2000 Legacy: Alignment Issues After an Outback Conversion Job

[dirty_mech]

2000 Subaru Legacy L Wagon 2.5 M/T.  In May of last year I did a bunch of work to my Legacy.  Among other things, I installed Monroe Quick Struts for a Subaru Outback which I documented in a previous post.  I also replaced my tires with Goodyear Ultra Grip Winter radials and had the alignment done.  The car would pull to the right slightly so I took it back to Les Schwab to have the alignment re-checked.  They tried to redo it but it ended up pulling to right even WORSE once they readjusted it.  Said there was nothing they could due because of non-adjustable parameters (the camber?).  So I lived with it.  Please note that I had no noticeable pull to the right and Pirelli tires on my car prior to this, which wore evenly and lasted me 4+ years even with all the old, worn suspension parts still in the car.

Come this year, I noticed my front left tire tread is worn unevenly and is toast.  Now I have to replace my front axle tires at the very least.  Fortunately the tread on the rear axle looks great so I'm hoping to just redo the front with the exact same model of tire and avoid torque binding issues.  Had to shell out almost twice what I originally paid for those Winter radials because Goodyear no longer makes them in size 205/60R15, which is a pain. 

In order to try to eliminate clunking noises and the pull to the right, I previously replaced the following suspension parts just before and shortly after the strut conversion:

2x Rear Lower Control Arms with installed Inner Bushing (MOOG RK643085)
2 Rear Forward Lateral Arms (Dorman 524-197)
Front Right Lower Control Arm (Dorman 526-972)
(Includes Pressed-In and Transverse Link Bushings; bushings on the front left arm looked good so I left it alone)

2x Outer Bushing for the Rear Lower Control Arm Bushings (20254AE02A)
2x Inner Bushings for the Rear Upper Control Arms (20254AE020)
2x Outer Bushings for the Rear Upper Control Arms (20254AE040)

2x Front Stabilizer Bar End Links (Moog K80693)

After discovering the uneven tread wear on the front left tire, I had Les Schwab check it again.  They found bad differential bushings, worn trailing arm bushings, and play in the front left tie rods, so I replaced these additional parts:

Inner Tie Rod on Left Side (Moog EV473)
Outer Tie Rod on Right Side (Moog ES3712)

Full Set of Differential Bushings (Energy Suspension 19.1105G) - Fun sawzalling out the old ones!

2x Trailing Arm Bushings (Moog K202056) - These were a lot of work!

The drag to the right is still there, and I now have vibration at high speeds.  The senior alignment tech says this is because the bad tie rod could have been masking vibration caused by the uneven tire tread.  So now I'm replacing those tires.  I'm also going to replace that front left lower control arm and associated bushings out of an abundance of caution (Dorman 526-972).  However I expect at the very least for the drag to the right to still be there, since it was there originally when I had brand new tires and they couldn't figure out how to fix it.  Here's my alignments:

First in May of 2021, second attempt in May of 2021, and third alignment after additional suspension parts replacement, February 2022:

https://imgur.com/a/tYP8gyz

So two questions for you guys:

1)  The technician said the camber on the front axle is non-adjustable, which is why they weren't able to bring it into spec.  Is that true?  If so, is there anything I can do about it? 

2)  Is there anything about the conversion from Legacy to Outback struts that could have caused the drag to the right and subsequent uneven tread wear?  Should I have used subframe spacers or some other part to avoid alignment issues?

Any input is much appreciated.  Thank you!

Edited July 6, 2022 by dirty_mech

[el_freddo]

Did you do lifted springs at the same time as the Outback struts? If so this will push things out hard beyond what the factory suspension adjustments can do. Using the Outback subframe blocks will pull everything back in line but maintain more lift with lifted springs. This should allow you to run bigger a bigger tyre size too.

