Mr B

Would be wise give suspension a good check over. Also clutches can be issue for some people so if got any concerns best chase it up. Only other issue can be diesel injectors noisy so once again if any concerns in this area with noise or less than perfect running get it looked into.

No iridium has better longevity in terms of electrode tip. High boost cars can benefit with more durable electrode tip but not a necessity. I use standard NGK R in both my NA foresters & also use them in my gtir as get too many problems running them with occasional misfires/plug breakdowns. Subarus are ok with the iridium plugs though. Up to you really on your cars set-up/use & your budget.

Standard NGK R are £2 each NGK Iridium are probably around £9 each Standard are good plugs & sometimes less problems plus at the low cost you can replace them more punctual.

Yes they do look nice, much prefer the SF to SG really. TSW & BBS have/had very very similar wheels to that spoke design.

Spacers ideally as even if clear of SG strut I'm not a fon of reducing the vehicle track. If you happen stumble on really nice used wheels at cheap money then worth doing but you may find buying a new set with suitable ET not much more expensive than used wheels & spacers. Also think about the spare as if drift from standard radius your current spare won't be much use.

Basically ET is the offset of the mounting face of the wheel to the centre line of the wheel Standard Fozzy is 48mm , if used ET55 55mm then wheel sit inwards (closer to strut) an additional 7mm which is not the best thing. Could fix this with spacers but then adding to cost. Going 16" is the best all round compromise, Foresters as a rule look awful with low profiles plus road handling/ride on 17" 18" 19" is awful.

Tesco Momentum is good plus easy get. I use it in 2 of my own turbo cars, one being a GTiR with stock pistons but boost at 1.3bar, used momentum when it was mapped without complaints & seems fine on it. Most street pump fuels are quite equal but Tesco fuel don't sound so good so not talked about so much as shell .

Could indeed be a leak, have done a few though that sound like a slight blow but turn out be exhaust shield resonating. Hopefully easy found & sensible price fix. Good luck ...

What you after ? full set or just rears. KYB do struts for reasonable prices, probably around £80 for a SF model, Monroe or Sachs are other options. If rear currently Self levelling you would need springs too which can be KYB at £40 a pair or better quality/spec springcoil at around £100 a pair with varying spec to improve handling, adjust height or cope for heavy loading/towing etc.

Heat shields on the exhaust is the norm for noises & can be hard track down as come and go in early stages & temps & exact load all play vital roles & are hard to replicate when inspecting. I have had problems pin-pointing exact exhaust shield area even when know it at fault via test drive. As your mechanic seems good & car mileage/servicing good I very much doubt it anything else, but that is just based on your post & my experience with subarus & foresters. Exhaust inspection would be worth revisiting as would giving it a month or so for you to log issue & perhaps gain more info to make diagnosis easier ...

Best done then really with full quality kit such as blueprint or ICP kits as use a OEM top quality parts, I would do water pump too at that mileage & probably crank seal best done too. My pointers on fitting is in link below, hard to go wrong as long as you have some basic experience & far more room & easy procedure than say a Pug 206 HDI so don't be put off with the boxer syndrome as they easy layout for a lot of jobs & designed well for repair aspects. http://uk.subaruownersclub.com/forums/topic/6205-pig-of-a-job-please-read/#entry35434

I stumbled on that thread & to be fair I did not look that closely at pics but indeed you don't need compress on vehicle. take assembly out & off to you shed for compressing-stripping-assembling. compressing spring is no big deal *do be safe & think about safety though* just wind each clamp a little in alternating stages keeping eye it pulling down evenly & clamps look secure on hook points. once load off top hat you ready remove the strut rod nut. I have airgun so they rattle off easy, main problem is if tight or corroded they hard undo due to not being able stop rod turning easily as turning nut, normally forester ones are not corroded as good grade metal & top turret stays clean/dry so even this should not be too difficult. hope goes well, your good strut could make decent price on ebay making the job very affordable. You can do me a favour & measure spring height & any spec you know on ones you chose as I will measure the KYB springs for comparison & when get opportunity will test on 2.5xt so can post sticky on tested facts on fitments through all forester SG's. Also measure your current ride height so have accurate comparison once job complete.

As above all those can cause issue plus few other options such as water temp sensor, bad earth points on main loom & also the sigma alarm immobilizer can have sticky relays causing intermittent lack of function on circuit it wired to. Crank & Knock are 2 of the more usual ones & to come across needing replacing, worth checking condition of all connections/wiring to these sensors first & if lucky with having some fault code data it can help narrow search areas. Decent knock/crank sensors can be had for around £20-£40. local decent motor-factors will have some & plenty can be found on ebay making it easy for the diy repairers get fair price parts. Don't go too cheap though as likes of £10 knock sensors are not much use, the work in terms of fooling ecu that sensor works but without the ability for proper knock detection. Basically avoid the stealer dealer & cheapy chinese & good parts for realistic price can be had easily. Good luck with the prognosis ...

Best you keep your cat then. Nothing wrong with stringent fair MOTs really as in some instances it the only time a car gets looked over by a professional annually. Do like a bit of common sense though rather than failure for sake of it. Onboard test function like on your SF & the early Nissans was very useful, should of been made a requirement that CEL could be used for full code & basic setting adjustments making it easier for people fix minor faults rather than run around for months avoiding hassle & expense.

