Judd

Underseal is what you apply to either completely rust free undersides, or as a final protective coat to existing rust which you've already removed as best you can then treated then painted, undersealing over existing rust will only make it easier for the damp and salt to do its worst unseen, it will look great when first applied. I've done the above full treatments to my cars including all the cavities with Bilt Hambers cavity wax probes but instead of a top coat of underseal i now give the whole underside a twice a year blast over with ACF50, some others use chain lube or similar, on my ladder chassised 4x4 i've covered the entire chassis in waterproof grease. You'll find lots of people on some performance based car forums calling ACF50 all sorts, and true its not a one off treatment nor is sold as such, no anti rust treatment is in the UK where our betters have a fetish for road salt, but its strength is seeping into cracks and seams and helping keep things like sensors from corroding up and helps stop bolts from rusting in solid, the downside is it makes working on the undersides a filthy job, you can't have your cake and eat it.

Well it went into the indy overnight, yup you guessed it, started first time next morning, they arn't a Subaru specialist so didn't seem keen to get involved. Anyway, things progressed up to my week off this week and on Sunday i swapped out the fuel pump, Mon and Tues it started instantly and the car seems to run better but that could be wishful thinking, however still spluttering for a moment on the cold start. So, today i've picked up 4 new spark plugs and have swapped the two offside ones out, bit fiddly but not too bad, i've swapped H6 ones out before, worse job, so i thought, now i've removed the battery and am dreading changing the NS pair tomorrow, the whole wiring loom is right in the way and the connections arn't playing ball. Haven't raised the engine yet so might undo the engine mounts and jack it up a couple of inches to give a bit better access. Had to undo the engine undercover anyway because i must have dropped either the extension, ratchet or plug spanner 30 times if i did it once. Wish me luck for the morrow chaps, i'm here feeling the half dozen fresh cuts on my hands stinging, so should make the full dozen by the time the job's done.

I've only had brake failure once in my life, Wartburg Knight of all things, luckily the drum handbrake was powerful and easy to control so no harm done. I would be worried about having to apply an EPB at speed, especially in the wet, if you had a lock up then all sorts of sideways action could be on the cards, i've been told that the electronics won't allow a lock up but seeing how slow in real terms the EPB mechanism operates with no ability to 'feather' the application i doubt the electronics could do anywhere near as good a job as a switched on driver operating a well maintained manual park brake lever. They've got them in trucks now, i hate the things, the only way you know its applied is via the little red led on the park brake switch, i want to see a traditional air park brake lever locked in the down position, you know at a glance the park brake is applied and no mistake. Been driving 50 years now, can't recall in all that time ever wishing the park brake was electric nor can i recall anyone else wishing so either, an answer to a question no one asked.

An MIJ Walsall exhaust is on the present XT, they also made and fitted one on our previous H6 Outback. In both cases there was no correct aftermarket item available despite being described as such. The Outback had a by-pass fitted to one of the OE silencers allowing the exhaust to free flow past that silencer once a certain flow rate had been exceeded, i'd never seen one of those before, in the case of the XT the OE system is 2.5" bore, despite being described as suitable for XT the typical aftermarket systems are 2" and are meant for the 2.0NA engines which would strangle the 2.5 turbo engine, hence why custom made stainless was the only solution for both, i wasn't going OE from the parts dept, Outback OE was well into 4 figures for a car which cost me less than a new exhaust would have from the dealer, daren't ask the cost of a new XT system value my ageing ticker too much. With unusual cars like Subarus, i don't think there's any bad points to having a JDM grey import, they're all expensive for genuine parts, the beauty of JDM is you start with a clean corrosion free car underneath even if its 10 or more years old and it's no secret that Japanese cars owners generally take more care of their cars than the typical Brit new car buyer/user, sadly our XT is UK stock hence looking forward to the £620 VED bill next month, not a typo we get a huge discount of £10 cos dual fuel 😁

You're not alone, my daughter came around with her Civic with these HiD lights, the lenses should polish up ok for another couple of years but sooner or later she'll be needing new lights too,like yours they're crazing inside the lens, those D2R bulbs are £32 ish each for Philips on Amazon, from Honda £125 each! She has another Civic with full LED lights, daren't even look the price of those up, colleague of mine has a BMW with smart LED headlights circa £3000 a side he says. Can't wait till they force us (in their dreams) into electric cars where every single light is an LED sealed unit, somehow methinks not meant for us plebs, we'll be on a pushbike where they think we belong.

