Bantum's '05 Forester ...

[Subyroo]

Will also need to get the windscreen fixed at some stage ... :/

Cioa, Bantum ...

And the carpet.

[Bantum]

Ha - regarding Carpet, yes that's on the list of things to do ...

Well I did get round to fixing a more urgent issue - Fitting a new windscreen ...

Out with the old :



In with a new one :



Relatively painless procedure, just made a dent in the wallet ... :/
No rust was found under there - minor issue with plastic / rubber trim on bottom but, it will need replacing at some stage ...
Other than that all's good to go ...

Ciao, Bantum ...

[El_Freddo]

So much better than lifting the windscreen off the L series. That shite gives me nightmares with the potential rust hiding under there

Make sure you fill any cavities with sikaflex - better to have that stuff rather than water in there. Something I stuffed up with on the last windscreen install on Ruby Scoo. Now I’ve got rust to clean up again. Remember me mentioning nightmares??

Your new windscreen looks awesome!

Cheers

Bennie

[Bantum]

Christmass Present :



And installed :





Recon it will keep the dash from craking ...

Cheers, Bantum ...

[Bantum]

Found some replacement bonnet / headlight covers :



Will have to do a bit of a clean-up the before installing ...

Add : Did a trail fit of headlight covers :







But the bonnet cover is a while of yet, as its missing some bits ...

Ciao, Bantum ...

[Subyroo]

Christmass Present :



Recon it will keep the dash from craking ...

Cheers, Bantum ...

I used Aero303 on my 2003 Forester's dash, plus a sunshade when parked in the sun, not a crack in 13 years of ownership.
I don't have the Forester anymore, it went in 2013, daughter used it for a a couple of years, then she on sold it to a work friend's son for his 1st car.
The kid was doing Pizza Hut deliveries and got T-boned (other car ran a Red light), "Casper" was totalled.

[Bantum]

Went picking for a replacement :





Extra pont for those who know where it goes - Just got to fit it now, which means bending down - something that I'm not up to at moment ... :/

Ciao, Bantum ...

[El_Freddo]

Lower section of the bumper in front of the front wheel is my guess. Little wind deflector.

Put the car up on some ramps to fit them, just make sure you don’t rip them off getting off the ramps.

Cheers

Bennie

[Bantum]

Cleaned up the now matching pair :



& installed - Well that worked a treat : ( p.s. - Anyone know what effect they are actualy supposed to have ? )



Might have to find a missing bit though - Any idea of what's supposed to go here ?



Thinking of 'sump guard' or 'Skid plate' of some sort ...

[Bantum]

Whilst I was under there - trail fitted one of the fog lights that I picked up earlier :



The plug fits, but its also missing a bracket ...



So I've been looking for, but not much luck in finding brackets - so will need to find / print something to suit ...

Image TBA here ...

Cioa, Bantum ...

[El_Freddo]

Looks like you’re missing the big plastic air ram that goes under the engine. A bash plate would be the best option I reckon. And that exhaust manifold looks nasty

And those little spat things in front of the wheel look like they’re on the wrong way, I would think they deflected air outwards, not inwards like you have them orientated. I could be wrong though.

Can’t say when I’ll be at a pick a part again, but I can grab a set of brackets if I see them there. Let me know.

Cheers

Bennie

[Bantum]

Thanks Bennie,

Thinking of getting one of SubaExtreme's latest skid plate - or a spare 'stop sign' - Will have to wait & see what comes up in the serach for one.
As far as I can tell its mostly orignal exhuast, so when it does eventually go ( rust most likley ) I'll look at putting on a nice set of headers to give it that boxer rumble ...

Yer I first thought that too, but the Air Dams only fit one way ( as the holes don't line up any other way ) & all the examples I've looked at are the same.
Still not 100 % sure what exactly they are intended for - most likely to direct air to the brakes ?

All good on light bracket, as I've been working to 3d print something ... ( will add some pictures when I've finished drawing it up )

Cheers, Bantum ...

[El_Freddo]

The air dam is designed to draw air under the vehicle which creates a low pressure system in the engine bay, this results in more air being drawn through the radiator.

I’m unsure as to what speeds this is most efficient but it must do something. Manufacturers have put them on vehicles for a very long time. My first car, a 1971 LC torana had one! Made “proper” with some decent sheet metal, almost bash plate spec!

I hope your 3D printed part will hold up to vibrations and potential knocks. Last thing you’d want is the light to fall out because a print layer gave up in the ghost.

Cheers

Bennie

[Bantum]

Took the Forester for an offroad drive in the Laidley / Gatton Area - Sat 3 May 2025

More on the adventure in Link : viewtopic.php?f=77&t=50939

Enjoyed it for the most part, but did some damage to front bumper in one creek crossing ... :/
( Didn't get any photo's sorry as was busy getting in & out of creek crossings & the ruts )

So will have to look at getting a bash plate & a few other upgrades before adventuring out again ...

Cheers, Bantum ...

[Bantum]

Finally got round to do a minor service, Oil & Filter change :



Opened the air filter box & nothing there !! ...

( I don't know what happened to it either - as I didn't check when I first got it, so its been running like that since )

The rest was done with this :



No problems there, as it was a simple task to drain fluids & put in new stuff ...

Bantum ...

[Bantum]

So whilst I had it up on the hoist, I took the opportunity to take a good look at the underside & found a few issues that wil need addressing :











So I'll be up for a new exhuast at some stage, as this one definitely has issues ... ( check out those dings, scrapes & rust )

With a bit of body damage that needs attention ( to stop rust ) & possibly some suspension work ( shocks & rubbery bits ) with an all too familiar saggy butt syndrome.

Ciao, Bantum ...

[El_Freddo]

Nothing wrong with the exhaust Bantum! Dings,scrapes and rust are only issues if they result in exhaust restrictions and holes that aren’t where holes should be… you should see Ruby Scoo’s exhaust, yours looks mint in comparison.

I do like a good set of UEL extractors/headers though

No air filter I bet you were surprised when you found that missing! I hope you haven’t followed any vehicles on dusty roads since getting the foz!

Cheers

Bennie