Mr B

ride is pretty good if all struts good order & decent tyres & correct pressures.. far better than the suzuki. The older SF forester version is quite a rugged machine & decent ones can be found for very fair prices but need view a few to find real gem . Later SG is bit more flimsy in terms of body & trim & a higher price.

Driveshafts rotate same wheel speed but being rear it unlikely as they have quite easy life compared to front but worth inspection. Prop is spinning faster but pro-rata to speed & could cause symptoms like you mention. Most usual faults are : wneel bearing rear diff gearbox viscous diff propshaft sounds like maybe more than wheel bearing but I have seen a few bad wheel bearings make notchy feeling & due to AWD it hard check well by jacking up. Wheel bearing is cheap & easy. other things could get pricey ...

Would be very easy wire off your current brake light ...

Here we have a genuine Forester SG load cover. Colour light grey. Condition is very good & is in full working order Download PDF for images & brief description. Item will be packaged well & shipped UK to UK only via courier. Payment can be made via Bank transfer or perhaps PayPal. If you in Devon, Exeter area then viewing/collection could be a possibility these cost over £280 from Subaru & good used ones don't come along often for the SG. Price is £85 including P&P ... Either PM me or reply to this topic if interested ... ... SOLD ...

Spraying FORGERY maybe more appropriate ! :-) You want be careful with these kits as if you test the charge temps on them & flow rate they are far from a decent investment/upgrade, plus the pipework routing is awful, short run design is done for a reason.

Not really, a huge amount of issues will fall outside of the T&C of the included warranty & trading standards. Garage seems to be responding ok besides the bonnet vent & even on that they approved painting & fitting. Bad side is how they missed a lot of these niggles when prepping car for sale. Another bad point is the sounds of a temporary block off of 1 rear brake, I could never let a customer have a car back like that as technically not roadworthy thus illegal & police/court & my professional trade insurers who hang me for it should anything happen. With all the other faults that have built up after vent falling off should of made them feel obliged go all in on bonnet vent too really as incredibly awful experience so far for the buyer. As I said before, I would advise a full check over of this vehicle as I would put money on it being an acident repair or hiding a few other niggles from bodgy work. Act fast & while you can.

No spring rates, 10kg/mm front 6kg/mm rear, awful on the road, actually almost dangerous due to reduced grip & risk of being bounced of track on usual ruts etc on b-roads. They wouldn't last 12 months before MOT failure but you probably crash before that. Far better off going WRX if you lower it. Also to check SLS status don't rely on canister or colour as later range of Tokico SLS are black & without canister, get the part number which is stamped on the strut & run it in Google or Subaru parts database.

spring rate on that coilover kit is ridiculous for uk roads.

I would be concerned why scoop missing bolts & wheel studs damaged. Could be possible accident damage. scoop coming off for repairs & being clipped back on then someone forgot the nuts ! brake pipe failing is also !Removed! rare issue & Subaru standard pipes are super quality so possibly someone been here too & not handling the job too professionally . Garage does seem be tackling most your jobs though so you not doing too bad but you really need get that car checked fully before warranty & dealer looses interest in you as I suspect it may have some hidden history.

In my opinion a good serviced Japanese plant built Subaru is bang for buck the most reliable car you can buy. they make even likes of VW, Merc & BMW look shabby based on a comparison 175000mile model from each manufacturer. My family members on Subarus have super cheap service/maintenance costs & none in 20years have had a breakdown. Next door neighbours of my Father are amazed at his all year round hassle free motoring in his tatty Legacy while there family 207 & company VW get an AA visit at least annually plus plenty of trips to local garages for niggly faults :-) The downside is the newer models are not going live up to the above & unfortunately the diesel engine is a bit of a lemon :-( hurts me to say that as I really was looking forward to a boxer diesel :'(

Well if indeed heat shields it not going damage anything if left. I have had a fair amount that come off easily even when nuts look awful due high grade of fastener used. Best thing to do is once the plastic nappy off get car warmed up so noise can be produced by blipping throttle, then while accomplice is working the throttle try pinpoint source of noise & use a screwdriver to push shields around/wedge in gaps to find the offending one. Generally heat wrap ribbon or stainless wire wool (borrow some from the wife's sink cupboard ;-) ) can be used yo pack out the c-clamp brackets on shields. sometimes spot welding front Y section shields to adjoining shield is only way to fully cure.

to honest if you make effort with servicing with quality parts & quality oils you should get more than 2yrs without major hassle. I got an old legacy that now almost at 170K & had very little problems with it & it been used hard, My father used it for forestry work & towing a trailer for many year & then used as general work horse & it still drives good today, looks rather tatty but damn reliable.

