Mr B

Lucas bearings kits tend be orbis bearings & they not very good. Use a stethoscope to listen to each rear hub. or when drive it rock it left to right to see if nose reduces & pinpoint the one at fault. I seen cheap bearings fail real quick, the cartridge also super fussy on fitting & press catching inner bearing rather than just outer bearing sleeve can kill um. I only use ntn or nsk , ICP do them for around £40 (do stipulate want jap ntn or nsk as they also do german bearings) Euro car parts are awful in respect to selling poor quality brands just so can price well, they sell some right monkey metal junk .

Think you will struggle find a worthy turbo SF (mk1) for 1K. Was one on autotrader that was non starter (fuel pump immobilizer issue) which was well cheap & looked clean/interesting. You'll pick up a decent sport SF or AWP SF for about 1K though. Rust not major issue unless car spent some time in coastal area or farm use or not cleaned well. rear arch lips can rot & rear subframe & chassis & sills need a look at as can be rotted when subjected to harsh environment & no early treatment. I'm a big fan of the SF, nicer styling shape & build is far more solid & interiors wear far far better. As a driver you ideally want the turbo but you going need travel a bit to find one & add a bit more to the purchase fund to make it a worthy one. Certainly good car for cumbria :-) good luck.

local breakers is good way for set (fob, alarm ecu) & always worth trying as may have a few other odd bit making it worthwhile effort.

Does sound like was radio interference. If just want get keypad working you just need pick up another keypad If want try new alarm ecu then need keyfob to program yourself easily. Sounds like you have the old non revised m30 alarm ecu, they did replace them under warranty, would be worth you looking for a later revised alarm ecu too but just getting keypad done first if can't find good alarm ecu/keyfob pair would be good & keep you out of trouble.

Seems you got issues with immobilizer circuits I would remove or if you want play about yourself & save a few £ try find another one from a breakers which has one fob still with it, take the main brain & keypad & then use instructions above to reprogram. I done a few that way but sometimes it a pain to find one.

Alarm no hassle just don't leave your keys in car with doors shut as in some instance alarm will arm or activate central locking then you locked out :-) keys best in hand then is sirin starts squeeling you can blip it off. not sure on your radio code so check that with the radio manual.

Have you grounded the CEL wire to ECU & found CEL light works ? You also want test what the CEL input terminal is doing at ign on (should be switched earth while light on then if no faults open circuit) Best thing to do if running out of ideas is disconnect battery pull plugs out of ecu & check/clean them with electrical contact cleaner then reconnect & run engine & see what happens in terms of CEL & if error codes returning. certainly not a lot wrong but could be hard pinpoint.

^ you probably looking at what feeds to the keypad !

Its an option, what I have done for customers before is get hold of alarm ecu & one keyfob from a breaker & reprogram it to original keyfob & set new pin. Cheap & easy, you could do that yourself, trick is need one working remote but generally it not that hard find a breaker which still got a key-fob with it . Some dealers have replacement alarm set still available & that about £225 I think .

Yeh ideally want remove glovebox . If playing with arial position or extending arial into a loop on end,, checking the harness plug & spraying contact cleaner on it does not make good enough improvement you probably looking at needing new alarm ecu as fault will be receiver. Certainly worth testing you 4 digit pin code to be sure you know how use it & it correct/works as you would be up 5hit creek without it if remote system fails work completely .

Is it a Sigma alarm ! (one button on the all in one key-remote & manual keypad input panel in flipdown coin tray near drivers right knee ?) Do you know your 4 digit pin & know how use it ? as could be handy if fully unable use remote ... M30 main ecu is under dash area near glovebox, they have a dangling black wire which is the receiver antenna, some times repositioning this upwards & clear of interference items can help, also check the connector that takes the receiver wire is securely plugged into the alarm ecu. Do you have more than one remote & do both have same issue !? Worse case scenario is receiver board bad.

antenna needs repositioning or extending on the receiver ....

