forester2002s

Check the oil level first. Take out the (top) plug; oil level should be up to the bottom of the hole. You can put in your small finger to feel inside the diff if the level is slightly below the hole. Use a turkey-basting squeeze-tool to add more oil. Jack up both rear wheels (parking brake off). You won't be able to 'spin' the wheels, but you should be able to turn each wheel by hand. The other wheel will turn in the opposite direction. There should be no noise or grinding from the rear-diff.

Take photos! If the engine is currently running well, then make marks on the old belt and on the timing notches (use a wax pencil, or child's crayola stick - yellow works well). Then take photos of that setup BEFORE removing the old belt. So when installing the new belt, you can refer to the old photo to check tooth-count etc. Only takes a minute.

Wheel bearings? Sometimes causes a 'rumbling' sound, plus steering-wheel shimmy if it's the front bearings.

Or get a used OEM axle from a junk-yard, and reboot it. I'll probably last longer than any aftermarket copy.

The 2017 Forester has both an "Low Oil Pressure Light", as well as a "Low Oil Level Light". I don't know when Subaru first started including the Oil Level Light. It would be interesting to know if this coincided with the use of low viscosity oil.

By 2010, the separator-plate (behind the flywheel) was no longer made of plastic. And in any case, a broken separator-plate would leak copious amounts of oil. So IMHO that's not the plastic that you are seeing.

Year & model?

I've also had this problem on my EJ251. I always leave the car to cool overnight before checking the oil. Then withdraw and wipe, then reinsert the dipstick. Then withdraw again, and read both sides. The lower reading is the one to use. As the years have gone by on this engine, I check the oil more frequently. At least every 1000km, or every 500km if the level is going down. My engine is the original from 2002, now with a replacement turbo head-gasket. No oil leaks, but it needs about 1-Litre every 3000km.

My 2002 Forester is similar. When I pull and release the hood-lever, nothing appears to happen. But if I then lift the edge of the hood with my fingers, it then pops up. It's been like that for a few years. I'm used to it now.

I love Wikipedia, and I am an occasional contributor. But beware of those compression figures for the EJ16, since there's no knowing where they come from. Wikipedia entries are supposed to be backed-up by references, so that one can trace the info back to the source. In this case there are no links to any credible sources. Those numbers may be correct, but I would add some skepticism to the mix.

Can you describe the vent in more detail? Or post a photo?

+1 Grounding is what came to my mind, as I read the symptoms.

If nothing else works, how about some tape over the two 'eyes'?

Shocks: Apart from smoothing out road-bumps, shocks will also smooth-out vibrations from out-of-balance tires. That constant (and speed-related) vibration can wear out the internals of a shock, causing the distress that you have experienced.

WD-40?

The screwdriver method works just fine. There's a hole in the right-side of the engine, about half-way up. Insert the largest flat-blade screwdriver that will fit in the hole, and the blade will then lock the outer (starter) gear-teeth. Works for loosening and tightening the flywheel bolts. No need for a special tool.

Nice write-up. Thanks for this.

SOA = Subaru Of America www.subaru.com

'Brights'? If you mean that the Parking Lights are always on, then there's a switch on top of the dash just forward of the steering wheel. Turn it off, and cover the switch with some electrical tape, and you'll never have the same problem again.

In my 2002 Forester MT, I use Walmart's own brand of 80W90 gear oil. - MT takes 3.5 L - Rear Diff takes 0.8 L I change the oils more frequently than recommended by Subaru. Car is now at 252,000 km, with original gearboxes, and running just fine.

Looks like your oil drain-plug has been pushed-in to the bottom of the oil-pan. It may have happened when the engine was rested on the floor, with the drain-plug taking the weight. Anyway, the drain-plug doesn't appear to be leaking, but it is no longer the lowest point in the pan. So that when used-oil is drained through the plug, not all of the oil will come out. Not a big problem, except that any debris in the oil might can left behind in the pan. If you are thinking of resealing the oil-pan, then replace the oil pan with an undamaged one.

Snow! Here in the Pacific NW, there's still loads of snow in the mountains. I expect local CO members will be able to update you.

Could be any of these: - Failed headgaskets; - Failed water-pump; - Failed thermostat; - Failed radiator-cap. First thing to do: - get a new radiator-cap (the old one is clearly not working properly, if the upper-hose goes flat); - refill the cooling system with coolant (including the overflow-bottle to the correct fill). Then drive it and see if it still overheats...

I'm only suggesting that you turn the Eyesight off temporarily, to troubleshoot the audible warning.. If you still get the audible warning with Eyesight OFF, then you'll need to troubleshoot elsewhere. It's an easy test to possibly eliminate Eyesight as the problem.

Have you tried turning the Eyesight to OFF?