What did you do to your 5th gen today?? -V4

[Plastixx]

Thinking of removing the front grill and painting it black. Are the chrome wings and border removable ? Or will I just have to mask the whole grill ?

 

I just put a new bumper on Saturday and it looked like they could be removed (didn't make a good mental note of it). I want to do the same, but it's still too cold here to spray paint anything.

[Zee199969]

Thinking of removing the front grill and painting it black. Are the chrome wings and border removable ? Or will I just have to mask the whole grill ?

 

The chrome bits are removable. They are held in place by a few screws and they clip in. Be careful as those tabs on the chrome parts aren't the strongest and they can snap somewhat easily.

Edited April 2, 2021 by Zee199969

[amusa]

(2) tires Conti DWS 06

Rear rotors/pads with Akabono ProACT

[wrxwhit]

https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink/topic?share_fid=5383&share_tid=285609&share_pid=6025787&url=https%3A%2F%2Flegacygt%2Ecom%2Fforums%2Fshowthread%2Ephp%3Fp%3D6025787&share_type=t&link_source=app

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Edited April 2, 2021 by wrxwhit

[ibr_adam09]

Went to get an alignment check. Couldn’t make adjustments. Rods/ends are frozen

Is it best to stick with oem replacements or is aftermarket is fine like Moogs/ autozone brand?

 

Also mentioned the rear essentric bolts are frozen, we have those from factory? (I thought we had non adjustable camber in the back). Camber is -2.2 atm. Bolt recommendation?

[Scubaboo]

Moogs I hear are ok.

 

Rear eccentrics are probably for the toe arm. Rear camber not adjustable from the factory.

[DrD123]

Surprised to hear the tie rod ends are frozen on a florida car! Moog has a decent reputation as mentioned above. So will you just remove the outer from the knuckle then undo the inner from the rack and take the whole mess off at once?

 

If the outer ball joint is in good shape, and the outer tie rod and locknut don't look like a rusty mess, I'd hit them with some penetrant, let it sit, and see if I could get them free - same with the rear arms - hit the nut with penetrant and see if you can get it to break free (record the position of the bolt before you start messing with it, and return it to the position it was in)

[ibr_adam09]

Surprised to hear the tie rod ends are frozen on a florida car! Moog has a decent reputation as mentioned above. So will you just remove the outer from the knuckle then undo the inner from the rack and take the whole mess off at once?

 

If the outer ball joint is in good shape, and the outer tie rod and locknut don't look like a rusty mess, I'd hit them with some penetrant, let it sit, and see if I could get them free - same with the rear arms - hit the nut with penetrant and see if you can get it to break free (record the position of the bolt before you start messing with it, and return it to the position it was in)

 

It has 143k miles now. 70k of it was in DC area by po. I remember in my last alignment, the tech said he had some trouble with one of the rods. So I think its best to replace it all. If its as bad as they say, then I don't think there's any chance in saving them. From exp. the joints are likely seized too. I'll likely have to destroy it to remove the whole thing with a fork tool.

 

Luckily, alignment is not too off (right toe -0.19), just wanted to be in top shape before I take a upcoming road trip.

 

but also annoyed lol.

[ibr_adam09]

Moogs I hear are ok.

 

Rear eccentrics are probably for the toe arm. Rear camber not adjustable from the factory.

 

 

https://www.subaruparts.com/v-2010-subaru-legacy--2-5gt--2-5l-h4-gas/rear-suspension--rear-suspension

 

I couldn't find such a bolt?

[rhino6303]

https://www.subaruparts.com/v-2010-subaru-legacy--2-5gt--2-5l-h4-gas/rear-suspension--rear-suspension

 

 

 

I couldn't find such a bolt?

901700154

 

https://parts.subaru.com/a/Subaru_2010_Legacy-25L-TURBO-6MT-4WD-GT-Premium-Sedan/_54106_6029048/REAR-SUSPENSION/B14-201-01.html

 

Use parts.subaru.com to get part numbers. It's always more thorough than other vendor's sites.

[Humble Rumble]

So, I'm dealing with frozen rear toe arms as well. Rather than replacing with OE/OE style like Moog, I'd recommend going with the SPC toe arms (67655). They're beefier than OEM and don't rely on an eccentric for toe adjustment, instead using a double locking nut setup that allows for much easier adjustment. Literally in the middle of this project left over from yesterday, and take it from me, you'll probably have to cut your old toe arms out, mine were seized into the sub-frame.

 

I'd also look into SPC rear lower control arms to add camber adjustment to the back end as well. Both parts will retain OEM looks as well since they're all black.

