Pezimm's 2007 Forester

Hey all,

I decided recap my experience with my beloved Forester XT so far and revisit chapters of its journey so far. Enjoy it!

Back in mid-2007 I was looking for a new car and the Forester was always high on my preference list (keep in mind I never had a Subie before, so was still looking at other brands also). I was waiting to see the new model Forester come out to compare with the current at the time and make a call on what to get.

Down deep I knew I wanted the SG9 model and when I first saw the sheer size of the SH - which I thought was too big, I didn't waste any time. I was really going for the base X model - really believe me! - but I came across what is now my car sitting in Geelong and advertised for pretty much the price of the base model. I thought: this is a sign!

This is the car as it was at the dealer in Geelong:
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And a very clean turbocharged engine:
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The car's got a 2.5 turbocharged engine under the bonnet (EJ255) and an auto transmission (4EAT). It was a demo model and only had 113 kms on it (didn't do much demo'ing, i guess..) when I took delivery in early Feb 2008.

Here's a photo I took taking it for a spin in Torquay the day I got it:
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Over the following days I will add more posts with my journey with the car, so bear with me for a bit. I want to make this a register of the mods I made - and will make - as well as the good times already had and to be had!

Cheers,
Pedro.
 
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Hey penzimm, not a bad write up. I'm thinking of changing the window control box in my foz since the rear of it broke and doesnt sit in the dor properly anymore. I also had a similar problem with the auto window going down and not coming up or the switch returning in a falcon i had, i found the pin had melted, so i replaced it with a piece of lego of all things.

And toyota owns denso which make most electronics for jdm cars. And since toyota have a stake in fuji heavy industries why not just cross use parts!
 
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Milestone day today!

The better half and I went for a pleasant drive around the Brisbane Ranges in the morning:

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We then decided to get a late lunch down in the Bellarine Peninsula and ended up putting the Forester on the ferry from Queenscliff to Sorrento (bloody expensive) and returned home on the other side of the bay.

On the Monash, about 15 clicks before getting home, this happened:

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So, the old girl is just over half-way from Earth to the moon! Bring on the big 300,000!

Pedro.
 
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Gidday Pedro

Sounds like a nice day out.

Congrats to your car on the big 200 ... :).

Hope that the little problems you have had recently are behind you now for a while.
 
Another milestone today. Just by chance as I was updating my Vehicle Log spread sheet, I noticed I have owned this car for 2,500 days!
 
Congrats on the milestones! I just hit 210,000km in my Foz. Due for a cambelt at 213. I love the look of the fully black XTs, although I'm quite partial to my own green on black.
 
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I've had these beauties sitting on the shelf for a while now...

I think it's about time they get installed, so may need to get some fresh coolant and get them in the car on the weekend!

Pedro.
 
So after picking up another 5L of coolant from Subaru last Friday, today was the day to get the job done!

So it was a case of "out with the old"

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And "in with the new" - Samco silicone hoses to go with the Koyorad radiator.

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A bit messy draining the coolant - plug came loose and there was coolant gushing everywhere...

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And then to slowly refill.

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System took a total of 6.25L and considering the overflow bottle had some left in it, I reckon I'm pretty spot on the nominal 7L capacity. Nevertheless, I'll keep an eye on it over the next few days.

Cheers,
Pedro.
 
Time for an update:

A little while ago I got my hands on a new radio head unit so it was time to do away with the old factory sat nav and install something developed in this century that comes with iPod connection and bluetooth to keep me in the good books with the boys in blue.

First, removing all console panels and gear that was no longer required:
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And in comes some JDM goodies. This is a cubby box for the place where the radio used to be. It's a refrigerated box (cold air from the air-conditioning manifold) and has a green LED - not yet wired in - that can be seen on the last photo:
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The new radio sits where the sat nav screen used to be:
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And finally everything back together:
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I still need to pull it back out to connect the steering wheel radio controls and to find a route for the USB connection for the iPod/iPhone.

All parts where purchased from japanparts.com. I have the parts list if anyone is interested in doing this too. It's a bit tricky figuring out what to order from the various parts diagrams on the site.

Cheers,
Pedro.
 
Both items are nice, the new radio/sat nav is great & has great maps incl 4wd tracks. But that cooler box is pure JDM goodness! :biggrin::lildevil:
 
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