colinmi

Falcor, Thanks for the offer of the mounts, but I already had the order placed.

Thanks.

A while back I replaced the struts and springs on my 2012 Legacy 2.5 Limited with the stock 2013 Subaru springs and the KYB Excel-G struts also for the 2013 model year. They fit fine and I am very satisfied with the ride and handling. Now it is time to do this job on my wife's 2012 Outback 2.5 Limited. Does anyone know if I can expect the same interchangeability and improvement for the Outback as the Legacy?

I have the Company 23 puller which works great for the other side of the ball joint, but that Astro looks like it is the bargain in that category and I might have gone that way when I was looking for one. I'm not a professional mechanic but if I'm doing something myself I like to have good tools to do things properly. These days it seems that many of the cheaper tools really are not that terrible. It's a great time to be alive in this regard.

I also always used these on my German cars. I have a nice little Stahlwille that fits tie rods nicely but I didn't have one that fit these Subaru ball joints quite right. This one worked fine and cost a lot less than a Hazet or Stahlwille. They do make quite a bang but don't cause any damage.

I ground the slot a little wider to fit around the ball joint on the topside of the lower control arm. The tool is made nice and heavy and it worked well for popping the taper out of the control arm. -And it's under $30 at least one of the chain stores. This one is marked Performance Tool W83022. I never did like pickle forks.

It was time to replace the struts and shocks on my 2012 2.5i Limited. At over 110k miles they were pretty tired. At the suggestion of a few people on here I replaced them with KYB Excel G for 2013 model year. I also replaced the springs, mounts and various other rubber bits with OE parts for 2013. It made a huge difference. I'm sure fresh 2012 parts would have made a big difference but it really feels like the 2013s were tuned stiffer. All four corners seem much more solid and I really think it's about right for what I was looking for. Thanks to those who suggested this a few months ago.

Val, thanks for that link. If I would have read that a while back it would have answered a number of my questions. I replaced the front control arms on this car about two years ago and I went with the OE arms. Now the big rear bushings on those are cracking again already. Next time I'll try the Mevoteks I think. Sarang, thanks for the tip on the sway bar. That may be the next phase sometime. The last thing I have to figure out yet is the part number of the outer CV joint boot for the front. Perhaps I am missing something, but no place I've checked has a definite listing for the part. My best guess is 28323AG020, but I get conflicting references.

What are the J10A springs?

Thanks for the quick responses. Val- Yes, for the money, I don't see a reason not to go OEM on those things. Thanks. Dr- I just checked the weight difference between the 2012 and 2013 cars and see they are very close, even with the new motor. I was concerned that there would be more of a difference and the stiffer 2013 springs would make it sit higher in the front. So, I will go with the 2013 springs. Interestingly, they are even less expensive than the ones for the 2012. Thanks for the confirmation that it's a good combination.

Today I ordered the KYB struts for a 2013 Legacy for my 2012 Legacy 2.5. The 2013 struts are a little stiffer I am told. I'm replacing other related parts including springs possibly. I want to keep the stock ride height and am wondering if I should go with the 2012 or 2013 springs. They have different part numbers. The weight difference between the EJ and FB motors probably accounts for this. Does anyone have any experience or other information on this?

This probably a very simple question. I'm getting the parts together to freshen up the suspension of my 2012 Legacy and the CV boots are on my "while I have it apart might as well" list. I see all of them listed except for the outer front ones. They are shown on the Subaru parts diagrams but no part number is listed for them on the sites I have searched. Is this because they are the same as the inner ones? I would think they'd be at least a little different as in the rear.

I did the my radiator hoses at about 100k while I had it apart to do the timing belt and water pump. When I hit 200k I'll do the same thing I think. Don't forget that other little hose on the water pump when ordering the parts. Its good to have a plan on replacing anything made of rubber. Check the CV joint boots on your axles. Replacing them before they split and let dirt eat up the joints can save a lot of money. Especially check the front one closest to the exhaust. I'm planning on replacing mine when I do the struts this summer.

This is very interesting. I had not considered struts from 2013/14. I wasn't thinking about going with KYB either. Now I'm thinking the KYBs for the 2013/14 might be the way to go. Thanks.

Thanks for the response. By KYB's you mean the Excel-G's? They are cheaper than the factory struts, but are they really better? I don't see their better adjustable models listed for the 5th generation Legacy. The factory struts were pretty good, just a little softer than I would like. I'd have to go through the records to be certain, but I think they are still the original ones from the factory with over 100K miles on them. They are just starting to leak a little but still haven't gone off too far. Sorry if this topic has been covered somewhere else. The related discussions I have seen are mostly oriented toward modifications involving many parts and setup changes. I'm trying to keep it simple. If I can keep this car pretty close to new for another 100k miles, I'll be happy.

Should be a very simple question here: From the factory, is the only difference in the suspension of a 2012 Legacy GT vs. a regular Legacy, the stiffer struts? Looking at the part numbers that seems to be the only difference I see. The reason I ask is that I will be replacing the struts on my 2012 Legacy Limited soon and am thinking about going with the GT struts from Subaru. I'm not looking to do any major modification, but tightening things up a little bit would be nice and the cost will be about the same either way.

I replaced the control arms on my 2012 Legacy a little while back and it was not a bad job. Doing the whole arm rather than just the ball joint made a lot more sense to me. Not much more work, fresh bushings and cost a little less than having the dealer replacing just one of those things. The ball joint will probably be fairly tight in the spindle but with the proper tool it came out with no trouble. I prefer the screw type to prying and banging with a fork. I got a pretty good one because I also have an Outback that will need this job too soon. Well worth the $80 or so in my opinion.