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G'day fellas,
Thought I'd share photos of the differences between standard Liberty with standard springs & outback struts.



Height


Looking under Outback's rear - diff


Looking under Liberty's rear - diff


Notice1: Outback's diff is lower than Liberty's Diff.
Notice2: Outback's rear sway bar is 19mm and Liberty is 15mm thick. Front are the same.

Outback's Diff carrier - Notice the block approx 1" thick.


Liberty's Diff Carrier - Notice no block.


Outback's diff Cradle holder


Liberty's diff Cradle holder



Only photos I didn't take was the trailing arms & brackets. But I think there is more to come - need to check my photo album.
Cheers
AP

very interesting mate. especially the diff cradle braces. I will be fitting some of those to my car as soon as i can find some

So what is the difference between the two diff carriers? One better then the other?

Did you just park next an unsuspecting outback and compare it haha!

Bumpty wrote:So what is the difference between the two diff carriers? One better then the other?

Did you just park next an unsuspecting outback and compare it haha!

The carriers are both same, its just added blocks on it.
Yeah I did park next to unsuspecting outback - its always at airport west car park and thought i'd check out.

the fronts are the same in both cars.
Cheers
AP

Nice work AP! (our resident outback voyeur )

Interesting about the fronts being the same. Certainly looks pretty close height wise are the control arms and driveshafts at the same angle?

The other thing is the Liberty front bar, it might not look as tough but it looks better suited to offroading as it doesn't hang as low. Keen as on getting that block/spacer for the carrier too as it should take some angle off the rear shafts.

Trust me , it's ALWAYS better to use factory parts in areas like that . They locate everything properly and being ADR'd are no legal issue .
Note the larger diameter anti roll bar , once you raise cars up the roll centers and center of gravity change so the factory has done something about it in this case .

If I was ever to raise one of those cars I'd be looking at all these things including longer factory style springs and struts to get a usable overall result .

Cheers A .

discopotato03 wrote:Trust me , it's ALWAYS better to use factory parts in areas like that . They locate everything properly and being ADR'd are no legal issue .
Note the larger diameter anti roll bar , once you raise cars up the roll centers and center of gravity change so the factory has done something about it in this case .

If I was ever to raise one of those cars I'd be looking at all these things including longer factory style springs and struts to get a usable overall result .

Cheers A .

Exactly what I'm trying to achieve at the moment! I'm not too phased about having great articulation. Just a Lib with slightly better than outback clearance that still handles acceptably on the road. If I can't get a factory 19mm bar from an outback then I'll look at the JDM GT or GT-B. Perhaps even the ADM RX wagon which you'd think would also have the thicker bar.

To be totally honest I wish I had of just started with an outback but if nothing else the Liberty experience should be a bit of fun in the problem solving and a little more original (even though it's been done before here). Everyone has seen an Outback, not so many have seen a lifted Liberty.

Provided you can get the factory blocks and whatever those lower anchor plates are called (flat on the lower car and folded offset in the higher car pics) the anti roll bar is no issue .
I can give you the details of a firm that can make you whatever sized bar you want and supplies 75% of the Australian aftermarket in anti roll bars so its nothing dodgy .
What they do is make one out of larger diameter spring steel from a master if they have one . If they don't you send yours which they use as a master and they keep it as their new master and discount your brand new one .
Most people use urethane bushes but if you want rubber ones Subaru may sell them new . This place distributes those (urethane) as well so most things under one roof .

My RX L had 19 and 16mm bars and now 24 and 22mm . It's 16mm rear one is their master now so they've got most things Subaru covered .

If interested PM me , cheers A .

The rear sway bar swap itself should be pretty straight forward from what I've read. Dane's (Vincentvega) old posts mention flipping the control arms which makes sense when looking under the car. This negates the need to extend the links as the control arm's link bracket ends up on on top of the bar rather than below it. As for the getting a bar made, while it sounds handy it's probably not really necessary on a Liberty with all the factory options available, failing that there are the whiteline options too. A factory 19mm bar could be had for $50-$100, making the swap a bit easier on the wallet without any real compromise.

It's really just the front links that I'm stuck on at the moment (see my Gen II Lift thread). Really need to extend them by the amount that the control arm has dropped.

Thanks for the thoughts,

Jake.