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Strut Spacer Lifting


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Hi: It's been awhile, I know, I've been bad.

 Anyway I think I asked this previously & would like to be connected to the forum about lifting my car. I found out online that one cannot lift a Legacy's struts more than 3" (with a topper) or else you'll cause damage to the CV joints. I've been exploring this for sometime & found various companies making strut spacers for my '09. I was thinking of going the max or an inch less, but want something to compensate the rear butt sag. So, maybe...2.5 in front and 3.0 in rear? Or 2.0 in front and 2.5 in rear?  I was looking at the Street Rays (Billet metal type), but can's seem to find a 2.5" for front or rear. I emailed SR in Texas, but I think they are closed for the summer??? 

I'm sure that someone has experienced this or done this to their Legacy (gee...I don't think I'm the first?  haha).  I'm an old guy who likes his car and it's in really good condition with 121+K miles. BTW, just had the timing belt & water pump replaced @ 120+. So, I'm looking to keep this one awhile.

Can I get some help and info??

 

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  • 4 weeks later...

Totally an out of left field idea, but I am reasonably sure that Outbacks from the same generation have frame spacers as part of their taller ride height.

I should know better, but my GT is slightly lower than stock, and I’ve never pulled a subframe out of my OB.

The guys on Might Car Mods did something like this at one point. (OB subframe spacers into a (H6?) Legacy/Liberty. Don’t think USDM cars. Are significantly different than AUDM…. Might be worth the quick google?

Not sure at all if it changes ground clearance or just ride height, but that would depend on what you’re looking for.

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Thanks, KZ for the info! I know that OB and LGT lift spacers of same year are the same. I've since changed my mind on the height that I originally wanted to go, since I'd be sacrificing more handling for the sake of a higher car. I kinda like how my Legacy handles on mountainous and windy roads (with the OEM height). Saying that, I think I'm going with 1" front and 1 3/8" rear lift kit which doesn't require the frame spacers. I'll also be adding larger tires, so I don't think that I'd be compromising handling too much !! I will look into Might Car Mods, maybe to get some other ideas.  

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Obviously they do a much bigger lift on this thing than you are talking about, but in the first couple minutes of the video, you see the little spacers they steal from an Outback chassis to put into a Legacy.

My OB has them, the GT does not. Only mention it since 3rd gen outbacks are a dime a dozen at u-pull yards. I don’t imagine it would upset your driveline angles too much….

Just thinking out loud. I also raised my car a bit from how it was when I got it. Changed from Sti pinks to Spec B stock springs. Not real loss of handling with a more aggressive alignment, but a much more sensible ride height.

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Thanks again KZ !! I watched both Part 1 & 2 and these Aussies are CRAZY !!! I see where the spacers could be used although I might not need them for my "modified" lift. Man, that's a lot of work for this "old guy" to do alone in my garage?? I was a bit confused when they kept saying the car was a Liberty (googled) apparently the Legacy is called a Liberty in Australia.  I knew that the OB sedan was discontinued in the US in 2007 (what a shame), but I love my '09 Leggy, just the same. 

I'm open to any other suggestions...or any "thinking out loud"  !! 

Thanks,
Ken

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You are very welcome. The MCM boys are a riot. I lived in Aus very briefly, and have a few friends down there, one of whom had a very quick 2001 Liberty.

I had the very good fortune to live in New Zealand for a while and got turned on to the MCM thing there.

If you have the time to watch a longer series look up their Supergramps series. Way back in the day, they put a 3.6L from a Tribeca into a 4th gen Liberty/Legacy and turbocharged it.

If you’re still looking for a very small lift idea, then google ‘saggy butt spacers’. They’re commercially available, but something you could make up on your own easily enough, to whatever height you wanted. (Within reason for CV angles…) Just a matter of finding studs long enough to press into your struts to match the lift adjustment. You could probably do an inch or so easily enough?? I was going to make some from an old HDPE cutting board, then found some used ones for cheap, so didn’t bother. Much less work to do in your garage, only need to pull the struts and make a pattern to fit between the strut and body, rather than drop the subframes….

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Thanks again KZ !! I watched both Part 1 & 2 and these Aussies are CRAZY !!! I see where the spacers could be used although I might not need them for my "modified" lift. Man, that's a lot of work for this "old guy" to do alone in my garage?? I was a bit confused when they kept saying the car was a Liberty (googled) apparently the Legacy is called a Liberty in Australia.  I knew that the OB sedan was discontinued in the US in 2007 (what a shame), but I love my '09 Leggy, just the same. 

I'm open to any other suggestions...or any "thinking out loud"  !! 

