jmoss5723

It's definitely been done. You can do a little and end up with a lift that is really sturdy and stiff, or you can do a lot and basically end up with a custom tube frame for the car. Whether or not it will strengthen it "enough" to make up for your car's weaknesses depends upon 3 things: just how big the problems are on your car, how extensive the frame build is, and what you consider to be "enough."

Anyone have experience with the Uniroyal Tiger Paw Touring tires? There is a set available locally for $250 and I'm thinking I might hop on them since the tires on my Forester are about due for replacement. They have pretty good reviews online, but I wonder what my trusted Subaru advisers have to say particularly about soft-roading and snow performance. They're 215/70/16 if that matters to anyone.

Having done a few subie lifts now, I would think that it would look a little silly with just the back lifted. You would definitely need the camber bolts and trailing arm brackets. The quickest and easiest solution is to just replace the rear struts with KYB Excel-G. If you want to bring the back up a little bit over stock, put in 3/8" strut top spacers that you can buy from a few vendors or make at home pretty simply and cheaply with a sheet of HDPE plastic from Amazon. On a side note, having just torn apart an East coast Impreza to do a lift, I can confidently say that if the car is rusty, DON'T BOTHER trying to do the full lift. The number of things that will break is staggering.

Let's see a side shot.

This project begs the question: "WHY?"

This is quite the project. Any updates?

Nice ride! If the tranny dies, at least it is just the 3AT. Not a huge loss to humanity!

This is amazing!

Drove from Burlington, VT to Pittsburgh, PA (about 600 miles) with VCGs leaking oil into the spark plug tubes and causing horrible misfires anytime I went over 2.5k rpm under load. A little tender driving got us where we needed to go.

This is what I wanted to hear! Thanks! I also like your 4x100 lug pattern modification

This gives me some hope. The wheel arches on this car are shot, so we can trim those down no problem. In fact, may places are "trimmed" already, in a manner of speaking, courtesy of PENNDOT. Where specifically did they rub in the front? I'm hoping that it will be places that will be alleviated by the lift or easily "adjusted" with a BFH.

Does anyone know if there is clearance for a 27.1" tire (205/75/15) on a 96 OBS with Outback struts? Will a strut top spacer be needed? We are almost at the point where we can just try it and find out, but if anyone can speak from experience, it would be appreciated. I'd rather not install the struts only to find out that we need to remove them again and install a spacer, too.

A few simple things that are worth checking: The last 2 times that I've had a Subaru miss under load it was because of oil leaking from the valve cover into the spark plug tube. You can check really quickly if you pull the wire off of the plug and see if the long rubber tube is covered in oil. The other thing is a plugged up fuel filter can give similar symptoms. Might not be it, but these are easy to check for and easy to fix if it is the problem.

Well my engine had a full reseal when the HGs and TB were done a year and half ago, so leaks with synthetic should be nothing to worry about. I do get a decent drive in at least a few times a month, if not once a week. I will get the block heater since it's only like $40 and it certainly can't hurt. Sounds like I probably don't really have much to worry about. Thanks for all of the input!

I've considered switching from Castrol GTX High Mileage oil changed every 3k miles to a full synthetic. Is there any procedure to switch over, or just do it like a regular oil change? If I'm changing my oil that often anyways, does it really matter what I use?

Most of my trips are pretty short. 10 miles or less, with longer stuff a few times a month. I change my oil and filters at a pretty aggressive schedule. Timing belt service has been done twice actually. I am aware of how hard short trips are on a car, I'm just wondering how much of a problem it will be to add never getting up to temp into the equation. Seems like the block heater is a good idea, I just have never used one and I'm not sure what kind of temp increase I will see. Would an oil pan heater be a good idea, too. I live in PA and it doesn't get SUPER cold all that much, so I don't know what I really need.

2004 Forester with SOHC EJ25 I have a 2 mile/5 minute commute and in the winter my car never reaches operating temp unless I idle it beforehand for longer than I drive it. I would consider just riding a bike or something, but there is almost as much elevation change as there is distance traveled, so on the way to work I would freeze to death coasting down a huge hill and on the way home, I would get destroyed trying to climb the hill. I know that your engine seems the most wear before it reaches operating temperature and I'm wondering if installing a block heater will help enough to be worthwhile. Is there something else I should try instead (or also)? Advice appreciated.

In general, anytime someone says "outback" just assume they mean Legacy Outback. And basically just ignore that your impreza is an Outback Sport. Your OBS is basically an Impreza with different trim. For an 05, the top hats from a legacy outback or from a forester will be a direct fit. You will need trailing arm brackets and endlinks like the "how to lift your impreza" sticky thread says. Edit:You only really need to use the brackets on a first gen impreza. The only thing that will be different for your car than the one in that thread is that the top hats will fit directly without having to swap or drill.

This has been a terrible shot to my pride. I had considered never giving an update and just letting this thread die when I figured it out.

As you might guess, the VCs came off without incident now that we turned the right bolts. Couldn't have been easier!

So guys, I don't know if I'm more disappointed in myself or disappointed in you guys for not figuring this one out. It turns out that the EJ22 valve covers do not attach at all like those on the EA81, EJ25, or EZ30 that I am familiar with. In the picture below you can see the six (3 top and 3 bottom) 12-point bolts that I've been talking about. Notice that they are still in place, but the valve cover is off... Oops! I guess this is what happens if you work on a dirty engine in a poorly lit garage.

They've been sitting in liquid wrench so that if they're seized that will help. We're just going to get the car up to temp and give 'em hell with the impact and see if we can't get them out of there. If they break, we'll deal it with it, I guess. The ones that can't be reached with the impact will be tackled with a big cheater bar. Everyone keep your fingers crossed!

You should come help my brother with his then have him come help with yours! You'll each get it done faster and you'll be pros by the time you're done.

Nope. Just a standard 12 point socket. Torx is a 6 point star.

If you can do it all at once then get an alignment, that's best. If you have to do it a few pieces at a time, try not to put on too many miles or you might get weird tire wear. The hardest part will likely be breaking loose all of the bolts. If you use a Liquid Wrench on all of the bolts once a day for 3+ days before trying to work on it, everything will go way faster and you'll probably be able to do the swap in a day. You could even break the bolts loose on the struts, brackets, etc. ahead of time (tighten them back down once you've got them freed up) so that it goes quickly when you actually do the swap. The short answer to your question is YES you can do the rear then the front, but you shouldn't need to if you do a little bit of work ahead of time.