1WD Foz's

1WD Foz's Foz

Howdy guys and girls,

Im new around here and thought id start a journal to document my hopefully awesome adventure modding my 98 FOZ.

It all started about 7 months ago when i came up with the idea of buying a second car for my wife and I to use for our 1 hour long drive to work, giving our Honda a rest.
Initially i was looking for a cheap Land-rover discovery also thinking we could use this to do some camping and light 4x4ing on our days off, but quickly realised that a Discovery would eat my money in fuel alone so started looking for a cheaper alternative.
Then i noticed a nice looking 98 on gumtree for $2000 no reg no rw, 189k
and seller says clutch may be due.....
I hesitated in calling him for about 3 weeks as i just wasn't sure about Subaru's or Foresters in general, then one day noticed he dropped the price to $1000
So i gave the guy a call and went and looked at it.... $900 was his lowest and the clutch felt fine.
I drove her home (with a permit).

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Booked her in for a Rw the next week and listed defects found was:
~Replace wiper blades
~Rectify R/H tail light and stop light
~Replace drivers seat belt
~Secure spare wheel
~Secure battery
~Replace and bleed brake fluid
~Replace clutch & brake pedal pads
~Clean and rectify oil leaks
~Replace L/H inner cv boot
~Replace front & rear sway bar link bushes

So i did what i could and got mechanic to do the rest.
Next week i had rego :monkeydance:

I drove it around for a couple weeks and started to notice that if i put my foot flat.... some times it would slip, so i looked up clutches on ebay and took a gamble with a relatively new melbourne based brand "Blusteele' as they had crazy low prices, $250 new ,shipped, with 12 month warranty.

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Blusteele-Clutch-Kit-for-Subaru-Forester-S10-2-0Ltr-SOHC-EJ20J-98-02-w-WARRANTY/182301956674?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649

I had it sitting there for when the Foz needed it and it wasn't long until i got the car bogged (in my front bloody yard mind you) :rotfl:
and the clutch was ruined after minimal attempts of getting out with road tires.

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look at the damage to my Neighbours front lawn :redface:
luckily it only cost a slab to recover.

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The truck that pulled me out :rotfl:

So i threw my car at the same mechanics that did my rw and they installed my clutch!!
Also had my flywheel machined and they found a leak in my rear main seal so replaced that while they where there....awesome!!

My wife and i started exploring how far down the dirt track this little foz could take us in places like Lerderderg State Park & LaL LaL & Bungal state forest. whilst we stuck to the chicken track mostly... I realised fast this was a capable little beast.
Next thing to go was me rear left shock...... i knew it was coming tho, and taking it offload didn't help a bit :shrug:
So I ordered rear KYB's and standard Kings springs from Archm-suspension in Bayswater as they had the best prices and the boys down there are really nice.
you can find them on ebay

https://stores.ebay.com.au/archmindustries/

So i had them Installed and straight away what a difference it made, the rears must have been so saggy before cause it looked lifted when i picked her up lol

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New rear kings springs and kyb shocks

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Old ride height :rotfl:

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New ride height

Then it was time for some new tires as i had a few issues with the old ones
I went with 4 x Yokohama Geolander G015 AT in 205/70/R15's

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The last issue i had was the speedo died, subaru wanted $350
wreckers cost $10 and i got 2 :rotfl:

And im trying to figure out what this loud noise is coming from my rear passenger wheel area, it comes and goes ,sounds like a loud grinding noise majority of the time around 90-100ks.

1WD
 
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Looks good! Welcome to the "higher car" club :-)
Thanks Kevin , im so happy to be up here lol
car feels amazing with the lift kit, no adverse reactions to installing the lift at all :monkeydance:

nice looks . just need repaint rims or put better ones and proper tires now.
i want just ask one thing about front spacers camber and caster offsets. like how much they are off. i was reading in other place that its like 0,65-0,7cm more inside. is that about correct ?and it goes to side too not just up. wonder how much to side and how much up from original bolts it goes

Thanks mate, my friend wants to paint my rims black which i will go with eventually lol, and as for new tires ill use the ones i just bought for a bit (still brand new lol) then look at getting a second set of 15" rims and put MT tires on them for sure :lol:

next for me is the front shocks and springs, which should lift the car a little in the front end :iconwink:
 
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A few pics from our day out yesterday prospecting for peridot and Olivine in Mortlake Quarry

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1WD
 
Some of our finds

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So how much ground clearance now you have after lift?
Car should be harder too with new springs so how it feels ?
 
