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Check the rear subframe mounting plates for deformation. Along the lower side of the sill, in the same area as the jacking point, you will find a trapezoidal plate that is fixed to the sill with two small bolts and has a big bolt on the other end, where the frame carrying the rear suspension mounts. If this plate has been used to lift the car frequently, it might be deformed and this will cause it to knock the subframe. You don't need to lift the car to do this check, just on your knees in front of the rear wheels.

Yep, practice makes perfect on this one. I have begun to ALWAYS remove the battery and loosen the windscreen washer tank. The time you spend removing these is much shorter than the time spent trying get the plugs out and in with the battery in place.

"YES PLEASE!" on the flush! I suggest draining by removing the thermostat. The rad hoses don't like being opened and close many times, they will start to leak. The rad itself also has a small drain valve at the bottom, same side as the top hose. Flush at least four times, tap water will work well, as the impurities will tend to bind to the coolant chemicals. You might want to do a final flush with demineralised water to remove said impurities. Getting all the air out of the system can be tricky. If you fill very slowly, with the car on a slight uphill incline you won't have much air in the system. Idle until the fans start to run! With the rad cap off, then top off with engine still running, screw the cap on, and fill the overflow tank to the FULL mark. Keep an eye on the overflow tank level the next few days, adjust the level when completely cold. Don't open the rad cap anymore. (By the way, when you "cracked" the rad cap, the coolant in the small rubber hose would have run down into the overflow, that's why it gurgled)

Sure sounds like an alignment would be a good place to start. Make sure you get a four-wheel alignment - the rear wheels have adjustable toe.

Don't lose sleep over it. If it does start to leak I suggest buying a quart bottle of Valvoline's high mileage oil, unscrew the oil filter, empty it, refill with the high mileage stuff and screwing the filter back on. That "over 70k miles" stuff will swell the seals back up.

As mentioned above, you just need to go for a test drive. The Honda will lose. And yes, you can get the non-turbo to sound cool. If you get one, come back here and we'll sort that out!

Yep! I think Nipper, you might have been swayed by all the "part time AWD" vehicles. Welcome to the world of Subaru, we do things differently here

The lower part of the view is the same most everyday, but the top part indicates a good day:

Okay! And does anyone mind if I write : "I told you so."? :)

There are only two screws. One underneath the window switches (push up the front first) and then one hidden behind a small plastic square. You must remove the "sail" on the inside of the door mirror, and lower the window to allow you to lift up the door card.

Without any modding, you can go as deep as the center of the wheels. That'll reach just up to the bottom of the doors. At this depth, your engine bay won't flood.

Any ABS system will cause longer braking distances. The cycling of pressure means that there is a loss of optimal pressure for a short while. The idea behind ABS to allow some amount of steering during panic braking. ABS does not increase braking power. My Impreza has the Hitachi ABS system and my old Legacy had Bosch. The Bosch system was a little more efficient, and gave very good steering in tricky sitautions. But it's a small difference. Tyres DO make a difference, and I understand that you are using the same as always, but perhaps these tyres aren't suited well to the Impreza. Don't forget it's a much lighter car. I find that Bridgestone Blizzaks give me plenty of stopping and steering, even on loose snow.

Impreza GT is the 2.0 Turbo, Euro spec.Door card removal is not exactly the same as those pics Subiegal, but close enough!

John, stick with Genuine Subaru parts. They are very high quality - they did last ten years after all! The only parts I swap with non-Sube parts are the front brake discs and pads. Subaru parts aren't bad, but I take my car on tracks and need the extra performance.

The expansion ratio for air is much larger than for water. Therefore a smallish bubble can cause very erratic level readings in the overflow tank, all according to ambient temperature.

Well, the ABS pump does perform a self-diagnostic procedure, which will give a whirring since the pump motor is checked. So, it could be normal. If you've had this for two years with no increase faults, then maybe you're okay. However, for peace of mind you should hoist the car up and remove the wheels. Check for a "ballooned" brake hose or dirt around the wheel speed sensors. These are comprised of a ring that has notches all the way round and a "Hall effect" sensor that's screwn into the wheel hub. You might be able to see these things with the car on the ground, but on lift you have much better access.

The trans will be fine. As you have already noted, it's the tuned engines that eat the WRX gearboxes. You might want to refill it with my present favourite gear oil: Valvoline Synpower. Works a treat in terms of shift speed and no grinding. Well, ok a little stiff when cold.

Make sure the clutch is adjusted right. Try this: At standstill ,engine idling, shifter in neutral. Press the shifter forward toward third gear, just press it firmly, don't try to force it. Keeping doing this and slowly depress the clutch pedal. Pedal a bout two/thirds down, the shifter should slip forward into third gear. If the pedal has to go to the floor to get the shifter moving, you need to tighten the clutch cable a little bit. Adjustment is on top of the gearbox. IF that's okay, then the best thing to do next is drain the gearbox oil and refill with Valvoline Synpower 75W-90 (or Castrol Syntorq). The Valvoline oil has stopped a number of Subaru's from grinding.

I would leave this to people with big air-driven tools. Mainly because I don't have two time/space to leave a car standing. It's a simple procedure and doesn't require any special tools - just hex bolts - but it's the sort of job that can expand timewise. Unfamiliar territory and so on. Goes something like this: There are three little nuts holding the top of the strut, just like those you see in the engine room. Only these are hidden behind the outer frame of the back seat. Back seat must come out, start at the bottom. Depending on model, you might need to remove some of the plastic trim back there too. Actually, on your Forester it might be much easier - only just realised. The bottom of the strut is held in place by two large bolts that attach it straight to the hub. These could be tricky to free up. Don't worry about alignment, only toe is adjustable on the rear and this is done on the lower suspension arms.

Or, if everything appears normal otherwise, you still have air pockets in the cooling system! Try this: Drive, let cool for about an hour so the pressure drops, remove the rad cap, idle the engine until the rad fan starts running, then while the engine and fan are still running top off the coolant and screw the cap back in. While you are waiting coolant will overspill as the engine heats, try to collect it in a cloth or pan beneath the car. Driving beforehand ensures that the engine isn't so cold that it takes ages for the fan to switch on.

It could be condensation on the drive belt. Check for fine cracks across the belt, missing chunks, signs of "hardening" which will mean shiny bits on the friction surface.

Engine speed changes as you put into gear and that could provoke a drive belt squeal. After squealing a bit, maybe the belt gets warm enough to grip and stop making noise.

You might raise compression, but you need to research the size of the valves. 2.0 and 2.2 heads will likely have much smaller valves and that ain't gonna help performance at all.

Nice one on the Cat, Nipper. Expensive failure that might take some time to show up. Make sure "potential cat failure" is covered - or insist on replacing the cat(s).

Okay, to avoid confusing what does what and where these things are: When I do my brakes, I remove the pads, clean and lube the guide pins, and then assemble temporarily without pads and check that the caliper can slide without resistance. No binding top or bottom.