Butt flap installed!
MOD #7 is complete!
The rear spoiler, or "butt flap" as I like to call it was installed today with my son's help.
Before you start this MOD, consider waxing the area where the spoiler will attach. Odds are good that you'll never see that area again!
This MOD isn't what I'd call difficult, but having to drill 4 holes thru the hatch is kind of scary. There is one step that I didn't take pictures of & that was the positioning of the paper template (piece of crap!). Drill the hole thru the locating hole or indent. The template uses this hole as reference point to position the second hole. I should note here that even if you do everything perfectly, the inner two holes may appear to be off due to the paper template positioning. Don't let this bother you, just elongate the holes toward the center of the hatch (slightly!). That area is covered by the spoiler, so it will not be seen. Do this on both inner holes. It won't take much, just enough so you can insert the stud on one end in its hole & pull the spoiler enough to get the other stud to seat. Once this is done, you'll see the outside holes will line up perfectly. I used a 1/16" bit to drill the pilot hole & a 1/4" bit for the final hole size. Of course the holes should be deburred & coated with a rust preventative. I used NO-OX-ID "A", which is a electrical terminal grease. I suspect even dielectric grease would work.
I have to admit I'm not a fan of the butt flap, or rear spoiler, preferring the more functional rear dust defector. On this Forester it seemed right & adds a finishing touch to the rear lines.
Bobby...
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1/4" holes drilled.
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These pictures show the fasteners. The stud in the sheet metal cutout & the screw below. If you look closely, you can see the protective grease, which hasn't been wiped off yet. The purpose of the rust preventive is keep moisture from getting to the exposed or raw sheet metal. Use a liberal amount of grease, so it squeezes out when the fasteners are tightened.
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The Table of Contents for my Member Journal can be found ► here. (post #124)
['07 FSXT Member Journal] ['03 X Member Journal]
MOD #7 is complete!
The rear spoiler, or "butt flap" as I like to call it was installed today with my son's help.
Before you start this MOD, consider waxing the area where the spoiler will attach. Odds are good that you'll never see that area again!
This MOD isn't what I'd call difficult, but having to drill 4 holes thru the hatch is kind of scary. There is one step that I didn't take pictures of & that was the positioning of the paper template (piece of crap!). Drill the hole thru the locating hole or indent. The template uses this hole as reference point to position the second hole. I should note here that even if you do everything perfectly, the inner two holes may appear to be off due to the paper template positioning. Don't let this bother you, just elongate the holes toward the center of the hatch (slightly!). That area is covered by the spoiler, so it will not be seen. Do this on both inner holes. It won't take much, just enough so you can insert the stud on one end in its hole & pull the spoiler enough to get the other stud to seat. Once this is done, you'll see the outside holes will line up perfectly. I used a 1/16" bit to drill the pilot hole & a 1/4" bit for the final hole size. Of course the holes should be deburred & coated with a rust preventative. I used NO-OX-ID "A", which is a electrical terminal grease. I suspect even dielectric grease would work.
I have to admit I'm not a fan of the butt flap, or rear spoiler, preferring the more functional rear dust defector. On this Forester it seemed right & adds a finishing touch to the rear lines.
Bobby...
Before & after.
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The picture shows the locating hole or indent, marked in yellow. This is where you drill first & the paper template (piece of crap!) uses this hole as a reference point to locate the second mounting hole. The lower picture shows the the pilot hole drilled.
1/4" holes drilled.
The Table of Contents for my Member Journal can be found ► here. (post #124)
['07 FSXT Member Journal] ['03 X Member Journal]
The installation is very easy & it comes with detailed instructions, so I'm not going to do a step-by-step installation write up. The only difficulty I had was with the window mount. The mirror seems a bit loose to me, so I removed it & reinstalled the spring. That corrected the looseness & the mirror is now tight. :smile:
