Liftedlego96 Posted March 27, 2022 Share Posted March 27, 2022 I'm looking to do some offroading with my 96 legacy L. Wondering if anyone has experience with different types of snorkel kits? Is it an easy install? What brands should I avoid? What should I be looking for? The last thing I want is to get a kit and have it not work properly and flood the engine despite the upgrade. Any insight is greatly appreciated. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
el_freddo Posted March 28, 2022 Share Posted March 28, 2022 A snorkel is only as good as the seal in the rest of the air intake. If you have a leaky air box it will let water in if you get swamped. But that said if you’re in THAT deep you’ve got other issues. I fitted a mid ‘90’s Montero snorkel to my L series (model before the Legacy), I had to heat and bend the main elbow and the top bend to reset the angles of the snorkel head. The same model unit might work for you, do some searches as it’s been done a few times around the traps. Cheers Bennie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liftedlego96 Posted March 28, 2022 Author Share Posted March 28, 2022 Thanks for the insight. I gotta find away to get in that deep and still pull threw ha there's some deep holes out this way and I'd like to push my legacy to its limits. I have alot of upgrading to do obviously. One thing at a time I guess. Hopefully I can still keep it road legal but if not then no biggie, I'll run it anyway! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laegion Posted March 28, 2022 Share Posted March 28, 2022 (edited) 34 minutes ago, Liftedlego96 said: Thanks for the insight. I gotta find away to get in that deep and still pull threw ha there's some deep holes out this way and I'd like to push my legacy to its limits. I have alot of upgrading to do obviously. One thing at a time I guess. Hopefully I can still keep it road legal but if not then no biggie, I'll run it anyway! How deep of water are you going to be going through? over the windows? The intake should already be at the hood line. If you're pushing water higher than that....I wonder if a snorkel will be enough...knowing how the door seals are on that generation. I highly suggest checking these and maybe replacing them. Edited March 28, 2022 by laegion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 Lucky Texan Posted March 28, 2022 Share Posted March 28, 2022 may need a disable switch on the rad fans. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liftedlego96 Posted March 28, 2022 Author Share Posted March 28, 2022 (edited) Good to know. Honestly I'm not sure how deep I'll be going but I'll probably be following some buddies in their lifted jeeps and they get burried ha I just want to be prepared for anything. Last thing I want is to be the guy that needs to get pulled out every time we go offroading. I definitely have the least ground clearance out of the group but I'm pretty limited with the wheel wells not being able to support larger tires. I have limited offroading experience and this is my first offroading build but I'm a subaru die hard and want to combined my liking for subi's and offroading. I don't know anyone else personally who runs Subarus offroading but I know they are very capable vehicles and people tend to underestimate them. 4 hours ago, 1 Lucky Texan said: may need a disable switch on the rad fans. 5 hours ago, laegion said: How deep of water are you going to be going through? over the windows? The intake should already be at the hood line. If you're pushing water higher than that....I wonder if a snorkel will be enough...knowing how the door seals are on that generation. I highly suggest checking these and maybe replacing them. Edited March 28, 2022 by Liftedlego96 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laegion Posted March 29, 2022 Share Posted March 29, 2022 (edited) 8 hours ago, Liftedlego96 said: Good to know. Honestly I'm not sure how deep I'll be going but I'll probably be following some buddies in their lifted jeeps and they get burried ha I just want to be prepared for anything. Last thing I want is to be the guy that needs to get pulled out every time we go offroading. I definitely have the least ground clearance out of the group but I'm pretty limited with the wheel wells not being able to support larger tires. I have limited offroading experience and this is my first offroading build but I'm a subaru die hard and want to combined my liking for subi's and offroading. I don't know anyone else personally who runs Subarus offroading but I know they are very capable vehicles and people tend to underestimate them. Unfortunately you'll likely never be able to go everywhere a lifted jeep can; but you can definitely make it through a lot of stuff most wouldn't ever expect. The Subaru does have some strengths offroad, especially the 2nd gens as they are fairly light. You may not be able to drive through all the deep ruts a jeep can but you can generally straddle most ruts. Really in my experience it comes down to carefully choosing your line on technical obstacles. Having a spotter and/or walking each difficult section before driving it. etc. The first upgrades I'd do aside from routine maintenance, is Outback Struts, Tires, and Skidplates, well before a snorkel. If you're trying to follow jeeps you will definitely need skiplates before a snorkel. Generally there is one large one for the front and one for the rear diff. There are auto lockers available for the differentials, a decent amount of aggressive tires in the right sizes, and lift springs also. So you can definitely improve your Subie's offroad ability. I have a '95 Legacy L myself that I put outback struts on, bigger tires, and a roof basket. It's gone on some pretty bad roads and lots of snow, and I usually have clearance to spare if I take the right line. However I'm mostly on mountain dirt and gravel roads; but some of them get really rutty and muddy at times. I