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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Click to expand...
That hardened piece of plastic is part of the crankcase ventilation system. Just pull the one off the ej20 and all the associated pipe work will slot straight on.

Nothing to stress about. It's all Lego!

All EJ series exhaust manifolds are interchangeable in the AUDM. Some will need a matching sump for them to fit but you're all good in that department!

I'm itching to drop in and get my hands dirty!! Unfortunately timing isn't suitable at this point in time :( I really need to get out to my shed I reckon!

Cheers

Bennie
 
Nah I broke both of them trying to remove them, they both very brittle anyways so best to source a new one.

Timing gear off
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Then was easy to remove the old crankshaft sprocket, and installing the new one was very easy, no need for wood and a mallet, it went on by a small push.
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Then I took El_Freddo’s advice and used a bench clamp to compress the tensioner piston gradually until I could get a pin in.
Then I installed the belt and the belt idlers, checked again to make sure the belt was facing the right way, the lines all matched the 3 TDC marks on all the sprockets, then I torqued all bolts, released the tensioner pin and slowly rotated the engine clockwise roughly 3 revolutions until the tensioner piston took the slack off the belt.
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Clutch install took me about 3 minutes using my el_cheapo clutch alignment tool, time will tell if it’s centered properly 🤞🏽[emoji23].
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Again all torqued to spec.
Got the timing belt cover back on
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And swapped all sensors over.
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Just need to figure out how to move the liberty out the way so I can figure out how to move the forester back into position, with a mung back and no car until this afternoon I’d say it’s coffee time.

Parts I need:
-Crankshaft ventilation pipe
-Intake manifold gaskets
-Exhaust manifold gaskets + normal flange gasket
-Coolant + thermostat
-Oil + filter
-Upper engine cleaner
- Engine treatment for first oil change.

Super excited to hear this thing running in the Foz with my exhaust and UEL headers. My 2.0 was so loud with my exhaust setup (and exhaust leak which I figured out how to seal[emoji6]).
When the 2.0 had the standard exhaust it wasn’t good at all. This 2.2 sounded a lot tougher than the 2.0 with its standard liberty exhaust, it had a deeper beefier sound than the 2.0’s state of the art pencil restrictive exhaust sýtemz. So I’m hoping add that to my exhaust and my neighbors and I are in for a real treat [emoji6]

That is all.

1WD
 
So nice to hear you care so much for the neighbors haha. I know i dont.
 
El_Freddo said:
I'm itching to drop in and get my hands dirty!! Unfortunately timing isn't suitable at this point in time [emoji20] I really need to get out to my shed I reckon!
Cheers
Bennie
Click to expand...

Your all good mate
You still wanna meet up when I come up your way for a bush coffee ?
(I’ll come prepared[emoji6])
I’m assuming there would be wicked offroad tracks and national parks around your way?
Then you can double check my workmanship and even take the big ole girl for a spin [emoji6]

How’s the hunt for the remaining parts for your RS going ?

Cheers

1WD
 
scalman said:
So nice to hear you care so much for the neighbors haha. I know i dont.
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Hahahahaha not that I don’t care, we all just take turns being the noisy ones, I live on a property so my neighbors are about 500m away [emoji6]

1WD
 
Wow nice property . would like to have too. I live in flat so neighbors are like half meter away lol. I hate that.
 
I used to live in normal house with small yard then we got burgled a few times so we chose to move out. We found this mini farm with a renovated miners cottage on it with 1/2 acre of property between to big farms and we took it.
Honestly we would have great difficulty moving back into residential as our personal bubble has grown quite a bit since moving here. Its a lot to look after but it’s very worth it with all the tranquility that surrounds this place. We have a vast population of resident wildlife that surrounds our house including but not limited to,
eagles, ducks, rabbits(lots and lots and lots of rabbits lol), kookaburras, magpies, ring tail and brush tail possums, rosellas, cockatoos, kangaroos, wallabies and the odd echidna burrowing in our front yard to get away from our many pets.
We have a small creek in our front yard which I like to cross in my foz from time to time and our drive way is about 500m long so bin night is always fun (especially without the forester [emoji30])


1WD
 
Very nice. And nice area to live im sure.
 
1WD Foz said:
eagles, ducks, rabbits(lots and lots and lots of rabbits lol), kookaburras, magpies, ring tail and brush tail possums, rosellas, cockatoos, kangaroos, wallabies and the odd echidna
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WOW that's a lot of football teams in your neighbourhood! :lol:
 
LMFAO I’m not sure if any of them are football supporters [emoji23]

1WD
 
Sounds like you won't run out of tucker any time soon..:lildevil:

How many ways can you cook rabbit:twisted:
 
Hahaha maybe if I hunted, but I’ve been there, done that
I enjoyed shooting for fun
Just didn’t like the killing part
I haven’t tried rabbit yet, but I’ve heard it’s nice. Our old next door neighbor used to come sit in his camo gear in a camo golf cart and shoot all the rabbits with mixo with his rifle.
Then he took the dead rabbits to the local zoo for the Crocs lol

Most bizarre thing I’ve eaten would have to have been frog in Vietnam.... and it was so nice, tastes like quail or chicken.

