DmanForester

Still no fix yet, sorry. Had a look at the tap sensor and it seems to be fine :/ Still not sure what is wrong. Got a check engine light come on when pushing the car a bit on the weekend as I was late for a meeting, but the light was on for 5min and then hasn't come on again. Will the system hold a log of errors so I can see what the old error message was?

Thanks allot for the detailed explanation and for your time. Let me have a look at that this weekend and will get it replaced and will post an update on Monday to let you guys know what I discover and if we have sorted the issue. Your help is much appreciated guys.

Would the knock sensor bring on a check engine light? I don't have a check engine light. I have noticed on the higher rpm that there sometimes is a fast ticking sound, could that be it? How would you suggest that I check the sensor?

Hi Guys I'm having a problem with my 2003 Subaru forester. When I push the accelerator to about 25% or 100% the car pulls well and accelerates at the normal rate. My problem comes when I accelerate at about 45% to 90% of the way. The car seems to loose power and seems to makes a slight jerking motion as if you were pumping the accelerator from 90% to 20%. I really need to find what is going wrong as it is killing me having to use 25% or 100%. I am fairly technically minded. Fuel filters are clean Car has about 97 000km on the clock. Any help is much appreciated guys

Hi Guys I have a 2003 Subaru forester xt 2,0 . When the air around and the car is really cool like in the mornings or at night, the cars turbo has very nice pull and can even bring the traction control light on while turning onto a road with foot flat. My problem is that as soon as the car gets warm or hot that pull disappears. Starts to run like a 2.0 litre none turbo. What could be causing this to happen? Is it a hole in a pipe, is it the intercooler not working properly when the vehicle get hot or is the turbo breaking? One other thing. When the rpm gets over about 3 000 rmp some times I can hear a constant quick ticking sound. I'm not sure if the engine is supposed to make that sound but I have noticed that its there some times and not there other times.

Hi Guys I have changed my radiator now. I decided to get it fixed as they took the top tank off and replaced it with a metal one made of copper. They made it especially for the car matching to the one that was removed. The car is running well but still having the performance drop but I am going to attach it to my pc this afternoon and then ill attach some screen shots on here of the results, maybe that will help? Thanks allot for your help so far. Hope ill get to the stage of knowing the amount you guys do and ill be passing the favours on.

Will have my radiator in an hour and will rush home for lunch to put it in. Have just bought all my new coolant so ill make sure the mixture is right as I didn't do the last mixture. Fingers crossed that my problem is solved. Will run the car through my error code reader and see if there is anything being picked up. With all the other readings that it gives you, what do I compare them to? What's the list of normal values or values that I should expect to see?

Is there a way to check the cap or should I just buy a new one? Thanks allot for the help ill check all of the pipes when I am home after work. What's weird is that the heat sensor on the car didn't rise above half way at any stage? Have sent the radiator into the rad shop today so will see what they have to say. The radiator is $230 here and they say that they think that its just the seal that has gone ($50) and they said that they can replace the top black part on the radiator for $100 if its that. I really hope that this will sort the power issue as well. I have been told by a few people here that they think the power problem is one of two things. Either the fuel pump or the fuel sensor that isn't working well. I have just bought the cable and the software to check my cars ECU for faults. Have to wait for my radiator before I can use it though. Would this tell me what the issue is? Please keep and eye on this post as I will update you tomorrow hopefully as I am hoping the radiator will be done and ready today. The ill put it in tonight and test in the morning. Thanks allot for your help so far

Hi Guys I have the 2003 Subaru Forester 2.0 xt, automatic and has 90 000km on the clock. I got it second hand on Saturday and i drove it back to my house which is 600km away. All went well but i am having a problem, when the car and the air around are both cold i get nice performance and can feel that beautiful Subaru motor, turbo and intercooler pull that drew me to this car, but as soon as the car heats up a bit after maybe 5 min of driving or if the car sits in the sun. The power disappears. It may be wrong to say that the power completely disappears but it fells like the turbo isn't pulling. One other thing. As soon as i got it home it did a full service on the car hoping that this would sort the problem. That was fuel filter, air filter, oil filter, oil change, spark plugs changed. This didn't sort my power problem. I took it for a spin around the block and was pushing it a bit trying to see what's happening with the power. When i got back to the house there was steam pouring out of the bonnet. The heat gauge seemed fine and was half way. I opened the bonnet and there was coolant everywhere. The top of the radiator where the black part joins with the aluminium (The aluminium is curled over the black top part holding it down). There was water coming out of there. It seemed to be the only part that was loosing water. Please guys help me find what the problem is. I presume that the top tank on the radiator maybe needs replacing and i have taken the radiator out of the car but i don't know what caused this to happen and would hate to get a new top tank and it happens again or it blows something else. Please guys i love this car and don't feel that the expertise needed are available here in my country to sort this out.

Thanks for the reply. Will this cause any changes in the fuel economy and which brands or types would you suggest?

Hi Guys I have a 2003 Subaru Forester 2.0 XT. I am after getting a little more power out of it but I do want to try keep the fuel economy down as much as possible. What would you guys suggest? Would it be pushing the boost up a little or a new turbo or any other parts? On your choice what else would it affect as well?

Hi guys. Is there anything I should watch out for or keep an eye on with my 2003 forester xt 2.0. Or any advice that you think I should do with it? One other thing, the spark plugs of this vehicle are they special plugs or are there a certain type I should get?

Thanks allot.

Okay thanks for that. Its not rusting inside the tank its rusting on the outside. In the picture it looks like a brown colour. Not 100% sure if its the coolant cap or steering oil cap. Seems that the cap maybe is leaking but is there a reason for that?

Hi guys. I have just bought my car from Japan and I have noticed that there is rust in most second hand 2003 foresters where the coolant cap is. There seems to be a catchment tray around it which has the rust. Is there a way to stop this and to get rid of the rust that is there already? Please see the picture. It is located on the bottom left hand corner of the air intake from the hood scoop.

Thanks allot guys. I have the manual now Have a nice day

Would you happen to know where I could get a service repair manual for the 2003 Subaru forester XT 2.0? Preferably a download for free?

Thanks allot for that reply. Ill try those ideas as soon as I get the car back from the spray shop. Seems that it is probably a fake then cause I cant find a Subaru device like that anywhere on the internet. Thanks again

Hi guys I have just got my forester and it comes with a navigation and DVD player in the centre console at the top and I was wondering where I could get information on this unit or even get some advice on what others have done with them as they come with Chinese I think as the language. I have attached the picture.