Subaru WRX Forum banner

Wagon to Sedan Linkage Upgrade

9K views 38 replies 7 participants last post by  titter 
#1 · (Edited)
Got around to getting the parts I need to finally get this underway. most of these parts needed replacing on my bugeye anyways as canadian winters do pretty mean things to automobiles. so i figured why not upgrade? i'll give a shout to @Big Sky for all his vital information on this forum, including this thread: http://www.wrxtuners.com/forums/f53/wagon-vs-sedan-what-s-different-what-s-same-15387/

nabbed everything from JDMRacingmotors.com in Montreal, QC, Canada
oem parts from subaru dealership

04 sti front aluminum control arms


04 sti front sway bar, bushings & mounts


04 jdm front lower arm brace (added extra, not needed for swap)


04 sti rear lateral links


04 rear sway bar & bushings


04 sti suspension (springs, struts, tophats; assembled)


04 sti rear sway bar mounts


04 sti sway bar mounting brackets


04 sti oem rear end links


04 sti oem front end links
 
See less See more
10
#3 ·
You should have tried to grab the aluminum lateral links from a SAAB wagon or the 04 STi. Have fun getting those bolts out as well it is a serious pain. I highly recommend PB Blaster or some alternative (automatic trans fluid) and let them soak for a day then hit them again. Also I recommend getting a new bolt that holds them to the knuckle as you will break one. Also grab a set of 04 WRX rear sway bar mounts as they are stronger than the 02-03 ones.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mosc
#5 · (Edited)
everything there should be sedan, springs included. i have 04 sti lateral links. the aluminum 05+ lateral links are actually a bit longer. wagons are 400mm, these ones i got are 410mm and the fancy oem sti aluminum ones (iirc made by spt) are 419mm. i wanted to have the least alignment problems so i figure going 410mm would keep things normal sedan length. unless are you referring to those few years they had one lateral link aluminum(front) and one steel(rear)?

is there something visually that leads you to believe these are not sedan suspension? im only going by what they told me really.

and they were nice enough to give me 2 extra knuckle bolts for the lateral links :)

everything is soaking in a combination of T40 and PB Blaster for this week while i work out the details. applying morning and night :D
 
#8 ·
Some of the 04 STi were aluminum, but so were the Saabaru wagon ones. Using sedan springs on a wagon in the rear will cause it to sag unless you get the correct spacers. Actually automatic transmission fluid will work better on those bolts. A 50/50 mix of trans fluid and acetone will work better than PB Blaster...but most people can't get acetone...
 
  • Like
Reactions: mosc
#9 · (Edited)
yea i heard of that. i can get 4L jugs of acetone from my local hardware store. its what i used to clean my TMIC. i was thinking of trying it but with your recommendation i certainly will.

yea saggy butt is always an issue. i was going to just get spacers made by a local machine shop. how thick do i need them? about 8mm right? i have a huge sheet of 4mm aluminum i grabbed from my friend who owns a recycling warehouse. i can cut spacers and stack them to make 8mm.
 
#12 · (Edited)

@psinuse soooo ummm what you think about this? the plastics actually very strong and easy to get 3/8 cutting boards. high desity polyetheylene

i could do the same thing out of aluminum or should i use the plastic. will aluminum corrode in contact with the other metals?

also will 3/8 fit with a strut bar? or should i go with 1/4" instead to be safe. Turn In Concepts page says to use 1/4 with a strut bar but im seeing some posts with ppl saying it just barely fits with 3/8 but it doesnt say speficially what model they have. i dont want to press in new studs
 
#13 ·
so that mix of acetone and atf is pretty harsh. should i be worried if i was a bit messy and got it all over? like will it eat rubber brake lines? i put it in a spray bottle and i think it was melting as i was using it lol :( (derp) either way its coated and sitting over night.
 
#16 ·
stupid fkn subaru parts delayed bullshit... grumble grumble grumble


next week folks :)

you'll get to see what 14 canadian winters does to the underside of a subaru. i triple checked and its pretty bad under there. gonna have to spend a few hours with a wire brush and some rust paint.
 
#17 ·
Sounds like a great project, so good luck with it. I had some of the same issues when I started with my suspension upgrades after 9 years in my winter-driven WRX, and am now getting an annual oil spray to help.

The more you work on it the more you get to see its condition and correct any issues too, so despite being a PITA it helps in the long run.
 
#18 · (Edited)
yea i get full krown treatment every year and then just a quick underspray before winter (usually dec 1st). so its like 1 & 1/2 a spray every year. but only since april when i purchased the car. no idea what the previous owner(s) did. all my previous cars got this same treatment.

real excited to get this done. first major overhaul of many.
 