have not tried to follow a jeep however. Edited March 29, 2022 by laegion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laegion Posted March 29, 2022 Share Posted March 29, 2022 (edited) On 3/27/2022 at 1:02 PM, Liftedlego96 said: I'm looking to do some offroading with my 96 legacy L. Wondering if anyone has experience with different types of snorkel kits? Is it an easy install? What brands should I avoid? What should I be looking for? The last thing I want is to get a kit and have it not work properly and flood the engine despite the upgrade. Any insight is greatly appreciated. Thanks Is your car an auto or manual? Wagon or Sedan? Edited March 29, 2022 by laegion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liftedlego96 Posted March 29, 2022 Author Share Posted March 29, 2022 It's a 96 legacy L sedan 5spd. I've installed 05 forester struts and am riding on 205/65/16's. It sits up pretty good. I think if I go higher I'll need to unbolt my sway bars. Unless I can squeeze a bigger tire under it. I drive it daily so I want to avoid that rite now. Definitely going to install some skid plates when possible. Next year it won't be my daily just a toy. That 95 wagon looks real nice! I'm interested in the auto lockers. And I'd like to do a transmission swap to really be able to crawl better. Just a lower 1st and 2nd gear would come in handy I think. Thanks for all the useful info! 57 minutes ago, laegion said: Unfortunately you'll likely never be able to go everywhere a lifted jeep can; but you can definitely make it through a lot of stuff most wouldn't ever expect. The Subaru does have some strengths offroad, especially the 2nd gens as they are fairly light. You may not be able to drive through all the deep ruts a jeep can but you can generally straddle most ruts. Really in my experience it comes down to carefully choosing your line on technical obstacles. Having a spotter and/or walking each difficult section before driving it. etc. The first upgrades I'd do aside from routine maintenance, is Outback Struts, Tires, and Skidplates, well before a snorkel. If you're trying to follow jeeps you will definitely need skiplates before a snorkel. Generally there is one large one for the front and one for the rear diff. There are auto lockers available for the differentials, a decent amount of aggressive tires in the right sizes, and lift springs also. So you can definitely improve your Subie's offroad ability. I have a '95 Legacy L myself that I put outback struts on, bigger tires, and a roof basket. It's gone on some pretty bad roads and lots of snow, and I usually have clearance to spare if I take the right line. However I'm mostly on mountain dirt and gravel roads; but some of them get really rutty and muddy at times. I have not tried to follow a jeep however. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laegion Posted March 29, 2022 Share Posted March 29, 2022 (edited) 40 minutes ago, Liftedlego96 said: It's a 96 legacy L sedan 5spd. I've installed 05 forester struts and am riding on 205/65/16's. It sits up pretty good. I think if I go higher I'll need to unbolt my sway bars. Unless I can squeeze a bigger tire under it. I drive it daily so I want to avoid that rite now. Definitely going to install some skid plates when possible. Next year it won't be my daily just a toy. That 95 wagon looks real nice! I'm interested in the auto lockers. And I'd like to do a transmission swap to really be able to crawl better. Just a lower 1st and 2nd gear would come in handy I think. Thanks for all the useful info! Oh, so you are well on your way to modifying. Nice! I still want lifted/stiffer springs on both of my cars. I have an '03 also. I haven't gotten skidplates on either yet. My '03 really needs one thought, but on my '95 the oil pan is tucked up pretty high. What kind of tires are you running? Another thing you might look for is a transmission with a deeper final drive ratio and a rear diff to match, if yours aren't already the lowest available. I'm pretty happy with how the '95 does on steeper stuff but I think that is one mod I'd like to do myself. Edited March 29, 2022 by laegion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liftedlego96 Posted March 29, 2022 Author Share Posted March 29, 2022 10 minutes ago, laegion said: Oh, so you are well on your way to modifying. Nice! I still want lifted/stiffer springs on both of my cars. I have an '03 also. I haven't gotten skidplates on either yet. My '03 really needs one thought, but on my '95 the oil pan is tucked up pretty high. What kind of tires are you running? Another thing you might look for is a transmission with a deeper final drive ratio and a rear diff to match, if yours aren't already the lowest available. I'm pretty happy with how the '95 does on steeper stuff but I think that is one mod I'd like to do myself. Rite now im just running my snow treads, Goodyear winter commands nothing special... about to get some bfgoodrich all terrains fo the year. I'd really like to go up a size but not sure if I can make it happen this year. I may just see what I'm capable of this year and then decide if I want to do the transmission/differential swap. I have some pretty big plans for it. Just gotta keep chipping away. I've got an 03 forester but that's more of a family car lol mabey one day I'll get to modifying that as well. Rite now I just want to see what kind of a monster I can turn the 96 into lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
el_freddo Posted March 29, 2022 Share Posted March 29, 2022 You’ll want to find a short ratio 4.44 final drive gearbox. I don’t know what they’re out of exactly but they’re out there. Other way to go is with an auto and a big trans cooler. The thermo fan cut switch is a must for water crossings. I tend to avoid mud holes, too much crap to clean after crossing these. Cheers Bennie 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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