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2005 Outback 2" lift


Dogist
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I am planing on lifting my outback 2" and have a blown rear strut. 120K on them,

going to replace all 4. I have been looking at 2" tower mount spacers.

Was wondering if I could just buy longer pre loaded struts instead of adding spacers?

Edited by Dogist
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Not typically how it’s done so I’m not familiar with it.  Stock struts and lift kits are so widely available any other option will be low volume high cost.

Does KYB offer loaded struts for that year?  I think they’ve started selling some loaddd struts for Subaru   But they’ll be stock height  

The other preloaded struts and aftermarket struts can suck REAL bad too. I haven’t seen many but the preloaded struts I’ve seen are floaty and ride terrible. I’ve seen trashy new aftermarket struts, new aftermarket strut mounts fail in less than a week. I *totally get* that sprint compressing is annoying. But KYB is so cheap and repeatable that’s not worth my time.

I would install New KYB struts, retain OEM springs, probably replace the spring on the one bad strut (depending what “blown” means), and install an SJR lift kit.

Edited by idosubaru
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  • 2 weeks later...

Hey, thanks for the advice...

I've gone with the preloaded KYBs available on Amazon for about $115 + Ea. (rear units)

Some springless fronts (KYBs) + New mounts, boots and bumpers about $135 per side

Going to get a 2" lift billet  top set and what ever else.... (Anderson aluminum skid plate)

I'll Post;  Before and after pics when done and with what ever else comes up?

It"s the family car, a mile from the county plowed road. 

 New to me... I usually work on my CJ5 

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Awesome - KYB's are the way to go. 

I'd install 00-04 KYB's.  Fairly common to install those in 05-09's. 

The 05-09's have noticeably less longevity and some people say they perform worse.  My road conditions are too bad and varying to notice performance differences, but 05-09's longevity is so bad that you might as well just assume they're bad when you come across an outback or legacy of that generation. None of the other years are like that - just 05-09's for some reason. 

Since they're aftermarket, I'm not sure how much different 00-04 and 05-09 KYB's are - but the OEM are bad enough that I avoid 05-09's. 

Scott is a long time member here and in the PNW subaru community.  I get my lift parts from him: 

https://www.sjrlift.com/

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