Dulagarl: the Lifted H6 Forester

dirtyRU · Mar 26, 2011

Bummer to hear....
When you're hitchin a ride next time, don't go if it's a crazy old dude offering you " a little water from tha top end, eh!" Saw it in a movie once about an aussie dude! Needless to say it was really water

Dulagarl · Mar 27, 2011

Managed to get the vehicle out and onto a flatbed truck: now at the repairer in Kingston SE. I also have clothes etc. Locals have been very helpful: the clener t the pub even offererd to loan me her car for a few days if I needed it.

Will post some pics and start a trip log later today.

my04tone · Mar 27, 2011

Greg when you get back maybe drop around home we can do a lookee see over the car?

dellsfozz · Mar 28, 2011

Sad to hear what happen mate! I'm glad you are ok and fixing all the probs. This made me bit worried about my stock struts to handle the really rough stuff. What struts are you using that got damage? Which struts, the fronts or rears? How can we avoid this thing to happen? Maybe, we could use coilover suspensions like drummond motor sport(DMS) becuase they have 50mm and 60mm size piston. This is the coilover struts they use in Group N rally cars.
I hope you get here back on the road very soon. Cheers,Dell

Rally · Mar 28, 2011

Some DMS stuff is re-worked standard stuff from other brands. While I have had no problems with DMS on the rally cars I have been involved with, others have. Chat to Kevin about what he did.

Dulagarl · Mar 29, 2011

Ok, since I’ve got a little bit of time on my hands, I thought I show a few of the preparations for the Nullarbor trip.

First, the underbelly of the vehicle with louvres cut in the bash plate to help draw hot air out from the engine bay. Simple as it is, this mod has made a huge difference to cooling when the car is moving, such that in general the thermo fans only come on when the car is either stationery for some time, or doing heavy work in sand.

　
This was particularly important between the crazy headers on the H6. This area was acting as an eddy for hot air, and was compounding the cooling problems.

Second, there were some small cracks in the headlights which were letting water in, and I was concerned that stones would smash the headlights. Some adhesive headlight film made them look like new. I am really impressed with this product. There was enough to do the headlights, indicators and I still have some leftover.

　
Next, I added the deeper roof basket and awning from my other car. Looks nice and is very functional.

　
Then, I moved the cargo barrier that I had paid to get installed into the forward position. This works very well. I removed the rear seat base as others have done, and stored water drums under the folded down seat back. I have 1 x 20 litre and 3 x 10 litre jerry cans stored this way on top of some of those square camping mats with holes in them (two such mats together cover the whole area under the seat). The jerry cans are easily accessible by folding down the back of the front seat.

　
Then I thought about it overnight and also installed the second hand barrier (purchased from eBay)into the rear position. This makes for two distinct “safe” cargo areas, and allows for organising of gear for planned and unplanned stops. I used the existing mounts and the brackets I got with the second hand barrier. I was pleased that I was able to put it to use after I had cleaned off surface rust and sprayed it with rust paint.

This makes for two distinct “safe” cargo areas, and allows for organising of gear for planned and unplanned stops. E.g. here you see the winch cable and the winch, which are accessible by opening the passenger door instead of having to open the rear of the vehicle.

I also went a bit stupid with some of those square camping mats. They are cheap and make excellent padding. I lined the inside of the rear window with two that I joined together, and held them in place with adhesive Velcro.

The black strip down the centre is where I used gaffa tape to hold the two pieces together. The off cuts are useful for wedging in between pieces of equipment, and for between the cargo garrier and pieces of gear.

This is a really effective way of stopping gear bashing against your rear window. It also helps insulate that area against outside heat.
The replacement struts will arrive today I am told, so the vehicle should be on the road tonight.

At this point, I’ll start another thread in “Trip reports”, stay tuned.

SKT · Mar 29, 2011

Firstly.....

And then....... :rock:

The little fella will never give up.....

Dulagarl · Apr 23, 2011

So far have knocked off 8000 kms on the trip. Currently in Port Augusta making a detour to Lake Eyre on the way home. I promise a trip report when I get back. Car has been magnificent.

carljwnc · Apr 23, 2011

Djulpan said:
So far have knocked off 8000 kms on the trip. Currently in Port Augusta making a detour to Lake Eyre on the way home. I promise a trip report when I get back. Car has been magnificent.

Great to hear from you!!! I know this is one trip report to look forward to.:ebiggrin:

mr turbo · Apr 23, 2011

Great to hear from you Djulpan & that you're have in a good time

Looking forward to hearing all about it when you return. Stay safe in your travels mate.

Regards
Mr Turbo

Dulagarl · Apr 28, 2011

Now in Renmark, and on the way home. Will stay somewhere near Dimboola tonight, and back to Melbourne tomorrow.