#19 ·
Oh god. You have an older car too. Rust was a nightmare for me when I did all my late suspension mods (WV is in what we call the "salt belt"). Just look at my Eibach install in the how-to library. Ended up having to blow torch a bolt for the RSB mount off, then had to weld it in place since the torch melted the welds on the nut. Also, had to sawzall one of the front end links off. Good luck.
 
#25 · (Edited)
Oh god. You have an older car too.
according to the service manual... rolled off the sales lot June 1st 2001 :D im trying to find out if i have one of the first WRX 4EAT Wagons sold in canada/us. pretty sure june 1st 2001 was the first day bugeyes went on sale.
 
#20 ·
Yeah, salt is a pain, but a good undercarriage greasing goes a long way at protecting the car in the winter. It also takes care of thee odd squeak and creak.

Also trick for getting off stuck bolts heat the side with the nut and use those canned air cans upside down to freeze the bolt side, expansion and contraction helps alot when your dealing with locked up threads when PB blaster doesnt.
 
#21 ·
The owner of paranoid Fabrication(who makes and sells saggy butt spacers) recommends NOT stacking them. You should find thicker material or just buy them new. Theyre only abut $30 or $40 USD. Not sure what that is in Canadian Dollars though. Also those rear swaybar brackets and mounts you bought are the same design as the ones currently in your car. Theres a much better and stronger design that was used in the 05-07 WRX/STi that is reinforced and has Two bolts for the swaybar mount instead of one bolt and that tab that slides in. I have a pair I was going to use but it was too much of a pain to get behind the gas tank filler neck on the passenger side so I just left my stock ones in that are the same as yours. Anyways good for you for taking care of your WRX. Good lukc with the rust! Get Aerokroil if you can find it! I found out about it when working at a production manufacturing factory and its by far the best stuff Ive ever used. Way better than PB Blaster.
 
#22 ·
Oh and also look into a product called "Metal rescue" for rust. Its AMAZING. Best rust remover Ive ever used. Made the 60 year old nuts and bolts on my old 1977 Harley Davidson carburetor look like brand new. I might have before and after pics of the rear swaybar brackets as well...
 
#24 · (Edited)
the mounts, bushing and tabs i bought (shown in the pic) are completely different than the ones on my 2002 wagon. these are the mounts from the 04+ sti. which are possibly used on the 05+wrx i dont know. they have 2 bolts. one is mounted to the bracket. one is screwed in. already test fit everything.

NASIOC - View Single Post - The "Will this suspension part fit my car?" thread.

high denstiy polyethelene is the same material used for any of the high end aftermarket spacers that are not metal. which is why im using a cutting board. same material. i wont be stacking metal, but making a 1/4" solid mount.

acetone & atf (50/50) worked great.
 
  • Like
Reactions: psinuse
#26 ·


why anyone would spend $50 on these is beyond me... $6.99 hd poly cutting board big enough for 2 spacers. 1/4 thick :D

all bolts are soaking one last time overnight.
 
#27 ·
all of the first five (5) bolt i started with snapped....

stared with the rear sway... needed to removed filler neck shroud... all 3 bolts snapped. now i have no gas tank filler neck shroud in my right wheel well. ok no biggie i can make new mounts for it.

continued with the sway bar. left side mount... both bolts snapped, need to be drilled out of frame. left side... well the hex heads literally disintegrated inside my hex head socket... so i had to use a grinder to cut the mount to get the sway bar off.

this was 6 hours yesterday... to remove a rear strut bar.


needless to say, the tires are going back on and its going to a shop. i dont have the means to deal with this much rust.
i dont get how there is this much rust when it doesnt show the same on the body. the wheel wells arent even rusting like every old subaru yet my undercarriage is siezed to all hell.


sad panda :(
 
#28 · (Edited)
sooo another snag...

the suspension i bought are not sti sedan. the rears still had the sticker and part number 20360FE820/830. also the paint dots. STI's are 2 purples on the rears, and have a pink dot on top on the fronts not orange.

turns out they are GGF or GGG JDM Wagon Suspension, and pretty rare. apparently for a few years they gave them inverted struts painted red with springs similar to V7 sti. though i still cant 100% confirm spring rates for these springs. they are tapered but no insulator.

@psinuse you ever seen these?

Riddle me this Batman
REAR SHOCK ABSORBER / subaru | part list?JP-CarParts.com

with sedan length and wagon suspension... thats more negative camber right? which is a good thing? its the other way around thats bad...
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top