^ yep 230 (car reg before 1st march 2001 & over 1549cc) if up front 1-off payment . http://carfueldata.dft.gov.uk/new-vehicle-tax.aspx?t=23ude39 https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/419799/V149_Budget_2015_Final_version.pdf

^ great versatile classic & should be useful in Cumbria . turbo model & sport model sf generally easier find in better condition but could take a while. I always keep an eye open in my area for good sf's & they don't crop up often but are a great buy when do & super easy sell on plus a pre 2000 model saves you around £50 on road tax which not a bad thing :-)

the sf is absolute superb . far better built & far better looking than sg sh models . find one with sensible mileage & good history & you will be more than happy . very easy work on too . cam belts are not that expensive & head gasket more a concern of 2.5l engine.

eBay or a local breakers is your best option, local breakers being cheaper. Any forester from late 20002 to 2008 will be same motor.

depends on reason of failure. Good sign of poor servicing or cheap oil. common problem is filter built into banjo bolt for oil feed blocks & restricts oil so the oil feed needs checking before bolting new turbo on or new turbo will be dead in few miles. Used turbo not too expensive & can be quite cheap repair if know a good turbo rebuild specialist.but to play safe put £800 on it, used decent turbo could be £200, good one if you like spanner work yourself, would want everything else A1 on the car though or you off to a bad start :-/

If you really like autos go for auto, generally autos even easier find as cleaner & less abused. If you want bit of performance then the turbo is a must & you may find 2.5 to non turbo 2.0 a bit lacking . Trick is using perhaps local dealer examples as bit of learning ground on confirming it what you want & base idea what they should be like then widen search a bit. If not brash & take little bit of time you can get real clean fsh 2.0xt, the non turbo models tend be harder as get more abused one way or the other as such a versatile wagon.

^ best way, need decent proper looking job or you could get hassle from insurers in an accident some how related to it or mentioned on accident vehicle report .

Yes they reliable. Buy a good example & they super reliable. Get a manual, 2003 to 2005 SG models are good, newer models not so good. Generally the 2.0XT is easier find in clean order & you far smarter buying say a 2004 model with low mileage & FSH & impeccable order over newer models at close cost. Even a late SF model low mileage example could be considered as the SF foresters are absolute solid with all fit & finish being very durable. Regular oil change with a quality full synthetic is a must .

Headgaskets tend play up between 80K & up but not all do. Proper effort on headgasket will be around £1,000+ if use top quality parts & do cambelt fully during rebuild. With turbos you want be looking for smoke, engine rattle, clutch engagement, transmission clunks & smooth changes on all gears. Check for accident damage too. wouldn't worry on things like elec windows & sunrroof as they not overly common, drivers window sometimes issue or the switch, obviously test all . MOT items are nothing, drop links on the SG is metal but they tend wear out in 80 to 100k plus I expect that BC suspension helping wear the drop links. I don't think the 2.5XT is particularly worth the extra running costs plus they harder sell on. I prefer the 2.0XT (perhaps the PPP version if spot one). It easy buy good 2.0 & 2.5 turbo forester if don't rush at first you see, they normally far less abused as work horse or family bus so almost mint low mileage with FSH can be found reasonably easy & prices good.

HKS is one of best due to way valve is controlled, still see problems with them though regardless of adjustment. If you log or live view maf readings/fueling you will see issues even if lucky & not feel them . for very sensitive maf cars I don't use them as recirc far better. Fit after market ecu run map sensor then 100% no issue with vta. I got no issue with noise, but as a mechanical engineer do like facts & proper function over anything else.

Tesco momentum 99 is good :-) Check ecu fault codes out of interest, being a W(99) & if this a UK car you have a chance of possibly using OBD cable as yours could have the OBD2 style plug which actually wired for ssm2 & that works with ISO9141 KKL OBD cable & freeSSM software Leads would be good to inspect or replace & not overly expensive. When you say happens under load, would it be always under reasonable amount of boost ! resistance is higher due to pressure & spark blow out can occur under boost if ignition parts not up to scratch. Lots of other possibilities, knock sensors quite common but more diagnosis needed really ...

^ Have a look at those manuals & if yours better or EU model specific add a link ... Back on topic of CEL light, I think (need good look at wiring diagram & car) the ECU controls the light via grounding the CEL light, if you look at a ECU pin diagram & can see the CEL input you could test its voltage & also try external grounding the input & if CEL illuminates by external grounding then likely ecu issue !

PDF & interactive online one here > http://jdmfsm.info/Auto/Japan/Subaru/Forester/2006/