Mr B

Lol, that pretty shocking to be honest. It quite easy bypass the alarm temporary via the main module loom plug & a diagram of the Sigma circuits :-S I have seen a few problems with french repairs & had a few french who preferred having work done in UK as generally better job & many times cheaper too which surprised me ! Least you & the Forester got back to the UK & all sorted ... shame about the bills but least seems problem fixed ...

Does look a bit low on rear in pic but could be ground it parked on & angle of shot, standard non SLS replacement strut & matching non SLS springs are not expensive though & not a big job to do.

Sounds like something loose, worn/play, I would check prop & all gearbox mounts & rear engine support mounts.

Looks really nice that one, the green & grey work well together. don't think it would look as good all colour coded.

Don't inject too much waxoil into sills as it tends cause water trap areas & block water drainage. also it is a PITA to weld again in future when they over full of oil. sensible misting with decent waxoil gun is recommended though. external application around suspension trailing link area & subframe & Mount area is recommended too.

lol :-D indeed auto is not good at that. On your question of sill strength, they are indeed quite a main part of body structure. If your welding is half decent & internal structure not too heavily corroded then they probably still suitably rigid enough. I'm not a fan of rust nor spending much money on repairs of corrosion. As you done it yourself it was a cost effective option, just keep an eye on it & give inspection for corrosion annually before MOTs & see how it goes, you may find rot spreads quickly (18 months/2 yrs) aound joins of new patches or spreads out to suspension mounting areas on the rear. If corrosion progress is very slow you may see 4/5 yrs before major issue again. Main thing is keep cars running costs/options in line with this & not heavily invest in it in other areas.

Late 2005 onwards will be 226hp

indeed, you don't want be a couple with matching sweaters & cars. At a quick glance they don't even look same car.

really nice the dark grey. Bit disappointed the khaki been dropped lol :-D

Kahki probably look ok on a dusty trail in oz with roof rack & jerry cans etc, but indeed not to my taste .

Yes amazing how colour effects the XV, dark colours such as the black, khaki & I expect the dark grey make it look like a military or SWAT vehicle of some sort :-)

if you got a camera handy next time it shined up I wouldn't mind seeing a pic of grey one :-) sounds nice & do like aggressive XV ...

surprised to here that, have 2 black ones near me, one of which I see almost daily. Looks good in black & black trim still subtly distinguished. Will look at the dark grey as that may work :-/

Well not a bad result that :-) Think this was destined to happen lol Hope you have a good time & car alarm issue works out as good as your jazzy roast dinner hosts, nice to see decent people helping out in times of need ...

XV in black does look good. Blue is decent too. Every colour has it's good/bad points when comes to cleaning & showing of marks. deffo want get front mud flaps, if you look at condition of lower flank paint work & sills on cars with decent mudflaps from early stage of life compared to without the difference is huge.

Is possible it wiring loom related & during movement of new siren & main module it corrected itself temporarily. Was the replacement kit 100% brand new or a refurbished one ! Did you try the pin code to disarm ! Could actually be the subaru transponder imobilizer rather than the alarm as if you had armed alarm it would of either not unlock or possibly set siren off if not disarming via remote fob. Sounds a bit of a nightmare, hope works out favourably.

indeed repairing the current box/diff is possible as is finding a used replacement. A good independent will be far cheaper than a dealer & be able offer more options. If you still find this too expensive & want shift the car for a fair price try listing it on eBay for spares/repair & if rest of vehicle super clean someone will be interested even if for donor low mileage engine. Unusual for centre diff failure without other issues straining it such as poorly matched tyres, rear diff issue or heavy use towing etc.

Old is gold. Lot of new stuff really neglects common sense. Do check what alarm setting options are available, some have settings for long parking duration low power usage. A decent Cat1 alarm & decent car battery should last past a month.

is unusual for subarus of that era to rust heavily, possibly previous use such as mucky building sites or salt water environment has played some role in it. Looks mainly the inner sill but do check how solid it is where joins into inner arch panel & where feed off towards trailing links & subfame mount areas. I personally would give whole vehicle good inspection for rust & if nothing much else found then doing just this area yourself would be cheap & could give good 2-3 years before further work required. Not much you can do inside the sills easily & normal procedure is good effort on outer panels along with good sealing & waxing inner sills to help slow down corrosion. after welding I normally spray on zinc primer followed by black PU40 adhesive applied as a seam sealer & filler to tidy the area up & give very long lasting protection, once that dry a coat of underseal as normal. Points above on drainage are very valid & also when waxing sills don't go to heavy on application as tends sag into pools blocking drain routes & holes. You should be able make some wood block stepped ramps easy enough to lift vehicle, if need wheel off a decent trolley jack & axle stands would be needed to get suitable & safe lift. No idea how last MOT missed the corrosion !

MM I think finding replacement could be way forward then. If get another forester you can keep some bits & sell some to help costs. It is quite easy to find a solid perfect running SF non Turbo for £1000 to £1500 Finding good used turbo ones is not so easy ...

Sounds like ideally new pistons & full rebuild then. Hard to say ! how clean/solid is the fozzy besides the engine ! I would say you would spend £1500 on parts & machine shop work for decent effort on rebuild. will need good inspection once running to check running right, fuelling correct etc. You can find solid SF foresters for £1500 & less although we heading to that time of year where prices tend to be less flexible. Very much something only you can decide what best option !

What I meant by that is replacement heads only if block serviceable.

If the det sensor is working a1 it helps but you still running lean & still get det which gives damage like in images above. With turbo cars it very wise give fuelling a check. A grand don't buy much for a decent build, decent pistons (set with rings etc) are £400. £800 to £1000 would be budget job, Better pistons & full bottom end soon burns up half that again . From my experience you don't get much of a recon for £1000. bestt thing to do is inspect bores & pistons as if seem ok you could go with heads & have a cheap repair plus some cash to check out fuelling etc is good

That been suffering det, you can see the pits in head. Ideally want pull pistons & check ringlands etc. If it was me I would be inclined get decent heads if find some at right price, then put in set of CP pistons & refresh bearings gaskets as needed. You will pay fair price for used engine. Up to you really & main thing to force going full engine will be if heads not found easily/cheaply or bores/bottom end found to be not favourable. Once done I would suggest getting fuelling checked on a dyno run or you could end up with same again unless running perfect.

Sounds good idea with you off roading style :-) Should be easy enough finding mounting points near rear & to middle of a sump guard plate, front not so easy as the rad bar in nice spot but flimsy. need branch off to chassis legs with custom brackets & support frame. Any effort better than standard plastic nappy though & good even in deep mud/snow & godsend for your favourite ditch should it have a hidden tree stump or stone lol :) have fun ...