Lifted Liberty Sedan

bensmith87 · Post by **bensmith87** » Sun Feb 02, 2014 3:39 pm

I finally finished putting all the Outback bits in my 1997 Liberty RX.
Most of the bits were scavenged from wreckers; a few are improvised.
These images could be helpful to anyone else wanting to do the same thing.

Rear
Diff carrier spacer

Trailing arm spacer

Some other rear spacer

Front
The engine crossmember spacer

New rear gearbox crossmember

Front gearbox crossmember spacers

Control arm bush

Steering knuckle

It also has struts from the Outback.
The only issue I had was the steering knuckle; it seems too long. I ended up using a chainsaw file to flatten out the spline on the steering wheel column so i could slide the pinch thing up further...

RSR 555 · Post by **RSR 555** » Tue Feb 11, 2014 10:25 pm

Sounds good.. do you have some pics of before and after? showing the differences in heights

bensmith87 · Post by **bensmith87** » Sat Feb 15, 2014 6:58 am

I don't have a before, but here are some afters, one with the stock tyres and one with general grabbers, sorry they're not great.

NachaLuva · Post by **NachaLuva** » Sat Feb 15, 2014 11:07 am

bensmith87 wrote: Trailing arm spacer

If you plan on going offroad or on rough roads you really should tie these blocks together by welding some RHS between them. As the rear wheel hits ruts or potholes, it puts a huge amount of force through the trailing arm. This makes these blocks rock back & forth slightly. Over time it weakens the chassis rail. There have been a few members with significant cracks there & 1 even had the captive nuts ripped right out!

Control arm bush

So is the top one from a Liberty?

I recognise the bottom one from a Forester or Outback.

Steering knuckle

The only issue I had was the steering knuckle; it seems too long. I ended up using a chainsaw file to flatten out the spline on the steering wheel column so i could slide the pinch thing up further...

Right one Liberty & left Outback?

I have a question for you...if you got the steering knuckle from a wrecker, how did you remove it? Did you have to drop the front crossmember/steering rack?

YouTube · Post by **El_Freddo** » Sat Feb 15, 2014 2:27 pm

NachaLuva wrote:.if you got the steering knuckle from a wrecker, how did you remove it? Did you have to drop the front crossmember/steering rack?

Two ways of doing this: Sometimes there's enough room to slide the steering knuckle off once the retaining bolts are removed. IF this doesn't work you can drop the steering column down which usually gives enough room to get the steering knuckle out.

IF that doesn't work the last resort is to pull the steering column into the cabin, it should only be the two or three bolts to drop it down in the first place...

Ben, I'm with Nachaluva - weld those blocks together! And if you don't have "crush tubing" welded in I'd be doing that ASAP as a start. Crush tube is simply a piece of tube for the bolt to tension rather than tensioning the square tubing that has some flex in it. Clear as mud?

Cheers

Bennie

bensmith87 · Post by **bensmith87** » Sun Feb 16, 2014 10:33 am

Thanks for the tips, I'll weld the trailing arm spacers together and add the crush tubes.

Yeah, the top control arm bush is the stock liberty one.

I actually got the steering knuckle from a friend, but to remove the old one and install the new one, I actually ended up dropping the entire engine.

NachaLuva · Post by **NachaLuva** » Sun Feb 16, 2014 11:08 am

bensmith87 wrote:Thanks for the tips, I'll weld the trailing arm spacers together and add the crush tubes.

Look here:
showthread.php?p=227359#post227359

I actually got the steering knuckle from a friend, but to remove the old one and install the new one, I actually ended up dropping the entire engine.

So the longer one is from an Outback?

I might try El Freddos suggestion with the steering column first

RSR 555 · Post by **RSR 555** » Sun Feb 16, 2014 5:23 pm

Ben's rear blocks look like they have the crush tube in them

The longer steering knuckle is the Outback one and these can be removed from the original car by removing both bolts at either end, then tap the knuckle up along the steering column spline which allows the knuckle to come off the steering rack spline, then just slid the knuckle off the column spline.

NachaLuva · Post by **NachaLuva** » Sun Feb 16, 2014 6:42 pm

Awesome thanks Paul. I'll try that next time

vincentvega · Post by **vincentvega** » Sun Feb 16, 2014 10:15 pm

Tieing the blocks together is a good idea but not essential. I have solid alloy blocks and mines been through hell and back with no issues. I reckon my car has been lifted longer than most too

the front control arm mounts are a known issue in the gen3.. probably ok with just the foz/outback brackets though

classic jay · Post by **classic jay** » Sun Feb 16, 2014 10:51 pm

i love the fact that you have lifted you liberty! but an rx? this makes me wanna cry! a standard liberty is a different story tho, but the rx look to nice to destroy

NachaLuva · Post by **NachaLuva** » Mon Feb 17, 2014 4:04 pm

bensmith87 wrote: Steering knuckle

OK I just got a steering linkage from an Outback & it was actually shorter than a Forester linkage! (thanks for the tips El Freddo & Paul, with some knowledge it wasn't too hard to remove)

Ben, can you find out what model Outback this is from? It would be a great help

RSR 555 · Post by **RSR 555** » Mon Feb 17, 2014 7:21 pm

NachaLuva wrote:Ben, can you find out what model Outback this is from? It would be a great help

I can help you.. it's from a 96 to 99 Outback (BG body shape)

NachaLuva · Post by **NachaLuva** » Mon Feb 17, 2014 8:56 pm

Awesome thanks Paul. BTW, your trick of sliding the linkage up the steering column to free the bottom end worked a treat!

RSR 555 · Post by **RSR 555** » Mon Feb 17, 2014 9:52 pm

No probs

Glad you get it sorted. I have plenty of tricks up my sleeve

bensmith87 · Post by **bensmith87** » Sun Feb 23, 2014 6:48 am

So the longer one is from an Outback?

I'm quite sure it's from an Outback.

Ben's rear blocks look like they have the crush tube in them

No crush tubes yet, but they are made of 4mm RHS, so quite strong.

i love the fact that you have lifted you liberty! but an rx? this makes me wanna cry! a standard liberty is a different story tho, but the rx look to nice to destroy

I think she looks heaps better now, and still corners a million times better than the VN on the twisty bitchumen.