Today, I gotta share a little DIY project I did on my old Subaru Forester. The wheel well guards were busted, and I figured, why not tackle it myself? So, here’s how it all went down.
First off, I noticed the wheel well liners on my car were pretty messed up. I mean, they were hanging loose, flapping around, and just looked awful. I thought, “This can’t be good,” especially since I heard they’re important for keeping junk out of the engine and stuff. So, I decided to fix it.
I started by looking up the parts online. I found out that a new pair of these guards, the OEM ones with all the screws and stuff, would cost me around 80 to 120 bucks. And if I wanted to replace all four, that’s like 160 to 240 dollars! But I only needed to fix the front ones, so I grabbed a pair for about 80 bucks. No brand name, just some generic ones that looked like they’d fit.
Then came the fun part – actually putting them on. I jacked up the car and took off the front wheels. Made it easier to get to the wheel well. There were a bunch of old clips and screws holding the remnants of the old liners in place. I pulled all that junk out. It was a bit of a pain, but I got it done.
Now, before I slapped the new liners in, I did this little trick I read about online. I poked all the fasteners through the holes in the new liners first. This made it way easier to line everything up later. Trust me, it’s a good tip.
Putting the new liners in was pretty straightforward after that. I lined up the holes with where they were supposed to go in the wheel well and pushed the fasteners in. Started from the top and worked my way down. Everything just kind of snapped into place.
The whole thing probably took me a couple of hours, but that’s because I was taking my time, making sure I didn’t mess anything up. Plus, I had to look up a couple of things along the way. If you’re handy, you could probably do it faster.
And there you have it. Saved myself a trip to the mechanic and probably a good chunk of money, too. It wasn’t too hard, and now my Forester looks a bit better, and I don’t have to worry about those liners flapping around anymore. Plus, I learned something new, which is always a win in my book. So, if your wheel well guards are looking rough, maybe give this a shot yourself! You might be surprised how doable it is.
- Cost: Around $80 for a pair of OEM wheel well guards.
- Time: About 2 hours, give or take.
- Tools: Just some basic ones. A car jack is necessary.
- Tip: Poke the fasteners through the liner holes first!
Anyways, that’s my little story. Hope it helps someone out there. Catch you all later!