I recall reading about adding a second adjustment bolt to the lower hole to allow the extra movement. I’m not sure, but there might be mob out there that makes this bolt, or you might be able to pinch the adjuster bolt from a wreck and use that. Someone will know more on this. 

Also check your trailing arms for any deformations such as a knock that’s bent one. 

The vibration could be a wheel balance issue. 

Cheers 

Bennie

Edited February 26, 2022 by el_freddo

[idosubaru]

Smart move posting those pages.  What stands out is every time front toe is horrendously out.  The others just shift a little bit but toe has wild swings way out of limits. I don’t know what normal is, but that seems excessive for the toe to be drifting that far out between short alignment time intervals.  

2000+ Subaru rear alignment and control arms/bushings are a PITA and I’m not experienced enough to say anything helpful so I’m focusing on the front and your pulling issue  

I would check your steering rack bushings for slop.  Seems like they’re loose and the entire rack is shifting around. That would explain why both side front toe is waaay out of spec easy time. Almost Anything else should only impact one wheel. They could check alignment and get different numbers every day if that’s the case.  Give the rack lots of force and have someone turn it lock to lock while you watch it from under the vehicle to see if the entire rack shifts at all. See more notes on that condition in a moment.  But first….

let’s assume my first guess is wrong and be a little more thorough:

your questions:

1. Front Camber is absolutely adjustable. Top strut mount bolt is a cambered bolt. Can Google image search it  

2. they couldn’t get front camber perfect probably due to the lift from the outback struts. That’s not unexpected. You can get it within specs (that’s why it’s green on that print out) but it might be towards the end of its adjustment stroke.  They might not get it perfect dead center But it is adjustable to within Subaru specs  

2.There are no issues installing stock Subaru sized outback struts into a legacy. Commonly done - no doubt that’s why you did it. You didn’t hope it was possible when ordering parts, you’ve heard it was possible like everyone else. Camber can use all the adjustment limits available but it’s doable and should not pull to one side. 

What we might not know is which strut you used and if it’s taller than stock. But I doubt it - your camber would be the issue not pulling to one side. 
 

Questions:

1. Did this pulling start definitely after one of those jobs….struts, tires, alignment…?? That would be a smoking gun  

2. Is this an area where Subarus are common?  I’ve heard “camber isn’t adjustable” from shops in areas without many Subarus. Not sure why that seems bizarre but I’ve heard it before. 

3. How positive are you there were previously ZERO pulling issues before the tires and all this work was done? 

(it sounds like you gave evidence that you’re positive but I just want to make sure I’m reading it right)

 

suggestions:

check the steering rack bushings  they can swell from fluid contact (atf oil or ps leaks).  This makes the rack loose abs it can shift or drift inside the mounts because the rack bushings are useless.  It may only shift under loads so give it some good forceful persuasion 

Check all your replacement MOOG bushings.  I’ve seen aftermarket bushings fail in 1-2 years.

I don’t trust aftermarket or quick struts. The Monroe struts installed on a friends car drove like trash. It didn’t pull but I had zero confidence in them.  A moog or Monroe top hat I installed in a legacy failed the first time I drove it - strut top blew right through the rubber of the top hat. Folks have posted pictures of them ballooning terrible before and I’ve seen that as well. it’s hard to assume those new struts can’t possibly be problematic. Im not sure struts can cause pulling but if toe is perfect I don’t trust the springs/seat or bearing somehow inducing torque. 

Edited February 27, 2022 by idosubaru

[heartless]

Monroe struts for Subaru are crap - been there, done that. and any "quick strut" is going to be garbage. there is no "easy" route with these cars

KYB all the way... strut & tophat, stock springs (matching the strut configuration)

I went Forester struts under my 95 Legacy and loved it. but i went brand new all the way.. made my own "quick strut" assemblies so it was an easy job at the car.  That entailed the struts (KYB), new springs(stock forester), new tophats (KYB), new spring pads (stock), and all necessary hardware (stock) to assemble the struts off the car.