My Legacy is running great. After putting the 3-inch DP, the struts, springs, brakelines, changing the oil, changing the belts, and getting a set of winter tires I thought I'd be happy with it. I wasn't. Sure, with the new suspension setup it was handling MUCH better than the old blown suspension had been handling, but it was still missing the stiffness I do so desire. However, Spending $160 for a whiteline FSB seemed like something I would 'get around to'. Enter this thread over at NASIOC. It turns out that the B9 Tribecas have a 25mm Front Swaybar that bolts up to most NA Subarus. It also happens to bolt up to 91-94 T-Legs. Since the local Subaru Dealership gives a 20% discount to members of MNSubaru.com I was able to get the following parts for less than the cost of a Whiteline Swaybar. And this swaybar is BIGGER. Parts I used: Tribeca Bushings (2) : Part Number 20414XA00A Tribeca Swaybar (1) : Part Number 20401XA00A Additional Parts I bought: STi Rear Endlinks: (Right and Left are the same part number but come in different packages) 20470SA011 Tribeca Swaybar clamps (2) : Part Number 20466FE000 2004+ WRX Rear Swaybar mounts (for a future project) : (Right) 20540FE200 (Left) 20540FE210 Here it is, all laid out (minus the swaybar brackets) : All of that cost less than a new Whiteline FSB. You may notice that some of the parts I bought I didn't use. The clamps on the Tribeca use two bolts (one in the front and one in the rear) as opposed to one bolt on the T-leg (one bolt in the front and a tension flange in the rear). I didn't know this up front and bought the parts just in case. The NASIOC guys recommended using the rear STi endlinks but I couldn't figure out how to install them properly without putting seemingly undue tension on the lower bolt. All of the stress across the lower bolt would have been put at the two narrow points where the bolt passes through the lower control arm bracket... I didn't like that so I used the stock endlink. A future upgrade will be beefy front endlinks (a la Whiteline or the pretty purple kind). I also bought the Rear swaybar mounts from an 04+ WRX. The stock t-leg/GC/02-03 WRX mounts are pretty flimsy, and when I upgrade to a big rear swaybar (now a sure bet) I wanted something large to hold it. Something large that doesn't cost a ridiculous sum of cash from Perrin/Whiteline/anyone else. Anyway, back to the install. The tools you'll need for this job are: Jackstands (2) Jack 12mm Wrench 14mm Wrench 12mm socket 14mm socket 19mm socket Torque wrench Ratchet (swivel head if you've got it) PB Blaster Large Vise Grip SHARP utility knife Here we go: 1. Loosen lug nuts on the wheels with your 19mm socket 2. Jack up car and put it on the jackstands 3. Remove wheels (you don't necessarily have to do this, but it REALLY helps when you're trying to get at the outer nuts on the endlinks) Once you get to this stage you've got a nice view of what your working with: Notice how the stock swaybar runs underneath the tie rod and attaches to the inside of the endlink (You're looking at the drivers side from the front). The Tribeca swaybar, due to its design, will loop over the tie rod and attach to the outside of the endlink. 4. Grab your 12mm socket and ratchet and remove the jack plate (4 bolts), and the swaybar clamps. You may need a 12mm wrench to hold the nuts on the front of the jackplate in place while you get the bolts all the way out. 5. Grab your 14mm socket and ratchet and 14mm wrench and disassemble the top of the endlink. You can use the 12mm socket and wrench to loosen the bottom if you'd like more play in the endlink, but I didn't have to do that. 6. Place the swaybar on the ground and admire the contrast between the coathanger you've just taken off, and the true piece of heavy-duty machinery you are about to install. Mmmmmm.... tasty. 7. Get out your utility knife and start carving up those Tribeca bushings. Cut off the lips on both edges, and on the top (flat) side you'll need to remove between 1/4 and 1/2 inch of rubber to get it to fit in the stock clamp. Be careful, that utility knife is sharp. 8. Throw the loops of the Tribeca Swaybar over your tie rods. This will alleviate some of the weight of the bar you have to struggle with while trying to get this behemoth back into those clamps. 