felipe01forester

That's happened to me a couple times. Once going through a ditch, and once trying to get out of the old MKT railroad bed by my house.

The spark plugs might have something to do with it. Pull out the spark plugs and see if they're covered in black tar-like crap. If they're all cruddy, replace them. If not, you've probably got some problems somewhere else. If you can't think of anything else that could be wrong with it, do not, I repeat, DO NOT attempt to play doctor with your car... take it to a professional mechanic who actually knows what he/she is doing. If you try to jack around in your engine, you might foul something else up and it would cost even more money to fix than if you took it to a pro in the first place.

Welcome to the jungle, mate. I've got myself a Forester, and love it too. I know you guys down south love these machines. In fact, before I got a Soob, since there were so many Subaru ads with Paul Hogan pitching them, I thought for a time that Subarus were Australian instead of Japanese!

Hello back from a fellow new member (actually, it's been a few weeks), as well as a fellow Forester driver. You will be amazed at how indispensable this site is, whether it's getting information on proper off-road equipment, or if you just want to shoot the breeze with some of the Subie drivers from Texas (me) to New Zealand. Welcome and enjoy!

I believe at low RPMs, the fuel/air/NOS mixture will stay in the cylinders longer, creating a more explosive mixture. You'll either blow out your engine or blow up your car. I wouldn't suggest it. If the engine doesn't blow, it'll probably cause the engine to start racing instantaneously making your engine do a nice little China Syndrome on you.

I saw something on "Trucks" (off-road show on Spike TV) about a portable arc-welding setup that runs off the car battery. I suppose that would be handy for some quick fixes.

Jeez... I just got a new clutch in my Forester, so I feel your pain. That's gotta be humiliating, stuck on a flat road like that. Of course, like you said, it's funny in retrospect.

Oh, it's no problem... Subaru of Dallas has it taken care of, and my Forester will be ready in a few hours. Thanks for your help.

Will do. If you want to see how she looks now, check out my photo gallery and see what you think.

LOL... Say, that is an interesting thought. Scuttle hatches or ballast tanks. With some heavy duty seals, a snorkel or maybe a nicely retrofitted scuba tank, you could turn that hatch into a submarine and cruise around the floor of the local lake.

Alright, thanks. I'll check them out.

The final verdict was that I need a new clutch after all. $850 for parts/labor. The mechanic that worked on it said that since I do a lot of stop-go city driving, this is fairly common. The pressure plate was pretty heavily worn down, and they have to replace it all because it's in a kit.

I can usually tell if the AWD is working on my Forester by going up a hill at about 20 in 2nd gear, then gunning it. If the car stutters, meaning the power is being shifted quickly back and forth between the wheels, then the AWD is working. And since it hasn't been doing anything different ever since I got it, then it must be working. Also, I got bogged down one time, and the shifting of the power was slow enough that I could see the back wheels turn when I accelerated, then see the front wheels kick in, then see the back wheels and the front wheels trading off with each other. Pretty cool.

Hmm... let's see what I can remember from when I lost my off-roading virginity... I drove around in the mud near some railroad tracks, then, while coming home, I try to cross a wide ditch and get stuck in it, while my good friend in the Ram Charger pulled me out. Worse, my parents didn't exactly approve of the fact that I was abusing my right to personal transportation.

According to CarFax, it was owned by an elderly gentleman who did a lot of highway driving, not some fearless teenager like me tearassing through the mud. However, I've heard a lot on this board that Foresters have been known for clutch issues, and I guess mine is no exception.

OK, thanks, y'all have been a great help. Boy am I glad I found this site!

It's my 3,000 mile oil change, but my Soob has about 74K on it.. I'll talk to them about the clutch though.

I seem to have a problem with my 5-speed Forester. Whenever I'm in a high gear like 4th or 5th, and I try to accelerate, it will accelerate normally for a second, but then the engine will start to race and it will barely accelerate. I'm guessing it's the clutch. In 2 days, I'm going in for my 3,000 mile routine service... what should I tell them? It's especially annoying when I'm using the cruise control as it takes much longer to get up to speed, and I'm also worried about the excess strain on the engine and how it will affect my gas mileage.

You can hear where the engine starts sucking water. You'll probably not do that again, but if I were you, I'd get a snorkel on that hatch just in case. Or, try to devise something where you can switch between a snorkel and the normal intake because the snorkel does cut back on the engine power a bit, so you wouldn't want to use it all the time... just when you need it.

Brother, I feel your pain. Similar thing happened to me in my Forester. I was going across a street when this woman in a minivan came out of a parking lot, turned onto the cross street, wasn't looking, and t-boned me. The insurance company called it a draw because it was a 2-way stop and she wasn't looking although she had the right of way. But, my Soob is as good as new. While it was in the shop, I was driving a '69 VW Beetle. Coming home from school, the next intersection was green, so I continued. Right as I come to the intersection, this ******* woman in a Ford Escort turns from the opposite direction onto the cross street, giving me only about 5 feet to stop. Alas, the Volks was made before anti-lock brakes, and I slammed right into her. She wasn't insured, either. Luckily, I have an uninsured driver policy, and the insurance company gave me $4000 for it. Now it is a cube. 2004 was just not a good year for me and cars. :-\

Hi, I'm new, as you can probably tell. I came across this site as I was trying to find out how to modify my 2001 Forester to make it a bit more off-roadworthy. The last time I went off-roading, I learned the hard way that I needed a lift. The cheesy stock plastic engine guard was all messed up, forcing me to take it off and leaving my engine exposed to the elements. I would like a lift, maybe some bigger tires, or if I really had some money to burn, I'd rather get an adjustable air suspension so I can raise and lower it at will (if that's even available for a Subie). I've heard of Mudrat on this board and that he does good work, but I'd rather find someone closer to my area because I don't have that much money to spend. So, if anyone on this board knows of anyone within the Dallas/Fort Worth area of Texas that can do a lift on a 2001 Forester L, I'd like to know. Thanks!

I don't have any issues with Subaru of Dallas. They seem to be OK to me.

No worky on the down video.

I need to get myself down to the Texas Hill Country in my Forester. Besides, we finally got our one day of snow here in Dallas, so now I'll see how my Subie will handle the patchy ice and slush.

I'm just fine with my 01 Forester, but it definitely needs a mod or two. I'd like a 3" lift, maybe some bigger tires (although I don't know if the 2.5L 4-cyl will handle it). Once I get a job and get some money, I'll call up Mudrat. I just don't want my parents to keep thinking that my Soob is merely a station wagon with 4-wheel drive.