 

Toe arms (need 2): https://www.amazon.com/SPC-Performance-67655-Adjustable-Rear/dp/B00I5IXFZQ

 

LCAs (need 2): https://www.amazon.com/SPC-Performance-67660-Adjustable-Camber/dp/B00DJBPN8G

[Plastixx]

Rather than replacing with OE/OE style like Moog, I'd recommend going with the SPC toe arms (67655).

 

Probably not high quality, but there's also a pair of these for less than the cost of a single SPC arm...

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Jdm-08-12-Impreza-WRX-STI-12-14-FRS-BRZ-Adjustable-Rear-Toe-ROD-Control-Arm-Red/291825527164

https://www.ebay.com/itm/For-13-20-FRS-BRZ-86-WRX-Rear-Adjustable-2-Toe-Control-Brace-Arms-Kit-Red/233418653441

[Humble Rumble]

Hard pass on anything Godspeed makes unless you feel like replacing the same parts again less than 12 months later. SPC will last.

[Plastixx]

I finished replacing every bulb in the car with LEDs. Anyone else run in to trouble with LED brake lights?

 

Car was throwing a fit and lighting up the ABS/traction/brake dash lights. Using my scanner I noticed that once the brake pedal was pressed the switch signal would stay high (ON) and the system would think I was accelerating with the brakes applied. Went through my junk and found two 20-Ohm 10W resistors and put them in series so they only draw around 5W. That fixed the problem.

[valkrie hunter]

I added a resistor to the system to trick the load. But one of the resistor gets really got. Trying to find an alternative to trick the Canbus system

[Humble Rumble]

Check these few posts I made regarding VLEDs brake lights and their VLR plug-n-play resistor system. Easiest thing in the world to install, no wiring needed, and solved all of the LED brake light errors I had and has been running perfectly ever since.

 

https://legacygt.com/forums/showpost.php?p=5775085&postcount=6

 

https://legacygt.com/forums/showpost.php?p=5775235&postcount=13

 

https://legacygt.com/forums/showpost.php?p=5778741&postcount=26

[Plastixx]

That's a neat product, but the load resistor value is way lower than it needs to be for this situation.

 

The brake switch output branches off to the ECM, BIU, and VDCCM/TCM. Think of it like a digital high/low line. Once the line goes high by pressing the pedal, without the bulb providing a current path to ground, it will remain in a high state, so we need to add a pull-down resistor.

 

Even the 360mA my 40-Ohm resistor draws is probably orders of magnitude higher than it needs to be, but I really didn't feel like experimenting and I can live with a 5W parasitic load. I'm not a huge fan of T-taps, but they're quick, easy, and I've never personally had a problem with them so that's what I used. Took all of 2 minutes.

[dgoodhue]

My Legacy GT hit 123,456 miles on Easter. I use my trip odometer to track every fillup. By pure coincidence, I almost got that line up exactly as well (123.0) I realized earlier in the day that when I was at 123400 miles that it was going to be really close.

Edited April 6, 2021 by dgoodhue

[DugsSin]

too bad you didn't hit it on Saturday 4-3-21

[creep_nu]

maintenance weekend...annual inspection expired end of last month, i was in need of an oil change and tire rotation, so got her on stands and took care of all of that and inspected all of the crap they do, should pass with flying colors...should. brakes have started pulsing pretty badly though the pads have tons of life left, so i'm going to be getting a new set of rotors and pads here shortly to toss on, just gotta decide what i want to go with

[Humble Rumble]

Undertook a very large project over the weekend that has been long overdue and even longer needed:

 

-Upgrade front top hats to STI Group N (front passenger top hat has been torn since last summer, so this is not only an upgrade but a needed repair)

-Upgrade rear top hats to reinforced 14-18 Forester top hats

-Super Pro Roll Center Adjustment Kit

-SPC Rear Toe Arms (factory toe arms were seized)

 

 

Firstly, the top hats. My passenger front tap hat has been torn around the bearing since roughly late summer/early fall. I'm 99% positive it happened during my last autox from last year, which took place in a parking lot. I remember a specific right-to-left harsh transfer on one of my later runs that resulted in a very noticeable *POP* from the front right. And since that point, and gradually more ever since, I've had a very obnoxious creaking, binding noise from the suspension whenever I turned the wheel. It wasn't until I got the top hat off during this repair that I realized how bad it was, and am thankful I made it all the way through winter (with copious drifting no less!) without an issue. Video links below show my steering sound before replacement, the strut off the car and the extent of the top hat damage, and the steering sound (lack thereof) after replacement. Smooth like butter again.

 

 

 

And the reinforced Forester top hats for the rear, just because why not if I'm doing the front, nothing wrong with some extra sturdiness back there.

 

 

Onto the rear toe arms, doing these because it was discovered during my last alignment that my factory toe arms were seized and could no longer be adjusted. The SPC ones offer a much easier adjustment method, and are beefier than the factory ones as well. These were a MAJOR pain in the but to remove and resulted in having to cut off both factory arms with a sawzall.

 

 

And lastly, the long, LONG overdue Roll Center Kit. I had tried to have my shop install the Whiteline Roll Center kit previously when I switched from Eibach to H&R Springs, and for some odd reason, they said they could not get the ball joints to seat properly. I don't know specifically why, especially because I've seen multiple other 5th gens run it, but I guess there is some variance in the size of the base of the bolt joints between the Super Pro kit and the Whiteline kit that would allow the Super Pro kit to seat properly. Either way, it was my first ever time doing tie rods and ball joints, and HONESTLY, despite all the horror stories I've heard about Subaru ball joints, this was actually the easiest and quickest part of the whole job. Of course, this was due in part to having the proper tools: a pickle fork, and the Astro 78620 Subaru Ball Joint Puller tool. I cannot recommend this tool enough. It turned removing the ball joints from what I've always heard to be a nightmare, to LITERALLY a 3-second task. And for $25, you literally cannot go wrong with this. Apparently a few other companies like Snap-On make a similar tool, but the Snap-on one is $150. Just get the Astro one. Included a video of my removing one of the ball joints, and an Amazon link for it.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Astro-Pneumatic-Tool-78620-Subaru/dp/B01JBJFK3C/

 

 

And with that, off the alignment. My buddy set the left rear toe by eye and I set the right rear toe by eye and we both landed close but mine landed DEAD one. Pleased with myself.

 

 

And with that, this feels weird to say, but I think my suspension is fully and finally... DONE? Until I finally go coilovers, I've done literally just about everything available for the suspension on this car, and let me tell you: It. Feels. INCREDIBLE. The car feels better than it's ever felt before, and feels like how it always should have. The amount of confidence I have in the corners is absurd now, it stays flat, bites in hard, and is extremely responsive. The ball joints/tie rods also finally solved my bump steer and virtually eliminated my highway wheel shake (only happened on one local highway with a very shoddy, rushed surface). I cannot wait to get this thing out on track with some sticky tires next month.

 

Here's my final suspension list for anyone interested, buy links can be found in my build thread linked in my signature, or you can google any of the part numbers.

 

-Koni Sport Yellow Front Struts (8610-1453S)

-Koni Sport Yellow Rear Struts (8010-1055)

-H&R Lowering Coil Springs for 3.6R (54427-2)

-KYB Front Strut Housings (339222 & 339223)

-STI Group N Front Strut Mounts (B0310FE000)

-SG Forester Reinforced Rear Strut Mounts (20370SG000)

-JDM Legacy tS Aluminum Front Lower Control Arms (ST20202EZ000 & ST20202EZ010 )

-SuperPro Front LCA Standard Alignment Bushings (SPF4863K)

-Super Pro Front LCA Front Inner Bushings (SPF3091K)

-Super Pro Front Roll Center Adjustment Kit (TRC0002)

-Whiteline Adjustable Rear LCAs (KTA216A)

-SPC Performance Adjustable Rear Toe Arm (67655)

-2013 Legacy 3.6R 26mm Front Sway Bar (20401AJ08A)

-CKE SSP 26mm 75D Deep Purple FSB Bushings

-Whiteline 22mm Rear Sway Bar (BSR49XZ)

-Whiteline Sway Bar Lateral Locks (KLL116)

-Kartboy Front Endlinks (KB-017-08COMBO)

--Kartboy 1/2" Front Endlink Spacers (KB-017WLS)

--M10x1.5 80mm Bolts

-Kartboy Rear Endlinks (KB-017-08COMBO)

-Cusco Front Strut Tower Bar (687 540 A)

-Cusco Power Brace Front Member (687 492 FM)

-Cusco Power Brace Rear Member (687 492 RM)

-Cusco Power Brace Rear Side Member (687 492 RS

-Cusco Rear Sway Bar Braces for VA STI (6A1 492 RL)

[Plastixx]

...and the Astro 78620 Subaru Ball Joint Puller tool...

 

I was so pissed when that tool came out. Only like 6 months earlier I spent the time and money to make my own out of cast pipe fittings and a 3/4" threaded rod that I bored and tapped. The parts to build it cost more than the Astro tool.

[2012 Legacy H6]

The i8 style LED u-bar headlights look amazing (they're so bright compared to stock that the pics don't do them justice) however the Mustang fogs appear to be a little wider than OEM therefore I dont believe the full stream of light penetrates the housing due to the stock Lamp Covers.

 

Anyone have any insight on this? Unable to upload any other photos

Edited April 10, 2021 by 2012 Legacy H6

[valkrie hunter]

Gave her a good cleaning and put the bumper back on.

 

[DougKelly20]

Looks really good!!