Yesterday I went to Subaru to try and get the inlet manifold and exhaust manifold gasket. Last time I went in the Subaru parts guy told me the intake uses a O ring to seal the intake to the block which I know isn’t the case as I’ve removed the intake and have the old gaskets, so I took the old gasket and a print out of a breakdown of the intake manifold parts so I could show him the gasket. I’ve gotten along with this guy quite well before this but his reaction to me trying to chase up these parts was completely unexpected.
After I showed him the print out he asked which book I printed it from so I told him it’s from a Haynes manual to which he replied they aren’t an accurate manual to go by. I show him the gasket which is the same in the EJ20J as the EJ22E, he proceeds to tell me that this isn’t the original gasket, because the original is an O ring, so therefore my engine has had extensive work done to it [emoji23]
Then told me there’s nothing else he can help me with 🤭

Like I said completely shocked.....
I went outside and called Subaru HR and spoke to a lady who was disgusted with my experience and had a Subaru parts distributor from docklands contact me directly, and told me that this gentleman who I had this interaction with will be spoken to after I hang up, all in all a good response from Subaru.
I go to Autobarn and ask the guy if he can get me an intake manifold gasket..... he’s like “yeah no worries”
Ordered and will be in within a week.

Today trying to figure out how to push the foz into the shed.
WIll try once with one extra person but need to be carful as I really stuffed my back putting the engine round be side of the garage, had a CT yesterday, will find out what last damage that stupid 2.0 has managed to do to me later today.

1WD
 
Partsouq will be your friend, I ordered complete gasket kit off them when I did my engine swap, complete genuine, you just need part numbers, but there are numerous sites with the part diagrams
 
Yeah El_feddo told me about that site but I was unable to understand it in time and the prices I’ve paid for nearly everything are cheap but I will try to use the site again soon

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With the engine sitting this close can I just start tightening the bolts to close the gap ?

How would I be sure the shafts centered 🤭

1WD
 
nope -- you need to jiggle until they pop together. Probably needs a poofteenth of a rotation on the crank to get the spline to align, or a change in the angle of the dangle.
 
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@1WD_Foz - have you got the engine and box snugly together yet?

I'm also wondering if you're starting to lose sleep over the anticipation of firing this thing up and going for your first drive!

Just don't build it up to much in your mind otherwise you'll be disappointed :wink: so without jinxing you or your foz, its not going to be that good - well, not as good as an EJ22'd L series - because it's an L series! :poke: :lol:

I hope it's all going well and coming along nicely. I hope you manage to go for a cruise this weekend ;)
Just wrap those annoying cv boots in a shopping bag and cable tie in place ;)

Cheers

Bennie
 
@ El_Freddo
:puke:
Nah not yet bud
woke up super late cause back kept me up all night, went Dr's but my doc's away :rotfl:
So now im back home and about to continue yesterdays efforts :iconwink:
will keep you all posted

As for loss of sleep, i have plenty of that on a good day :lol:
Night shift for 11+ years plus my newly acquired old mans back syndrome = no sleep for meeeeee :surprised:
To be deadly honest the anticipation is part of what drives me :discomonkey:
Ill be so excited to have my car back, just wish i could move around faster :lol:

The old 2.0 was the biggest let down to drive as a daily, ive never had a car lacking so much power, but its capabilities offroad surprised me......big time, that crappy 2.0 was more than enough in low to take me to all sorts of places id never driven before.
So my expectations of the 2.2 are low but im guessing the few extra Kw +Nm torque will be very noticeable while daily driving and more so offroad, matched with my UEL headers and big exhaust im thinking it will run and sound pretty sweet.
Your L series is a beast!!
all in all you've done more to your L series than most people so yours is a good example of what most people would work towards.
And once you fit that S/C i cant imagine how well that thing would go offroad :poke: :rotfl:
Mine on the other hand is only just beginning.......
give her time Bennie..... give her time :rotfl:

Thanks for your well wishes mate, im thinking it'll be next week ill fire her up once i get the new intake and exhaust manifold gaskets...... bam
in the meantime my job is to have everything done by then, also need to source that crankshaft ventilation pipe, thinking of just making one as its only a breather right?
cbf ordering it in... and waiting longer lol

I think i will just bag and tag the cv boot like you suggested for now,
make sure everything else is working fine then sort that out.

Back to work!! :discomonkey:

1WD
 
So far it’s not budging after trying everything suggested, the guide pins won’t go in and I’m afraid I’ll damage something if I get to violent....
Still trying tho

1WD
 
just a thought.. there was a change from 4-bolt to 8-bolt gearboxes back when (around '99).. there's not a problem with a dowel trying to go in a bolt hole or something similar, is there?

I don't know the details of matching 4-bolt engines to 8-bolt boxes -- a bit of research may help
 
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