Subaru Forester 2.0 XT 2003
Discussion
Stacked up nearly 6k on this thing already coming up to service time, I got bored a little last week and decided it was about time to do this, it didn't take overly long at all apart from one camber bolt being really rather tight it was all pretty painless. I didn't set it ridiculously low because I'm not crazy and don't have decent wheels/tyres.
I started at the hardest setting and worked my way down to a comfortable level where it's not ridiculously bouncy, hard is exactly that, like having no suspension at all. I've ended up with it at the softest setting which is some 50 clicks away from the hardest so plenty of scope to make changes in between, that's probably because we live on a road where there are about 20 speedbumps which are unavoidable and have to be driven over to go anywhere at all. There is a notable increase in road noise from the top mounts not being massive pillows of rubber anymore, I would say it's only noticeable at 50mph and above (all the time I use the car really but hey ho its not actually that loud, maybe 5db)
The handling is night and day, going over a series of undulating and unsettling bumps on the standard suspension made the rear of the car feel like it was wobbling all over the place, mostly caused by the auto leveling rear suspension trying to calculate where its supposed to be because of load changes, it felt like you would hit a bump then 10m later the rear of the car would randomly lift, reasonably harshly too almost like you had gone over a sharp dip in the road. Not confidence inspiring to say the least.
I look forward to leaning on the car a little more to see where it's limits are.
Looking at the picture quality I REALLY need to invest in a laptop so I can get photos off my DSLR rather than through FB from phone daaaaamn the quality has dropped significantly.
I started at the hardest setting and worked my way down to a comfortable level where it's not ridiculously bouncy, hard is exactly that, like having no suspension at all. I've ended up with it at the softest setting which is some 50 clicks away from the hardest so plenty of scope to make changes in between, that's probably because we live on a road where there are about 20 speedbumps which are unavoidable and have to be driven over to go anywhere at all. There is a notable increase in road noise from the top mounts not being massive pillows of rubber anymore, I would say it's only noticeable at 50mph and above (all the time I use the car really but hey ho its not actually that loud, maybe 5db)
The handling is night and day, going over a series of undulating and unsettling bumps on the standard suspension made the rear of the car feel like it was wobbling all over the place, mostly caused by the auto leveling rear suspension trying to calculate where its supposed to be because of load changes, it felt like you would hit a bump then 10m later the rear of the car would randomly lift, reasonably harshly too almost like you had gone over a sharp dip in the road. Not confidence inspiring to say the least.
I look forward to leaning on the car a little more to see where it's limits are.
Looking at the picture quality I REALLY need to invest in a laptop so I can get photos off my DSLR rather than through FB from phone daaaaamn the quality has dropped significantly.
Edited by Jackeria on Wednesday 7th June 23:45
In all fairness I would have fitted the coils much sooner but this came into my hands... As you can see it fit in the Forester quite nicely. There's still more to be done to it but it's in a good position where I haven't really spent that much money on it at present, just things I had in the garage already (paint etc) and a new seat.
Codd said:
Always nice to see another Foz. Are you on the FB Owners groups? There's a UK and European group both with a very active community. Great resources for parts, info and general chat.
I'm in a couple of groups on FB, though I presume they're Australian and American, I do sometimes see posts from other UK users. Fozroamer, Foztrek and Subaru Forester Owners. That's about all the foresters my FB feed can take, I'm in the Subaru parts UK group and browse ebay religiously so if I ever need anything I'm sure I'll find it somehow. Lots of good inspiration but also kinda makes you feel like nothing you do is original, which I guess is true.I miss mine!
Built a bed in the back, curtains in the headliner and a multitude of other accessories. Spent 2 months living in it and driving 6500 miles around New Zealand. It went everywhere - up and down plenty of mountains, through many a river and even in the sand dunes.
2.0 XT also.
Built a bed in the back, curtains in the headliner and a multitude of other accessories. Spent 2 months living in it and driving 6500 miles around New Zealand. It went everywhere - up and down plenty of mountains, through many a river and even in the sand dunes.
2.0 XT also.
Looks like you had great fun! Might have to get out and have some fun like that in mine someday!
So today I decided to initiate the 150k service. All oils out. I know the engine oil was done in February so I was interested to see what it looked like. Over the distance and time I've used it I've only had to top it up once for 250ml to get it back to the middle of the dipstick so consumption isn't terrible and there are no leaks.
GL5 75-90 semi synthetic for the diff and gearbox as recommended in the manual. I bought 6l though I only needed roughly 4.5l total, means I've got some on the shelf I guess if I spring a leak or need a top up. £60
I got 5l of 5-30 Castol Magnatec, this is the same oil I put in when I first got it and like that it's kept the engine smooth and quiet so far so it'll do. Got it from Tesco because they usually have promotions on it making it cheaper than everywhere else. £35.
Went down the local motorfactors for a filter, £4.99, Halfords wanted £8. Done deal. Also popped on a new rear wiper, the front ones were done when I got it and asked the other half to get a new rear one at a later date if she wouldn't mind, she never did so here we are. The cambelt kit and waterpump I'm still gauging costs, motorfactors want £299 for belt, tensioners and pump, I can't remember what he said the brand was but he said was good, there's a Subaru specialists in Newbury like 2 miles from my house so I'll have to go there. I really want the RCM Cosworth setup but I kinda think it's a tad overkill for a non-tuned car. I wanted sparkplugs too but they didn't have any left of the size I needed so that can wait a little bit yet.
