forester2002s

This is a good question. On my EJ251, the head-gasket leaks are typically on the outer-bottom edge. So I could rephrase the question: Why aren't the outer-bolts torqued slightly higher?

You need Subaru part #11821AA450 ($14). How do I know? I had exactly the same experience as you. The plastic tee broke when I was trying to get to the PCV. I epoxy-glued the old tee together (so that I could drive to the dealer). 9-months and 17,000km later, I still haven't installed the new tee. My epoxy work seems to be holding just fine.

'Torx Plus'? Are you referring to the head-bolts? If so, a 12-point hex-socket will fit.

If you indeed have a door-lock timer (my 2002 Forester does not), why not just remove it from the circuit (if that's possible). If I found an automatic door-lock timer on my car, I would toss it into the nearest lake (the timer, not the car).

I use WalMart's 80W90 in the rear-diff of my 2002 Forester MT. When I change the oil, the old oil looks almost clear, with a very minor 'furring' on the drain-plug magnet. I am happy with the oil. It seems to work just fine. BTW, I don't have a Limited-slip differential.

My 2002 Forester has the cabin air-filter housing, but had no filter installed when new. I've since installed my own filter, made from a reusable/washable furnace filter, cut to suit. The filter medium is fairly coarse, so only keeps out larger particles like insects and leaves.

They do fail. I'm on my third remote (since 2002). I buy them on eBay. Just make sure that you get the correct model for your year. Take a look at http://www.cars101.com/subaru/keyless.html EDIT: Because your remote is integral with the key, it will be trickier to replace. What might work, is to buy a used remote on eBay; and then swap the good printed-circuit board into the old remote. That way, you get to reuse your existing key. Buying a new key+remote from a Subaru dealer is also an option. But you'll need to win the lottery first.

A while ago, I (accidently) bought some single-platinum plugs. Not really the right choice for the 'waste-spark' system that Subaru uses. So I 'rotate' the plugs once in awhile. Plug #1 gets moved to #2 cylinder, and plug #3 goes to cylinder #4. That way, all plugs eventually get the same total wear. Does it make the plugs last longer? I really can't tell, because these days, plugs seem to last forever anyway. Unlike the days of leaded-gas and carburetted engines, when plugs got fouled-up all the time, and seem to wear very quickly.

Doesn't it depend on which spark-plug is being considered? Don't some spark in one direction, and others in the opposite direction? So for some plugs, the ground-strap is the anode, and for othets it is the cathode?

Brakes? Try gentle brake application while the knock is present. Does it change the sound? Try the same with the parking brake.

This is an interesting idea. However I'm not sure that the coldness of the engine-block at start-up would make much of a difference. Let's assume that an engine-block at operating temperatrure is at about 150 degC (I'm guessing, I'm open to being corrected). In a warm-temperature environment (say 20 degC ambient), the temperature difference from cold-start to operating temperature would be 150 minus 20 = 130 degC. In a colder climate (say minus 10 degC ambient), the temperature difference would be 150 minus -10 = 160 degC. So would these two temperature differentials (130 vs. 160 degC) make that much difference to the behaviour of the engine-block and head-gaskets? I somehow doubt it. We need someone with experience in engine design to comment....

Mine get uncomfortably hot if I leave them on (2002 Forester). I have the 2002 FSM electrical circuit diagrams; and from memory. I don't think that there are any thermostats or timers in the circuit. Just ON or OFF.

It's actually finding where the rattle comes from, that is the hardest. I've had some luck with hose-clamps. But I usually resort to stuffing St.St. 'pot-scourers' in between the heat-shield and the exhaust-pipe. I tear the pot-scourer into clumps, and use a flat-bladed screwdriver to stuff the clumps in behind the heat-shield. It works quite well.

Sticky clutch pedal is probably due to a sticky slave-cylinder. Replace the slave, bleed the system, and that should fix it.

Clutch pedal slow to come up? This may be a symptom of a bad slave cylinder. Replace the slave, bleed the system, and that should do it.

I do the same thing each time I do a timing-belt: - I use a yellow wax-type marker; - I mark all of the drive and driven toothed-pulleys; - I make yellow marks on the belt, on the pulleys, and on the engine block, all in line; - then BEFORE disassembling, I take a photo of the front of the engine, showing all of these marks; - finally, I remove the old belt, and I transfer the marks from the old belt to the new belt, then reassemble.

Wheel bearings?

What happens to the noise when you: - accelerate? - travel at constant-speed? - decelerate?

Could be rattling heat-shields (on the exhaust). The rattle sometimes goes away when the exhaust heats up.

Nice clean drawings! If I see it correctly, this is how you fastened the new spacers to the top of the struts: - drill out the 3 old studs from the top of the struts; - screw-in 3 M8 screws (threaded on their full length) from the underside of the strut, into the bottom of the new spacer, and tighten-up; - then insert the exposed ends of the 3 new M8 screws into the car, as normal. Is that what you did?

What size fuse? My 2002 Forester has a 20A fuse. It supplies the two seats, and the 'rear accessory power supply relay'.

2002 Forester 'Sport' Heated cloth seats

I love the AWD + snow-tire combination. Fantastic in the snow! And I love the ease of maintenance (of most items). But I don't like these design features on my 2002 Forester: - Power-windows only work with ignition-key switched to ON (I rewired this so that windows work in ACC & ON). - Seat-heaters stay energized FOR EVER until switched off (I rewired this his with a pushbutton & relay, so that the circuit drops-out when the ignition is switched to OFF). - Wheel-bearing design: premature failure + complicated replacement procedure. - Head-gasket design: Subaru should have fixed this long ago. - Oil-dipstick design: Cannot get a clear reading of oil-level. Surely a first-year engineering student could redesign this!

Glad you're OK! And the Subaru too. I too live in deer country; they are truly unpredictable.

This is a shot in the dark, but: - try taking the batteries out of both remotes, or take them both well out of range; - then try a key in one of the doors.