All L Series RX owners.. please

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Sun Aug 21, 2011 7:37 pm

Just need you to look if you have genuine Subaru RX coil springs in the rear, they be black, wondering if you can see colour paint dabs to identify them on the top few coils

save me hair tearing

ta,

discopotato03 · Post by **discopotato03** » Sun Aug 21, 2011 7:49 pm

All you need to know about RX L rear springs is in the factory WSMs . The only significant difference between first series 85 86 and second series 87+ is that the early ones got the slightly higher rated ones found in the L series coups - which were heavier in the rear .
Ellie being sold and registered first here in 1986 had the slightly higher poundage springs but it was still a bit soft to handle even acceptably .
Honestly wagon springs are the go because they are higher rated again to support the heavier wagons butt . The only problem is that they want to sit a sedan a bit high in the rear end for some people .

I don't have time now to look up the various spring rates and I reckon I went through all this in a typically epic post sometime in the last four years .

Search my posts/threads , cheers A .

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Sun Aug 21, 2011 10:05 pm

Adrian, thanks, been inyour posts recently

, in my 85/86 manual it lists wagons as getting 200 lb springs, every other option got 160 lb including the RX. The differences then came by the choice of shock and their seat height.

On top of this the the RX shock had internal valving rates twice that of other non 4WD wagon shocks, 40% heavier than wagons and 2WD Vortex as far as expansion, and double all others shocks in compression poundage !!

I have got wagon springs coming out my ears - they are no good to me - too hard too high for either of my needs. Maybe I need to remove that No Fat Chicks sticker . I can see my signature changing soon.....

87rxturbo · Post by **87rxturbo** » Thu Aug 25, 2011 5:18 pm

Can definately confirm that my RX has yellow paint dabbed on the top few coils of the rear springs!:)

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Thu Aug 25, 2011 7:34 pm

Onya matey, thanks, continues to confirm what these are from and what I still need. T'subaru has also confirmed two known sets of L RX rear coils marked same.

One dab or two? Mine has just one dab on one coil.

Still need a set to replace those pilfered

87rxturbo · Post by **87rxturbo** » Fri Aug 26, 2011 5:22 pm

Yep 1 dab on the 2nd last coil...can't see the very top 1 ,cos mines still in its spring seat!

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Fri Aug 26, 2011 7:19 pm

Confirmed postively I think. When you get around to making the RX go like stink - you'll likely not need this springs and they'll likely be too soft in your touring wagon.
Please keep me in mind when they come out, they'll do nicely in the bum of my now no rego 4GLTA that looks just a lot like your red baby!

Gannon · Post by **Gannon** » Sun Aug 28, 2011 12:08 am

I dropped in and had a chat with Nev's dad this arvo and noticed a spring/shock assembly with a yellow dot on the 2nd coil. He didnt know what it was off, but I grabbed the part number off the side of it, interestingly, its not a KYB, but a TOKICO. Part No. 2007GA092

Could it be that the TOKICO shock on an RX has the higher valving rate of the KYB on standard L's?

There was also another spring/strut with an orange dot on the second coil, KYB part number, 21106GA260

More pieces to the puzzle

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Sun Aug 28, 2011 9:32 am

And here I was thought Nevs dads eyesight was failing or colour blind, one is yellow, the other orange ? OK, puzzle gets bigger .... and they are a pair ? Orange for the corner copping the most action??
Gannon, thanks for confirming the confusion

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Sun Aug 28, 2011 9:57 am

For those following, the part numbers Gannon has found are of the shock inside the springs not springs part number itself

If that part number was actually 21007GA920 ? that lists as a shock absorber for the three door L Series (we didn't get) GL and 4WD. That is the shock found in the yellow dot coil.

The 3 doors all got 180 lb/in springs. Our RX and all our sedans FWD or 4WD supposed to have got 160lb/in springs.

If already mixed and matched the shocks may be different but spring rates likely same. All wagons supposed to be 196lb / in and they have a mix of colours on them, two colours per spring in combos with pink (faded red?) orange and green

It may be sedans or 160lb/in springs got one ID colour, wagons 196lb/in got two colours.The colours may have been the fitted shock identifier not the spring rate This is where we need a Subaru assembly line worker to tell inside info!!

I'd be curious to now know the springs wire thickness between those two mismatched, and as you say Nev, the coil count and free height.

Anyone else want L Series or Vortex bits ?? Nevilles dad is a tolerant soul and and bloody excellent parts wrapper so they survive the postal service. AND looking at Nevs Vortex , dad is also excellent body worker and spanner man

The shock found in the orange dot coil comes up s 21106GA260 (no typos here

) from a 4door GL no 4WD

Gannon · Post by **Gannon** » Sun Aug 28, 2011 11:05 am

Yeah I should have made that clearer, the part numbers were of the strut only.

