The bulb that illuminates the left hand portion of the cluster, namely the fuel gauge is not working. Does anyone know how big a job it is to access the cluster bulbs?

Do a search here to complete but this might be a good beginning:

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=27715&highlight=bulbs

Yeah, I searched, but only found info on the OB. Was hopiung to find some Forester specific info...

I think they are the same. You might be able to reach it from under the dash, just a 1/4 turn bulb. Pulling the cluster is not a big job. Just take it easy so you don't break the tabs.

Does anyone know how big a job it is to access the cluster bulbs?

Not sure what year Forester you have, but here's what you do for a 1999... in a nutshell. I think they're all pretty much the same...

 

1. Lower steering wheel down as far as you can.

2. Remove two screws you see above the instrument cluster

3. Pull trim panel straight out, firmly - it is held by the two screws you just removed, and two blind "captive tabs" (don't know what to call them) that are just to the left and right of the steering column.

4. You should now see the three screws holding the instrument cluster into the dash - one on top and two in the center on the bottom. Remove those.

5. Now wish that your hands were very small and gently work the cluster out of the opening. Not sure how one is really supposed to do this, but it does come out. Really... it does. Just have some patience... and scraped knuckles.

6. As your working the cluster out, remove the three wire harnesses off the back of the instrument cluster. There's not a lot of slack in those harnesses, so the quicker you get them off, the easier.

7. Voila. It's out. You now should have access to all the bulbs on the backside.

8. Reverse to put back in.

 

Be careful with the clear lense of the cluster. The plastic is a little soft and scratches easy.

 

-kurt

Thanks! Sounds pretty simple. It's supposed to be nice and warm tomorrow, so I'll pick up the bulbs in the morning and tackle it. It's nice that the cluster comes out from the front without much difficulty. As an aside, on most MB models, you use a special ($4) tool that pops the cluster out in about 10 seconds. Our old Mazda had you practically disassembling the entire dash. Yuck.