9. Attach the swaybar to the outside of the endlinks. This will line up the bar properly before you tighten down the clamps, and will further negate gravity's nasty tendency to drop this swaybar on your melon. 10. Get the clamps lined up over the rubber bushings. Then grab your vise-grips and use them to pull the clamps up to the crossmember to line them up so you have two hands to get the clamp bolts back in place and get them threaded. <-- The ingenuity of this tip was brought on by serious cursing and the fact that, as in most cases, I do all my wrenching alone. Thank me later. 11. Put the jackplate back on. This is a PITA. I have no sneaky tricks for this. I know on my car there was a lot of grit, grease and dirt on the top side of the crossmember that I struggled with while trying to hold down the nut with a wrench. 12. Double check all your bolts (top and bottom of endlinks, clamps, jackplate) 13. Put wheels on 14. Take car off of jackstands and lower car. 15. Re-torque wheels to 75 ft/lbs 16. Take it for a testdrive. During my testdrive I heard the bushings rubbing for the first few corners, the railroad tracks, and bumps. After about 2-miles there was no more sound. Results: The front end is much more stable. There is almost no dip when I take corners. The only dip I get in the front is because the back still has the stock swaybar. Future plans: Endlinks and poly bushings for the front. I was going to order some beefy endlinks and poly bushings, but I wanted to make sure this all fit together before I doubled the cost of this mod with those two purchases. I will also put the ONLY available swaybar for this car (Whiteline) on the rear along with endlinks and poly bushings. This mod took me right around two hours. That includes the time it took figuring out how to cut up the bushing, and time in the bathroom bandaging up my left forefinger as it shot blood everywhere. Any decent wrench turner can do this mod in an hour and a half. I could do it in an hour, now. Enjoy.
yeah there is a thread on this over on rs25. looks like the tribeca bar will fit on ALOT of subarus. NA and turbo. http://www.rs25.com/forums/showthread.php?t=66866
I'll get more and better pics, later. Today I had to leave and pick up my kids. NASIOC was invaluable for this. I used that thread quite a bit. I'll check out the RS25 thread later. I'm still trying to figure out a good way to use those STi endlinks. edit: Looks like those STi endlinks are specifically for the GD RS. I still have my receipt... If I can't find a good way to use them, I'll sell/give them away. Anyone want a stock Legacy Front Swaybar?
nice write up.. now all you need is a pic of the bandage on your toe then we will have the obligatory foot pic
Do you have a pic of a finished product? I wonder how it looks, since this bar looks longer than your original bar. And for NA people there's also 1" FSB made by Addco. Costs less than Whiteline.
I'll get the finished product pics up... someday. Probably when I get the endlinks and poly bushings put on. The Tribeca bar is longer. It is just long enough that it bolts up to the outside of the endlinks instead of the inside of the endlinks like the stock bar, does. It fits perfectly on the outsides.
How does it handle with that tiny 17mm rear still on there? Ive been interested in upgrading my sways but want to do it evenly and cant justify $400 for some whiteline bars.
It is definitely an improvement over the stock sway setup. Before I installed the FSB, my suspension setup was very floaty on the highway. This completely removed that. Turn-in is much sharper and it seems to have increased some steering responsiveness. I can definitely tell the rear end does not have a big bar, but the balance is not too far off from neutral. The tail is definitely loose compared to the front. Let me say that again: The tail is definitely loose compared with the front. I was taking the decreasing radius sweeper from SB 169 onto Bass Lake Road after Firestone last night and the tires that started squealing first were NOT the fronts. I think the installation of a good set of HD swaybars in the rear will make the car neutral. I would also LOVE to put some good rubber (running crappy Dunlop AS tires on my 15" Rims) on the Leggy and see the effect.