The yellow one is of unknown origin, but John (Nev's Dad) only has the one, Nev has the other one. The orange one came from a Vortex, but has white paint on it, suggesting it came from a wreckers

Can anybody else with original rear shocks check if they are KYB or TOKICO?

I did manage to take a photo with my phone of the strut.

It also had a yellow and a blue stripe on the top mount

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Sun Aug 28, 2011 12:08 pm

Nah, Gannon, you were pretty clear and was good enough for me

Ah, you are the first to mention colours on top mount ! I also have blue and green stripes on at least one top mount.
I reckon these colours are added as an assembly takes place not individual part manufacturing /finishing, so likely based on specs so not to be mixed in pairs etc.

Getting further - Neville has measured his orange dab as 9.90mm wire thickness and stands free at 285mm

My yellow dot ones most likely RX ones also stand at 285mm. YAY you say??
Not yet, as yellow dot wire thickness is 10.40mm

The two dot wagons springs are 10.80mm wire thickness

Gotta now ask why specs say 160 lb/in springs for all our ADM stuff was 160 for all sedans or 196 for wagons. A change to suit local market needs? Maybe the yellow dot are the 3 door 180 lb/in springs after all - as Disco thought earler L models were??

Time to waste more surf time and go see our US counterparts that don't venture in here often !!

discopotato03 · Post by **discopotato03** » Sun Aug 28, 2011 10:38 pm

I wish the 85/86 WSM I have access to wasn't a few hours drive away out in the boonies to the north west of the Sydney metrop because I'd double check it . I do remember thinking that my early RX had a better spring rate than the later cars which makes me think thats what their WSM said I had .

You do realise that you can have springs made if you know who to go through and my Rally people do - or did anyway because I had one offs made for my old Bluebird .

Also I have to check "Evies" cave because I have a few old L suspension bits left and something tells me I had a rear spring with the yellow daub . If its still there you can have it if interested .

A .

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Mon Aug 29, 2011 8:42 am

'click' and it is in front of us...

This pic is of a page in my 85/86 FSM, note the pink highlighted shock, 1373, rating double that of the others?... indicating the RX column

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Disco is also saving the English written word - it is daub I should have been using

Well, that would be great if you do have just one misfit as Nevilles dad also seems to have just one as well

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Mon Aug 29, 2011 8:47 am

This next shot shows the 3 doors with 179 lb/in rated springs

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Mon Aug 29, 2011 9:09 am

An eye test for some of us here:

http://ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=125829

Notice 4WD GL 4 door sedan gets higher rated 179, the RX gets 159.6

discopotato03 · Post by **discopotato03** » Mon Aug 29, 2011 5:54 pm

Yes and also note that the GL10 non turbo had no rear anti roll bar .

I was luckily able to get one off larger bars made for my RX Sedan but that source dried up unfortunately . I use 22mm rear and 24 front and I wished I'd got a 24mm one made for the rear as well . My car has more body roll in the rear than I like , yes cars can roll differently back and front believe it or not , buts its still a quantam leap ahead of how Subaru had it .

If Ellie gets parted out Jonno you get first shot at these bits and I know you would not regret these bars , and their urethane bushes and custom rear bolt on brackets , in the least .

And did I say MASSIVE difference ...

The rally people did say they can properly cut down and "remake" the ends of the rear Honda springs I'm using which would increase their rate and reduce the excessive preload and ride height . Trouble is I don't want to spend on this car any more . Such is life .

A .

Late Edit .
Jonno going from 160 to 180 inch pound springs isn't going to make a huge difference , 20 is 1/8 of 160 and the extra nets you a whole 12.5% increase in rate . The rally people always said to make a real difference you want to increase spring rates 20-30% over factory std which is often a little soft to start with .
Going from 160 to 200 in/lb wagons springs is real easy and if you could around the rear height issue its apples . The way to do this on an aftermarket strut would be to turn off the lower spring seat in a lathe and make something up to sit the spring down a little lower at the bottom , or find someone who knows how to shorten them properly .

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Mon Aug 29, 2011 11:36 pm

I am sure 200lb/in springs would be fine, but like you say, get around the height issue....

Kings want $330 and ten days to make copies, Kevin Mac says 3 days and $220, and Lovells have some good info in their catalogues on how to specify your needs in custom spring making. If I were to get springs made up but I am not, they would need to be a free height of 290mm (285mm is a little too free in the seat jacked up, wheels-a -hanging) compress to 210mm with car weight on them, then they can be 200lb springs.

Still to even drive the beast, first registered 28AUG87, was gonna go for rego today 29AUG2011, but didn't.

If Disco has that odd yellow daubed spring and it is 10.40mm thick, 285mm high, I can marry it with nncoolg snrs odd one out