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Subaru Forester (up to 2005)
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Comments
I hope that somebody will be able to help me find something that could prevent a rear bumper from all the scratches that I occur by parking my 03 Forester XS on a commuter parking lots. The parking is really tight and people basically park cars just an inch away. In some cases people just bump into my rear bumper leaving an imprint of their lisences plate holding bolts in there. I installed a rear bumper corner molding but I was wondering if there are something on the market (I tried to search and didn't find anything) that could protect the whole rear bumper from those scratches. Your help is greatly appreciated. Leo
Me thinks I might've wasted $32 and should go back to my wheel ramps. Thoughts?
burnsmr4
John
Rear Diffy to lift the rear 2 wheels
Front cross member to lift the front 2 wheels.
Should be no problem for the craftsman jack.
-mike
The four "official" jack points are under the doors next to each of the four tires. If you look, the plastic underbody trim under the doors sort of stops for about 6 inches in each of these spots. The jack that comes with the car sort of fits in these spots. A round jack point like the one on the Craftsman sort of makes for this little 1/4" of metal sitting in the middle of the round jack point. The round jack point pivots on this metal, making it hard to lift the car.
I, too, noticed the plastic underbody stuff. Definitely didn't want to lift on that. Can we say broken underbody parts?
Oddly enough, the Subaru tech I called yesterday told me I'd be safer going with the wheel ramps instead of the floor jack. :-\
Thanks for the info on the jack points for the front and back. I take it lifting on the rear differential won't damage the unit?
burnsmr4
#77778 Extra Rubber Jack Pad $4.95
Just a thought.
Gene
Len
We've jacked on the rear diffy 100s of times on subies at races and what not it is perfectly find to jack em that way.
-mike
Don't get under the car until it's secure with jack stands, of course.
The piece of wood I use is actually long enough to cover both jack points on one side of the car. That spreads the weight and allows me to lift both tires off the ground at the same time, for easy tire rotation.
Leo: I've had wild dreams of securing a swimming pool noodle to absorb those impacts at parking lot speeds.
turksteritis: how heavy is that trailer with the two snow mobiles? The auto Forester can tow 2000 lbs, the 5 speed 2400. You're supposed to have trailer brakes if it's over 1000 lbs, but that's also true for your current Ford.
I think a 5 speed would get you about 27mpg on average, 25-30 on highways, a decent improvement from your current average.
-juice
Thanks.
Don
It made it up hills and around the suburbs easily, but I didn't encounter the elevations you will (with thinner air), nor the long distances.
-juice
If you can find a Hidden Hitch or Draw Tite for half the amount (harness included) then go for it.
-juice
Yay, yay, yay. thanks for all your help & advice. I am definitely a happy kat today. -Kathleen
Well, congratulations and welcome to the family! Good to know that things worked out for you.
Remember to take it easy on the Forester during it's break-in period (it's hard, I know).
First 500 miles: No hard acceleration and stops. Don't go above 4000RPM unless it's an emergency. Don't drive at one constant RPM for a long time (ie. don't use cruise control yet).
500-3000 miles: Slowly start going above the 4000RPM mark. Try to keep varying RPMs. Change oil no later than the 3000 mile mark.
Ken
Thanks....
as a side note, i think it's great that the Forester has classy double rear lights (both position and stoplights). not many cars do.
Kathleen, congrats on your Forester, U got our twin (blue X), though we went with MT. Don't forget to update your Edmunds profile...
cheers, tom.
Juice: when you jack against that 2x4, where is the jack located (centered between the jack points)? Is the 2x4 on edge or flat? If the jack is in the middle of the a flat 2x4, I would bet that the jack points are taking very little of the load. Most of it it probably being transferred into the body near the middle 40% of the board.
Craig
My "metal" silver tailer hitch protect do this job pretty well.
Rgds,
Jack
Riding a horse, a double bass, drums, and biology field work?
I get to sit at a desk, listen to the bass thrum of the air handler above my head and my cube mate drum on his desk, and the only biology field work going on here is what's growing in my coffee cup...
Congratulations. I hope to join you in a new Forester soon.
-mike
I'll let you in on an inside joke. When we talk demographics, we always say that Subaru owners, more often than not, are named "Dave", "Mike", or at least have a name starting with a "K". So it was your destiny! :-)
Lately Steves have been making a come back. LOL
Jim: welcome to Subaru's patented "New Car Stench". You're probably smelling the undercoating burning off parts of the exhaust (they're so coated to make the trip across the Pacific). Mine last a couple of months or so, but it's fine 5 years later, just a bad memory.
