Author Topic: '06 LGT Suspension Maintenance  (Read 1322 times)

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Offline headso

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'06 LGT Suspension Maintenance
« on: June 04, 2017, 01:59:27 pm »
Hi All,

Need some advise from all you Legacy owners.

I have a 2006 Legacy GT (168,000 kms or 105,000 Miles). Purchased late 2016. Looks good, runs great but feels like a fat squishy cow. I've put some bucks aside to do a good overhaul of some/most of the suspension parts but I've only recently joined team Subaru and am unfamiliar with some of the finer details of what is recommended.

I would assume that the following needs/should to be done...
1. Tie Rod Ends.
2. Ball Joints
3. Struts
4. Shocks

But here is where i'm unsure of the Subaru requirements...
1. If i pull the front shocks should i be replacing a/ upper mount b/ strut bumper c/ dust cover
2. If i pull the rear struts should i be replacing a/ dust cover b/ spring seat c/ upper mount

What else would be a worth while fix/maintenance recommendation that people often overlook? Or items that would give improvements to driving and handling feel?

Thanks so much for any suggestions.
Regards
Adam

Offline SlowLGT

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Re: '06 LGT Suspension Maintenance
« Reply #1 on: June 07, 2017, 09:34:08 pm »
Welcome to the forum. Since you will be removing the front control arms, I highly recommend replacing the inner rear bushing (the big round one), as those are very prone to cracking/tearing. The Whiteline anti-lift kit is a good replacement, as it adds caster, and the material seems to be more durable than stock.

If you are sticking with stock/kyb struts, you should be able to reuse your dust boots. You should definitely replace the strut tops. Whiteline makes a com-c kit with beefy bearings, and adds caster and negative camber. For the rears, I think the spring seat and upper mount are one piece.

If you are looking for more handling and change how the ride quality feels, Koni yellow is a very good option. They are inexpensive and work quite well. They do require you to cut and reuse your current front strut housings. Bilstein HD is another option, but that will cost you a little more.

Offline Asstuna

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Re: '06 LGT Suspension Maintenance
« Reply #2 on: June 08, 2017, 06:26:57 am »
Welcome. I recently did the control arm bushings in my 05 WRX because they were clunking, not squishy. Most of the how-to's I found were on the Legacy forums, especially the inner rear bushing due to tearing/cracking. I can't speak for the rest of the Leggie suspension, but I'd recommend also reading up on those specific forums, e.g.:

http://legacygt.com/forums/

Offline Cbxj

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Re: '06 LGT Suspension Maintenance
« Reply #3 on: June 16, 2017, 09:09:29 pm »
This winter we tackled similar items on my wifes 06 LGT.
We got complete Moog lower control arms out of the States for really a really good price. - as mentioned above the rubber bushings at the back of the LCA's were shot. (bonus the lower ball joints came installed)
the top hats did not need replacing
we replaced the struts with JDM bilstiens which are great
replaced all the sway bar bushings with polyurethane
upgraded all the sway bar endlinks
outer tierods were a little suspect so we did those too
we did the sway bars as well, but that is up to your preference
while under there we did the shift bushings and mount- poly as well
and rear diff inserts
 there are some pics on my instagram --cbxj900, you might have to scroll down a bit.
pm me if you have questions.
before all that the car actually did not feel bad... but after (well after an alignment at balance auto).. it feels great!.