Once again we rejoin the Forester in it’s typically place in the driveway with yet more parts to be installed. With all the other off-road accessories I had always wanted a rock deflector for the front end, the oem unit looked like it would fit the bill. I soon found that a turbo rock deflector no longer exist or were never in the States. But I really wanted it to help complete the touch of style I thought the front end needed.

A bit more research found that plenty of Us dealers had installed the N/a version on the Forester Xts, but checking any Subaru online parts catalog will let you know that it does not belong on the turbo. The high center of the deflector helps divert air upward to keep rocks/bugs from hitting the front end or windshield but this pushes the air up and over the hood scoop. So what is a turbo owner to do..?

What’s for dinner? Fresh Subaru oem parts, of course!

After seeing a few turbo version which I believe might have only been sold in Australia, I figured I could buy one and with a a dremel make it quite similar and with that I ordered one from Subaru.

Once it arrived and was mocked up on the car the best places to cut were easily visible and fit right along with the body lines. Next up was placing painter’s tape and drawing a rough guide to keep me on track while cutting away.

I had high hopes after getting the rough cut down to sanding it down with my dremel tool, but my Craftsman’s version was having extreme issues overheating. At one point I was leaving it off for two minutes and then using it for 30 seconds.. Which made me rethink my goals and decide that a door edge guard would make a great covering for the roughed up edge.

Pleased with how it came out I installed it on to the Forester and made it out for some photos! It was a mod that I had always thought would look great for my off-road look.

After three years my left front Depo headlight had bothered me enough to order a new unit. I had really good luck with right until the first year of ownership ended. A trip to the local car wash in January found that the headlight either didn’t like the huge temperature swing or the pressure washer was too much for it. After that I spent the next two years keeping it clear by resealing it every now and then. But I had grown weary of constantly removing it and used multiple methods to keep it clear.

Moisture always loves to show up on this headlight after trip to the car wash.

So the time had come to replace it and so a new Depo headlight was sourced hoping that this one would be better. The passenger Depo had made it all three years without a hitch, maybe it was just this current headlight. So once again the bumper came off and a new headlight took over where the old unit once was.

With all these visual upgrades it was time to enjoy the scenery and take a few photos, here are the adventures that ensued.

Returning home from work for lunch I was having trouble with the car going forward. Unsure what could have happened over lunch I decided to drive the STi back to work. Later that evening I noticed it was still exhibiting the same issue and the bonus of owning two vehicles decidedly showed it’s worth. The issue at hand was inability to move the car forward, even with the gas pedal depressed nothing would happen. There were no CEL codes but it’s obvious that something was amiss. I decided to test the MAF sensor by installing the STi’s and for whatever reason that seemed to work. The Forester now moved again and I just chalked it up to an old MAF sensor deciding to stop working. A new MAF was then ordered.

The best part about having matching cars is being able to swap parts between the two.

This concludes another rousing few months of the Forester’s life. Stay tuned next time for more Forester shenanigan’s and excitement.

Subaru tales Volume I: Cutting up new Oem parts, new headlights and cars that won't move!

Related Reading

Cleaning your Maf!

Making your own Turbo bug deflector!

Depo vs OEM headlights!