One of the lads on my landcruiser forum found perfect new lenses cheaply from Ali Express (take a fair time to arrive), these required heating the complete headlights in the oven (probably when the Mrs is out 😇 ) so the glue around the lens melts, then he peeled the old ones off cleaned things up and somehow stuck the new lenses on. Haven't a clue if new lenses are available for our cars but might be worth a scout around on Ali. New genuine headlights will probably be very expensive, one of the lads (L'cruiser again) had found aftermarket units available from the usual places branded Depo, he rated them as perfect copies. New aftermarket lamps on Autodoc, unsure if the correct LH dip though. Don't know if any of that helps.

Is it a regular rattling sound from the hubs on hard lock or are the wheels/tyres actually scrubbing? If its just the rattly noise then possibly CV joints running a bit dry, worth spending a couple of hours repacking the joints with fresh CV joint grease, will cost you about a tenner for a tin of CV grease and the cost of new clips to resecure the rubber boots....if you're going to try repacking the joints do the inners as well as the outers. I suggest this because you have nothing to lose other than some time and £20 tops, you'll gain an extra few years from your drive shafts even if it turns out not to be the cause.

2008 XT 2.5. Only just over 50k miles from new. Last few weeks our Forester has not started instantly from cold, turns 2 or 3 seconds then fires up, then its fine. Once initially started it'll start happily all day long. Prior to this it was an instant starter whatever the weather. Runs perfectly otherwise. Battery is perfect, full spec 5 year warranty Yuasa 2 years old at most, no signs of battery failure, voltages good, it turns over healthily enough. It's as if there's a fuel pre pump which isn't pre pressurising the fuel system, since this has been happening i've listened out for the sound of a fuel pump prior to starting, can't hear one but then for the 4 years or so we've had the car can't say as i've noticed the sound of a pre pump anyway. Any suggestions please or is it a case of letting my indy have it overnight so they can check the system from cold, its in for MOT in a couple of weeks so an ideal time to do the diagnostics if necessary.

I haven't owned anything modern enough AWD to have all the different conditions settings, my Prado despite being 17 years old has such things as Hill Descent but left to its own devices it copes with all conditions without having to press any buttons (apart from selecting low range) i used the HDC to see what it felt like, unpleasant would be my verdict, if you do find a wheel slipping the electronics will soon apply various brakes to send drive to any wheels with grip, it doesn't have a rear diff lock like the more basic models and instead relies on traction controls (each type has their own advantages), switching TC off on mine would be detrimental. Generally my coping with snow or slippery conditions over many years has been in articulated trucks, when in practice TC or ASR often proves to be more of a hindrance than help, when you switch off TC/ASR typically ''offroad'' comes up on the dash, this with only very rare use of the diff lock but making full use of common sense transferring of weight between axles, where possible with air suspension, usually wins the day, those who leave TC on and fail to transfer suspension air don't go anywhere. The only time i had issues getting up a really slippery slope in our previous 2002 Outback H6 (our Prado romped up the same slope as if it were a dry gentle incline), i was bewildered as to why, later that day the penny dropped and cursed myself, i hadn't switched off TC, it wasn't the car's lack of capability it was my fault entirely.

I found with the previous Outback auto that it coped much better in snow with the traction control turned off, same for almost every vehicle i drive when grip is an issue.

My pleasure mate for what little value it might have been. Subaru brakes are generally quite simple affairs, though i would assume yours has an electric park brake (something i don't want) which adds some complication at the back brakes, on VW's there's a tool to put the EPB into service mode but what's involved in the Subaru system and disarming it i haven't the foggiest. The fronts however will almost certainly be simple calipers probably not much different from the twin piston sliding calipers as found on my old Forester, easy to service and very easy to exercise the pistons because as you press one piston in the other slides out just as easily, if it doesn't there's your problem piston, the slide pins either allow the caliper to slide over easily or they don't, again a simple system and none the worse for that, personally i prefer the 4 piston fron calipers as found on my ageing Landcruiser, no slide pins to worry about on opposed piston calipers but even these have a tendency to seize the inner lower piston after a while, and despite my regular tinkering still ended up fitting two new calipers last year, no complaints mind they lasted 17 years. However you've probably had your fill or working on cars, and if you have that good relationship with your Skoda indy then a good idea to let them have look see make sure everything is lubed etc, hopefully they will have the necessary multi make diagnostic kit able to put your park brake in service mode and service the rears too. I still reckon you will get 40k or more from your brakes, all our cars are auto and can't say as they're any heavier on brakes than manuals have been, the exception to this was our first Outback H6, which my mrs drove, she's a flyer, the rears were worn out in about 15k the fronts being fine, i suspect that was down to the traction control system braking individual rear brakes in an effort to keep the car stable whilst my mrs hurled it around like a blinkin go kart. Talking of VW group, daughter bought an approved used Golf on a 16 plate last year, less than 20k miles on it, first time i laid eyes on it spotted one rear disc looking seriously grooved, how they passed that as approved used is another question as it stood out like a sore thumb, rear caliper seizing so it needed new discs and pads at the back, sadly i didn't have the necessary diag software for the EPB, and we couldn't be certain the dealer would honour warranty given' friction materials' and had they not offered goodwill it was a seriously expensive quote from the dealer, but like you i have a handy little all make indy we use in the town and after a quick phone call he slotted it straight in while they were here for the day for reasonable cost. A good indy is worth his weight in gold.

