Mr B

It economy mode/indicator, box shifts at slightly lower revs & light can act as visual guide to when your driving is in good economy range .

Proper clean SF Foresters are superb cars, they are incredibly well built & can be almost faultless in reliability if decent service maintained with good products. They are an all rounder & good at most stuff inc bad weather, they also got good crash safety & AWD will help keep family safe so that was another reason for you wanting one i'm sure ;-) I seen 200K SF's with almost spotless interiors, fabric was superb, SG was awful, shows marks & wear plus the leather edge patches always split even on lower mileage ones :-/ Main thing look at is rear struts sagging & rust on inner arch, strut turret & subframe, if they A1 you generally laughing, from pic rear looks pert not saggy, probably reflecting true low mileage. Subframe & arches need good look & prod about, subframes can be bad on some and not cheap repair/replace for proper job .

Try ICP, call or use website not eBay as prices higher via eBay, the Dayco belt kit is real good & better price than that ... I use Dayco mainly & never had issue yet, blueprint much same but pricing not always so good without trade account ... Get mechanic check front crank seal for weeping & waterpump for dry seal leak port & bearing feel while in there, many do water pump regardless but at low miles & original pump it pointless as OEM pumps are good for over 150K in average road car scenario & fitting cheap aftermarket pump not great benefit. track cars slightly different scenario so pumps make more sense due to prolonged high rpm & heat soak but once again pointless unless using good Jap replacement pumps.

Just shy of £400 for proper decent full kit fitted (OEM japan idler bearings & tensioner) such as Dayco or BluePrint . Not overly hard do yourself if into some wrenching work . Some times you better off doing belt once in ownership as can be sure it full kit & good quality, lot of dealers or on budget owners will just bang on a £45 belt and tell you it all been done A1 & you got warranty package too bla bla bla :-/ Not a deal breaker for right car, only thing I don't like about sports is no aw-pack & fuel economy poor for performance. do tend find few tidy ones though and they all later 2001 2002 SF so good solid build & tougher interior upholstery over the later models.

They are non obd2 compliant so elm327 will not work, best option is SSM software (freeSSM) and correct type interface cable & correct drivers loaded for cable . have threads on here about it, cables can be got off likes of eBay quite cheaply.

It not ideal & could lead to other problems when severe, cause of that issue could be injectors - heater plugs for example, would imagine the subaru fuel additive is for injector clean & fuel burn/octane improvement . certainly keep an eye on things & be sure by decent diesel & try couple additives to see if makes difference. Wait & see if dry warmer weather helps too & perhaps an oil change & fuel filter too if persists.

In a nutshell; Registering for uk for cars over 10years old is simple for UK, basically a foglight & get it MOT'd on chassis number then apply for reg doc & get plates made, MOT & V55/5 registration less than £200 I think roughly & easy for anyone do. biggest expense is shipping & import tax, shipping around 600 to 1000gbp pending on how many you shipping & experience/contacts. Import tax total is around 30%, just pay the bills at import yard, stick it on trailer & take it home to sort rest at your own pace . Loads of guides on this and it easier to do than you would think really . main thing is being super fussy on what you buy, don't rush & don't accept faults that you won't be happy with down the line or are hard to put right. With money saving you can afford buy best examples at auction & that what you need do, proper mint car with original paint, clean original interiors & super low mileage. Jap auction sheets are very accurate, get good high res images especially for any minor pin dents etc, good video with car running is a must. Jap auctions are pretty honest compared to sh1te that goes through uk ones. it always a bit of a risk but if it not a car you going be happy with you can probably sell it on easily with small profit unless real unlucky. most uk importers take cheaper stock then doctor them uk end. Spending extra on auction will net way better car & save you lot of money in long term plus get real grade A rather than grade B buffed to look like grade A until warranty void & you discovered all the niggles ...

Can be raw diesel from start up in exhaust too, that white smokes heavily .

even 120k+ will do you, main thing is great condition so take time & don't rush a purchase. auto foresters tend be easier find low mileage and generally tidier condition as get used by lot of mums & older people. had quite a few good priced auto SF models when I been looking. SF better looking in my opinion & one of toughest runs of cars Subaru done to date.

Bargain foresters are rare, as said higher miles is not a great concern, see many at 200K and still fine order (it all down to use & quality of servicing/maintenance) . SF models are better built than SG SG5 £800 can find good ones but rarely, 1000 to 2000 is more realistic but sort something before winter as they sell quick & for more money then. SF before 2001 is cheaper tax, probably easier find 2003 or 2004 SG though, try buy AWP version as nice extras & sell on better too . Be more concerned on looking at rear subframe & inner arch corrosion (SG inner arch rot quick as very thin steel compared to SF), dead suspension, dead clutch, odd tyre wear, transmission noises. I see many at 130K in fine health while some hard used 90K examples can be junk.

modern diesels are over sensitive junk . Price to fix some of the Subaru diesel issues are scary for average owner & means for many the diesel has little or no real economy advantage over the petrol.

classic sti ... ! should fit most 93 to 07 models ....

I would of probably gone for new slave anyway at age of your car & they only about £25 (Blueprink ADL A1 quality, shop about) Tip on clutch line option is get a hose shop duplicate them from original as pattern, use quality line & fittings though (many motoring shops that do braided brakes hoses can do it also) Best thing to do is inspect clutch arm to see all seems ok visually/to feel then retry bleeding. We normally remove slave so loose & can be kept at high point to help air out (hold plunger in with clamp) Be sure pull pedal all way up by hand & give short rest time before pump stroke. also be sure plenty fluid in res. Also be SLOW in pump & return strokes during bleed If still get issues after careful bleed try pumping clutch 10-15 times then re-bleed a bit & repeat if found helping . now, what is pedal feel like ! does it have resistance & does clutch feel to move properly !! You also want look at slave plunger movement to see seems move out & moving fork . If issue remains yet pedal seems firm & slave plunger moves it could be issue in fork/release bearing/clutch Is unusual get master issues but never rule it out as is 18yrs old (what mileage on your foz ! ) More details on car would be good, guessing it S Turbo from user name, rightly or wrongly :-) good luck .

I think for that make system you going need buy from USA direct or via eBay & live with costs. have a look towards poland as they quite into the Forester so may do something .

^ front nothing special, you can reuse original springs if they in serviceable spec . I would measure front ride height & check dampers and if seem ok they could be kept, I suppose depends on how you use the car & what sort of money you happy putting into it . new shocks & springs on a 20year old car is never a bad thing :-) KYB are pretty good but prices may not be great, Optimal are not bad for prices, I used a few of them now & not had any issue & also found damping to be good .

^ yes it would, no idea on quality of parts they supplying & price not that cheap once add shipping I would of thought you could get Optimal or KYB easily in switzerland or something shipped from Germany but whatever works out simple & best availability for you I suppose ... Good luck ...

Besides Optimal brand you can also get SF forester non SLS shocks from KYB & Sachs, KYB also do springs. Just remember you MUST do both left & right when changing from SLS to non SLS and also fit non sls springs as they different spring rating. the Tokico SLS is only available from subaru & crazy money The aftermarket shocks & springs (both sides) will cost less than £200 in parts if shop around ...

^ ? I see a link to the saggy butt thread don't you ??

That self levelling strut (sls) so you will need change both sides & the springs also to non sls type. They cheap, See link below for more info .

^ yeh the learning function on the diesels is junk, mpg is also pretty awful all round considering it 2ltr & high tech. really wanted to love the boxer diesel but it not that good to be honest . injectors are not that expensive (unless use main dealer) & as long as don't snap off it no big job or bill.

doesn't always cure it as some sloppy pads just don't pair well with some sloppy calipers . good chance it will ...

Put greys back in asap, as you will be over fuelling way too much as all injector pulsing will be based on original injectors. Extra boost is not big issue some believe it to be, as long as air is measured the ecu will add fuel & as long as injector duty not max out you should be good on fuelling, makes no difference when or how boost is delivered as long as max boost within capability of air measurement & fuel input. 12psi should be fine but check it on RR or wideband, if don't want do that turn it down before it ends in tears.

Don't rule out suspension as it easy to have a look/check, would expect droplinks or d-bushes etc clunk on some bumps etc too . Always good to assume nothing & test everything on stuff like this and more so when testing quick & simple. point on pads/caliper valid too but if don't seem obviously sloppy won't be easy encourage the garage along this route without suspension A1 order first ... good luck ...

pictures would be good. Is it some sort of clear-coat lacquer issue on refinished paint perhaps !

load covers are daft money from anyone as they damn expensive new and rare get A1 order used, sg sh ones fetch about £100 easily (new from dealer is about £300), I sold a few but only got sf at moment. eBay or local scrap dealer best options, specialist breakers know the market value on them .