Ill have to measure it to check for sure but i think SF foz is 200mm or 210mm clearance stock, all springs i replace are stock hight, and ive added a 2" lift in the front and 2.5" lift in the rear
so i should be around 250-260mm in the front and 263.5-273.5mm in the rear
car is not harder as i replaced my rear shocks ( and will replace my fronts the same) with standard hight king springs, matched with KYB shocks.
if i get any more lift it will eventually be from bigger tires.

1WD
 
So in about 3 weeks time I’ve organized a family trip to the Grampians with 2 family members, myself plus the dog coming along. Originally we thought of taking 2 Cars as we will be prospecting and camping while we are there and need to bring quite a bit of stuff but chances are which ever second car we bring will sustain some damage getting to the camp site as they are normal cars..... not even half my foz’s clearance....
So I looked at getting a cheap trailer for my Foz and the Tow ball and Tongue attachment so I can tow....but I was worried a lot about the drag on my little 2L engine with ....let’s face it..... very limited power to say the least lol
So I told a mate about it and he came through lol
He had a family member who he knew had a trailer that had they owned since new....and they even paid to have it shipped over to Australia when they moved here some years ago.... they weren’t using it any more and it’s perfect for what I want/need lol

A lot of you may think it’s silly

But I’m so happy with it
I got it for $200 delivered from 120ks away and it needs some globes and new tires

Behold.....

The French made Erde 122

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This little champion is my first trailer and only weighs in at 75kg lol
A lot of people that own motorbikes and want a trailer choose this one [emoji23]
Can hold a total of 400kgs
So a payload of 325kgs would be max
It’s internal dimensions are very small but perfect for carrying my tent/table/chairs/cooker/tarps/prospecting tools and buckets ect
The internal dimensions are
Length - 1.20m
Width - 0.92m
Depth - 0.35m
It’s a galvanised steel trailer which is why it’s so light
And it uses 8” tyres

So now that I have this trailer I can use my boot space and roof basket plus the mini trailer and I would have more room compared to when I use the back seats for storage when we only need 2 seats, might even be able to leave the subs in for the trip lol.

Tomorrow I’m going to the wreckers straight after night shift to try and get the tow ball and tongue off.

EDIT: i forgot to mention it has a tipping tray :monkeydance:
making collecting firewood a walk in the park :discomonkey:

1WD
 
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Some examples of ways other people use such a small trailer.

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Lol

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Interesting to say the least

1WD
 
Yes very interesting small trailer that can do many things.its kinda fits with your forester i think. Haha
So you bought paint for those rims yet? I think my rims looks pretty used and they just look bad from close so i should maybe paint them into something when its get warmer.
 
Very kool - you'll need to attach mud guards I believe.
 
It's a Pokemon trailer!!

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Very cute, (I allmost fell off my chair with laughter when I saw yours!)
I think it would fit quite comfortably inside my 7'X4' Mind you, mine wieghs 680KG loaded (I swear it does officer!).
That's with a bloody big camper tent on it though - the camper part alone weighs about 250kg. I'm planning on selling that bit though (another plan of mine is to sitck a hard shell rooftop camper - or build one - on it.)

For $200 I reckon you've got a bargain, well done!
 
As a suggestion: if you can, put the same rims as your Foz on it beore you put on the guards. then you've got two extra spares if you need them..

Does it have any suspension? It might rattle everything to bits off road if it doesn't (which is another reason why larger rims and tyres would help - aired down they would smooth out the bumps a bit). Would add a bit to the weight of course, but shoudn't affect the carrying capacity (should it?).
 
Yes very interesting small trailer that can do many things.its kinda fits with your forester i think. Haha
So you bought paint for those rims yet?

Thanks mate yeah i think it fits too, no havent got around to buying the paint/bedliner as of yet

Very kool - you'll need to attach mud guards I believe.

