AdventureSubaru

JUNKYARD SCORE!!! For just over $100. I managed to get a set of 97 Outback front struts and springs, a set of 03 Forester rear struts and springs, and a set of nearly new 215 75 15 tires. (Off a horse trailer of all things!) These are all added to the full set of 99 Forester Struts and springs I already have. So, I'm sorting out my options and trying to decide which way to go forward. I want to clear the 215 75 15 tires with a little fender trimming etc. zzz Of course I'd love to keep this project low budget. Just looking for some advice on what's the best way to go on my lift. Option #1. Use Outback front struts and 99 Forester front springs with the 03 Forester rear springs/struts. Option #2. I can buy front 03 Forester struts/springs for an additional $100. and do a full 03 Forester Strut/Spring swap. Mostly wondering what the height difference would be between these options. I've heard that the front tends to need less of a lift than the rear. How much difference could I expect between 03 Forester rears and 97 outback struts/99 Forester springs? Thanks for all the advice. Lift to be underway within a week I hope.

If I'm reading this correctly, better to not put the Forester springs on the front stuts? Were the springs higher in the outbacks?

I've been browsing for a few weeks and can't quite get my info straight. Seems there are plenty of options for lifting an Impreza by strut and spring set ups, but not sure where they all stand. (pun intended?) As I'm reading this you can use 96-99 Outback strut/spring 98-02 Forester Strut/spring 96-99 Outback strut/98-02 Forester Spring 03-08 Forester Strut/spring What I'm looking for is how they rank as to which ones give which ride height. I'm fairly sure the 03-08 Forester set up is understood to give the most lift. The other three are a little hazy. Can someone give these an order or ranking system? Or perhaps if you have/know a lifted Impreza, let me know the suspension used and how much lift it gave. I'm sitting on a set of 99 Forester Struts and springs but have fairly easy access to Outback stuff too and and trying to get this figured out before I lift the car. Also - wouldn't hurt to know associated tire sizes with each lift. But that can always wait...

Going a very similar direction with my impreza soon. Could you post up a picture of the spring/tire clearance? As in how much space there is before the tire would rub the bottom of the spring?

Great work all the way through. Looks awesome. I'm about to do a strut/spring swap on my 97 Impreza outback and wanted to be sure I was getting all my info correct before I do. You cleared 235/75/15 tires with 03+ struts and springs only? My hope is to do similarly but probably do a little more trimming zzz to clear them. Any rubbing during turns or just bumps?

Anyone know the difference in height between the outback struts/springs vs. 98-02 Forester? And 98-02 vs. 03-08?

slow progress. Do I bypass the switch by simply running a hot wire to the green one coming from the switch?

bump. Any way to test the o2 sensor?

Is this the switch that requires the clutch to be engaged? where do I find it? can it be bypassed or do I need to replace it? Thanks for the help.

Trying to get this car up and running on it's own. It roll starts just fine. Had nothing going on the starter. No cranking at all. So I put a new starter in and had the same problem. Tried jumping it in case the battery had drained. Still nothing. Used the same jumper cables to test the battery cables. Still the same. As far as I can tell, all fuses are fine. I can hear a click under the dash each time I turn the ignition. Not sure if that's a relay under there or what it might be. I'm sure this isn't a large fix, just not sure what my next best step would be in getting her running again.

o2 sensor could be the problem. I am getting a CEL for emissions. Any way to tell for sure? Would disconnecting the o2 sensor make things better or worse for me right now? Just thinking ahead before I sepend $90. for a sensor.

bump. anyone?

sadly, the forester is 3 states away from where I lived. I picked up the shocks/struts while visiting family. And I am hoping to fit a 215 or 225 size tire. This is just thinking for now. I will have to get a junkyard tire and see just how tight things will be after the lift.

fixing a 93 impreza L for my friend and am having trouble getting the blower going. Fuses are good. Pulled the blower and tested it on the battery. (it spins fine.) The switches all seem to turn the way they should. Pulled the resistor and gave it a visual inspection. (looks okay but i have little idea what to look for apart from looking for broken coils) wondering what the next step should look like. any ideas?

Mostly due to cost, I'm fabbing my front end links. Since I can pretty much go any length on them, is there more benefit to going longer than an extra 3/4 inch on them? Similarly, I may just weld up an extra spacer for the trailing arm brackets as well. Any reason to go more than one inch higher?

Update - replaced both knock sensor and fuel filter with no change. Still the same hesitation. Anyone have any ideas on what to do next? If I push the clutch in, then accelerate, power will come back again, but it really comes and goes.

Thought that too but didn't seem like normal hesitation associated with plug/wires. Replaced them just to be sure (Don't know when the previous owner did it last.) Seems slightly better now but not fixed. CEL has been on since I got the car due to a bad 02 sensor. Pulled the codes today to see if anything else showed up. Got the forward sensor and two emissions codes (About as expected.) and one for a knock sensor. Could the knock sensor cause the issues described?

I guess this is my week to work on Subarus. my 97 impreza outback (2.2 5 speed) started an odd hesitation this past week. I was driving through a pretty big rain storm and the engine would just lose power, a second or two later, it would just bounce right back like nothing had happened. it has been back and forth like this for a while. Power will go down, down, down then Boom! it will lurch forward and off we go. Seems to only show up when the engine is warmed. haven't noticed any difference with accessories/AC etc being on. Any ideas?

2000 Legacy outback. Within a few seconds of turning the A/C on, the fuse blows. The blower works fine, but no A/C. is it safe to assume there's a short somewhere on the compressor? Any ideas on where/how to find it?

Okay. I'm halfway there. I did find a bad fuse inside the dash. The blower is functioning correctly. Now every time I turn the A/C on though, the fuse blows. Tried up to a 30 amp with the same results. Safe to say there's probably a short somewhere. Any good places to start looking?

Car in question is a 2000 Legacy Outback. A little while ago the blower stopped working. I checked all fuses and wiring and everything was fine. Tried replacing the blower motor itself today and still nothing. I have tested in all 4 speeds and nothing gets it spinning. Any ideas on where to go from here? I now have 2 good blower motors that I can't get spinning. It's warm and would love the A/C back again. Thanks!

Wondering about a shrieking sound I get on my 2000 Legacy Outback. Anytime when the wheel is cut very hard right or left (Usually when parking) i get a nice loud squeal. Sounds similar to a fan belt shriek but I don't see how steering would make a belt shriek. Has me confused. Any ideas?

I got lucky at a junk yard and got a full set of struts and springs from a 99 Forester for the whopping price of $52. I also pulled a pair of rear swaybar brackets from the forester that should hopefully fit with little to no modification. I am still trying to track down a set of 97-99 Legacy outback trailing arm brackets. So I'm looking to lift my 97 Impreza Outback within a few weeks. Here's the car as it sits now. I have a few questions on the lift. For the longer front endlinks. Is there a car that these came on stock? Or was this only an after market option? I was looking on Kartboys website but was hoping to go cheaper if possible. I put a lot of miles on this car and am wanting to keep it reliable. I'm not picky about the ride being perfectly smooth, or the handling being top notch. But I do want the car to be as reliable as ever. A busted CV would not be fun during a road trip. Given the amount of hieght I'm adding with a forester strut/spring combo, are there any other lift parts I should consider as a requirement to maintain that reliability?

Cool. Thanks!

Sure. They came as extras that I don't think would match my impreza. Shoot me an e-mail at Scotty22r@gmail.com and we can probably work something out.