Thinking more, you seem to have one front caliper that seized, it shouldn't have happened given the age of the car, but as i explained re lockdown if the car stood for a time still coated in winter salt that would go some way to explain the issue, however i'd be having the wheel and pads off that caliper if nothing else and a good look see if there's any fault in manufacture or assembly, ie a split dust cover, that could explain why this happened other than bad luck or bad timing. You might find your claim evidence in that caliper, even if you don't i'd like to know for my peace of mind that it wasn't going to seize again and ruin another set of pads and a disc, in which case exercise the piston(s) in its/their bore in situ a few times, this is the only way to feel what sort of resistance they have to moving.

Have you seen the old parts, do you have them? i'd be inclined to ask for them and make your own mind up if they really are 90% worn. Sadly brakes on Japanese cars suffer as much from the tendency to seize as any make i've worked on, though 2 years is pushing it a bit. My only experience with new vehicles of my own was a Hilux, only new vehicle i've ever owned, Toyotas service schedule was every 9000 miles or every year whichever came first, the first year would be a minor and the following year a major, now included in the major service was a full strip clean and lube of the brakes and yes they did the job thoroughly because i checked afterwards, not as i distrusted them (the dealer was impeccable) but more interested to see what they'd done and what lube they'd used. I'm not sure what Subarus servicing includes but i know most makes do not include the sort of in depth brake service as Toyotas anywhere in the schedule no matter how many years go by. In practice, its best to have an annual full brake service by someone competent, either yourself if you have the know how or pay someone to do the job, because sure as hell after even one good salty winter (and the further north you live the more salt is used) you can start to see problems with slide pins and even pistons themselves starting to seize...if all a dealer does on a 'service' is peer at the brakes and squirt brake cleaner about then in fact they've not helped the !Removed! things because brake cleaner will do an excellent job of dissolving any lube that happens to be left from last time...this might be fine practice for hot countries where dust is the issue but this is Britain where its nearly always damp and wet and in winter we get the annual salt bath designed to destroy our pride and joy in record time. The other problem is many cars never get the salt washed off the undersides, vehicles that don't get washed properly the salt sits in the brakes just like every other nook and cranny...now in the time since your car was new we've had national house arrest courtesy of the chumps in charge trying their best to destroy the economy of the country and working people's livelihoods and they have largely succeeded in their quests, many cars stood for months at a time, if the undersides were still salted after the winter and the car didn't get washed down underneath and/or didn't get driven enough through spring rains to wash the salt off then the period it normally takes brake calipers to play up could have been brought forward drastically, that salt cooking its way in during the really hot summer....i've been predicting lots of cars would have brake issues due to the period house arrest happened if owners didn't service their brakes during the hot weather. Too late now, but i wouldn't have agreed to the work, i would have taken the car away and either examined it myself or got someone i trusted to do so, if it really needed new discs and pads i would have sourced good quality aftermarket parts for a fraction of the dealer price and fitted them myself, taking care to thoroughly service the calipers at the same time....i suggest you still get your calipers serviced properly anyway, all round, i know several car owners have a general mechanic they trust to do this work for them even if the car is under maker's service schedule. This is probably no help to you at all, sorry, i have no advice for you how to go about a claim, just offering my tuppenceworth.

Yes i too wondered about all seasons, having had excellent service from Vredestein Quatracs over time within the family, kept our girls out of the scenery i'm sure, also had a set of Vred full winters on a Hilux and they were brilliant. The big thing about second full sets is that your nice wheels never see salt, which isn't such an issue down here in the midlands but definately an issue for your upt'north where the councils have an increasing salt fetish the further up you go. Being in the midlands seldom do you really need winter rubber, but i'm a stickler for getting to work on time every time, and the one time it does drop a load of the white stuff i'd be kicking mesen, doesn't help we live off a steep hill which never gets gritted...and blowed if i'm doing the gritting by hand by myself again this year, now my mate John (LandRover) who used to share the gritting duties with me has moved we're the only people with proper AWD cars on proper tyres so don't need the hill gritting at all but all the younger allegedly fitter bods can't be arsed to do their share so they can sit spinning on their elastic bands this time at the bottom while we swan past 😎 Forester XT size 215/55 x 17 is an expensive one, with decent all seasons you're getting no change from £130 apiece, the winters still have plenty of tread so chances are i'll source a summer set next winter, always assuming we're spared and this week's chancellor hasn't taxed us off the road. Two sets swapped over?? well impressed. As for all seasons, running Yokohama GO15 on the Prado and they're good all rounders, if i can find a set of decent all seasons next summer that might be the way to go and flog the Fos winter set off. Gracious apology accepted, will forgoe the volerol and engage the services of my fair lady to administer treatment......😈

