Silver Forester 2.5 XT

Such a pity that my wife won't let me have another car. :( Looks to be good value at that price even with the high mileage ( around the same mileage as my Forester XT ) I was looking at the Outback H6's at the same time as the Foresters but really wanted a manual. Maybe if I buy her some flowers. :)

£450. That sounds like a very good price for a 52 Reg. Well Done

If I could find out the internal diameter of the hose without removing it then I could perhaps just order a straight length of suitable hose. Thanks for the reply.

Thanks for the reply. Had a look on their website but couldn't find radiator bottom hoses for my XT. Tried Eurocarparts and GSF too but no luck as yet.

Noticed a very small coolant leak on the drive this morning so I put the forester up on the ramps and removed the under tray. It seemed as though the bottom hose had a slight split in it around the jubilee clip that connects the hose to the bottom of the radiator. On closer inspection after cleaning around the hose and clip I found a pinhole in the hose @ 5mm away from the jubilee clip. I would like to replace the bottom hose rather than used Radweld to hopefully stop the leak. As mentioned the leak is tiny at the moment so the forester is still driveable. Found a used bottom hose on Ebay for £ 25.75 :o so I am wondering how much it will cost for a new one. Where is the best place to acquire a bottom radiator hose fairly quickly please? Thanks.

Thanks for the replies.

Tesco and Shell petrol please then perhaps a recommended National tyre supplier.

Morning. Thanks for the replies. I have looked on Ebay but no luck in finding a suitable badge for my XT as yet. There are some on Ebay but they are a different size to the badge on my Forester. The size of my damaged oval badge is @ 130 mm x 65 mm or 5 1/8" x 1 3/8". Most on Ebay are 104mm x 51mm. I found one from a US supplier with a part number but even that looks smaller than my badge and is £ 67.75 including shipping. :o Was thinking of trying a breakers yard but assume that most would want to sell the complete grille assembly.

We have been on holiday for a week in Lincolnshire with the Forester. Apparently some considerate ****** has tried to remove the front grille badge ( unsuccessfully ) and has ended up damaging it. :( There is no other damage to the bumper or grille to suggest that someone has bumped into the car on a car park, just the badge is cracked and has three holes in it. Where would be the best place to buy a replacement badge and is it an easy job to remove whats left of the original badge without causing damage to the grille. Thanks

I have been using Tesco Momentum 99 in my Forester 2.5XT following some advice from the SOC and that seems to run OK. Happy to use Momentum 99 as the nearest Tesco is virtually around the corner from where I work whereas the nearest Shell station is miles away. We were away on holiday in Lincolnshire last week and had to put £10 worth of Tesco 95 RON in on Thursday as the local Tesco Supermarket didn't sell Momentum 99 :( Couldn't find a petrol station locally that sold premium unleaded. Did see some nice WRX's parked up so perhaps should have asked the owner where they fill up. Next day on our journey home we took a different route which allowed us to call into a Shell station and filled up with V Power in order to hopefully upgrade the 95 RON fuel. At the point of refueling I noted the mileage covered and the fuel used and my Forester is averaging around 33 MPG ( driving steadily ) which isn't bad really. I have since registered with the Shell Drivers Club for when we are away on holiday but think that I will mainly still use Momentum 99 just because it is just more convenient to get hold of.

Thanks stanton. You are right, it does feel more satisfying if you can do certain jobs yourself but I don't think that I would have attempted this job without a little help and encouragement from our SOC forum members though.

Update:- Finally managed to find the time to attempt replacing the rear Self Leveling Suspension on my 2005 Forester XT today. Thanks very much for your help everyone, especially Mr.B. Pics 1 and 2 show the leaking SLS unit on the vehicle. Pic 3 shows the SLS unit alongside the KYB unit. Pic 4 shows the original SLS unit spring alongside the Springcoil spring which is quite a lot thicker and a touch longer. Pic 5 shows the different set of wheels now being fitted to my Forester. I looked for ages for a set of suitable wheels with 48 offset at the right price. Pic 6 shows the clearance around the wheel arch with KYB shocks and Springcoil Springs ( after a 5 mile trip. Pic 7 shows how the Forester looks with fresh wheels and new rear suspension ( needs a good wash and polish now ).Even managed to partly clean the drive where the oil had leaked from the SLS unit. The measurement from the ground to the top of the wheel arch has increased from @ just under 700 mm to @ 750 mm now. It took over 2 hours for me to replace both sides but being my first ever attempt at changing shock absorbers and springs, I took my time. The bottom bolts were very hard to undo so I gave them extra rations of WD40. Hopefully the camber or track will be OK but time will tell if it needs to be altered. Once I managed to complete the offside then the nearside took less time. It would have taken me probably almost as long if I had bought the Pedders ready assembled units which were quite a bit more expensive Going away for a week from this Friday so will put a few hundred miles on the clock and here's hoping that the rear suspension on the Forester holds together. Thanks Again.

