I don't know a whole lot about loyales or GLs as I've hardly worked on them, as far as I know the only way to do that is to get strut spacers which they may still make. Or convert suspension parts over from legacys or foresters somehow. 1st gen legacy is the oldest platform I know a lot about.
Hey, I have a 94 Legacy Wagon and I plan to lift it similar to this video. However, I might keep the wheels and tires that are on it as of now (which are 215/55R16). Do you think I would still need trailing arm spacers in order to fit the wheels on with the lift? Also, did you have any issues with the swaybars? I've heard people were unable to link them back up after the lift.
That's awesome! You will probably still need the trailing arm spacers, as the wheel moves down and the suspension droops the wheel moves forward in the wheel well. So it may work but it would look a bit goofy. As for sway bars we got rid of the front sway bar for more wheel deflection. And what I've done for the rear on other cars is get 98 outback sway bar mount bravkets, they space the sway bar down for the taller suspension. If you want to run a front you would have to get long adjustable links of some kind.
No it was a perfect setup as it was. The forester struts gave it a nice lift, we kind of needed spacers in the front because we got wider tires that we normally do with the 16in wheels, if we used 15s we would have not rubbing in the front at all.
So, is this a 2 or a 4" suspension lift? Ive been looking for a Suby to replace my Gas Guzzling SUV for backroads, but i know that basically after a 2" suspension lift you have to start looking at subframe spacers and what not.
Yeah I don't have the exact measurements but it's about a 3 to 4in lift. This thing can get pretty much anywhere apart from actual rock crawling. It's an awesome overlander and like 20+mpg with a 2.2. This is sort of the max of the axles without subframe spacers, you can use 98 outback stock spacers or aftermarket made for that year outback which there are a lot of. But that's more of a longevity thing so it doesn't pop boots. Overall an awesome off road rig for super cheap. This wagon was $200. 5 speed swapped it and a lift/tires and were in it for around $1k.
Hey great video guys, I'm looking to do this with my 1990 wagon with 2001 forester struts which should give me 2 of lift..im finding conflicting info on the web. Some say the rears will swap right over some say the top hats are different a d either have to drill or swap your old tophats..problem is I converted to coils a few years ago so no old tophats for me. Is this correct 2001 forester rear with swap right over to 1990 legacy wagon?
Yes that's a great idea, the difference is the preface lift legacys have a tapered rear spring like the newer 07 foresters. So if you had the stock suspension from your car you could swap those top hats onto all 07 forester suspension, but since you don't have that your best bet is to get the 01 forester suspension and get some 92-94 Legacy rear top hats to put on the 01 suspension and it will bolt right in. 🤟
@@HackSquadGarage so the 2001 top hats wont work unless I drill huh? Bummer, i found this forester for 100 bucks on FB. Doubt I'll ever get that deal again
@@fr3k5h0w yeah the bolt pattern is different and the center hole won't line up. I would still get them if I were you. Just go to the junk yard and buy only the top hats.
No the 3rd gen legacys have a different suspension design in the rear, so it would be a different combination, I believe the newer 08+ forester stuff might work, but they do sell lift spacers for that chassis, it may be easier to keep your stock struts with strut spacers and king springs. I would do some research on the forums to see what other people do on the newer cars
Hey Guys! Can you please measure how much is the lift on front and rear. just at the body, where the fenders end and body begins? I have a lifted first gen with 1.96 (5cm) top inserts on the shocks... no separators anywhere. It's with 15'' wheels and Dunlop AT3 Grabber. It's lifted from the ground about 9.4'' and I'm curious what will be the clearance with 16'' and Foz shocks... Actually I'm finishing a 2.2 '92 - restoration+sound insulation+winch+raptor paint+other nice bells and whistles and moving the lift from the old legacy to this one. Fun, time consuming project. I'm checking your channel regularly. Keep up with the videos. I really enjoy them ;-) Greetings from Bulgaria :-)
Hey thanks for watching all our videos! We appreciate it! I don't have the exact measurements yet but just by looking at it in person the rockers have to be over 12 inches off the ground. It would be a substantial lift compared to your current setup. At least 2 inches I would say. But I'll try to get some measurements and get back to you!