Thanks Kevin,
it came with mud gaurds, they just needed to be removed along with one wheel to fit it inside my mates trailer, which looked quite funny when he arrived lol

It's a Pokemon trailer!!
Very cute, (I allmost fell off my chair with laughter when I saw yours!)

For $200 I reckon you've got a bargain, well done!

Pokemon trailer :lol::lol::lol:

:ebiggrin: yes cute could be one way to describe it :lol:

Im so happy with it
Thanks mate

As a suggestion: if you can, put the same rims as your Foz on it beore you put on the guards. then you've got two extra spares if you need them..

I dont think i would have any luck fitting much larger rims on it than it alreay has.

Does it have any suspension? It might rattle everything to bits off road if it doesn't (which is another reason why larger rims and tyres would help - aired down they would smooth out the bumps a bit). Would add a bit to the weight of course, but shoudn't affect the carrying capacity (should it?).

It does have a form of suspension lol
but i dont know what its called
It isnt a spring/shock combo or leaf springs but ill take a pic of it tomorrow.

It wont be somthing i take on extreame offroading trips or anything, so ill just take it slow this first trip and see how she goes.

Anything much bigger than a 10" rim would probly force the tyre to rub against the frame without spacers, and with spacers, the tyre would stick out of the mud gaurds.
Theres just not much room to play with as its a small trailer.

1WD
 
That little thing is fine as it is. No need to paint it or put other wheels on it. Its just fine as that.
 
Anything much bigger than a 10" rim would probly force the tyre to rub against the frame without spacers, and with spacers, the tyre would stick out of the mud gaurds.
Theres just not much room to play with as its a small trailer.

1WD

I've got no idea of the construction, but you might be able to put a wider axle on it, they're not terribly expensive.
It would probably end up doubling the cost of the trailer by the time you've finished with it. so probably not worth it.
Still, it's 10 and a bit times cheaper than mine was (and that was just the trailer, not the camper as well)
 
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I think this picture helps to explain a few things

Firstly if you look closely you’ll see a black “arm” that goes from the wheel to the silver structure.... that black piece is the “suspension” lol
It travels up and down with some sort of spring affect,
Not 100% but from looking at it I think both wheels travel independently from each other.

Secondly if you look at the right wheel in the pic above you will see what room I have to play with in regards to upsizing the rims
The Tyres on the rims are 4.00 x 8

I could always make bigger guards to help fit a slightly bigger tyre rim combo

1WD
 
At first i thought you have acccident there lol.
Yh that suspension is prety ummm simple no? Haha maybenyou could upgrade it thou you dont need it swing too much to sides. So maybe its simple on purpose to be cheap. But some upgrades still could be done there.
 
Lol no accident just flipped over so rain won’t pool inside
It’s very simple indeed
But your exactly right
It’s meant to be simple
I won’t be taking it down crazy tracks
So far, only looking online I’m having a semi hard time finding tyres for it in my area.
And I need an extra 8” rim for a spare too
Will need to call around a few places in the morning to see if I can get a tyre that small with a speed rating of “M” (130k)

1WD
 
So places who sell those trailers dont have tires for them? You could carry just spare tire at least.
I like how light it is so thats why small wheels . eveeything there made for reason. Its not for carying rocks on mountain roads i guess haha.

Erde 122 spare wheel is Rs480x8 . just find who sell them . i see them plenty on net.
Then just mount it somewhere out of way
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Yes tomorrow I will take the wheel to some shops and see how that goes
Fingers crossed

I managed to make it to the wreckers after nightshift and got a nice Hayman Reece tongue and ball for $20

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So tomorrow I’ll hopefully get the 2 tyres
And I’m not sure I’ll be able to source a spare rim before i need to go away,
And I don’t want to drive so far with for the first time using this trailer without a spare so I thought of maybe getting that sludge or whatever it’s called,
The one where you plug it into a flat tyre and it fills it with goo so you can make it home

Anyone used this stuff ?

1WD
 
$20 is good value! Looks like you need to flip that tongue upside down.

If the trailer proves to be a problem you could always just throw it up on the roof! :-)
 
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