01 forester, off road worthy:)

hey so i thought i would start a members journal.
My name is Garrett, i am 20 years old, i live in southern california, and i love my forester to death. and just cars in general.

i have been working on cars since i was a little kid and have worked on alot of cars helping out friends. Ive done everything from wiring to suspension with the help of forums like this and a little mechanical inclination;) im no mechanic, but i love learning and figuring out all sorts of installs and car problems.

My foz has seriously impressed me over the past year and some change with it, it has even held its own with my friends Toyota Land cruiser and Suzuki Samurai. I have pushed it to its limits and dented the underbody but it always comes out alive and is very very reliable!

Oh and my skid plate has probably saved me THOUSANDS of dollars!

oh and ive got Big plans for my little foz (as $ permits)

whats on my 2001 sf right now:
-king raising springs (i had to install limit straps due to the stiffness of these springs and destroyed my top hats https://offroadsubarus.com/showthread.php?t=2389)
-kyb-gr2 struts (wish i got 03 struts to fit bigger tires)
-primitive front and rear skid plates- saved my life a few times!
-yoko geo a/ts 235x60x16 (cant wait to go bigger)
-20mm hub centric wheel spacers (gives it a great stance and has not given me any trouble what so ever)
-2 hella 500ff driving lights (bolted to bumper)
-k&n air filter
-ebay muffler...
-spoiler delete (sold to MikeDrives1 on SF.org)
-sway bars delete
-thule cross bars
-thule ascent 1600 box
-*many under body dents*
-removed trunk side pannels, and sprayed truck bed liner (pictures soon)
-JDM outback EJ D/R transmission with 4.11 final drive and 1.59 EA low range gears:) -so lucky to have found this
-Group "N" transmission mount
-custom mesh style grill:) https://offroadsubarus.com/showthread.php?t=2891
-kart boy rear rear sub frame outrigger bushings
-kart boy rear sub frame lock bolts
-05 sti front control arms (added caster ones)
-turn in concepts 5mt lever pivot bushings
-removed rear bumper (eventually a steel one)
-trimmed front bumper (eventually a steel one)
-04 STI front axles (big stretchy joints)
-3inch body lift
-front offroad bumper with 2in hitch receiver
-rear offroad bumper with 2in hitch receiver and tire carrier
-custom 100mm longer than stock hotbits coilovers
-29inch bfg all terrain tires
-rock sliders!

in the works:
-custom rear strut tower with hi-lift mount
-safari style roof basket
-snorkel (bluefox's possibly:iconwink: )


here is a video from a while ago, just a quick water crossing- https://www.subaruforester.org/vbulletin/f114/fun-holy-jim-picture-video-87076/


i have done most of my planning and work with Jackson Rally, they are awesome. They have helped me significantly over the past few months!

Also my mechanic Dave Forman at Forman performance:)

PICS!
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coming along!
 
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EA low range gears are amazing, i feel like i can climb anything!

waiting on group n tranny mount, cuz the extra weight of the D/r and my horribly soft tranny mount are a bad combo:poke:

the added confidence of the D/r has resulted in a broken fog light and some broken clips in the rear bumper. but its all part of the fun!

When i return from Yosemite on the 11th (climbing, ww rafting and fishing) i will install my new trans mount and be doing some bumper cutting for better decent angle. and possibly front bumper as well depending on how carried away i get with the grinder:bananagunner:

been super busy with work but as promised i will include a video when im back from the trip.

God Bless!
 
Wow I haven't this thread since it was started. Nice job with it all. I wouldnt mind swapping out my low range gears for a set of EA low range ones or scorpion ones.
Show us some vids of it in action mate.

Taza
 
Here's a crappy video of it in action finally!
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEWYnR_XM4M&sns=em"]‪01 forester dual range‬‏ - YouTube[/ame]

I also just ordered kartboy rear diff bushings, kartboy sub Frame lock bolts and turn in concepts shifter bushings:)
And in the process of getting group "n" engine mounts:)
 
How do you go with that solid rod to the low range lever? Does it pop out of gear at all as the torque is sent through the transmission and the rubber (read: sometimes very flexible) mounts?

I like the neat low range lever install too. A bit different to factory from what I'm used to seeing but still very neat!

Cheers

Bennie
 
i didnt have any trouble with it popping out of gear, but it would grind a tiny bit due to the "squishyness" of the drivetrain. the rigid linkage that kyle made is very adjustable and Since installing my Group "n" transmission mount it had much less movement, but part of the shifter is a bit to close to the drive shaft and was causing annoying vibrating so i removed it for the time being. i just need to get under there and adjust it to the proper position.

i will also be stiffening up much more of the driveline and sub frame with aftermarket stiff bushings and group "n" engine mount in the near future.

i love the look of the shifter that Kyle made me with the EA 4WD nob! i know that the OEM one would be more natural (not being rigid), so i may end up going that direction in the future if i can find the OEM linkage at an affordable price from AUS...

-Garrett
 
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and sorry for the extremely seldom updates and terrible video haha. I have been very busy working on my friends land cruisers. He is leaving for the army and we have been switching all the best parts into one cruiser in order to sell the other one before he leaves. (he leaves tomorrow, sad but stoked for him)

also i have been helping my other buddie with his 07WRX. Yesterday we installed a boost and oil pressure gauges and soldered and shrink wrapped all the wires (im actually impressed with how good the wiring looks)
and we will soon be installing a vf39 turbo sti top mount, tomie headders, down pipe, up pipe and more:) going to be a fun project
 
Lookin good man. How much does the low range set up end up costing you? I don't need one now, but when we move to Colorado, i know it will come in handy.
 
Installed kartboy sub frame lock bolts and rear outrigger bushings:)

Really stiffens up the rear, I will probably make another bushing order for steering rack bushings and I'm working on getting group N engine mounts

Bushings are my favorite additions to my forester as they have made it drive significantly better
 
Patiently waiting for an awesome lift from JacksonRally:) I can't wait!

The hope is to have 30in bgf's!


I am also thinking about some under body protection (...floorboards have been dented a few times) but I'm not sure how I would go about that yet. As well as front and rear bumpers (possibly trimming and adding tubular reenforcement

-garrett
 
I got all the group N mounts from subarugenuineparts(dot)com

I dont know how much longer, there's so much that goes into it and JacksonRally has alot on there plate right now... But I can't freeking wait haha:P


-garrett
 
okay so no lift yet...

but i have done some other upgrades!

replaced these...long over due!
IMG_4544_zps06ebc1fb.jpg

replaced them with STI axles

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and STI control arms!

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took a little trimming

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She drives great! The tranny has gotten a little noisy over the past year or so but still shifts great and doesn't feel like anything is wrong! (Knock on wood!)
 
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