The AUSubaru.com.au Forums

hi all,i've been out in my shed again,can't seem to help myself but i am having a bit of fun.I've made a $20 sump guard for the suby,check it out. 1'st after taking measurements make a cardboard pattern of the shape you want,i went to local steel supplier and got an off cut of 1.6mm gal sheet and using pattern marked it out,cut out with angle grinder,then mark where you want to put folds and take to local sheety,here i was lucky as i know one who let me use his folder,mark holes using old plastic guard and measurements,i had to make my bash plate wider than origanal as the new brush bar covers origanal holes,therefore i had to weld a bolt on each side at front to secure it with nuts,i also welded a bit more plate on the sides to give engine a bit more protection from water,the plate cost $20 and a couple of bolts and some black pressure pack,you can manufacture some things yourself if you take the time and i try to measure three times-cut once,it's cheaper that way,cheers for now

looks good what moedel subi are you fitting it to??

it's a 99 forester i picked up on side of road,bloke must have been sick of it and had it for sale for$1500,i thought i'd be a it cheeky and asked him what he would take and he said$1200 and she's yours,got a bargain,needed clutch and drive shaft boots,lh brake caliper and few other bits and pieces,i also put new timing belt/tensioners and pump etc as i didn't know if it hd ben done,it has 154000 k's on it,a good little toy for me to play around with,i've had 2 other suby's over the years,sports wagon and L series but i must say this is the best one to drive by far.

wow thats a bargain! with less ks then mine!

Very noice!

How long from cardboard to fitment of the final product?

Cheers

Bennie

hey bennie,prob took about 8 hours all up,y'know,coupla hours to make cardboard pattern,hour to mark out and cut plate,etc,just fit it in around all the other chores i have to do,it does give a bit of satisfaction doing it yourself and saves a few dollars aswell i guess

breedy wrote:it does give a bit of satisfaction doing it yourself and saves a few dollars aswell i guess

Good stuff mate! I love a good DIY job, it's fun and as you've said the satisfaction of completing it yourself is awesome. It's capped off when others compliment your work

Cheers

Bennie

Great job

I'm still trying to work it out though...I;d love to see a photo of it fitted. Cant figure out how it attaches at the front

i had to weld 2 bolts onto front rail on either side next to the tow hooks,as i'd modified the nudge bar i was unable to use original holes where the plastic one bolted on,it would of been difficult to use the original holes anyway as 1 of the bolts snapped off when i was removing it and they can be a bugger to get out.off topic a bit,we drove down the coast on w/end and i did a fuel economy check on it,2 adults/2 kids and the back full of gear,aircon on occaisionally and it returned 8.5 ltrs per 100k's,is that about what everyone get's?i was stoked,that's about 1/2 what the prado uses:D