heartless

yes, the door panel will need to be removed. if at all possible, get the vehicle inside a warm garage.. cold clips are more prone to breaking look carefully for any small covers that could be hiding more screws - check at both top ends also..under or around the rubber seals. you may also want to remove the triangular piece over the mirror mount - makes it much easier to remove and reinstall the panel if that is out of the way. it is usually just held with clips - pry gently all the way around to prevent breaking things. remove the screws you have found, then with a wide flat tool get under the edge of the panel and gently pry it away from the door - there are small plastic push clips that keep the bottom edge fastened in.. once the panel is loose and hinging at the top, push upwards at the back end to get it started out of the window channel. (note: door handle can be kind of a pain, but it will come out) once you have the panel loose from the door, you will have to unplug wiring to fully remove it. from there, replacing the master switch should be pretty self explanatory - installation is the reverse of removal - plug everything back in, set top edge back into window channel, and pop clips back into their holes in the lower section, reinstall screws and any covers and you should be done.

have you tried searching on car-part.com?

we are not talking about the markings on the front of the cam pulley.. you need to look at the BACK of the cam pulley - there are raised marks that the cam sensor reads to determine when to fire the injectors.

nope, they need to match the ECU expectations, not the block. if the pulleys on the original block have a different pattern, then you need to swap them onto the new block

compare the backs of the cam timing pulleys.. there may possibly be a difference. there are raised hashes that signal the timing to the ECU. if the ECU is looking for one thing, but the incorrect pulley is providing something else, it wont fire.

no - you need to get jack stands.. You should not be crawling under a car that is held up with just a jack. Jacks fail, far more often than people think. Jack stands are far safer.

thermostat not operating correctly (or lack of one) can make warm up time take a lot longer.. and the colder it is outside, the longer it will take. thermostats are intended to stay closed until the desired temp is reached in the engine, then they open to allow full circulation of the coolant. not having a thermostat allows full circulation all the time, which increases the time it takes for the engine (and coolant) to warm up and is actually detrimental to optimal engine operation. and I hope you know not to use aftermarket thermostats in a Subaru..

totally normal operation. heat is provided by the flow of "hot" coolant thru the heater core - therefore the engine needs to be run and warmed up in order to provide heat. AC also depends on the engine running in order for the AC compressor to operate properly.

if the light is on, there is something in the system that is causing it. the light does not come on for no reason whatsoever. a bad sensor, bad wiring, damage to the control unit (moisture or something) - something caused the light to trip.

yes, it is a part of the top mount. https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=503098&cc=1389405&jsn=422

no, i am talking about the bearing in the top mount of the front struts. Yes, there IS a bearing in there that takes a lot of stress.

KYB is the preferred brand for Subaru struts. Springs - unless there is an obvious problem the stock springs should be fine to re-use. there are aftermarket springs out there, but i have no experience with them myself. something to pay attention to are the top mounts - especially the fronts.. there is a bearing that allows for turning - carefully inspect from the top looking for grease oozing out, rust, or other signs of deterioration... I personally recommend ordering a pair of mounts for the front at least so if there is a problem you can swap them out easily while you have things apart and you only have to do it once. once apart, if the bearing is anything but smooth rotation, the mount should be replaced.. And welcome to the world of Subaru! I am on my 4th, a 2002 Forester with over 255k on the clock

not really any more difficult with drums, aside from getting the springs off/on, lol. just pay attention to how things come apart, and put them back on in reverse. you dont need to be a "trained mechanic" to do this job. my 2002 Forester has rear drums.

how hard the drum is to get off kind of depends on how worn it is inside.. if it is worn there could be a bit of a lip that will hang up on the shoes when you try to pull it off. there is an adjusting wheel accessible from the back side that should allow you to adjust the shoes to give more clearance. recommend getting a drum hardware kit as well as the new shoes.

you can get the Suretrak axles from RockAuto for about $40 - depending on the application.. I have one in my 02 Forester and so far it seems to be fine.. was installed in August i think.. maybe late July.. This is the one I purchased for the Foz https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=3854955&cc=1378739&jsn=407