forester2002s

I've never heard of a 3-piece radiator-hose before. And I've never seen a hose loose enough, and close enough to touch the fan blades. It looks as if you don't have the correct radiator, and someone has rigged-up an extra long hose to teach the radiator. Have you compared this set-up with other similar models, or with a picture in the Factory Service Manual? You definitely need to keep that hose away from the fan. Use some zip-ties or wire to pull the hose away from the fan and towards the engine.

I've had a leak (in my 2002 Forester) with water getting in through one of the mounting bolts for the overhead longitudinal roof-rail. And this leak was hard to find, because the dripping water was hidden behind the interior wall-panels of the car. The leaking water was evident on the trunk-floor, and in the well for the spare-tire. However the water never entered the rear light-assembly. That unit is virtually sealed all around, except where the bulb is fitted.

Clutch-fork: - with no force on the clutch-pedal, can you manually move the top of the clutch-fork to the rear? Should be able to feel some looseness/movement. - with clutch-pedal partially-depressed, can you move the top of the clutch-fork? - with clutch pedal fully-depressed, can you move the top of the clutch-fork? What I'm thinking is the possibility that: - as the clutch-fork moves, the bottom-end of the fork and the throw-out bearing may not be moving as they should; or - the clutch-plate is stuck in the disengaged position, and the fork & bearing are moving but not actually doing anything. I realize that none of this fits with your description that that clutch-pedal feels normal.

Burnt CV-joint grease smells like barbequed grasshoppers.

Camshaft Position Sensor?

If you have a multimeter, check that you have 12V at the bulb-holder; also that you have 0-Ohms resistance, from the ground -terminal at the bulb-holder to the chassis. Make these checks with the bulbs removed.

It's probably a grounding issue.

Clutch-fork broken/cracked? Have said that, I can't think of a scenario when high RPM or WOT would make a difference to clutch feel/performance.

Willow, I see that you are from Australia, where DRLs are not mandatory. Maybe your car has the DRLs? Do you still have weak headlights when the headlight-switch is all the way to 'ON'?

I would definitely buy some battery jump-start cables. And I would seriously consider buying a spare battery, and keeping it fully charged at all times. And how's the cell-phone reception where you're headed?

"Brake light"? Do you mean the warning-light on the dash-panel? Or the red-lights at the rear of the car?

On my 2002 Forester, the MT drive-shaft is different from the AT drive-shaft. See attached PDF from the 2002 Forester FSM. That page shows 3 Universal-Joints for the MT. And 2 UJs and one Double-Offset-Joint for the AT (the DOJ allows for axial movement). DS02 Propeller Shaft.pdf

You say that the old battery had a "20A drain"; and the new battery has "less than 1A drain". How was this 'drain' measured? I ask, because if the 'drain' was a leakage current via the wiring harness and through the car, then that points to a problem on the car itself, and not necessarily a bad battery. The difference before and after might be because of the intermittent nature of your original starting problem. A large leakage drain, such as the 20A you mention, could be the alternator diodes failing, for instance. If however, the 'drain' is a leakage internal to the battery, then I don't know how this is measured. Other than to disconnect the battery, and to monitor the battery voltage across the terminals. Did the store say how they measured the 'drain' on the battery?

+1 On 'older' cars, the oil-warning lamp is activated by an oil-pressure switch, and means that the oil-pressure has dropped below a safe value. When that light comes on (it sometimes flickers first, before going full on), it means that the engine is NOW being starved of oil. Unless the engine is turned off immediately, damage will result. If it keeps running, the engine is toast. On later cars, there may be actual oil-level sensor, in which case the warning lamp may just be a warning to add oil. But I wouldn't recommend driving any car with an oil light on.

Mono vs. stereo? A mono-plug has two 3.5mm 'cylinders'. A stereo-plug has three. Hence the number of wires. EDIT: Or, a stereo-plug might appear to have only two wires, with the third-wire (ground) being a shielded-wire. Depending on how the cable was stripped, the shielding might have been cut away at the end, leaving only the two (left & right) wires visible.

FYI: My 'Canadian' 2002 Forester came from the factory with NO block-heater.

All those warning lamps come on at start-up deliberately. It's so that you can see that all of the lamps are working, and are not burnt out. Your Owner's Manual (available online) should show you which lamps are being tested. If any of the lamps don't work during this brief test, they should be replaced.

Noise gets worse when you brake? It's not the brakes themselves, is it? Something loose? Flapping around? Just a long shot...

My 2002 Forester came equipped with a cabin-air filter-box. But the box was empty, with no filter-media installed. The box is under the glove-compartment, and has two removable rubber 'doors' on the bottom, each held closed by a couple of metal clips.

I wonder if the water could be getting into the car from above, instead of from underneath. It's not unknown for rainwater to leak into the car through the rear door-seal, or through the mounting -holes for the roof-rack. Water can drip down hidden from view behind the roof-liner, and find it's way down into the spare-tire well. Just a thought...

You could start by flushing & bleeding the clutch hydraulics. That might fix it.

This PDF file is from the Factory Service Manual for a 2002 Forester, so should be similar to yours. Piece (A) of the Belt-cover is the one to remove to expose the timing-belt; it is held in place with 3 screws (10mm hex-heads). Piece B should be left in place; in any case, you cannot remove it without taking the lower crank-pulley off. Good luck. Edit: That file says to first remove the v-belts and the crankshaft-pulley. But you don't need to do that just to remove the (A) cover. ME45 Belt Cover.pdf

+1 on what MTom said. Inspect the belt. All you have to do is remove the left-side belt-cover. Just 3 screws will do it. If there is any cracking of the belt, it will show up as transverse cracks on the back (smooth side) of the belt, particularly as it bends over the exposed cam-shaft pulley. 30 minutes maximum.

How long since the fuel filter has been changed?

I've had that same P0420 code twice on my 2002 Forester. I just clear it, and it goes away.