Top-mount bolt torque settings and other advice needed

[Ryvita]

All being well, I'm planning on spending tomorrow doing a bit of fettling of the Forester prior to a 'Ring trip later this month. I have ready to go on: Whiteline front & rear ARBs with adjustable drop links and uprated mounts for the rear, and front and rear strut braces. I think I'm pretty happy with the process for the rear. I knew to get the uprated mounts to go with the stronger bar and from looking at it, look straightforward. The front is slightly more congested. I believe you have to remove the undertray and what I've heard referred to as a C-brace which I presume is a sub-frame component or similar. Then there's the strut braces to go on. The front one is simple, the rear needs some removal of plastic panels.

So, questions are:

- Is there a specific torque setting I should go to for the top mount bolts once the strut brace is added? I presume bolt straight on, don't add any washers etc to minimise possible movement.
- I believe that the front ARB can be done without upsetting the geometry?
- Any advice on how to pick apart the boot walls to get at the rear top-mounts. I believe some dremell-ing of the plastic will be required to fit the strut brace mounts?
- Anything else I should be conscious of?

Thanks in advance!

[Ryvita]

Feel guilty that I didn't update after this.

The strut braces went on fine. Haven't yet cut the plastic around the rear one yet so have just got it rigged up and bent on with cable ties. Crude but functional.

There was a bit of a saga with the front ARB. When I opened up the packaging I found that they (ScoobyWorld) had sent me a non-adjustable BSF33 rather than the adjustable BSF33. But it was labled up BSF33Z so seemed to be a manufacturing error. I called them and they were confused; then they checked their stock, and it turned out that their entire batch of adjustables were non-adjustable. Seems Whiteline have been having some manufacturing problems recently, with a change of factory or something I believe. Top marks to Scoobyworld though, they were straight on to the supplier arranging a return and replace courier. It's not gone on yet, so is probably going to be done while I'm out in Germany at the Ring. :-)