@@HackSquadGarage I'm happy that you guys are around. I was finding some clips for BJ/BC-s and you gathered a lot if info in one place. Really loved it! Wooha! It means 4+ inch lift from standard then?!!! WOW! I've already bought new shocks for the front (STD ones) and have a 15'' wheels+tires but maybe in an year or so when I need new tires I will think on that one... or If I get a good second hand deal to test it out... BTW I'd be curious how the joints are handling that much of lift, because you didn't lowered the trans and diff, right? Any chance to get you in a chat somewhere?
@@valqkasdf yeah its about a 4inch lift haha and yeah it's really bad for the cv axles to and we are expecting them to go out and need to be replaced often, you can use subframe spacers from an outback to help with this but we didn't have time as that's a massive job to drop the subframes like that. You can message us on Instagram under the same name if you have more questions!
@@HackSquadGarage Yeah, if I find whole kit for subframe drop maybe then I'll go with 16'' and foz shocks. I need this car to be reliable. Thanks again! I'll be watching you :D Cheers!
It drove so much better after, the forester suspension is a lot stiffer than stock since they are heavier. If you want something softer with more body roll the outback suspension is the way to go. We liked the stiffness of the forester stuff better.
It drove so much better after, the forester suspension is a lot stiffer than stock since they are heavier. If you want something softer with more body roll the outback suspension is the way to go. We liked the stiffness of the forester stuff better.
So since we didn't space the subframes down with one of those kits. Or use the factory ones outbacks use it is much more prone to tearing cv boots, this one has already ripped both fronts. If you use suspension from say an outback which isn't quite so tall they will last. Or you can get subframe spacers.
Hack Squad Garage Epic information! I’ve got the same Legacy as a turbo with 85k miles, and I’m really considering this. I really appreciate it. Great content too.
@@ZaneBezesky wow a touring wagon with only 85k miles? That's insane, that's bar far the lowest mileage one I've heard of. Definitely hang onto that one.
Hack Squad Garage Hey man, in the comments you mentioned that the forester suspension swap provides 3-4” of lift. So, combined with a NEW tire that’s essentially 27”, going from the STOCK 23” ... Are you getting a combined increase of 7-8” of increased ground clearance between the swapped strut assembly and tire size?
Spacing the stock strut does work. But the forester struts have longer travel and the springs are stiffer. And you get some decent height without some sketchy strut spacers imo. Now if you space the subframes down also you could do both struts and spacers and have a beast.
AWESOME! Did you measure the overall height of the tire? My close to stock height on mine are 23 & 3/4 inches. I'd like to do a lift like yours on my 93 Subaru Legacy wagon, but those tires might be a bit too tall for what I want. Do you have any video of this one off roading? Thumb up.
I believe they were a 26 or a 27in tire, it was a great lift kit, we enjoyed the forester suspension more than the outback suspension because it was taller and stiffer. The only issue with this setup was this tire was on a 16in wheel and the 215 was too wide and would rub the frame at full lock. A 205/75r15 which is about a 26in tire is the best tire with stock offset wheels and can be ran with outback or forester suspension.
Unfortunately we have sold this wagon to a friend who was in need so we never got video of it off road. I took it out in some deep snow several times and it was amazing, but didn't get any video of those trips.
@@HackSquadGarage Thanks for the additional info. I think I want to end up with a slightly larger tire of about 25 inches with a lift similar to yours. I'm thinking Cooper or similar AT's 185/70R 15's.
👍🤜👍
🤟
I have a 91 Legacy wagon I want to lift. This is very helpful. Thanks!
Bro same
Great Job!! Could you point me in the right direction? I am looking to add a lift to my 1990 Loyale. Not a ton of information is out there! Thank you!
I don't know a whole lot about loyales or GLs as I've hardly worked on them, as far as I know the only way to do that is to get strut spacers which they may still make. Or convert suspension parts over from legacys or foresters somehow. 1st gen legacy is the oldest platform I know a lot about.
Hey, I have a 94 Legacy Wagon and I plan to lift it similar to this video. However, I might keep the wheels and tires that are on it as of now (which are 215/55R16). Do you think I would still need trailing arm spacers in order to fit the wheels on with the lift? Also, did you have any issues with the swaybars? I've heard people were unable to link them back up after the lift.
That's awesome! You will probably still need the trailing arm spacers, as the wheel moves down and the suspension droops the wheel moves forward in the wheel well. So it may work but it would look a bit goofy.
As for sway bars we got rid of the front sway bar for more wheel deflection. And what I've done for the rear on other cars is get 98 outback sway bar mount bravkets, they space the sway bar down for the taller suspension. If you want to run a front you would have to get long adjustable links of some kind.
