aal219

Anything suspension that fits a Legacy should fit an Outback, sedan or wagon. If you're really curious, you could check the specifications of the suspension tophats and compare them to what comes out of your car. As for sedan or wagon specific suspension, the H6 wagons and sedans are within 100 pounds of each other in empty weight IIRC, so weight shouldn't matter, especially if you chose adjustable coilovers and corner balance the car. The "sag" in the rear is because Subaru transformed the Legacy into the Outback with taller coilover suspension and approximately 1" spacers for the rear subframe. This is true for the wagon and the sedan. The front subframe is NOT spaced on Gen 3's (I think it is on Gen 4's). Spacing the rear subframe down essentially "subtracts" an inch of ride height from Legacy suspension, causing the "sag". As for "...bolt on and they're ready to go..." that all depends on how involved you want to get. The "correct" way to lower an Outback is to pull the rear subframe, remove the spacers, then bolt the subframe back in with Legacy bolts (this may require a Legacy prop shaft too, I can't remember if they're different between the Outback and the Legacy)(and you're also supposed to change the steering rack/steering column and couple other nitpicky things that I have since forgotten). The easy way is what I did. I run the JDM Legacy GT Bilstein shocks on my Outback wagon with 1" tophat spacers from Paranoid Fabrications (this also requires longer tophat bolts). It effectively "counteracts" the 1" rear subframe spacer by lengthening the strut itself. I run the front suspension as a direct bolt-in. I still sag a bit in the rear vs the front, but the overall ride is fine. My rear wheel perfectly fills the wheel well with the car sitting. The front looks a little monster truck-y, but it was a cheap swap so I don't particularly care. I have changed no other suspension components and have noticed no increase in suspension component wear over 15K of driving (if you modify any vehicle's suspension, it is recommended to inspect it more frequently).

I recently purchased a dirt cheap '01 L.L. Bean Outback for a flat 6 swap I plan to do to my flat 4 car and noticed that the car was in diagnostic mode (green connectors plugged together) when I towed it away. Previous owner claims he was driving it like this for a year (no, not a typo). How much damage do you guys think it did to that motor? It starts fine, runs strong (no misfire), and doesn't throw any check engine lights (when it's not plugged in diagnostic mode). My plan is to do an oil pressure test, compression and leakdown test, and send in an oil sample before I decide how much re-building this engine will need to be reliable (at least 100k of use before it needs to come out again). Any input would be appreciated; thanks!

Had the header welded and leak checked and it still throws P0420. Here is more cleaned up data from my drive. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1dVOuriq0j1Vp7WHvzwULwxQXKVv19Y09iWMv-PwRYxg/edit?usp=sharing The first block is rolling down the highway around 55 mph, the second block is idle, the third block is the highway around 55 mph. I still can't get voltage readings from sensor 1 through torque, but the shop was able to with a diagnostic tool when they tested it at idle. The shop bet me that it's non-Bosch oxygen sensors (allegedly there is a Denso and a brand with no name in there from the first install) and is going to order them, change them out, then try to replicate my results. They say they'll only charge if it stops the problem. I'm starting to think that it may be the UEL header and that the stock tune isn't set up to interpret the change in pulses. The only thing that makes question this is the original over 1,000 miles I got out of it before it through a light. If anybody has any thoughts one way or the other, let me know. @RumbleRumble, the heads were totally rebuilt and the compression is good. I do not believe I am burning oil. Thanks again for all of the help.

Here's a link to my data logging. This is for a 15 mile drive starting in a town, going to a 55mph highway, then back to another town. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1c6uzU-YGNfR0YrU58EQJd_dMqjOTavjdUQ1kBZorZys/edit?usp=sharing I'm putting the car away for the weekend and having the leak in the header welded on Monday. I am pretty sure it was the app I used (Torque Light) but I wasn't able to get O2 voltages from sensor 1. Maybe it can't do STFT Volts at the same time... Let me know if you need anymore information.

Trims once I got to operating temp were about 2.3% Sensor 1, 0% sensor 2 at idle. Seemed to be fluctuating, but anywhere from -3.2% to 2.3% sensor 1 and around 6.2% sensor 2 at 50 mph. I'll actually log my data for my drive home and post the results in about 10 hours. Thank you for all of the help.

This is a bit of a long story, but any insight would be appreciated. I have an EJ251 (Non-CARB) engine mated to the 4EAT that will not stop throwing P0420 despite having a new exhaust, two new cats, two new oxygen sensors, and an exhaust O2 sensor spacer. In the summer of 2018, an exhaust shop in VA scrapped the whole exhaust (was rusted beyond use) and used an aftermarket UEL header (similar configuration to this https://i.ytimg.com/vi/QxCr6KroLU4/hqdefault.jpg) with two new catalytic converters, two new oxygen sensors, and a 2.5" stainless catback. I then moved to NC. This exhaust worked for 1,000 miles before it threw P0420. I leak checked it and found it leaked at the header flange to the cat. Needed head gaskets done at the time, so I ignored it and the car went down for 6 months while I performed various engine rebuild things. In summer 2019, the car was running and I took it to a shop for A/C and exhaust fixing. In "fixing" it, they also put in 1 new O2 sensor and I don't know why. When they gave it back to me, they said it had rod knock and that the exhaust still leaked. It sounded a lot like rod knock (which it didn't have before I dropped it off), but ended up not being it. The car sat until January 2020 before I felt like dealing with it again and it turned out that the second catalytic converter (which had roughly 1,500 miles on it) had failed (matrix was sideways in the housing). Had a shop fix it and leak check it, still threw P0420. Took it back to them and they found that the FIRST CAT was completely missing (also had 1,500 miles on it: no clue where or when it went, but it probably is what destroyed the second cat). The shop put a LEV certified cat in as the new first cat, said it didn't leak and it STILL threw P0420. They troubleshot the voltages at idle and it was reading happy. Cleared the code and drove it 50 miles (at 50 MPH) and no codes. Threw a check engine light the next day almost immediately after accelerating to 60 MPH on the highway. Took it back and they put an O2 spacer in. I then drove it 50 miles (at 60 MPH) with no check engine lights. It then threw P0420 on the drive to work the next morning. My next thought was maybe the aftermarket UEL header was getting too cold at highway speed, so I put the stock skid plate back on the car to help hold the heat in. The car STILL throws P0420 on the highway. I did perform my own leak check and there is a small leak in the header on a weld the shop in VA performed. I do not believe it is big enough to cause P0420 on a brand new cat. My IAC valve was cleaned 1,500 miles ago and the code does not show up at idle. I am not throwing ANY other codes. I stethoscoped my injectors and they are all ticking over correctly. The shop recommends replacing the O2 sensors with Denso sensors (I have no clue what is in there now), but before I spend another cent on this thing, I want some outside advice. Thank you for taking the time to read this, feel free to ask any other questions I may have overlooked.

Just did a top end rebuild (valve seals, guides, decked heads) on my EJ251 BH5 and I'm not getting the same power band as I used to. It revs normal up to 4k and then starts increasing revs slower, as opposed to faster like it used to. I believe it's the valve adjustment (followed the spec in the FSM but may have messed something up) but I was curious if anyone has any other ideas before I tear back into the engine. Thanks in advance for the help.