I'm blaming you, for my now multiple aches and pains, your post urged me to take advantage of the mild weather so swapped mine over too and slipped an oil change in to boot, gave the summer wheels a wash down with Bilt Hambers Autowheel before storing 😇, and also noticed the summer tyres are all down to just under 5mm 😓, so next summer will be their last act...have you seen the price of tyres now 😲 well over twice the price i paid for the Falkens when fitted, would buy again. Can tell you without fear of contraception when you're at the upper end of your 60's these jobs don't get any easier 🥲

To be fair thats hardly a simple CHG replacement job, new rings and shells so its a basic engine refurb really and all with genuine parts it would appear, not stated but it goes without saying that both heads are being done at the same time, they'd hardly be fitting rings to just 2 pistons, also includes oil change @ 500 miles. I can't see a timing belt kit on the parts list, unless its been done very recently wouldn't be spoiling the ship for ha'porth of tar. Only you know the true value of your car, not just in resale value but what its worth to you, are they providing any warranty. Would i get it done, yes, assuming the garage know what they are doing then no reason for chg to fail again.

You missed out posting your own comment when quoting Rizmo (above). Is LPG/propane a thing in Texas?

Both the key fobs are working well, the rear side of the cover is rubberised or softer than the front side and is starting to deteriorate so would like to put the gubbins in a new cover. I would like to buy the new cover only, to transfer the key and internals over into, can't find one for sale anywhere, a couple of sellers on ebay offer to refurb the present key but a new casing isn't part of the deal far as i can see. Anyone know where i can get a new empty cover from please? There's loads of Toyota casings available because the original key fobs were made of cheese and eventually broke up (got the T shirt), Subaru/Sigma keys are strong and well made so unless they get worn by jingling around with coins etc in your pocket they last pretty well the life of the car.

Excellent, job done, now have a fully lit panel, still not as clean as yours mind. Bought a pack of the green LED's, as expected they only work one way round. Much obliged Bowline5 for sussing the bulbs needs. Have to say though, what a pleasure Subarus of this era are to work on, the switchgear is well made and of high quality, who else except the Japanese would make switches as robust as these with separate bulbs in each one for panel illumination one for confirmation turned on. When i managed to crack the lenses on one of the rear lights, luckily finding a perfect used one, the quality of the wiring and assembly involved has to be seen. In contrast on my MAN truck now coming up to 4 years old the switches in regular use are falling apart, their fronts only held on by gravity, go over a bad pot hole and several switch covers can fly off, also (they all do that sir) the drivers door interior pull handle has disintegrated and i've bound it with gaffer tape until the dealer can get their act together and supply fit a new one...these issues wouldn't be a thing on Hino trucks which see serious service in the worlds harder environments.

And nor should you have any problems with new cars. When they're 14, 17 and 26 years old, as ours are, with the brilliant drum inside disc manual park brake system all with no issues of any sort , then i'll be impressed.

Thanks for updating the thread, and very much obliged for finding out the bulb code, will order a few tonight. 😎

How's it going, did you view any of these cars, be interested to know if the one with no mentions of corrosion in its mot history was appreciably better underneath than the rest.

Gumtree car is a shed, welding needed to subframe/mounts and the interior is filthy, chinese cheap tyres, wouldn't cross the street to look at it. The latest ebay car looks like the real deal, the only pity is it was regd in August and not before March 23rd 06, but if you're prepared to pay £630 VED then that is the one i'd be looking at.

Very expensive but looks a good car, again high VED band, bit surprised how often fluctuating front brake readings crops up in the MOT history, might only need new discs and pads but calipers could be past their best, none of which are terribly expensive or difficult fixes. look like Khumo all season tyres all round but can't be certain, i'd be happy with those. 7 owners isn't good to see, but might be explained by private reg plates going on and off a couple of times.

both links for same car, no info on service history, mentions suspension/brake corrosion from 2020 mot history, top rate VED because regd after Match 06 cut off date, but what really puts me off is someone put cheap Sunny tyres on the thing and one odd Debica, do a close up of the wheels have you clocked the state of them, check out the corroded scored rear disc/drums visible through those wheels, fronts also look corroded but not scored, calipers very rusty, suspect you'll find some more rust under that car, however it cleaned up very well. Don't worry about the inner CV boots that needed replacement, they all perish out sooner or later on these and are a doddle to change.