Mr B

32-33 N*m Polly ones can be good but some have habit of squeaking Final torque of nuts should be done with vehicle sat level & under its own weight.

Good to here owners views as helps me offer good choices to customers. springcoil springs is probably part of reason feels stiffer as they tend use slightly stiffer rates for XT models as tend to be driven bit more sporty. Those Excel G's get good feedback from everyone I supplied them to as seem good compromise for uk roads & the price of the ones you purchased was almost stealing really :-) Have fun with your Fozzy XT ...

On your SF with the figure 8 plastic/duralon drop links the bolt torque is 24ft/lb on my online data manual.

If car sitting level no, if you jacked one side up then yes. If you need lift car to do job then lift both sides same. You may find just a little load when remove first joint but that nothing that can not be controlled & pulled in line by hand for refitting.

Very easy & new drop links from BluePrint or Solid Ace are not expensive . above brands are about £20 each & you should be able get them for that if shop around local motorfactors or try Amazon, they very good quality parts, you can get cheaper such as First Line at about £13 but won't last as long & the quality drop can be seen & felt during fitting. 2 nuts on each link, best giving squirt of penetrating oil before doing job but generally no real hassle. If nuts & rod a real corroded mess then either need split the nuts off or carefully cut at base of nut & through threaded rod. Link below of BluePrint replacement & has pic of part in question ... http://www.yoyopart.com/oem/1977047/blueprint-ads78504.html

If you have a particularly dirty engine with black oil then a flush can be useful to remove more old oil & sludge from engine but if engine quite good/clean I would go with 1 or 2 short interval oil+filter changes over use of engine flush.

Looks awful with those18s :-/

Hows your excel G & springcoil rear conversion doing ? You notice better ride with it over the old SLS ?

Still can be repaired but tyre shops hate the stuff as so messy & tyre fitters are not good cleaners so prefer push you a new tyre.

Would of been quite easy for Subaru to of made a steel spare fit in boot well. Think it should be a legal vehicle requirement ... Tyre puncture gunk can be useful quick fix but not going help you in all scenarios.

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.