forester2002s

Bad engine mounts?

Have you tried using higher-octane fuel, to rule out the knock sensor?

And thanks for posting your progress, including the glitches. I'm going to be doing the same work on my Forester soon, and reading this has helped me get prepared.

Have you tried higher-octane fuel? Perhaps the knock-sensor is doing its job.

You might have a leak from one of the roof-rack side-rails. Water can get in through one of the mounting-studs on the roof. Water can then drip down the inside of the roof-liner and exit somewhere inside the car. In my case, I had a pool of water in the trunk; but it could equally well find its way to the carpet.

Could be a leaking headgasket. The leaking coolant would be swept back towards the firewall. Check the lower rear portion of the headgasket to see if it is wet to the touch.

If you do this, make 100% sure that the transmission is in Neutral or Park, with the parking-brake set. Otherwise the car might lurch forward unexpectedly.

Start with something simple: - take the battery out of the key-fob ((or take the fob a good distance away from the car)

Different brands of tires may have different handling characteristics: - different internal construction (number and construction of plies). - different tread design. - different rubber compound. All of this can affect road handling. At the very least, you should have the same pair of tires of the front, and another pair on the rear. In other words don't put mismatched tires on the front, nor on the rear. However, even this can result in dodgy braking. My own preference is to have all four tires the same.

Glad you found the problem. And thanks for reporting back with the solution.

The difference could be the tires... A car with all-seasons (hard rubber tread), and somewhat worn down, might spin its wheels. However a car with good winter tires (soft rubber tread) might drive away easily.

My pull-out coffee-cup holder sometimes squeaks. Actually more of a vibration. Especially loud with two full cups in place.

'Headlights burning dim' could be related to a bad ground somewhere.

Does the fan work on all speed-settings?

2002 Forester 2.5 MT (stock OEM compressor): - LP side o-ring: Subaru #73039TA0120 (21.50 mm OD; 16.80 mm ID) - HP side o-ring: Subaru #73039TA0140 (15.80 mm OD; 11.10 mm ID)

I've used Fram filters for years. Never had a problem. I tend to change my oil filters more often than recommended, so they are not in service for very long. Maybe some other filters have better-looking innards; but if the Fram does the job, then I'm happy.

Thanks for posting this. Did you have to glue the split-hose, to hold it in place?

The CEL is emissions-related. I cannot imagine that it has anything to do with the seat-heaters. Your problem sounds like a loose connection or ground-fault. To start with, check the electrical resistance of the seat-heaters, and compare between the two seats (there are connectors under each seat).

My 2002 Forester came equipped with P215/60/R16 tires, and stock wheels with a 55-mm offset. I bought the same size snow-tires 5-years ago, and mounted them on steel-rims with a 42-mm offset. I've had no clearance problems at all. I bought the steel-rims at Canadian Tire (Item No.09-6099-8, which I now cannot find on their website). I keep my snow-tires on all winter - anytime when the ambient temperature is below about 5C (40F). The softer rubber on the snow-tires makes for much surer road handling, even on a dry pavement. On a snow-covered road, the AWD plus snow-tires are amazing. I see from the weather forecast that Ontario is being blasted with cold weather and snow. You'll love those snow-tires.

Ain't this forum wonderful?

I keep track of my gasoline purchases, and enter them into a spreadsheet. It is then easy to plot gas consumption. (I love graphs - give me set of numbers, and I'll plot a graph). The figures from each gas fill are not much help; they jump all over the place, based on how much fuel actually goes into the top of the tank. So I plot a 5-fill moving average; I average out the fuel consumption from the the previous 5 fills, and I plot that. The graph is now fairly smooth, and one can detect long-term changes to consumption. Most of my driving is in and around the city, but on longer trips I can see the improvement quite clearly on the graph. I bought this car new, and 10-years and 190,000-km later, the fuel consumption really hasn't changed significantly over time.

There's a switch especially for the parking lights. It is on the top of the dashboard just ahead of the steering column. I bet that it has been accidently switched on. Just switch it off, and put some tape over the switch.

Trans. and diff oils: In my experience when draining gear oils, a small amount of grey-fluff on the magnetic-plug is normal. And the drained oil might be slightly opaque, a hint of grey in an otherwise clear oil. And a few tiny metallic chips are to be expected. This is just normal wear on the gear surfaces. This never seems to go away, even on a high mileage vehicle. On the other had, a lot of grey-fluff, and really dirty oil is bad news. And large metallic chips (especially in the transmission) are a sign of hard service. My point is not to expect the drained oil to be in pristine condition.

I don't get it. The timing belt doesn't have that much load on it. It just drives the camshaft(s) and the water-pump. And in any case, wouldn't the parking brake be on whilst in transit?

How's the oil level in the rear-diff?