Good job
Thanks!
Maybe you'd better use old rear coils they are really tough and possibly no spacers needed?
No it was a perfect setup as it was. The forester struts gave it a nice lift, we kind of needed spacers in the front because we got wider tires that we normally do with the 16in wheels, if we used 15s we would have not rubbing in the front at all.
@@HackSquadGarage I'm going to install sf5 front and sg5 rear with stock coils and 195/65/15 wheels
I would suggest 205/75r15 general grabber atx tires instead
@@HackSquadGarage I can't even imagine those SUV tires on non SUV legacy on the highway 🤭
Its not bad at all actually, we have these on the other lifted wagon and it's a daily driver
4:14 could you please tell me what forester struts and coils you used exactly? I'm looking to do the same mod. Thank you!
So, is this a 2 or a 4" suspension lift?
Ive been looking for a Suby to replace my Gas Guzzling SUV for backroads, but i know that basically after a 2" suspension lift you have to start looking at subframe spacers and what not.
Yeah I don't have the exact measurements but it's about a 3 to 4in lift. This thing can get pretty much anywhere apart from actual rock crawling. It's an awesome overlander and like 20+mpg with a 2.2. This is sort of the max of the axles without subframe spacers, you can use 98 outback stock spacers or aftermarket made for that year outback which there are a lot of. But that's more of a longevity thing so it doesn't pop boots. Overall an awesome off road rig for super cheap. This wagon was $200. 5 speed swapped it and a lift/tires and were in it for around $1k.
Hockey pucks for spacers
Hey great video guys, I'm looking to do this with my 1990 wagon with 2001 forester struts which should give me 2 of lift..im finding conflicting info on the web. Some say the rears will swap right over some say the top hats are different a d either have to drill or swap your old tophats..problem is I converted to coils a few years ago so no old tophats for me. Is this correct 2001 forester rear with swap right over to 1990 legacy wagon?
Yes that's a great idea, the difference is the preface lift legacys have a tapered rear spring like the newer 07 foresters. So if you had the stock suspension from your car you could swap those top hats onto all 07 forester suspension, but since you don't have that your best bet is to get the 01 forester suspension and get some 92-94 Legacy rear top hats to put on the 01 suspension and it will bolt right in. 🤟
@@HackSquadGarage so the 2001 top hats wont work unless I drill huh? Bummer, i found this forester for 100 bucks on FB. Doubt I'll ever get that deal again
@@HackSquadGarage sorry man, I just wanna make sure, all this info is just a iut as confusing as Congress
@@fr3k5h0w yeah the bolt pattern is different and the center hole won't line up. I would still get them if I were you. Just go to the junk yard and buy only the top hats.
@@HackSquadGarage oh for sure I'll be getting them, I'd rather not drill holes in my car. Thanks brotha 🍻🍻.
I just picked up a 2001 Subaru Legacy L wagon and plan to lift it as well would this combo work for it as well?
No the 3rd gen legacys have a different suspension design in the rear, so it would be a different combination, I believe the newer 08+ forester stuff might work, but they do sell lift spacers for that chassis, it may be easier to keep your stock struts with strut spacers and king springs. I would do some research on the forums to see what other people do on the newer cars
Got it thanks for the heads up! Ima definitely going to be keeping up with this channel from now on!
Hey Guys! Can you please measure how much is the lift on front and rear. just at the body, where the fenders end and body begins? I have a lifted first gen with 1.96 (5cm) top inserts on the shocks... no separators anywhere. It's with 15'' wheels and Dunlop AT3 Grabber. It's lifted from the ground about 9.4'' and I'm curious what will be the clearance with 16'' and Foz shocks...
Actually I'm finishing a 2.2 '92 - restoration+sound insulation+winch+raptor paint+other nice bells and whistles and moving the lift from the old legacy to this one. Fun, time consuming project. I'm checking your channel regularly. Keep up with the videos. I really enjoy them ;-)
Greetings from Bulgaria :-)
Hey thanks for watching all our videos! We appreciate it! I don't have the exact measurements yet but just by looking at it in person the rockers have to be over 12 inches off the ground. It would be a substantial lift compared to your current setup. At least 2 inches I would say. But I'll try to get some measurements and get back to you!
@@HackSquadGarage I'm happy that you guys are around. I was finding some clips for BJ/BC-s and you gathered a lot if info in one place. Really loved it!
