Nice to have the OP come back and let us know we have been of assistance.
Come back if you have more questions, please don't be put off by the bickering, if you can ignore that you will get great advice here.
Most would like this to get back to being a help each other forum, maybe some day soon it will.
Sadly one likes to debate with the masses.
NZTools,
Mar 15, 4:33am
I think you are missing the point. It is simply an unboltable item that certainly doesnt need the expertise of a panel beater to replace.It is part of the bumper, not a part of the chassis.
johnf_456,
Mar 15, 4:36am
read above panel beater if your not mechanically minded with removing bumpers etc. Based on comments earlier on, with myself it wouldn't be a problem but everyone is different.
lookoutas,
Mar 15, 5:57am
Sorry john - you write so much dribble, a lot of us tend to not read it too well. Hence I miss-quoted you.
Just to clarify - Even though it's a bolt-on item, the bumper beam is designed with the whole of the vehicle impact integrity in mind. As I first mentioned. Without it working as it should, the air bag deployment is totally out of whack. Those beams are not ordinary steel, they are of a high tensile and one only needs to hit one with a hammer to hear the different ping. While it's not desirable to have components weaker, one thing our training tells us is never to make something too strong, coz now we have confused the air bag control system in a different direction.
hopie fixed his with some "thick steel plating"! I'm happy for him that he found a certifier who probably shouldn't be certifying such mods. That's why I gave the advise of using another beam, and using years of nouse to fabricate it in place with as close as possible to the required strength.
Reading that a Panelbeater has suggested using a smaller intercooler so the beam could be replaced intact is another good idea. Just don't forget to put some wheels on the bottom of the cooler, coz that one already in there needs some! The cost and further problems would probably not outway the cost of chucking it all out for scrap and going back to standard.
star_equines,
Mar 16, 2:44am
Excuse me lookoutas but what do you mean wheels on the bottom of the cooler! Please remember I brought this car with theses mods already done so its a learning curve for me hence why Im going with the advice of the prof to fix the current problem, he also never mentioned anything about wheels!
NZTools,
Mar 16, 3:01am
The intercooler is so close to the ground, that the first decent dip or driveway gutter you drive trough, it is going to get smashed. Putting wheels on it was a tongue in check way of solving the problem. The serious way would be to get a more sensible sized intercooler
lookoutas,
Mar 16, 7:44pm
^ That's what I said :-)
lookoutas,
Mar 16, 8:31pm
What do you want!
If you were a young guy with pants around his arse and cap on backwards, you would want that ugly thing to stay - coz it looks cool, and probably goes whoooosh when you change gears etc. But you're not, and I assume you probably don't give a rats about all that.
A S/H beam would be about 100 bucks, and no matter what remedy is used, it will need one, and the bumper will need removing and replacing.
To remove/replace the bumper and modify the beam would be about a days work and a bit of flat black paint so the beam can't be clearly seen. Allow say - $700 + the beam cost. 800 all up
The cost to replace the beam and fit a smaller intercooler would be dependent on the cost of finding a suitable sized intercooler. A guess would be 2 hundy for a S/H cooler.Probably need extra pipes and brackets made and take about about 6 hours. That all adds up to about $950. Fitting a smaller intercooler would somewhat negate the reason for fitting a large one.
Back to standard. Still have to Off/On bumper and beam - rip out that ugly stuff and sell it for 2 hundy. Buy S/H original intercooler for 2 hundy - 6 hours labor again, and with the intercoolers cancelling one another out = about $650. And you won't need wheels!
supernova2,
Mar 16, 9:35pm
Not being rude but if, as you say, not car savy why on earth did you buy the car in the first place!
star_equines,
Mar 17, 10:51pm
Thanks NZTools, the photos are rather deceptive as it aint that close to the ground. Its never scrapped once so maybe no need for wheels LOL.
star_equines,
Mar 17, 10:56pm
You seem like you are a obnoxious anty subaru person after all that!!! No thats right im not a male with my pants around my ass nor do I really care what setup it has at the end of the day!
Since im a female and aint qualified to carry out such tasks I have engaged a certified workman to do it for me. He said no need to go back to factory standard, it will cost way more then getting a reinforcement bar and smaller intercooler, At the end of the day im not fussed aslong as I get a wof. I dont plan on keeping this car forever so all im worrying about now is getting it sorted for me for now.
Thanks.
star_equines,
Mar 17, 11:02pm
Does that mean any person who isnt car savvy shouldn't own a vehicle! :P No seriously because at the time I had a partner who once was. Im not a total blond tho, I do know bits and bobs about cars and can do tiny bits of maintenance work to them but nothing like carrying out body work etc but this car just goes into the shop for its troubles anyhow.
supernova2,
Mar 18, 4:16am
IMHO buying a modified car is not the sort of thing to do if you don't know what you are looking at.It would appear that you ex wasn't that crash hot on modified cars or else one or the other of you would have noticed that part of the structure of your car was missing.
I find it hard to believe that putting your car back to standard would cost more than fabricating something to patch it up to "do the job".With luck you could swop the wrong bits you have for the correct (2nd hand) bits you need.Nothing complicated in refitting the standard parts - I'd say, without looking at it, you should be able to get it returned to standard for a couple of hours workWouldn't surprise me if the car actually went better returned to standard than it does now with all that bling bling rubbish attached to it.
lookoutas,
Mar 18, 5:27am
Wrong! But you must have been talking to my wife re the "obnoxious" bit. In which case, I've got off lightly :-)
I spent 20 years driving Subaru's at about 70K/year - that's 1,400,000 hard KM, and I still own one.
It's good that you're being sorted, but in light of you not having a tradesman's bum, my 2 bobs worth would recommend putting it back to standard.
star_equines,
Mar 18, 6:23am
Well lucky its not your money I brought the car with or what I may end up investing in it in the future then eh! There is no need to go back to factory he says and I dont think it is going to be a 'patch up job' with just replacing the reinforcement bar whole and a smaller intercooler, if so then returning it to factory is going to be abit of a patch up job to isnt it with still having to put a bar in no matter what, just wont include the intercooler of course but either way im not doing the job. Ive been recommended what to have doneand its my own $$ so who cares what way it is getting carried out, maybe the next person might want to convert it back to factory!!. Anyway guys and girls, I have seeked advice, got it and have now got sorted what I need done so thanks again.
star_equines,
Mar 18, 6:27am
Thanks lookoutas I will know who to shout out to when I need any more advice about $ubaru$ then, thanks.
lookoutas,
Mar 19, 5:00am
Like water off a ducks back.
Although I didn't think I was being an arse - just gave you 3 professional ball-park estimates. Made a CU on the second option (which you are taking) You will also have the old intercooler to sell and recoup some bucks.
Just out of interest, How close was my guess!
Re my chuck at needing wheels. My car at the moment is a similar model, and it has gutter scorch marks across the bottom of the bumper. So it was a sort of serious comment. A bumper has a lot of flex, so a firmly attached intercooler bolted in there is very vulnerable. Just watch the V8 Supercars jumping over the curbs in slow mo. No-one should think this doesn't happen to their car.
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