I started at the rear, haven't a clue when or if it's ever been done before, I hope it has been haha. Stamps in the book mean nothing without a list of what was done. Bit of penetrating spray and a good crack and it was open.
As you'd expect, the magnetic plug had a little bit of build up, the oil itself once settled in the pan didn't have lots of metallic flake in it and wasn't too dark, win in my book. Diff isn't noisy out on the road either.
Moving onto the front, I dropped the engine oil and filter, nothing particularly special to mention, the oil was dark which is to be expected I guess, didn't seem to have any large particles in it (that weren't already in my pan) When/if one of the rocker cover gaskets go I'll take a look inside to see if there's much build up, I imagine a fair amount of staining, hopefully wear is minimal, I still haven't encountered that noise subaru owners mention about knocking when first starting the car, no tapping either.
Onto the gearbox.
The magnetic plug had a fair amount more build up on it. Hopefully the car lasts a while yet so I can see what the build up is like next time round.
Those of you who've done gearbox oil changes will know they can be quite a pain to refill depending whether theres a plug or you have to go through the dipstick, I went the dipstick route and have a long small funnel so it wouldn't have been terrible to do, I decided that since its only two 12mm's and two hose clamps to get the intercooler off, that is what I was going to do. That and I wanted to look at the Y pipe on the intercooler, it's been drawing my attention everytime I open the bonnet. You'll see why shortly.
A tad dusty under there but dry. You can see the dipstick in the centre. I tried to not get oil on the turbo, just a tiny splodge from the dipstick when I first removed it when the intercooler was still on there.
Ahh the y pipe, doesn't seem to be leaking any boost just has rotten 14 year old foam on it, this will be changed to a silicone one as soon as it arrives.
The astute of you will notice oil build up on the pipe, oddly enough I don't know where this is coming from, the intercooler is completely bone dry inside, even has "dust" in there and the turbo just has dirt on it, dry though not wet, something to clean off and inspect in time to come.
Till next time.
So today I decided to initiate the 150k service. All oils out. I know the engine oil was done in February so I was interested to see what it looked like. Over the distance and time I've used it I've only had to top it up once for 250ml to get it back to the middle of the dipstick so consumption isn't terrible and there are no leaks.
GL5 75-90 semi synthetic for the diff and gearbox as recommended in the manual. I bought 6l though I only needed roughly 4.5l total, means I've got some on the shelf I guess if I spring a leak or need a top up. £60
I got 5l of 5-30 Castol Magnatec, this is the same oil I put in when I first got it and like that it's kept the engine smooth and quiet so far so it'll do. Got it from Tesco because they usually have promotions on it making it cheaper than everywhere else. £35.
Went down the local motorfactors for a filter, £4.99, Halfords wanted £8. Done deal. Also popped on a new rear wiper, the front ones were done when I got it and asked the other half to get a new rear one at a later date if she wouldn't mind, she never did so here we are. The cambelt kit and waterpump I'm still gauging costs, motorfactors want £299 for belt, tensioners and pump, I can't remember what he said the brand was but he said was good, there's a Subaru specialists in Newbury like 2 miles from my house so I'll have to go there. I really want the RCM Cosworth setup but I kinda think it's a tad overkill for a non-tuned car. I wanted sparkplugs too but they didn't have any left of the size I needed so that can wait a little bit yet.
I started at the rear, haven't a clue when or if it's ever been done before, I hope it has been haha. Stamps in the book mean nothing without a list of what was done. Bit of penetrating spray and a good crack and it was open.
As you'd expect, the magnetic plug had a little bit of build up, the oil itself once settled in the pan didn't have lots of metallic flake in it and wasn't too dark, win in my book. Diff isn't noisy out on the road either.
Moving onto the front, I dropped the engine oil and filter, nothing particularly special to mention, the oil was dark which is to be expected I guess, didn't seem to have any large particles in it (that weren't already in my pan) When/if one of the rocker cover gaskets go I'll take a look inside to see if there's much build up, I imagine a fair amount of staining, hopefully wear is minimal, I still haven't encountered that noise subaru owners mention about knocking when first starting the car, no tapping either.
Onto the gearbox.
The magnetic plug had a fair amount more build up on it. Hopefully the car lasts a while yet so I can see what the build up is like next time round.
Those of you who've done gearbox oil changes will know they can be quite a pain to refill depending whether theres a plug or you have to go through the dipstick, I went the dipstick route and have a long small funnel so it wouldn't have been terrible to do, I decided that since its only two 12mm's and two hose clamps to get the intercooler off, that is what I was going to do. That and I wanted to look at the Y pipe on the intercooler, it's been drawing my attention everytime I open the bonnet. You'll see why shortly.
A tad dusty under there but dry. You can see the dipstick in the centre. I tried to not get oil on the turbo, just a tiny splodge from the dipstick when I first removed it when the intercooler was still on there.
Ahh the y pipe, doesn't seem to be leaking any boost just has rotten 14 year old foam on it, this will be changed to a silicone one as soon as it arrives.
The astute of you will notice oil build up on the pipe, oddly enough I don't know where this is coming from, the intercooler is completely bone dry inside, even has "dust" in there and the turbo just has dirt on it, dry though not wet, something to clean off and inspect in time to come.
Till next time.
Edited by Jackeria on Sunday 11th June 11:01
Hope it's OK of I put this here in case anyone else is considering some quality Subaru ownership 
https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...
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