Craig: yes, centered, and laid flat. The wood is bowed up a little at the sides, so it spreads a little more of the load than you'd think. Plus it's the tougher pressure treated stuff. I have rotated my tires 6 times now and the underside is completely intact.
-juice
However, I strongly recommend trailer brakes if you're going to exceed 1000# and tow in the mountains. Engine braking is sufficient at 2-lane mountain road speeds (~40-50 mph) in 3rd and 4th gear, but less than confidence-inspiring at higher interstate speeds. We have some very long (10-15 mile) steep grades (5-7%) as you drop into Denver. You don't want to risk overheating your brakes.
Trailer brakes also come in handy if you should get trailer sway in gusty cross-winds, which are common here. I've not ever had to hit the manual brake button (stretches out your "train", makes the trailer settle down and fall in behind your vehicle) on the brake controller, because our camper is low-profile and cross-winds have not been a problem, but it's sure nice to know I can if I have to.
We installed a Draw-Tite hitch ourselves - 7 bolts and a couple of minor details with the muffler hangers and charcoal canister. Very easy install. I have a Draw-Tite brake controller and the OEM trailer light harness (to forestall any incompatibilities with the vehicle electronics).
Let me know if you need more details.
Hope this helps,
-brianV
It's not hard, though. The toughest part was removing some over-tightened bolts that secured the old tow hooks I removed.
Get a long shafted torque wrench, or at least a cheater bar.
-juice
Don
Len
-brianV
The Subie's pretty banged up. My rear bumper is a mess, and the mid to left lower part of the rear hatch and the handle mechanism is damaged. Looks like the point of impact was my rear license plate, it's gouged to the point of being caved in on itself. Luckily it appears the tailight panels and structure is intact.
The front end has some bumper damage, but the hood has also been crushed a bit. Just looking at the hood itself it looks fine, but if you look at the gap between the hood and the quarter panels it's clear the hood has been raised up a bit in the collision.
The real reason I'm disgusted is we just had our Subie in the body shop in January to repair a fender bender we got into in Chicago. This is the second accident in 3 months (neither of which was my fault, thank goodness). Sorry for the long post. Needed to vent a bit.
Steve
Steve: bummer, though you're right in that the important thing is noone was hurt.
I bet the front cross member below the hood is damaged. The hood might be saved. I imagine the grill is toast. Both bumper skins, prolly the rear hatch too.
I bet that's $2 grand in damage, if not more. Yikes. I hope the guy has good insurance.
-juice
Of course his Blazer looks fine. :-/ I hope the guy has good insurance too! We haven't even gotten our deductible back from our January accident yet! The body shop's gonna love us...
Sorry to hear the unfortunate news. Good thing no one was hurt!
Ken
-juice
Greg
Lots of U-Haul places install hitches, as well as Pep Boys and those kinds of places.
-juice
http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=34- 0437
Bob
DaveM
Front to back is meaningless, though you could compare it to other Foresters. Also, be sure there is nothing inside the vehicle (like, say, a set of tools) weighing down one side.
However, I'm pleased to announce you get a free lifetime membership to our OCD club! )
-juice
Bob L.
Input appreciated,
DP
If you've driven 4WD or AWD all along, and traction is key to you, then go with the XS.
For snowy weather, the XS has a lot of other useful features, like wiper de-icers, heated mirrors that stay clear even in rain, and heated seats to prevent driver fatigue.
-juice
Thanks, DP
I have a '98 Forester L (AWD, two open differentials), and it's been on the beach several times, on farms/orchards, and throug the sand/dirt trails in the Pine Barrens. It performed just fine. In fact I drove by a diesel GM pickup that forgot to air down his tires.
Get the X, it seems like that's what you want. You can always get snow tires later, for cheap, and still save thousands.
fitzmall.com has X models locally starting at $18,739, i.e. dirt cheap. Prices include freight, too. Autos start at $19,259.
Their cheapest XS goes for $21,811. If you don't want the other goodies, there's no way, no how the rear LSD is worth the $3 grand plus extra. In fact you can buy an aftermarket Quaiffe front LSD for about $800 if it becomes important to you.
The 2003 X has the 16" rims that were missing from mine (it came with 15"s). You're still getting ABS, AWD, power everything, side air bags, blah blah blah. It's still pretty well equipped.
Good luck shopping.
-juice