Lake Eyre was great, but staying on the Cooper near the punt (sth side) was fantastic. Have some terrific pictures. Trip odometer is now over 9900 kms, and will tick over the 10,000 this afternoon. Limping home with a stuffed front strut, but still going strong.

Trip report might even get started tonight at Dimboola.

mr turbo · Apr 28, 2011

Djulpan said:
Limping home with a stuffed front strut, but still going strong.

Sorry to hear about the strut mate, I like your fighting spirit though

Djulpan said:
Trip report might even get started tonight at Dimboola.

That would be great, but there's no rush. Just make sure you keep yourself safe on you journey home with that strut :iconwink:

Regards
Mr Turbo

Dulagarl · May 3, 2011

Going to Suspension City to pick the vehicle up: just had the front struts replaced at a very reasonable price.

Trip report is still in the works...

paffoh · May 3, 2011

Nice car, great posts, cheers...

Re : Strut damage, its a pretty common occurance (I bent two in one incident). If I remember correctly Kevin beefed his up considerably. Only way around it basically, especially with a full load. Stock or aftermarket alternatives (Like KYB excell G) with loads of gear on board will flex in with a heavy shifty slide.

Cool ride man.

Dulagarl · May 3, 2011

paffoh said:
Nice car, great posts, cheers...

Re : Strut damage, its a pretty common occurance (I bent two in one incident). If I remember correctly Kevin beefed his up considerably. Only way around it basically, especially with a full load. Stock or aftermarket alternatives (Like KYB excell G) with loads of gear on board will flex in with a heavy shifty slide.

Cool ride man.

The front strut issues were simply that the struts had worn out. In relation to the rear struts which bent, you are obviously correct.

According to Damien at Suspension City, the most likely cause is that when the strut is fully extended, it momentarily is internally rigid: that is, when the weight comes back down on it, rather than the piston moving back in it can exert sideways pressure, leading to a bend.

This fits with the nature of the track on which the struts bent: it was sandy, uphill, rutted, and the ruts were of varying depth either side of the track. The vehicle was also VERY heavily loaded. (including 50 litres of water, two slabs of beer, 2 doz bottles of wine etc).

Hopefully this set last a while: the ones that bent were over two years old and I'm sure had seen some serious use.

next time around I may have to go something heavier.

Dulagarl · May 30, 2011

Goodbye Red, Hello Blue

A bittersweet experience really: I have sold the Red MY03, affectionately known as Djulpan. Djulpan's new owners take possession on Friday.

So, it was a given that I'd have to get some pics of Djulpan with the H6 while they still shared the same garage. (BTW, the H6 is known as the Dulagarl).

With the help of my mate Seamus, we took the two of them for a run together, out to the Brisbane Ranges on Sunday May 29th. Here are a few pics of their first and last outing together.

By pure coincidence, the day marked 100,000 kms for Djulpan.

here are some pics of her just outside Werribee, at the moment she ticked over to 100,000.

Well, that's the last trip report for the girl. She has been a magnificent vehicle, and we have lots of memories. If I hadn't bought the Dulagarl I'd be keeping her for a long time to come.

She is going to a very good home, and I will not be surprised to see her out and about in the sand dunes and claypans of North West Victoria.

Thanks for the memories...

SKT · May 31, 2011

Cue Lion King.... 'The Circle Of Life'

Aroomba aroomba aroomba......

Nice one mate. :iconwink:

carljwnc · May 31, 2011

Bittersweet...a most excellent post.:ebiggrin:

Dulagarl · Jun 1, 2011

In other news....

Just picked up the car from Trutrack in North Melb. Some serious machines in there: Ferrari, Maserati, WRX, Lancer EVO, AC Cobra etc.

Like any mechanic I take the H6 to, they loved it.

Work done:

Supply and fit front Eibach camber bolts (says they are heaps better than Whiteline)
Replace front tie rod / steering rack ends.
Re-centre steering
Front and rear wheel alignement (both now in -ve camber)

Was costly, but worthwhile. Car drives fantastic now. Can't wait to try it at decent speed on a winding country road.

Next job is to install the bonnet vents I got from Ebay. They are from a TA 22 Celica, and look like this:

https://img845.imageshack.us/img845/8136/ta22vents.jpg

Should look good polished up and fitted, and will definitely let more heat out of the engine bay. Should pretty much put an end to the cooling issues.

https://img845.imageshack.us/img845/8136/ta22vents.jpg

Dulagarl · Jun 2, 2011

... and by hell it is a vicious machine through corners now. I do think though that the centre diff is biased to front wheel drive.

Dulagarl: the Lifted H6 Forester

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