Mr B

Compression will be more effected by head and block facing and HG used, this all can be calculated and compression/ cylinder cc can be set/balanced to desired range and all part of component preparation . Waste of time commenting without seeing them in hand but if not decent/new pistons start with they not worth working with, amount you would remove in that area be minimal concern to piston strength, the edge chip more concern to whether salvageable . head and block surfaces and timing belt being reused gives me idea your extra money kitty won't be that great on this one ...

^ If is only crown pitting of a few thou and ringlands and skirt A1 and they brand new and quality then we likely get the set crown dressed and weight matched at the machine shop, from pictures hard to say but it common practice on light pitting and something you review on individual basis . Looks like was a rough build and underlying issue not addressed and must be pretty severe lean/timing condition , valve seating wants be checked and the cam journals as they can be scored real bad on these with poor oil and contaminated oil, don't look like it been skimmed or hot tanked either .

Piston looks to be salvageable and if it new more so . You need get that on rollers once built up and fueling/mapping checked as the det is what probably caused HG issue first time round . Block will need good surface clean or skim. Head surface certainly needs a proper smooth finish skim but check cam bearing surfaces as if they are badly scored you best sourcing new heads . Do a fair few of these and if left running with water in oil for long time cam journals and main bearings suffer .

Blueprint glowplug wil be ADS71802, all same from 2010 to 2012, ashuki p/n is S785-02 eBay not cheapest for these . Some underseal and wax protection not a bad thing on these, shultz done proper in rear wheel well/turret good and a light spray of waxoil or similar on underbody every 2-3yrs can make huge difference when car aged another 10yrs+

Blueprint service parts are fine, we use them a lot . For glowplugs we use ashika at about £22 a plug. You can also find the Blueprint plugs around 75-95 pounds a set if hunt around. No need change annually , fit them with high temp ceramic based anti-seize or similar and schedule a removal, inspection and refit 1 to 2yrs and replace 4 to 5yrs . We get them out engine hot and use a gentle low power impact for several minutes as vibrations help remove the carbon jamming up the tip threads .

Try get triple 5 (555) for the BJ's and meyle HD for drop links . Meyle been or best links

Tripple 5 ball joints and meyle HD drop links about best we found ADL also good Moog not bad . Most stuff is monkey metal these days .

ecu would be my last choice with those symptoms .

Ideally want a scanner on it looking at live data while it happening . coolant sensor might be worth a look as could be heat effected lambda values while on start/stall and after 10 minutes could be useful data idle valve certainly worth a clean, possibly it gets sticky and trouble moving freely after first hot start but 10 minutes cools it off enough !

bushing on the chromed rod, as these wear it can cause a bit of neg camber but they normally leak if getting bad . Could be just way that one is, possible could be improved to some extent by loosening strut to hub bolts and pulling hub upright as much as slop allows . Even with no parts fault if want perfect camber then camber bolts a must .

No camber adjustment on rear from factory . trailing arm won't effect it but badly worn/ damaged lateral links would as does worn strut rod bearing and top mount issue . all easy check, camber bolts easy solution for fine adjustment once suspension accessed good.

comp tests can read fine too . sometimes only way have available evidence for 100% diagnosis is give it little time .

early stage minimal HG issues that play up rarely at certain temps and cylinder stresses on the 2.5 many times test fine via gas probe sniff, liquid colour test and pressure test . If want 100% confirmation sometimes you got carefully wait and monitor and retest .

Blueprint filters are fine, we used them for 2 decades for basic service scenarios without issue on subarus, nissans etc . if turbo i'd go ester full synthetic, cheaper option is castrol magnatec which decent (use it in most NA engines we do) and ideal cost for regular changing .

I would stay away from dealer as the be expensive for parts and won't have much working experience on older car scenarios. If want brake parts you best buying off eBay, set of rear shoes for example is only around 18GBP for apec or brembo and wheel cylinders are about same price from apec or ADL Blueprint . If you think it brakes after more testing try pulling drums off to visually inspect and plan part requirement ...

