mejum

Last June, I lowered my LGT by installing the Koni strut inserts (fronts), Koni struts (rear), and Swift springs. The Konis and Swifts dropped my wagon to an acceptable ride height and the ride/comfort is just as comfortable as stock. In December, I started experiencing a clunking noise from the front suspension, which turned out to be the strut top mounts, and I ended up replacing with new OEM mounts (20320AG00A). At the time I replaced the mounts, I didn't compare the new and old mounts. After the install and lowering the car back down to the ground, it was very noticeable that the front wheel gap had increased about 3/4"-1" and my wagon was sitting with a slight reverse rake (the rears have 1/2" saggy butt spacers). The way the wagon sits has been bothering me. I purchased another set of OEM strut mounts to compare to the stock/factory mounts and noticed that the new mounts have a slightly different design and a taller profile. I attached pictures to this post that show the height difference. The original/factory mount is ~9/16" from the bottom lip of the cup where the spring sits to where it mounts to the body. The new OEM replacement is ~15/16" from the bottom lip of the cup to where it mounts to the body. In the original/factory mount, the cup is where the top of the spring sits is partly recessed into the original/factory mount whereas the new OEM mount, it sticks out. I went to O'Reilly's to look at the KYB mounts (SM5540) and they are designed like the new OEM replacement mounts and have roughly the same height profiles. I looked at what's offered on RockAuto--Monroe, Beck Arnley, etc.--but it's difficult to see if they have the same height profile. Does anyone know if there are front top strut mounts that have a similar profile to the factory mounts? Are there other options to lower the front of the car? I went the Koni/Swift route based on others posts and recommendations for lowering the wagon w/o sacrificing ride quality. The front currently has roughly a 2-1/4" inch gap between the wheels and the fender--I would like to be at 1.5" or less to be at the same wheel to fender gap as the rear.

They look very similar to TSW Nurburgring.

I found Westar brand mounts on Amazon and they have been good. I've got about 5k miles on them and haven't noticed anything.

Did you go though the diagnosis steps for the code in the FSM? Did the new pigtail on the sensor connector fix the error code?

For those who've performed the EJ20x/y swap: How's your LGT been running? How many miles or years has it been since the swap? Has the motor proven reliable or do you have a project on your hands? Has there been any issues with the non-functioning exhaust AVCS? What would you have done differently? Would you do another EJ20x swap? My 2007 LGT died back in early February (ringland failure at 165k) and I've been going back and forth on what I want to do with the LGT. The car is still in really great shape inside and out, is practical for my driving/car needs, and still looks very sharp. I don't really want to get rid of it and not excited to lose the value in the car. My local, independent Subaru shop quoted me $10k for parts and labor to build me a replacement, built motor (~300whp/tq). This is a bit steep for me. I've priced out building a Subaru EJ257 small block, rebuilding the heads, upgrading the oiling components and a new turbo and quickly hit $5k. I'd build the motor myself. This is a little more manageable. There is a local, reputable JDM motor importer who quoted me $1,000 for an EJ20x delivered to my door. If I went this route, I'd still upgrade the oil pickup, pump, do the timing belt and water pump, and upgrade the turbo. I'd be in it for $2,500. This is appealing since there I'll have a little more money for what I'd like to do with the car (e.g. suspension, wheels, etc.). I don't have any goals for the car other than it to be a reliable and fun daily driver.

what's brown and sticky? a stick