1997 Legacy L, suspension, axles.

[gonzo62]

Have a 97 Legacy L I would like to update suspension what struts will fit. I would like to raise Car A few inches, Also what axles fit this car. I need to replace left front, our wrecking yards have a good selection of parts. Any help or info would be appreciated. Thanks

[Naked Buell]

Replace the axles with new ones or reman'd. Don't take them out of the yard. Besides they are pretty reasonable for price. For your struts, Rock Auto will give you an idea and then you can start seeing price wise if you what to upgrade to a performance strut. If you are not racing it, don't bother. Stock ones are just fine plus if you want to raise it, that is something completely different. It is just a spacer that goes on top of your strut top hat to the mounting point. SJR makes the kits I believe 2" all the way to 6"

[gonzo62]

thanks for the Info.

[idosubaru]

Any 1995-2004 axle from a forester, impreza, legacy, or outback will work. 

I'd try to get a 2000+ OB/Legacy as they're better axles, the outer boots are far more durable. knock the tone ring off the outer joint. it just taps off with a hammer.  Some people leave them on so that's not required but I remove them. 

Make sure it has a green inner cup so it's a Subaru OEM axle.

An OEM subaru axle will last the life of the car if you reboot it. 

 

95-99 outback struts work

00-04 front outback struts as work

forester struts i think are a common strut for a few inches as well - you can google it. 

i have much less experience with this but it's a common topic. 

 

for easy parts searching:   www.car-part.com

 

 

Replace the axles with new ones or reman'd. Don't take them out of the yard

 

That's not what high capacity Subaru people would recommend.

OEM Subaru axles routinely last the life of the vehicle without issues. 

Aftermarket new or remanne'd have issues all the time, very common.  
Google "subaru axle issues" or some other combination and you'll see infinite examples. 

 

I had a brand new axle blow up already this year - in about 50 miles.  And that's not rare.  

 

The outer boots are far more durable. 

[GreaseMonkey03]

Forester struts have different style brake line holders than the legacy/outback. It'll work, but you have to make it work.

 

03 and up forester axles won't work. They don't have female inner/stub axles.

[GreaseMonkey03]

As far as aftermarket axles and their failure rate. I'm a bit suspicious of this. I've been using reman for years on customer cars. And while any part has the potential to fail, axles in my customer cars last for years. I have yet to have to replace a reman axle. I'm curious how much of this failure rate has to do with improper installation or poor maintenance of the boots.

[idosubaru]

I'm a bit suspicious of this. I've been using reman for years on customer cars. I'm curious how much of this failure rate has to do with improper installation or poor maintenance of the boots.

Suspicious? It's widely known, anyone who specializes in subaru's for the past 20 years wouldn't even raise an eyebrow at this.

 

I've seen new axles explode in less than 50 miles multiple times. Never OEM. Their boots are certainly worse, they click right out of the box, they absolutely suck for installing in lifted Subarus, and the vibration in drive issue is extremely common. I've never seen a catastrophically failed OEM axle - they are robust as crazy. I've put 50,000 clicking, broken boot miles on fronts and 100,000 on rears and never had them fail.

 

It's one of the most common diagnosis/parts/repair issues on subaru forums, it's literally never ending:

 

https://allwheeldriveauto.com/seattle-subaru-cv-boots-and-axle-problems-explained/

 

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=subaru+aftermarket+axle+site:www.subaruoutback.org

 

http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/66-problems-maintenance/37399-vibration-idle-after-replacing-front-axles-solved.html

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/cv-axle-oem-aftermarket-215031.html?t=215031

Edited February 21, 2017 by grossgary

[GreaseMonkey03]

Yowza. Take a deep breath my friend. Woosa

 

Yes I said I was a "bit" suspicious. And I wondered out loud if the issue is exaggerated due to other factors. I NEVER said Subaru axles were not robust. I NEVER said reman were as tough. And the issue of them being installed on modified vehicles is also entirely different.

 

there are many factors involved in the life expectancy of an axle. So I never said you were wrong, I simply said there may be more to this than meets the eye. Which one would think is common sense to come to the conclusion that in all these cases it is literally impossible for it to always be the axles fault. Ever seen an axle explode from a loose axle nut? I have. Perhaps someone seeing that could assume it was the axles fault.

[GeneralDisorder]

We use Subaru reman or new axles quite often. STI's only get brand new dealer axles. Same for other high power turbo applications. Subaru has a reman program for many of its axles but newer stuff isn't supported nor are STI models, etc.

 

For run of the mill non turbo axles we do have a "new" Chinese axle that we have had good luck with. Been using them for 5-6 years with only a handful of problems. From what I have been told by my suppliers there are three primary driveshaft manufacturers in China and none of them have a full catalog covering all models so every brand you see on a box buys from probably all three of those factories. One of those factories makes decent Subaru axles but because they get rebranded you can't tell where the thing in the box came from. Our supplier switched at one point and we got EIGHT bad axles in a row. We had speaks with our supplier and they fixed the problem but it took about 9 months we only recently started getting the "good" ones again.

 

Problem is I can't point you to where to get some because my supplier is wholesale only and I don't know any retail sources of this particular brand.

 

We actually at one point put in a brand new set and load tested them on the lift. You can watch and feel the joints binding and popping as you drive the car on the lift with the brake applying a load (abs bypassed).

 

It is not an installation related problem. It's a poor manufacturing problem. The axles just really, really suck. It is ABSOLUTELY reasonable to consider it to be the axles fault in almost all cases that I have seen. It's also really hard to screw up an axle install. If you don't get the nut tight the wheel bearing will fail. Axle will be fine.

 

GD

Edited February 22, 2017 by GeneralDisorder

[GreaseMonkey03]

Ah. I understand now. I wasn't counting faulty axles because I see this as an industry issue and not a Subaru issue. The only axle I've ever had fail out of the box was on a Honda, but I wouldn't call it a Honda issue. Any reman axle for any year make or model could fail. Thems the breaks. And that applies to any aftermarket part. I also personally am over the moon happy if a reman lasts 30k or more. Let's be honest, if you think a $50 dollar axle should last you 100k miles then maybe the expectations aren't realistic. You get what you pay for. I'd still put a reman in a paying customers car before I put in a junkyard axle. And I wouldn't use a junkyard axle in my own car either. If I want or expect quality and longevity, I'll buy new. If you want cheap, you get cheap.

[GeneralDisorder]

Junkyard (not u-pull-it style yards) can be great source for late model axles. We needed a set for a 2013 Forester. I made sure my contact understood I only wanted factory original axles with green painted cups. I got a real nice set - $200 for the pair. For that application Subaru does not have reman axles yet so it would have cost him $800 for them from the dealer.

 

There is not a one size fits all rule for this stuff. What applies to the guy with the 1990 Legacy that smells like he lives in it doesn't apply to the elderly retired couple with the Outback that's recently out of warranty.

 

GD