Mr B

hankook optimo 45

if you don't have to paint roof then 1k to 1.5k will possibly cover job but actual panel condition & colour will make difference too. Go too cheap & it will be awful & car not stripped finished or rebuilt well, factory paints from this era are super tough & no paint shop products match up to them & colour coded bumpers resprayed are a testament to this fact .

I quite like Polk db series, audio stuff very much a personal thing though & a lot of decent speakers out there.

Great, hope you enjoy the Forester, they are highly versatile & you will be looking forward to a heavy winter to try it out fully. Just be particular on fuel you use & engine oil/changes, also try get some longer mileage in so dpf can clean itself as modern diesels are not great with constant short trips . Dealer does sound friendly & that worth it's weight in gold these days ...

The 4WD & extra ground clearance would be great for your location then with some snow/bad weather, They are superb in snow etc especially with quality winter tyres. Early diesel issues are real such as dpf, glowplugs, injectors & crankshaft failures.. Not really trying scare you more a case be aware you may see at least one or 2 problems that require decent money put right, fact car got good history is great & in some ways I would prefer by the early diesel with decent mileage on it as then likely be a good one or had odd glitches dealt with it before. Just give it good look over & good test drive under various conditions of B road & bit of dual carriage way, observe clutch feel/bite, dual mass flywheels on these can play up & have nasty judder, also new clutch inc flywheel is expensive in parts & diesel torque output is real hard on these parts & they don't have lifespan of the petrols. Price sounds reasonable, I would look at small print on any warranty as they normally have a huge amount of non covered clauses so it can be better doing a better price deal with no warranty or just a basic warranty. Best of luck for your possible purchase ...

They are good if you need the 4WD & versatility of SUV & the Forester is super versatile. I would check it over really well then check again & be sure engine sweet as early diesels can be problematic & frustrating plus very very expensive put right. I really like the forester & it solid car but early diesels are hard recommend but can still be be good buy ...

Good post & info ... another option is you can wire off board two normal single circuit relays to do the job of the one double circuit, using the spare is easy way go & glad your effort paid off. great first post .

battery would be easy & cheap for quality cell if pull old one & match cell number on eBay

leads are common one for fault when likes of 10 years+ old, one forester I bought had slight miss when on test drive & think part of reason was for sale & had some bills that looked likely it been playing up but issue not found, I took chance & £20 new leads cured it . Those prospark leads are ok for price, I used few of them & found them as good/better ends than blueprint ones. Not always the case but at price it worth ruling out before digging deeper .If still present do plugs too as may have bad insulation on one even if look perfect, set of Bosch plugs for example are very cheap too on eBay so if not the plugs it not big money to rule out & kind of handy have set spare .

First thing I would do is new set of leads & plugs. Leads on these play up a lot & I get at least one a month with similar faults & it cured with new leads, even had car in that was on subaru diagnosis & not pinpointed fault so before waste money on further diagnosis labour try leads as easy do yourself & even plugs if you can manage them. Give seller a call to confirm parts right as makes easy return should things be wrong > http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fits-Subaru-Outback-Legacy-Impreza-PROSPARK-OES1229-Ignition-HT-Lead-Set-/400599297283?fits=Model%3AForester|Cars+Year%3A2006&hash=item5d45942d03:g:lisAAOxyDEVSc7ni

MEYLE drop links are very very good, ICP do cheaper ones as a pair at under £22 if want keep costs minimal. (left & right are exactly same so just order 2 from that one listing) http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MEYLE-Rear-Right-Stabiliser-anti-roll-bar-DROP-LINK-ROD-Part-34-16-060-0004-HD-/351190480626?fits=Model%3AForester|Plat_Gen%3ASG&hash=item51c49576f2:g:StsAAOSw6EhUNBH4 As for no pattern on lights it maybe bulbs or lens clouded, plastic lenses on these do go cloudy, they can be polished with quality m3 cutting compound, would of thought they would of been more descriptive on that one even if only verbally. Take a good look at them & see what you can see, clouded lenses being quite common & low power dip may not shine through bight enough to show enough lens pattern !

the roof rack bars clamp to the recess on the roof bars, the subaru originals are about the best neat fit but other decent brands listed compatible will do the job, thule for example do a real nice alloy closed ends one specific for SG but it not cheap. Mounting tyre on roof will make fuel consumption worse defeating some of the point of having lpg, the lpg wheel well tanks are a PITA., you looking at standing it in boot to one side on a bracket or complex job of a rear hanger, can fabricate these off the bar that runs behind the bumper & is part of tow bar but good effort is not easy or cheap. for pre 2008 frame-less windows the deflectors are very limited to the oem ones if can find them, they not that good/useful in my opinion .

wish my wife was only 20 lol ...

down to floor ! constant flexing killed those .