Thanks,
Ken

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Thanks again KZ. Yeah I think I'm just going with the 1" kit that has 1 3/8" rear (for the saggy butt). That's enough for me !! I've seen those YouTube vids for "fixing" the Leggy's saggy butt & that seems easy enough. I wish I could see a "good" video for my car or other 4th gen Leggy or OB, doing both front & rear. Most videos I've seen shows the guy telling me what to do, showing the tire on the car, him dismounting it, pointing out the assembled strut...and then the next scene is the strut out of the car & on his workbench...showing how to take the factory studs out of the tophat !!! THAT'S NO GOOD... I want to see the whole process !!! I'm not totally a novice, I've replaced both front CV boots on my car, but I'm a visual learner. 

I'm going to go with the ADF kit, so I'll know they'll fit my car (I've been in touch with Pat Anderson) & would rather buy something instead of jerry-rigging myself. Screw, dropping the subframes...that's too much work for one old guy. Also, I don't want to pop out the axles, I'll just hang them with bungee cords before taking the strut assembly out. 

I'll also check those Supergramps videos...sounds like "old guys"... like me. 

 

(I want to answer Scooby, & I hope this thread lets me)

 

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Thanks Scooby for the post. What an awesome thread about Meme's '09 Legacy wagon - what a beauty in black. I've got 121k + on my '09 Leggy which I've had since 2011 (I love the style in this generation) and I keep is in good condition (always garaged). I'm definitely going with the ADF lift kit. I just want to do it right...maybe once & with the higher tires...maybe I'll go higher ?? Also, I plan on making other modifications...now that I have the time.

I thought of just getting a newer Legacy GT, but since after 2014 they only came with a CVT...which I am not a fan. Plus I don't need or like all those "bells & whistles". I just like the 4th gen style & since I just had the timing belt/water pump  replaced a couple of thousand miles ago...it's a new car again !!

Can't wait to lift it & get the new tires. 

 

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Always liked these cars. They look good lowered or lifted. Hope that helps. One thing to keep in mind, the more you lift, the quicker the CV joints will fail cause of the sharper drive angle. I think doing an inch or two would be ok, but once you get past a certain point you may have your work cut out for you replacing stuff. Could be wrong, but something to keep in mind. I’m sure the outback.org guys would know better. 

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Thanks Scooby for the post. What an awesome thread about Meme's '09 Legacy wagon - what a beauty in black. I've got 121k + on my '09 Leggy which I've had since 2011 (I love the style in this generation) and I keep is in good condition (always garaged). I'm definitely going with the ADF lift kit. I just want to do it right...maybe once & with the higher tires...maybe I'll go higher ?? Also, I plan on making other modifications...now that I have the time.

I thought of just getting a newer Legacy GT, but since after 2014 they only came with a CVT...which I am not a fan. Plus I don't need or like all those "bells & whistles". I just like the 4th gen style & since I just had the timing belt/water pump  replaced a couple of thousand miles ago...it's a new car again !!

Can't wait to lift it & get the new tires. 

 

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Right Scooby, I researched that too early on when I was in the "thinking stage". I found out through a reliable source (maybe subaruoutback.org) that the max you can lift on the Leggy is 2.5" in front and 3" in rear before adding too much stress on the CV joints. So, I think I'm safe. 

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Also several lift kit companies (Primitive, ADF, Street Rays, & others) offered advice on max lift heights for my car. I can't remember exactly who said it, but it was an official looking document about those max heights. I noted it early on & wrote it on the top of my page which was about 2 years ago when I originally thought about lifting my Leggy. I always used that as my benchmark. (Gee...I hope it was right??) Anyway, I still think I'll be safe with 1" front & 1 3/8" rear and a little higher tires. 

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You should very pretty safe at those lifts. I'm too lazy to get out a calculator and figure out how much of a driveline angle change that would be over the distance between the differential and the hub, or between the CV centres centres, but not much.

Without having one in front of me, I'm going to guess that the rear CV axles are say, 20" from joint to joint. So, for the sake of argument make the numbers round, and say you lift the rear 1.5". That is slope of 0.075"/inch, over (again a guess) 20 inches. My mental trigonometry is weak, but I don't think that would exceed the limitations of a CV joint.

Since I assume all of these lift kits your talking about adjust the strut and spring spacing, and don't change the location of the subframe or diff, you won't be altering the prop shaft angle at all, which I would think would be more important than potentially going through CV's slightly faster than normal.

I doubt with a 1" front and 1 3/8" rear lift you'll notice any difference. My car has 1/2" saggy butt spacers in it, and I didn't even know until I put new struts in! I was thinking about getting some to raise the rear height just a little. Glad I didn't I suppose, those would have to be loooong studs to fit a stack of spacers like that.

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Wow KZ, Trig?...I was lucky I got through algebra.

Yeah the 1" kit from ADF could have the rear to be 1", 1 3/8" or 1 1/2 ". I thought I'd just go with the 1 3/8" rear, since my '09 Leggy has a 3/8" difference from the front, with everything I normally carry in my trunk. 

And yes, your pretty much spot on with the 20". Plus, I'm an old guy, so I won't be doing much off-roading here in NY. I drive pretty slowly these days, & I just want a little more height and it to look good. 

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