Mr B

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 ...

Hot dipped zinc plating supposedly rated to handle about 200degC before it starts to de-laminate. If plating outside of sump works out too expensive you could just give sump a good clean & key & give it a few coats of 2 pack epoxy car paint, stuff is hard wearing & should withstand engine temps ok & keep elements off the sump for some time. Could brush or spray hammerite too perhaps. Have seen odd sump rust patch, sometimes it maybe bad spot of steel but also gets a lot of weathering down there plus as Jay said, no oil leaks as a secondary anti-corrosion barrier :-) Ford & Rover seem be able make um rust well even when oily :-S quite clever are ford :-)

Have a look at thread below post #55 (that is how I do them) http://uk.subaruownersclub.com/forums/topic/306-remote-needed/page-3 * Do remember program all keys during this stage* Is easy once familiarise yourself with keypad & led ... Link below to quite detailed Sigma alarm manual. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7Ub2apq5-pfcjJhSm5XUHNyUzQ/view?usp=sharing

Cambelt quite expensive but not something you going be doing frequently & haggling point when buying if near needing it done. Decent independents can do the job for £400 tops with genuine pulleys & tensioner, decent jap water pump & belt matching OEM quality. Auto options are good & certainly fine for off-road scenarios you likely do with an outback. I have used both 2.5 & 3.0 outbacks & for my driving which was mainly rural use the 2.5 manual did return more acceptable economy. Really depends on your use, annual mileage & how happy you are to pay a little extra for the 3.0L performance. Very much a personal preference that needs be made by you. Test drive some more models & see where it takes you :-)

For manual Outback you would need go to the 2.5 version to find a reasonable amount. Once you know exactly what you want it worth expanding search range as normally the best examples are never on your doorstep until you already own one. I think your idea of getting a stop gap runabout is ideal, then you can find exactly what you want with no urgency forcing your hand. The auto box is really nice but I do really like manuals myself plus fuel consumption & tax increases is something I like play safe with so a 2.5 manual would be the one to interest me.

annoying thing is it would of been super easy to change manufacturer - improve strength of heater plugs so at least if still fail reasonably quickly you don't need worry about the excessive cost from them shearing off. I think the current generation diesel probably is quite solid but another 12 to 24 months will be real test & hopefully reports will be good & the diesel will be looked on favourably as it is indeed a potentially great engine for the range of estate/SUV vehicles .

repair. I'm hoping for the best from the newer revision diesels, we don't see many yet as still mainly at dealers for servicing & repairs under warranty.

2012 onwards diesel is still too new & in too small numbers to evaluate really. I'm not totally knocking the Boxer Diesel but it is not a great used buy at present for mpg or no nasty surprises. Most of my customers are getting 42+mpg for general urban running around & 57+ on long runs. Indeed fuel being used & driving style can make big differences but I prefer referencing lower figures as most drivers will never see the MPG you are achieving. I am hoping the new diesels do turn out solid as would likely buy one in the future ...

This is getting common as the diesel boxer is getting bit older. Quality of the heater plugs is the issue & Subaru needs to address this with the manufacturer. I have not had one break on removal yet but have bench tested old ones & they do break quite easily as become quite brittle & the body is not very thick. Unfortunately the Boxer Diesel is not what we were hoping of from Subaru, Fuel economy is not that great for a modern diesel in real world daily use & some potential known issues are expensive & even when been done it not a cure as new parts have not been improved.

Sometimes the stress of removal can cause failure or initial running if fabbed exhausts have any contaminants being burnt off when first run, personally I would bung sensor hole for first run, Also poor handling of removed sensor can cause issues.

Tends to be long trips for the ones that sound good, things are easier these days with internet & ease of sending decent quality pics to get good feel of things prior to committing to a long trip. Generally you get rewarded when prepared to venture quite long distances with either a bargain or almost perfect example or both. Faults like on yours are perfect as enables haggling plus they easily resolved . I think the outback is probably one of the best bargain buy Subarus, Foresters can be good but you generally need view a lot more before find really tidy ones. In my favourite colour for Outback too that, good looking super practical vehicle that.

:-S Hope kit works out perfectly besides the delivery, at least they seem to of put some effort into resolving the delivery which good.

Good result :-) give yourself a pat on the back for the persistence in making it happen ...

lol they are good. best thing is just good checkover & quality oils, filters, plugs. leads, tyres as required. Could also be worth getting an OBD2 reader & learn basics of using it as if get the warning light you will be able have look at stored codes etc yourself and perhaps fix yourself or give you useful data aiding route of repairs, Generally they super reliable so good chance you will have trouble free run in France. have 1 Forester in annually for servicing/MOT and it over 200K & still good, have few Legacys too around 170K+ that still run perfect.

perhaps a Forester is a bit too off road but worth looking at one just to tick it off. I think Outback would be best & tend to be bargains too. Handling & performance is very good. You can get a lot of car for small money & in incredibly close to perfect condition with the Outbacks plus they very very versatile. David1972 is good source of opinion as he recently went from Forester to Outback, great looking car too.

Legacy is bigger than the Forester, fuel consumption about the same. Forester driving visibility/position is superb. Personally my favourite is the Forester followed by the Outback. Manual is better fuel consumption but not by much.Best performance to cost is the XT as if needs be it gets close to standard consumption of the non turbo 2 litre . All of them handle great & have superb permanent 4wd system which happy in a muddy field or snow covered road etc. Very safe cars & won't tip over like the Jimny :-S A forester XT pro drive would make your Porsche redundant possibly which would save some bills annually. Outback 2.5 & 3.0 are very nice & some bargains & super good good example can be found if automatic an option. Best thing is look at some & see how you feel after driving & reviewing each models practicality for you use. Fuel & car tax is always going up so I would play safe here to avoid possible major change in tax rules/pricing . 2-3 car owner is something I noticed from being in the trade. Many 1 owner vehicles tend get a bit thin on servicing quality & minor maintenance issues are untouched when near that point of moving on, while 2 & 3 owner cars tend have fresh enthusiasm & cash so things like recent cambelt change, new tyres & minor faults fixed that had been left buy previous owner/s are quite common.