Thanks for the replies. Hopefully tomorrow, weather and time permitting, I will remove the under tray and take a look at the exhaust heat shields and report back , no doubt, knowing my luck the bolts will be siezed. Has anyone produced a " how to guide with photos " for removing and repairing the heat shields?. Apart from the annoying noise will this be likely to cause any damage if I cannot check and repair it soon?.

Thanks Mr B but I will have to leave the Load Cover for now. The Forester XT has developed a strange " tinny rattling type noise " when accelerating and under load once the engine is warm so need to sort that out first before the holidays The noise only occurs when accelerating, even under gentle acceleration and the sound seems increase in terms of frequency and level in relation with the speed. When cruising along the sound is not there but as soon as I touch the accelerator it starts. Confused:-

Looks Very Nice. A job well done. :)

Looking forward to seeing some photos when you get chance during the week please Mr B. Thanks

So probably closer to £300 now then. Guess I'll keep looking for a secondhand one. Thanks

Missed it. :( Must keep looking. Petrolhead159, How much are Subaru charging for one of these load covers please?. Thanks for all the replies.

Will the rear load cover from a 2003 forester fit my 2005 forester?. Not sure whether foresters from those years are the same or different. The seller says that he thinks it will but if I buy it it will be at my risk. The cover is too far away for me to go and check so it would have to be delivered. Thanks

Can you not attach a photo to a reply on here. Click on " more reply options " on the bottom right of the post panel.

Here is a quick photo of one of the wheels on my XT. I personally like the look of Black Wheels on a silver car but not to everyone's taste.

When I purchased my Forester XT it was already fitted with larger after market alloys. I made sure that I informed my insurance company of this. The wheels are 17 X 7 J with an Offset of 40 mm. The tyres are 215/50/17 winter tyres ( front 2 are dunlop and rear 2 are Falken )and look to be fairly new ( still had the knobbly bits on ). I am thinking of getting a set of 16" wheels with larger profile tyres in order to increase the ground clearance and cushion the ride. I would also like to increase the track width. The current tyres have a diameter of @ 647 mm The 215 / 65/ 16 's have a diameter @ 686 mm so that should provide an extra 20 mm of ground clearance and smooth out the potholes and speed bumps. What is the highest profile tyre that will fit a Forester XT with standard height suspension without rubbing?. I will be changing the rear shocks for KYB's and Springcoil springs ( still waiting for the springs to be delivered at the moment ). What are the pro's and cons of using suspension lift blocks?. RE:- widening the track and staying legal.. Looking directly down from the top of the wheel arch I reckon that the tyre edge is set inside the arch top edge by between 10 - 15mm so I could perhaps increase the track by 10 mm or more on each side. What is the best way to widen the track, is it spacers or do I look for wheels with a lower offset?. If I could find a set of decent 16" wheels with a lower offset that would also widen the track then I could perhaps sell my 17's to offset the cost. Thanks

Update. Have ordered a pair of KYB Exel-G Shocks and the protection kit. Waiting for an exact price from Springcoil but should be @ £90 + VAT + delivery. Once I get a price and they have stock then I will order a pair. I also ordered a Spring Compressor so hopefully be next weekend everything should have arrived. Mr B. I noticed that in the link you provided for the How To Guide he compressed the springs whilst still fitted to the Forester. Will I have to do this or can I remove the shocks and springs as they are before compressing the springs? . I would prefer to compress the springs in my shed where I have more space and a good bench to work on. Thanks

Managed to remove the trim just now on my break. They were really stiff as mentioned but came away in one piece with no broken clips. Result. Will try to get hold of Springcoil shortly and ask them if they can supply compatible springs to suit the KYB Exel G shocks if fitted to a Forester SG XT Thanks.

Thanks for the replies. I will phone Springcoil tomorrow if time permits. The Pedders Ezifit kit is starting to sound more appealing as they seem to be simple to fit and are tried and tested. Saw a second hand pair of SLS struts for the Forester on ebay but they were £299 and ended now. Chances are though that they may soon start to leak. Shame that you cannot remove and repair / reseal the SLS struts, or can you?. How difficult is it to remove the interior cover trim from above the rear shocks?. Are they just clipped in and which way do they come off, upwards or sideways or both?. Thanks Again.