Mr B

Best DPF cleaner I found was my steam cleaner. DPF's are awful bits of engineering, Subarus control setup on the diesels is also not the best but hopefully improving for sake of Subarus reliability image :-S . for most peoples annual mileage a diesel is not very advantageous as fuel savings are equally spent on expensive servicing & problems.

never heard of that before. Way I raise foresters is combination of steel spacer block on top hats & new specific springs. 1" to 1.5" on top hat spacer & 1" to 1.5" on springs to suit what customer wants, can also gain 0.5" to 075" on bigger diameter tyres. Raising suspension mechanically over 2" needs rear trailing arms repositioned on custom bracket so wheel swings to arch centre correctly. adding much more than 1.5" via spring is pointless as loose to much strut stroke travel. King spring & british company springcoil can do decent spec raising springs .

Ramair filter is very good. Don't get too tied down into expensive filters as none that beneficial & after few years they perform no better than a qaulity new oem one & the original gain of new performance to a new oem is very small numbers.. Multilayer dry foam types perform well in balance of airflow & filtering, everything else tends be airflow at expense of filtering ability.

HG would be my suspicion, best keeping eye on it & going through basics of minor leaks, rad cap or thermostat issue but normally you back to HG ...

Only time I would worry about possible bottom end is if had water in oil & been run like it for some time. When minor leak I tend make an evaluation on engine condition & if passes muster go for just gaskets. I have never had one have big end/main failure after heads done in over 20 years of working on Subarus so the 9 out of 10 statistics is blatant bull.

I've done quite a few heads on turbos & 2.5 na lumps & never had 1 bottom end issue & some by now done 30K+ after headgasket job. If engine health an issue, oil pressure low etc then it a different scenario.

Try link below for main index & search for rear suspension & you should find it. pics are not the best in detail but it a small bracket on the lateral link ... http://jdmfsm.info/Auto/Japan/Subaru/Forester/2008/Forester%202008/index.html

bracket on the lateral link for the sensor arm to connect to. no great pic though .... http://jdmfsm.info/Auto/Japan/Subaru/Forester/2008/Forester%202008/index.html EDIT: here's an image to help you get idea of what should be what .

either pop in a local clifford installers & get them plug in laptop & tweak sensor settings or pick up required cable & learn do it yourself, software can be found online easily so only magic bit is the cable to connect to a notebook. I have clifford on 2 of my cars with same sensor as you talking about & they are very good but bad setting is what causes the issues.

^ about £1500 for decent job on heads based on engine decent in general & that includes quality gaskets/parts and basic machine work such as skimming & valve work, absolute no to touching bottom end unless you got some hint of other problems & then it a full engine out & rebuild.

what AP Racing clutch !? organic or ceramic paddle ? Have you let it bed in before hammering it ? What is power output of your car ?

Check them first, you have 2 , one on front suspension & one on rear. it could be linked to your saggy rear end causing the level warning light, try disconnecting the rear sensor arm & positioning it so it thinks rear is sitting higher & see if warning light goes out ! Normally issue with these is dead sensor or corrosion on plugs/contacts, they live in a vulnerable place so do get issues. Check connectors on sensors & feed voltage/earth then find the signal wire & check the voltage reading varies as arm of sensor moved. very rare have issues else where unless accident repaired car or you very unlucky.

summer 10w40 fine, winter 5w40 good option, high hp & track use then 10w60 good. for your mileage & if mainly being used as road car then 5w40 all year round would be fine. Millers cfs is a good oil, I use it a lot in subarus & nissans.

^ yeh it not a big issue if not towing or carrying weight, rear should be little higher than front when in good order. Can go for years in light use & the fix with kyb shocks & springcoil springs is easy on wallet & fitting & good end result too . Enjoy the Fozzy & do main important stuff like brakes & take rest as & when needed.

^looking at rear wheel to arch & rear sill to floor either it got something heavy in boot or SLS sagging. Could be photo angle, car angle but I'm thinking not.

I think Bitmans keen eye might be right on rear ride height. you won't see leaks because issue is the self levelling valve system fails within the struts. they drop between 25 & 55mm with this problem but appear fine besides ride height. Normally towing or heavy loads & poor roads wear them out quicker but in general they can go for 100K or more before start sagging. SLS struts are made by Tokiko & only available from Subaru at not a nice price. You can fit non SLS KYB excel G struts from the SG forester & get matching non SLS springs from springcoil.co.uk for a little under £200 the lot. Have a thread on it with links to parts if needed.

Good luck with Subaru dealers :-S some will be more flexible in offering support and as a major safety item they should be dealing with it no quibble as parts are cheap to them & it easy fit too. You should be able source some used alloy ones though so won't be too bad :-/

Yes they can corrode from inside out, main difference of recall part was anti rust wax treatment to the inside Hopefully subaru will offer you something if vehicle shows not to of had the recall done. If not sourcing the alloy wishbones from xt or sti is way to go.

What wrong with yours ? easy & cheap to fit bushes & balljoint if arms not bent, cracked or corroded badly, cracked arb mounts can be repaired though. http://uk.subaruownersclub.com/forums/topic/14685-subaru-forester-2001-wishbone-arm-bush-problem/#entry91009 If do need new arms then try ICP (Import Car Parts) or source used, you can used alloy arms from some XT models or Imprezas.

Have a look at this, may help. http://jdmfsm.info/Auto/Japan/Subaru/Forester/2009/Forester%202009/index.html most dealers are useless at this sort of repair so avoiding them is wise move .

Indeed it happens but you just as likely fit a bad pump (more so if not fussy on brand purchased) as have a low mileage one bad. Ideal time to change them is between 80 to 120k for average road car (ideally second belt change) ...

I wouldn't if only mild performance & road use. they designed see over 100k service life. I tend advise them on second belt change in your scenario, if replace it be sure fit something of good quality or you actually going backwards, the oem pumps are very high quality so you want something like Aisin ideally. The uk service interval on subaru cambelts is awfully low & replacing a waterpump every belt change is a waste of good pumps generally.

^ I would not include pump at that mileage but would just inspect bearing feel when doing job, pumps last 3x that mileage with ease & twice the age in general . I've done a few legacy & foresters in 120K & up with original pumps & we change them at that mileage, at 43K it wasting a good quality servicable part in most cases of normal car/usage.

^ what mileage & use is the car ! If like its second belt change & under 100K I probably wouldn't change it unless inspection shows otherwise. If car gets track use then it would be changed to be sure. Review the mileage of car & do what think best for you, it easier in my scenario as normally I got a pump in stock anyway so can easily fit one when not initially intending to. I would go with dayco myself.

^ depends on age/mileage really & feel of bearing once belt off. I do them on any high mileage when looks like original one purely as a belt & brace approach & save drama of pump leaks after the work or bearing failing & taking belt with it. Original pumps are bl00dy good though & seen them do 160K & over 200K without drama, but do remember that the change of belt could change drive line & load on pump slightly so if not in best of health problems can arise. Don't use cheap pumps though & avoid the 5hite from likes of euro car parts.