Mr B

To be honest they quite easy to rebuild, just be sure use a good competent machine shop & check everything & do research or ask questions if not sure on something. If Big-end & Main journals on crank are in good order (good chance they are) you only need change shells if show wear & you can easily obtain ACL bearing shells for standard crank size & fit/check clearances-juggle shells to help even up clearances prior to final build. rebore & hone for new pistons is straight forward, just be sure stipulate a bore to piston clearance that suitable for you usage. For road use I would use CP pistons as the piston design allows smaller bore clearance values & they run silent (no slap even on a winter morning) plus are tough pistons & good value for money. Even doing it yourself it will consume quite a chunk of cash as a good job requires quite a lot of new plus decent quality parts than soon start adding up to 4 figures ...

DPF is absolute waste of time on low average mileage of say 12,000miles a year. the amount of pollution caused from manufacture of a DPF & the cleaning of it in terms of fuel & chemicals works out far worse impact in term of pollution than a bit of soot. All that was really needed was stringent emissions & engine oil checks for MOT so tune/emissions was very healthy thus minimal pollution. DPF is technically quite clever but if not a lorry/bus/van etc doing silly annual mileage it is a complete negative in term of environmental care & common sense engineering :-S Part of reason I like the older vehicles is because they are better engineered & far less hassle & far less polluting in term of birth to death figures.

What alarm is it ! Sigma ? sounds like it when mention keypad. Basically any additional alarm wired in with circuits cutting fuel or starter for immobilization can easily be totally removed or just immobilizer circuits removed if want keep some of the alarm function if working suitably (sigma included). This will not effect the key chip/transponder as that is a separate immobilizer linked to the key the ECU & OEM wiring. We have a lot of threads on the Sigma including how reset the pin code assuming you have at least one remote that seems function enough to allow the recode process. It is known for the relays fail for immobilization, also I think the backup battery in the siren assembly can cause some odd faults when it fails (can be replaced but require surgery on siren)

lol

If you buy used from specialist engine importers who deal with recycled engines from low mileage JDM you can do ok. Rebuild could be a disaster if you have no experience. certainly sounds as if needs new set of pistons & rebore, If big end & main bearings are perfect you would not need replace but all needs good inspection by someone who has experience. you will replace all engine seals/gaskets & Heads should be stripped, cleaned, valves checked/lapped etc. A decent helpful machine shop will make things easier for you but still plenty of areas in the rebuild that many first timers can mess up.

any member can ...

ideally you will want 92.5mm pistons so your bore can be sized/honed to suitable clearance for usage. Fast road use with forged pistons require less clearance than an engine dedicated for track use. Personally I prefer CP pistons for more road usage build as they can run quiet & bore clearance range is very good. Would be good to strip & review your engine prior to getting parts as if found other defects it would be easy/cheaper to go for another engine over rebuild perhaps ...

yes either to the obd2 loom or perhaps modding the adaptor if want leave vehicle untouched. I would personally have it 3 way switched to either run via ACC power, default power or completely off no power. leaving cheap chinese electronics unattended & running 24/7 is never a good thing. Have replaced more than 1 ecu due to faulty OBD reader damaging ECU board so be careful with them.

If leaving them in permanently they are best tweaked to have power feed via switched ignition along with on/off switch option, not hard to do.

Changing shock is super simple & if taking care & ones time it would be done in under an hour. hard to say on price of shock as used or new genuine or aftermarket shocks vary greatly from £50 to way past £130.

Same here, do same for customers too unless they dead set against fixing it. Fixed penalty is a PITA :-@

Yep front fogs are not part of MOT test in terms of them working & not listed in lighting section of old or new MOT manual. If lens was broken, hanging out etc it could fail but easily fixed for MOT by removing lens or taping over them. What you do need remember is it is a motoring offence should you be using your fogs with only one working & Mr BIB sees you :-S

Front fogs are not part of the MOT, only rear fog is ...

Could be wrong springs then, as if use sls springs on standard shocks you get same saggy look as with failed sls struts.

Yes, the boge strut you quoted is a patern part to a forester non sls strut. The only company that makes sls struts is Tokico & they only available through Dealer.

Just design option, you have twin tube & mono tube, twin tube being very much the standard for normal shocks.

Standard twin tube gas shock from Boge for SF forester (non SLS) Much the same as the KYB & Monroe for Forester.

length of body and rod

tophats fit, wrx struts are shorter than standard forester non sls struts.

I'm doing exactly the same. Photo licence not a great asset as still has a !Removed! paper part & you need that too if visiting police station for doc check. My Dad renewed his recently as expired & they spelt his name wrong on new licence, absolute nightmare correcting that as wanted proof of his name change & obviously in this case he has not had a name change & it a typo on their part. Putting that *****-up right is proving difficult due to complete stupidity & lack of gumption from DVLA office :-S

Tricky one to protest against as bit awkward for first few thousand people who get legal action then if blank that they got a warrant & without full & total majority support it won't work . We have same issue with local council blowing loads of money on new town hall project & excessive salaries & offices running costs in terms of IT equipment contracts etc, pointless road layout changes at ridiculous cost yet basic road surfaces are all a mess due to a decade of p1ss poor cheap option repairs :-/ I don't drive a Forester just because I like them but also as it good option on the pot hole gravel tracks they call roads & they good at driving over speed bumps & protruding curbs that these council clowns keep adding.

Clutches are normally not heavy, could be clutch or even issue with hill hold mechanism that linked to clutch pedal ! Sounds like rear boot release or lock mechanism needs looking at, can be a PITA that ...

You can insure a car that is not taxed. Also as I have trade insurance as soon as I buy a car I can add it to my vehicle list & it insured. This new system would be fine if simply left it like current setup but no display disc & simply verify tax amount/status via DVLA online data when buying used car. Right tw@t about cancelling- issuing new unless they make system simple. A logical step would be a 48hr exclusion of needing car tax on new ownership as long as reason for on road travel is the delivery of the vehicle to new owners address. If messy I will be going back to trailering cars as nothing worse than travelling several hundred miles twice just for inflexible tax & insurance systems, not very CO friendly either really :-/

Hopefully a jigsaw that never gets finished ... Privatising the roads would be a disaster for motorists who rely on the car for daily commute & with no real practical public transport no option but a car for most :-/ I am surprised with modern liability & H&S they got away with tar & chippings for so long, plenty of funds available just not spent wisely :-/

Could be weak key fob so worth trying another, also worth looking at antenna on car & seeing if can be positioned better or extended to improve the range. What alarm is it ? Sigma ! If you don't have a spare fob worth getting one & if Sigma alarm with keypad worth checking you have a working pin code as easy change code & add extra remotes while you have a working remote but not so easy or free without.