StructEngineer

Yea man, your setup must be different because the bolts that fasten the hitch are the same ones that fasten the bumper beam to the unibody. Shown as "T" in the diagram above. 12mm x 1.25 bolts. Yea, I could bolt up the hitch by using a nut and long wrench, but then I'd never be able to install the bumper beam. If I look up through the hole from underneath the car, I see as sandwich of unibody, then bumper beam "finger" then weld nut. Yea, I'll criticize them because I've been in plenty of auto assembly plants and see how easy it is to fit brand new pieces together while on a assembly line.

Nope, owned from day 1.

I considered that and there isnt access on mine as you describe. The rear bumper beam has a "finger" that slides into each of the two frame rails, but is covered by the bumper crossmember itself. The weld nuts are located on top of those "fingers", so what I'd really need to do is remove the rear bumper cover, beam, and then tack weld new nuts onto the "fingers", slide the beam back in and hope everything lines up.....truly doubtful. Maybe once I get my own garage I can mess with it, but the shops here suck so bad I doubt they could grasp the concept. Might even take a piece of 1/2" plate from one of my steel fabricators and drill/tap some threads in myself. I think part of the problem is that the bumper finger hole doesn't really line up to the hole in the frame rail, causing the bolt to go in cockeyed, thus stripping and breaking the weld nuts.. Would have been a lot nicer if Subaru added a little meat to the bumper beam and tapped some threads into that instead of crappy a$$ weld nuts that are unserviceable.

This is a 2002 Forester. The frame and area was basically rust free. The hitch utilized the original bolts, so no difference in thread. It was like the nuts weren't centered over the holes. Once the bolts were removed, it was nearly impossible to get them back in. It's a shame, oh well, Towing a trailer would probably blow my 2.5l headgasket anyway

Is it a common problem for the weld nuts in the frame to break loose on Subarus? The shop installing my hitch broke 3 of the 7 weld nuts. I watched them and they weren't using air tools and it was pretty a legit problem they didnt cause. Cant even run a bolt through the frame because there's no access to the top or inside of the frame rail. Sucks, no hitch for the forester unless you guys know of some way to overcome this....easily.

Having fun with my new camera! Updated the first pic, note the central electrode is pitted and not smooth. Other plugs look normal The speckles are hard ceramic like and well adhered. The speckles aren't shiny. and if it makes any difference the photo in post #11 is the rear passenger side.

The other plugs look like this..

Changed out my NGK V power spark plugs on my 2002 Forester. The drivers side rear cylinder plug has very small speckles of green on one face of the electrode arm. Has anyone seen this before? I'm assuming coolant. Would you worry and/or do anything? 88,000 mi. If you can guide me how to post a pic I can show a closeup of the plug.

I have them on both my cars right now (Honda civic si and Sub Forester) and have put at least 20,000 mi on each. Definitely happy with the response and ride. I've read some people have balancing problems, but I've never experienced it.

FWIW, I don't ever trust tirerack reps. They are sales people trying to sell a product. The company as a whole is trying to use "research" as a marketing tool, while I really question how biased the "research" really is.

Oh heck yea, that's totally fixable. It's not even close to the worst I've seen. My best friend is a hailstorm chaser in the summers. I remember him during training taking a golfball in a sock to his own car to practice. and yes it's very lucrative.

What do you do for stuck plug wires? The subaru dealer who changed the plugs last obviously didn't use dielectric goop so the wires are seized to the plugs. Looks like I may have to cut them out. At the wires I did get out, I found at least a teaspoon worth of engine oil around the outer portion of the spark plug tube. Is that somewhat acceptable?

Do you guys have any suggestions for removing the plug wires from the head? Two are really stuck in there. I've just about done everything but torch the F'ers out of there. Twisted and twisted while pulling, no go. I started tearing the rubber boot im pulling that hard.

I think I have a similar need as you. 90% non snow application and every so often go skiing up in the mountains. I'd recommend BF Goodrich Traction T/A's for this need. Good call on not going for snow tires. They're downright scary in warm/dry conditions. There's a performance winter category of tires out there, though in my experience don't perform any better than good allseasons.

Hey, do you know how to get to the front diff fill hole?? I can barely even get my hand in there....let alone pull out the dipstick. Is there something that must be removed?...airbox? or do you go from underneath??

Thanks for the replies. The forester is at 90,000 mi. Inherited it from the inlaws and it looks like these plugs have about 30,000 mi on them. Not sure if platinums were used as the dealer changed them last time. Will probably throw OEM wires on it too. PS, I am not a fan of plug changes in boxer style engines. Remove the air box, battery, and washer resivoir???? what a PITA!!

Was going to change out spark plugs on my 02 Forester, and noticed that quite a few people on here have had problems stripping out the head and/or messing up threads. I've replaced plugs many times on my honda...in fact, my honda uses the exact same NGK spark plug.....but dont want to mess with fouling my head if for some reason Sub's are notorious for stripping out. Is this true or am I just seeing the limited few with problems?? Obviously I'm going to use a torque wrench and anti seize.

bulwnkl, so what do you use in your diffs?

Is there any good reason the service manual calls for 80w-90 gear oil in the front differential while it calls for 75w-90 in the rear? I'm not thinking there's much difference, but this is my first AWD car. Was just going to use Valvoline Synpower 75w-90 for both front and rear. Should I be ok??

My manual for an 02 Forester says to use a sealant on the rear diff plug. It calls out some special stuff. What is it? Are there any substitutes?

I'm looking for some basic tuneup/preventative maintenance advice for my 2002 Forester. This site has a lot of various info, but I just need to know what typically goes out on these cars. I'm a preventitive maintenance person because I do a lot of long drives through the middle of nowhere....so for example if coil packs tend to go out after so many miles, I'd flip the few bones and replace them to not get stranded. She has 90,000 mi and has been fairly well taken care of, inherited from the in laws. Trans and rear transfer case fluid replaced 30,000 mi ago, plugs about 20,000. New axle boots. Coolant was changed when dealer had to put stop leak in to prevent headgasket weeping. Thats about all aside from regular oil and air filter changes. Any advice would be appreciated.

Nah, that's ok. Appreciate the recommendation. Might check the shop out tomorrow.

Yea, before the forester was mine, the inlaws got a new cat converter from the dealer (in my opinion should have just been an O2 sensor replacement). Then coincidentally, ON THE DRIVE HOME from the shop, the inner passenger boot failed. Not that I'm saying it couldn't happen, but there's some shady folks out there. "OOPS, my screwdriver slipped" or "Oh darn I dropped my switchblade" happens a lot. IMHO To have three fail at once is nearly impossible.

I'm only about 30mi south of Salem. Thanks a ton for asking them