Wooha! It means 4+ inch lift from standard then?!!! WOW! I've already bought new shocks for the front (STD ones) and have a 15'' wheels+tires but maybe in an year or so when I need new tires I will think on that one... or If I get a good second hand deal to test it out... BTW I'd be curious how the joints are handling that much of lift, because you didn't lowered the trans and diff, right? Any chance to get you in a chat somewhere?
@@valqkasdf yeah its about a 4inch lift haha and yeah it's really bad for the cv axles to and we are expecting them to go out and need to be replaced often, you can use subframe spacers from an outback to help with this but we didn't have time as that's a massive job to drop the subframes like that. You can message us on Instagram under the same name if you have more questions!
@@HackSquadGarage Yeah, if I find whole kit for subframe drop maybe then I'll go with 16'' and foz shocks. I need this car to be reliable. Thanks again! I'll be watching you :D Cheers!
I gonna do the same with my subaru 2008 .
Hey I have the same set up kinda KYB w/ King springs. what size tires and rims size is he running? Thanks great job
I believe it was a 215/75r16 on a Saab 92x wheel, same wheel specs as a stock 02 wrx wheel. It does rub the frame at full lock in the front.
How was it to drive after this? Big differens? Stiff ride or same at before?
It drove so much better after, the forester suspension is a lot stiffer than stock since they are heavier. If you want something softer with more body roll the outback suspension is the way to go. We liked the stiffness of the forester stuff better.
It drove so much better after, the forester suspension is a lot stiffer than stock since they are heavier. If you want something softer with more body roll the outback suspension is the way to go. We liked the stiffness of the forester stuff better.
I’ve got to ask, is this thing now prone to CV axles breaking a little more-so than stock ride height?
So since we didn't space the subframes down with one of those kits. Or use the factory ones outbacks use it is much more prone to tearing cv boots, this one has already ripped both fronts. If you use suspension from say an outback which isn't quite so tall they will last. Or you can get subframe spacers.
Hack Squad Garage Epic information! I’ve got the same Legacy as a turbo with 85k miles, and I’m really considering this. I really appreciate it. Great content too.
@@ZaneBezesky wow a touring wagon with only 85k miles? That's insane, that's bar far the lowest mileage one I've heard of. Definitely hang onto that one.
Hack Squad Garage
Yeah, I couldn’t believe it when I had seen it on Craigslist. Will do. Thanks for the advice!
Hack Squad Garage Hey man, in the comments you mentioned that the forester suspension swap provides 3-4” of lift. So, combined with a NEW tire that’s essentially 27”, going from the STOCK 23” ... Are you getting a combined increase of 7-8” of increased ground clearance between the swapped strut assembly and tire size?
That looks sweet. Excuse my ignorance, but why would this be preferential to installing spacers?
Spacing the stock strut does work. But the forester struts have longer travel and the springs are stiffer. And you get some decent height without some sketchy strut spacers imo. Now if you space the subframes down also you could do both struts and spacers and have a beast.
Thanks for your clarification!
How did you swap the top hats without having to swap the whole top piece?
The whole top piece is especially the top hat, so we just swapped over everything with the forester spring/strut
is the suspension from a forester?
AWESOME! Did you measure the overall height of the tire? My close to stock height on mine are 23 & 3/4 inches. I'd like to do a lift like yours on my 93 Subaru Legacy wagon, but those tires might be a bit too tall for what I want. Do you have any video of this one off roading? Thumb up.
I believe they were a 26 or a 27in tire, it was a great lift kit, we enjoyed the forester suspension more than the outback suspension because it was taller and stiffer. The only issue with this setup was this tire was on a 16in wheel and the 215 was too wide and would rub the frame at full lock. A 205/75r15 which is about a 26in tire is the best tire with stock offset wheels and can be ran with outback or forester suspension.
Unfortunately we have sold this wagon to a friend who was in need so we never got video of it off road. I took it out in some deep snow several times and it was amazing, but didn't get any video of those trips.
@@HackSquadGarage Thanks for the additional info. I think I want to end up with a slightly larger tire of about 25 inches with a lift similar to yours. I'm thinking Cooper or similar AT's 185/70R 15's.
Как поведут себя привода?
what year was the forester?
98 rear with legacy top hats. 07 front without modification
Wait. What? Forrester struts will fit my 96 legacy and give me some lift? I'd much rather do this than install spacers.
Or do both🤔🤔🤔
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