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Tranny Swap and Lift a complete success!!!!


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I want to give njdrsubaru ( Neo) a HUGE thanks ...without him I dont think this project could have ever been completed. Took my 95 Legacy LS wagon for her maiden voyages yesterday...but on over 200 miles and she drives like a dream!!! Shifts like butter, rides so smooth, and everything is tight. WOW!! hard to believe what can be done to a $250 Lego and about 2 weekends.

New Tranny and her outback struts and body blocks..not to mention her extra lights. Its all just a big WOW. I drove her to work and back and she never missed a beat. Taking her for emmissions and her hard plates today. Its almost a shame to think she is going to be off roaded.

 

I am just so happy right now:banana::banana:

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She will be at Carlisle in May ....and Like I stated.. Couldnt have done it without Neo..in fact he did alot of it( ok most) but I learned alot from him.

 

What would I do without me bestest friend???

 

 

Ugh..next project...get back to my 83 coupe ..uuuugggghhhhh

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New Tranny and her outback struts and body blocks..not to mention her extra lights.

 

Did you swap control arm pivots up front? (if not your control arms will be tilted wonky)

 

What about the trailing arm brackets in the rear? Trans crossmembers? Rear diff nose mount (upside down mustache bar)

 

Why I ask is because alot more than just the crossmember blocks are "spaced" down to be on the Outback.

 

I'm guessing whatever you did was fine I am just wondering excactly which pieces you used.

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Did you swap control arm pivots up front? (if not your control arms will be tilted wonky)

 

What about the trailing arm brackets in the rear? Trans crossmembers? Rear diff nose mount (upside down mustache bar)

 

Why I ask is because alot more than just the crossmember blocks are "spaced" down to be on the Outback.

 

I'm guessing whatever you did was fine I am just wondering excactly which pieces you used.

 

the control arms bracket would not need to be changed.. however it is a good idea to get an alignment after the swap

 

No crossmember blocks needed for the trans... i did install blocks and spacers on the whole rear subframe..

 

 

when you do a outback struts to a normal legacy swap.. for some odd reason the legacies tend to rear sag after the swap... so the blocks were needed to level the car off

 

here what you need: left and right subframe blocks, left and right spacers for that upside down mustache frame, which is called differential support frame...

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the control arms bracket would not need to be changed.. however it is a good idea to get an alignment after the swap

 

 

 

Yeah they do. If you drop the crossmember, but don't use the outback control arm pivots, you are twisting the rear mount of the arm. You might get away with it because of the sgive in the rubber, but definately you are moving the front of the arm down, so the rear should drop too. Look closely, the outback mounts are different than the stock Legacy ones. They drop that pivot by 1-1/4 inches to match the crossmember.

 

If you only used the crossmember blocks, then some of the other stuff is out of whack. Like the craddle that runs between the front and rear trans crossmembers. That is a deeper craddle on the Outback. So your trans is pointed upward a bit in the rear. Probably not a problem, but.....

 

My theory is use all the different pieces or none of them. Definately Connie take a look at your control arms, the front and rear pivots should be level with eachother. With what you've done, your control arms point downward in the front (looking from the side), you may have a problem with that.

Edited by Gloyale
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Yeah they do. If you drop the crossmember, but don't use the outback control arm pivots, you are twisting the rear mount of the arm. You might get away with it because of the sgive in the rubber, but definately you are moving the front of the arm down, so the rear should drop too. Look closely, the outback mounts are different than the stock Legacy ones. They drop that pivot by 1-1/4 inches to match the crossmember.

 

If you only used the crossmember blocks, then some of the other stuff is out of whack. Like the craddle that runs between the front and rear trans crossmembers. That is a deeper craddle on the Outback. So your trans is pointed upward a bit in the rear. Probably not a problem, but.....

 

My theory is use all the different pieces or none of them. Definately Connie take a look at your control arms, the front and rear pivots should be level with eachother. With what you've done, your control arms point downward in the front (looking from the side), you may have a problem with that.

 

i'm sorry to disagree with you but i have been running outback struts for years and in 4 different subarus and no problems... no need to drop the front if you are NOT using blocks in the front! now if you were to use the outback blocks in the front i would say yes... but in our case we did not touch the front except for the outback struts in which i have been running this set up for years and no problems. Outback struts only and no blocks is OK.. also. i was the one to install the outback struts in the front and rear... and blocks in the rear only. Two completely different scenarios.

Edited by njdrsubaru
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i'm sorry to disagree with you but i have been running outback struts for years and in 4 different subarus and no problems... no need to drop the front if you are NOT using blocks in the front! now if you were to use the outback blocks in the front i would say yes... but in our case we did not touch the front except for the outback struts in which i have been running this set up for years and no problems. Outback struts only and no blocks is OK.. also. i was the one to install the outback struts in the front and rear... and blocks in the rear only.

 

Totally true. Sorry.

 

I took Connies first statement to mean that you guys had installed both front and rear crossmember blocks.

 

If all you did was the rear, then you are correct.

 

I haven't had any problems using just outback struts and none of the blocks.

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absolutely ashamed at you connie, whats a thread without pictures.:lol:

 

Here Ben...heheheheh

 

CeeciLift052.jpg

 

 

and I have to say..I trust njdrsubaru 100% on this. He would never do anything that would cause any damage to the car...also like he stated.... has ran 4 of them with this conversion.

 

I also ran the car out the day after the lift was on and had a 4 wheel alignment done.

Edited by Bucky92
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Here Ben...heheheheh

 

CeeciLift052.jpg

 

 

and I have to say..I trust njdrsubaru 100% on this. He would never do anything that would cause any damage to the car...also like he stated.... has ran 4 of them with this conversion.

 

Sorry for the confusion. I trust both of you guys know what you are doing.

 

Didn't mean to stir the pot, just missed a detail and didn't want to see you have problems with another project.

 

Nice work. Now, get the coupe rockin.

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Sorry for the confusion. I trust both of you guys know what you are doing.

 

Didn't mean to stir the pot, just missed a detail and didn't want to see you have problems with another project.

 

Nice work. Now, get the coupe rockin.

 

 

Its OK... you gave me alot of advise for when I make it bigger ( yes I eventually want it to be much higher)

 

Take a couple weekends off before digging back into the coupe ..geesh that thing gives me even more grief then my old possessed XT6..which I didnt think was possible.

 

At least the New Gen cars seem to cooperate much better..glad I moved up..no more old school for frequent driving for me. EJ22s FTW.

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  • 4 weeks later...

So I finally found some bigger tires and rims for this project ( way to revive an old thread huh?) We found a forester at the J/y and it still had the rims..but not any ordinary rims ..01-03 ( or 4 ) 16 inch H6 Outback rims wrapped in new directional Potenzas. One tire is bad that we didnt see ..slice from the accident the forester was in ..but they are new enough that I should be able to replace just that one...going to take it to my tire guy, though, first to make sure. Got them for a song too.

 

These are monsterous but we checked on njdrsubarus Lego which has the same lift and they will work fine.Anyway ...here is a pic *note* the tire is just leaning up against the other tire..it is not mounted.

 

BTW found New Gens have a crappy radiator design...geesh ...plastic Poor lego is now down with a cracked one for a day or 2.

 

cid__0419091449.jpg

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