I would pull rear door card off & inspect right at motor to try see what failing & trace wires/colours without error, try a temporary new earth too .

last one i come across was scruffy 03 sg, high miles & 1,600, don't see many cheap sf's on lpg as trend came in around sg's. hope you find one but it will be hard this time of year I reckon, doubt I see 4 lpg foresters in a year. take lpg out of the equation & you'll find something reasonably decent for £750 & scruffy for £400 .

budget is a bit short for a lpg one & more so this time of year when prices tend be higher. half decent foresters at 1k are short on supply & with lpg even more so .

not at that speed, many tend last close to 100k miles ! I would suggest using an after market alloy treaded pedal cover rather than the rubber . perfectly fine for mot too .

Have a look at this post & measure rear suspension accurately & on level ground, check front too & see if falls into serviceable height limits. http://uk.subaruownersclub.com/forums/topic/7216-2005-forester-xt-rear-sls-unit-leaking/#entry42477 Issues with rear SLS tend to be internal in most cases so a perfectly healthy looking strut can be junk. If need new you are best going for non SLS from KYB as they at bargain price at moment & use non SLS springs with them or if tow a lot or carry heavy load get custom springs with say +20mm and/or higher spring rate/progressive from springcoil.co.uk . Prices for parts would not be more than £250 for both rear struts, boots/bumps & springs & KYB has 2 year warranty which a bonus over used SLS units.

geometry & wheel to arch centre alignment goes out at 2" & well out over 3" & up, other issue is drive shaft angles on very high lifts. You best making most of tyre size at that gives ground clearance gain on hub/links/wishbone & saves overdoing driveshaft angles. Is amazing where they will go, seen a few videos in US & Russia & it is totally surprising. looks clean from that 1 pic, AWP great comfort too, totally unlike a landy lol . How much lift you planning on doing ? Look forward to some pics :-)

Looks nice, do love the SF Foresters with passion . Done a few lifts on these, best way is combination of block & springs such as - 40mm block on strut hats & +30mm springs from springcoil.co.uk For more than 50mm lift you need make position spacers for the rear trailing links to centralise wheel in arch, also rear camber bolts to correct camber. You can gain a bit more with larger tyres but not much as fowl strut spring seat & arch easily, you can swap to SG struts which has little more clearance. alloy skid pan handy up front lipped up at front bumper, similar on back handy too & can save rear bumper. They are surprisingly good & don't get stuck easily, enjoy :-) . I would pick up a set of oem SF steel rims (can be found dirt cheap) for your offroad tyres & go full out on those to improve your landy embarrassing capability & keep current rims for road/all season tyres .

Turbo is more thirsty, more insurance & more stringent maintenance. Can be good buy though if come across a real mint one, tend find a few sport sf fozzies in super condition & sensible price ...

I prefer the SF 97-2002 Forester myself, they look better & are far more solid. thicker steel especially in rear inner arch panel. Interior is far more durable too . 120k is nothing, just give usual checks along with good inspection on rear inner arch/turrets & rear subframe as these can rot a bit especially if car been on a farm or similar . also check rear suspension for sagging & gearbox/transmission for noise/slack-clunking . SF's can be a bargain, I picked up a real clean 1999 green one with 134K & full dealer extras for under £800 2 months ago, similar spec & condition SG would be £2,000 so SF models are always worth a serious look, you also save £50 on road tax for pre 2001-1st March one which nice ...

^ optimal struts > http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SUBARU-FORESTER-2-0-1997-2002-NEW-REAR-LEFT-RIGHT-SHOCK-ABSORBER-/301510004424?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&fits=Model%3AForester&hash=item4633658ec8&clk_rvr_id=958385094981&afsrc=1&rmvSB=true suplex springs > http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2x-OE-Quality-Replacement-Rear-Suspension-Coil-Spring-SUP032034-/141542632909?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&fits=Model%3AForester|Plat_Gen%3ASF&hash=item20f4992dcd&clk_rvr_id=958381095053&afsrc=1&rmvSB=true New strut boot & bump stops probably > http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rear-Protection-Kit-To-Fit-A-SUBARU-FORESTER-KYB-910072-/161277879413?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item258ce92475&clk_rvr_id=958412920878&afsrc=1&rmvSB=true Ride height with that will be close to normal turbo range to perhaps +10mm, will be firmer than old dead sls & 17yr old springs All those parts will cost about £190, if you need top hats for struts they about £45ish each ...

Make one, use dog guard as mounting/attachment point.