Probably from helpful ones. online is probably best looked at as prices could be massively cheaper. search eBay and google accessories you want and you will find dealers with them and other subaru oem parts/accessories specialists. as an example we had customers wanting bumper protectors for sg foresters (3 in total as had seen the one on our forester), local dealers best price was £70 each, sourcing online was £28 each . Liners and dog guards come up a bit used on eBay too .

2.5 is indeed prone to HG issue in all versions . If it not using water and not overheating then drive it but use some common sense if planning longer trips and realize this current heat wave could make things worse if out and have issues . Most 2.5 odd heating issues always come back to HG given bit of time only had a couple that turned out more basic with thermostat and coolant sensor issues .

I've got a 99 forester with 250K on it and have a real old legacy just over 200K They super reliable and well built . Almost 100% unlikely anything wrong with drivetrain/driveshaft only going make noise when apply brakes . I pretty much can guarantee it will more likely be brake issue, they super simple work on compared to Peugeot for examples . Brake parts are cheap, decent drums quite expensive and cheap ones not worth using . expect your drums reusable and can be refinished on a lathe . You could try looking/removing a drum yourself as bit of inspection and get idea of likely issues, drum has 2 thread holes to help removal using 2 bolts, you may need rewind brake adjusters if drum heavily ridged .

^ As above, if it makes not 1 sign of noise when driving through gears, doing tight turns forward and reverse it very unlikely be diff or driveshaft related . as does it when braking only I would be checking brakes fully first , If it drums on rear that oily mess will be brake fluid from leaking brake wheel cylinder. If I had to guess, drums on these can be a real ***** to get off and someone not knowing subarus and being less than competent mechanic could damage brake lining, wheel cylinder and even wheel bearing if got real rough trying hammer stuck brake drum off with slide hammer etc . I would be highly suspicious your mechanic made brakes/hub worse try gain access to them then gave up giving you car back in state its in . Needs be looked at by competent mechanic and resolved asap .

HG quite likely, do gas analyser test on open cooling system and check head gasket seam for signs of oil residue/wetness Leaks on these can start so small and only at certain engine temps and cylinder pressures they very hard fully pinpoint 100% due to minimal symptoms and test results . Pressure test on cooling system, thermostat function and radiator flow/fin condition other things need ruling out .

wouldn't worry too much on white smoke as mainly condensation and possibly small amount oil entering intake/cylinders from prolonged standing . Oil leak could be lot of things but location of puddle under engine area helps narrow it down a lot. near front middle, crank front seal Near rear, crank rear seal, rear blanking plate Sides, rocker cover gaskets, cam bungs, turbo oil piping Sumps on these get small but heavy rust patches and can leak quite drastically, done a SG fozzy earlier this year with nice rust hole in sump, needed engine swap as caused big end knock from low oil running, blew a sump rust scab out big enough stick your small finger in .

Seems only happening depressed and was not like it on old clutch I would be suspicious of the sachs clutch cover. Clutches we like using on these is LUK . Your original garage handled issue badly which left you in this scenario .They should of eaten labour costs on second removal and pushed supplier for replacement kit . It going have to be pulled again and needs full investigation and all parts swapped unless can narrow down a fault .

that would be good. More than likely any viscous 4.111 will do but they have a lot small design changes but still likely all bolt on and work . I know from buying diff parts an 05 had different viscous p/n to 02<>04

Most likely but I know from ordering dealer parts lot of the actual viscous diff assemblies are listed forester models only . For less risk of hassle I'd try find a forester xt auto first or take advice from specialist breaker .If you send few emails or make few calls you'kk get idea on prices and maybe options then wait on eBay if trying find one cheap. I'll send you details of breaker we used for few mail order parts to try your luck as had very clean parts at reasonable prices, they large breakers but not subaru specialists but that why prices more reasonable :-)

You most likely want a 4.111 ratio viscous diff . You best first seeing what can find based on salvage 04/05 2.0xt auto try a few specialist subaru breakers or keep looking on ebay etc . option 2 is getting yours looked at and rebuilt if cost viable .