1 Lucky Texan

they aren't necessarily beaters...they have some stringent laws making it difficult to keep an older car, as well as some cultural reasons : they don't keep things for a long time, preferring to get/build new. Even housing there is like this (according a Freakonomics podcast I heard), they will buy a 'house', tear it down and build new on the lot, then never paint it or update it. They just keep it structurally sound and liveable, and the next buyer will tear it down and build new. I think even some of their 'ancient' temples get torn down and rebuilt precisely the same periodically.

you might try tires more like Kumho ECSTA 4X next time you're due for tires.

I don't see how a lift would do anything but exacerbate body roll - maybe leading to worse cornering. what tires do you run? sounds like you need really sticky tires. you could experiment with a lot of little things but, if you really do take corners regularly at the limits, more negative camber might be my first adjustment. 10 year-old struts could easily need replacing. KYB direct replacements are 15% stiffer than stock - NEW stock so, they 'should' feel much better than your present, likely 'soft' , struts. And you may have options for those; AGX, Tokico or Koni inserts (others here will know details) Nothing wrong with experimenting with stiffer rear roll bar, but too much and the rear will step-out/oversteer on you. not unusual to unload the inside, it isn't doing much anyway - stickier tires may be your next best upgrade if you're plowing. you might check for motorsports threads at nasioc and maybe subaruoutback.org too.

not much from me except - kinda seems like 2 problems. About the only link I could come up with would be slipped timing due to oil on the timing belt, which also slips on the water pump????? cam or crank seal leaking?

why the battery replacement so quickly? maybe an alternator problem.

is there 12V unswitched supplied to the hatch? maybe an abraded wire in the boot from the body to the hatch? same question about trailer wiring...is it a possible drain?

a super clean gen3 H6 car would be awesome.

any history on the car? it occurs to me a cracked IACV hose could cause misfires, low idle and maybe a noise...?

2010 Forester would be good.

maybe a stub axle popped out?

try a reset - neg cable off the battery, press the brake pedal to drain any residual voltage, maybe wait 10 minutes to be certain, reconnect. car may start run oddly at first, but see if the problem with the trans is better. Our 4EAT will do some very odd downshifting/slamming at high speeds when passing unless I clear the tcu before a road trip. how old is the trans fluid?

might get a JDM engine with half those miles, for far less hassle hassle , but more money(?), to drop in.

some folks feel a repetitive binding at 10 and 2 ,or, 11 and 1 o'clock positions that is from the u-joint on the column. strut bearings might be binding some too. I'd really want to confirm there's no bubbles in the PS fluid - very common.

do you feel this surge like a grabbing/releasing in the whole car? or just in the steering wheel? will the car turn tight circles on dry pavement without jerking/binding? (is the car a 5spd or auto? all 4 tires identical?)

^^^^^ look for bubbles in the PS tank while idling (may need a helper to turn wheel back and forth) - easy fix with o-rings or hose clamps, very common and +1 to possible crank pulley

check cam/crank timing. how long since timing belt service. how much oil was added to bring it up to the proper level? a used engine oil analysis may be helpful if bad rod bearing is suspected. was there an overheat event? any missing coolant? (look in the radiator-never trust the level in the overflow bottle to accurately reflect the radiator's level))

does it make the noise sitting still idling in N ? Or, can you rev in N and get the noise? If so, when the noise is happening in N, does it stop if she depresses the clutch pedal?

input shaft bearing? symptoms don't match too well but ??? no FWD fuse on manual trans.

new contacts and maybe plunger in the solenoid - many folks get them and DIY . cheapest approach. I think there are a coupla youtube videos too. another option, take the starter to a local shop and pay them to rebuild the solenoid. riskiest is a typical rebuilt starter from a parts store, but, probably less risk than some other items like alternators and axles.

miles on engine?

look for a broken axle any smell when this occurs?

oil analysis might help rule-out piston slap or rod knock - depending on what metals are high? here's the tensioner noise mentioned above, skip to about 4:30 or so;

when I was wondering about coolant analysis I found a lab called Polaris.

strut and maybe inner tie rod, and crappy tires ???? start from a known good, tight base with decent tires and monitor that corner while doing proper tire rotations. Then deal with w'ever crops up. that's what we all do with our old cars.

hmmm, maybe a weak strut is allowing too much bounce. Or, could be a bad tire? details on car and tires please.