how I would go about this project; I'm not recommending doing this mod or giving any advice.

I'm not 100% sure on the details but I believe that is the general gist. I am planning to do the same thing with a '94 Legacy, put '96 Outback struts on it, and that is basically what my research thus far has indicated.

I forget the details of removing the air off hand, but you should be able to use say 96-98 Outback struts. If it has ABS you might have to just zip tie the wire to the strut. The front strut mounts (top) should be the same. The rears are most likely different so you'll need to reuse your existing rear top mounts or get new ones (or drill extra holes in the rear to fit the Outback top mounts). You might need camber bolts in the rear too if your camber goes too positive for your liking afterward (and possibly one in the top hole as well on the front if you can't dial the camber down enough with the stock bolt). I think the KYB catalog has some brief details on what can be done using KYB struts in removing the air susp.

The access hole is covered by the oil separator plate the other poster mentioned. You won't be able to see it unless the engine is separated from the trans. Here's some pics

It could be that plate over the hand hole, those like to leak and are often mistaken for a leaking rear main. There is an upgraded plate and screws to fix that leak.

Excellent, thanks for the info grossgary. I will give it a go. The '00 brakes are in good shape, and the '96 badly needs upgraded fronts for the larger tires. So I figured I could get bigger brakes onto them both by doing this three way swap. I might just get calipers at carquest, they're only like $70 there and they come with the brackets ready to go.

Hello. Does anyone know off hand if the front brakes from an '00 Outback will fit on a '96 Legacy (i.e. if the caliper brackets and rotors will match up). (Wheel clearance is not an issue in this case.) I'm thinking of taking my '00 Outback's front brakes, and putting those on the '96 Legacy. The '96 I put Outback struts and lift springs on and Outback size tires, but with those larger tires the original single pot fronts are just barely adequate. Then I was going to get '01 Outback front brakes for the '00, which have a slightly larger rotor. I realize sometimes doing this is controversial because it puts more brake bias to the front of the vehicle.

Hello and to this site of fellow Subaru lovers. hehe yes sorry about the auto part. Make sure you have the trans filter kit mod installed and keep good fresh fluid in her and that should help it to last longer. Those early/mid 90's Subaru's are some real tanks so she should treat you right.

Wow that's in really nice shape. My brother has one of those also. I think he really likes it even riding two up with it.

Hmmm hmmm it seems I saw on cars101.com that the locking feature was something the dealer could set at the time of sale. I don't remember if it was a dip switch on the alarm unit or what it was. If it's an aftermarket alarm that could be doing it too. Because I think on the Subaru option it was when the shifter was moved from park that it would lock at least for the autos iirc. http://www.cars101.com

Yes the rust really does a number on those. It's very rusty on my three soobs. I just keep soaking the whole mechanism with penephite a couple times a year and that keeps them pretty well freed up. When I bought them the handle was pretty much inoperable. The parts right from Subaru aren't too expensive if you want to replace the handle and metal bracket that is underneath there.

Thanks, I think I probably will end up using it, esp since it is non-interference. Now I just need to find the good kit with all the idlers and if possible no belt. I was looking at rockauto. I know some people were getting the kits off eBay. I could go with the water pump too if I know the one in the kit would be better than leaving the original Subaru pump in there. It's got about 110k miles on it.

But in a good way! I think cars are a wonderful hobby, they keep you out of trouble from having idle hands, and it is a highly practical hobby with good satisfaction and even cost savings from doing work yourself.

haha that's great. Hey how about that contact paper stuff they sell for kitchen cabinets? Get a nice big area of coverage in one sheet, and available in a variety of patterns to suit your tastes.

If you use PVC you should be able to find the sch 80 conduit, that is like twice as thick as the regular sch 40.

Oh and I forgot to mention, you can register free at my.subaru.com and it will show you all service history they know about (anything done at Subaru dealers who aren't still in the stone age anyway). If you just bought the car, you might have to fax them your registration or other proof of ownership.

That sounds good! At 92k she is coming due for a timing belt if it hasn't been done yet. In fact it's due just by time (105 months) anyway. You don't want the timing belt to break on you because it will likely end up with bent valves.

Yes I'm sure it is pretty toasty in there when the engine is running. I was just thinking more in terms of storage it was the worst spot to store it, up in the hot garage attic. The bonus this timing belt has is that it had no tension on it the whole time like it would have if it were installed. And it's not oil soaked.

It's a bit of a job but not impossible. You have to remove the crank pulley, timing covers, then slide the crank sprocket off. Then there is about six bolts holding the oil pump on. Then you have to clean the surface on the block. Then install the crank seal on the new pump, put some permatex grey RTV on it, and a new o-ring, and put it on. Might as well use a new timing belt while you're in there since the old one has to come off. Other things are easily accessible at the time too such as the timing idlers, water pump, etc., if any of those need attention.

If you're taking it apart, I would definitely snake the oil passages you can access. There was a note on endwrench about ticking on some engine that was attributed to a plugged passage there. I snaked mine with a piece of 14 ga bare copper wire (not sure if that was a good idea to use that or not).

Have you considered getting genuine Subaru mats? The set of 4 is available in gray for $59. http://subarupartsforyou.com/cp_partlistbymod.php?model=Legacy&subcat=Floor+Mats+Carpets&year=1995 Subaru parts from Subaru dealers selling parts online can often be very competitive with aftermarket parts pricewise. (Quality wise there is often no comparison).

Thanks for the help. I found the belt. It was still in the box. It looks like new. I've noticed some Subaru parts have a date on them but I didn't see any date on this item. The belt looks perfect. I know Subaru says heat is a big enemy of timing belts. This belt happened to be in the upstairs of the garage which was probably the worst spot for it. In the summer it is probably 110+ degrees up there. I think I will use it, especially if the PCI timing components are available without the timing belt (ie just the pulleys and tensioner). The '94 needs a lot of work to get it back on the road for winter.