Perhaps exhaust heat shields, I do at least one Forester or Legacy a month with this issue. certainly worth looking at first. Thread with some points on it here > http://uk.subaruownersclub.com/forums/topic/4048-rattling-heat-shield/

About £400 for proper job from decent independent using quality Blue Print or ICP-Dayco kit with genuine Japanese bearing idlers/tensioner & top quality water pump plus OEM crank seal. Do it right you do it once, nothing worse than coming back in 3 months as old water pump starts leaking so you got buy pump anyway plus pay to strip all down again :-S or worse pump pulley/bearing fails :-S Same with crank seal.like extra £10 charge while doing cambelt or pay £80 have it done later. Heading towards a grand at the dealers :-O totally ridiculous but keeps me in work i suppose ! Independent charge is pretty good for possibly another hassle free 40K+miles in your old but trusty Fozzy. If she runs sweet & in real good order keep her as new stuff ain't a patch on the older cars ...

Standard transmision service oil we use for your average Subaru is Castrol Syntrax 75/90 (now branded as universal) An oil that has helped in past experience is motul 300 75/90. Another good one being Valvoline synpower 75/90 If indeed gearbox bearing you could look at Molyslip gearbox additive or similar along with fresh oil > Castrol Syntrax & see how works out !, have seen a few rumbly discovery/landrovers drastically improve with it.

Happy to help, if been more local would of been happy put it on our ramps for inspection, no conclusion no bill is my motto :-) 40K is low miles but short trips, cold transmission & a lot of gear work kills a car 3 times as fast as one doodling up & down the motorway and on 120K. My bet would be box as not unusual here a fozzy box a bit rumbly, good oil can help & if not too serious it could see another 40k without attention.

6 cylinder will be chain .

Hard to be real helpful without hearing it in person really. from your info it would deffo seem like transmission or running gear. Gearboxes whine & wheel bearings whine plus rear diffs, & those 3 are the common ones on high mileage/towing fozzies. Only ever done one prop that I recall but indeed it should be looked at as possible area of concern. If noise is more of a whuring on/off drone it more likely wheel bearing or prop. I would suggest another test drive & rock the fozzy left to right via short abrupt steering movement (do so on dry & clear straight road safely) if noise goes away when rocking it could indicate wheel bearing. I have seen loads of bad diagnosis & expense turn into a wheel bearing so don't rule it out. Personally I would also run it on ramp in gear & use stethoscope to help trace noises. If believed was gearbox & considered to be minimal concern would probably try a quality oil as first option, whiny gearbox can go on for thousands of miles but first need better diagnosis on source of noise. Good luck ...

Indeed, that alloy frame feeds from under bumper & through grill. would be possible make a frame with mounting bar using number plate points for lower frame & through grill for top, would be solid & lights look & work good at that level. Don't actually need any lights myself but tempted buy some just for sake of some fabrication :-P plus a meaner looking SG :-P

Your best bet would be some custom made brackets to feed through bottom of grill. Anything under numberplate is going be easily knocked etc ... If particularly heavy or large lighting you could look at the light bars but they not cheap for what they are. Custom brackets should be cheap option & worse scenario is a bit of cutting on the plastic grill,& that easily replaced if ever wanted reverse the surgery.

does it do it if in neutral & stationary ! if yes then not the prop. Could be input shaft bearings, could even be clutch release bearing perhaps ! If you drive along at about 50mph & press clutch down put in neutral & keep clutch down does it still do it & does it seem match vehicle speed, does light blip on throttle make any change ! Heard a few Foresters with whiny boxes, sometimes a change of oil, using a recommended quality oil (thread on here about it or the oilman can be very helpful here) can help dramatically.

@ Silver Forester 2.5 XT . You can download PDF HERE with some images & brief report. If not interested no bother, if interested pm me ... thanks . ... SOLD ...

Change your gearbox oil too if not been done for a while or unsure of quality oil used.

I would be inclined keep your current one bit longer, at 110K it still got loads of life in it & the older ones are far better cars in my opinion.

Will do, won't be till mid week at earliest.