Here's an interesting post and it's on an XT too. He's used Sachs but KYB Monroe etc are all same fitment range on SG. I like KYB & so do Subaru as use KYB as OEM for suspension (strut top hats are from KYB factory) Personally I would say KYB & custom springs from likes of springcoil will be better end result than pedders & especially so for XT model with prodrive pack. Trim is clips, drop rear seats & start on end, pull out horizontal & lift up as needed, trim is quite strong & clips are firm.

the struts work fine on XT but looks like might need specific spring to get ride height correct, probably why we used springcoil in the past plus better handling option for XT/prodrive spec. Some minor ground spec differences are purely due to different tyre wheel combo's between models/regions. Do also note the same pedders ezifit kit fits all SG versions including Turbo, kind of pointing at fact there is no difference. I know springcoil done some development on XT for the likes of KYB strut conversion from SLS & do rear & front springs for various scenarios such as fast road driving or those carrying a lot of cargo, trailers or more off road/trails use. A call to these guys should be very useful.

only other XT I can find invoice with suspension was the KYB struts, KYB protection boots & springcoil springs. used progressive springs giving comfort ride but stiffer as compressed that was benefit for spirited driving & allowed less drop when loaded or towing, see we also changed front springs for springcoil too a month later as handling improvement. You can call springcoil on 0114 273 1111 , they have a few specs of spring but if you explain your use you should get good result. Think a rear pair is around £90. Still think the KYB springs will work on XT as do on SG X, springcoil is super good quality & a true upgrade very fitting for a prodrive XT beast. ** Update: Have done XT now with KYB Springs & it is fine, if towing, carrying more load, want change your ride height a bit or sharpen handling a bit more then custom spec can be useful from springcoil.

KSRS-43 is part number for king-spring 25% higher rated springs (standard+ I think they call it). They do standard rating & part number is KSRR-43 . As far as i'm aware these are same model range fitting as the KYB springs. Will try & dig out an invoice for an XT & then can confirm parts we have used. Is a spring company in Sheffield that does car springs, custom spring setups etc & they done quite a few for the forester but can't recall name off hand, will look on the workshop pc tomorrow.

Peddars springs will be same as they use the exact same kit on X & XT as far as I'm aware so that points at the KYB springs being fine too. Main problem is 2.5XT gets excluded from lots of lists even though it is compatible. My KYB list shows XT as compatible on that spring part number. I am not aware of the XT running a different ride height by using different spring height or using stiffer springs than standard, I would measure current ride height on good strut side from top edge of rim to bottom edge of arch & compare to standard X model ride height as if same all but a few mm to allow for wear & measuring tolerance then they will indeed be fine. Pretty sure we have done more than 1 XT rear suspension in the past & we use only KYB or Monroe . Done one with full set of KYB's & 25% stiffer king-springs without any issues/complications that I can recall. What year is your XT

Cat joint with the spring tensioners is one with conical gasket . Not going gain much with cat removed unless it blocked badly at present.

My KYB list shows RC6431 compatible with > Subaru Forester 2002 SG [2002-2008] SUV SUV 2.0 1994ccm 125HP 92KW (Petrol) Subaru Forester 2002 SG [2002-2008] SUV SUV 2.0 S Turbo 1994ccm 177HP 130KW (Petrol) Subaru Forester 2003 SG [2002-2008] SUV SUV 2.0 1994ccm 125HP 92KW (Petrol) Subaru Forester 2003 SG [2002-2008] SUV SUV 2.0 S Turbo 1994ccm 177HP 130KW (Petrol) Subaru Forester 2003 SG [2002-2008] SUV SUV 2.5 2457ccm 211HP 155KW (Petrol) Subaru Forester 2004 SG [2002-2008] SUV SUV 2.0 1994ccm 125HP 92KW (Petrol) Subaru Forester 2004 SG [2002-2008] SUV SUV 2.0 S Turbo 1994ccm 177HP 130KW (Petrol) Subaru Forester 2004 SG [2002-2008] SUV SUV 2.5 2457ccm 211HP 155KW (Petrol) Subaru Forester 2005 SG [2002-2008] SUV SUV 2.0 1994ccm 125HP 92KW (Petrol) Subaru Forester 2005 SG [2002-2008] SUV SUV 2.0 S Turbo 1994ccm 177HP 130KW (Petrol) Subaru Forester 2005 SG [2002-2008] SUV SUV 2.0 X 1994ccm 158HP 116KW (Petrol) Subaru Forester 2005 SG [2002-2008] SUV SUV 2.5 2457ccm 211HP 155KW (Petrol) Subaru Forester 2005 SG [2002-2008] SUV SUV 2.5 XT 2457ccm 230HP 169KW (Petrol) Subaru Forester 2006 SG [2002-2008] SUV SUV 2.0 X 1994ccm 158HP 116KW (Petrol) Subaru Forester 2006 SG [2002-2008] SUV SUV 2.5 2457ccm 211HP 155KW (Petrol) Subaru Forester 2006 SG [2002-2008] SUV SUV 2.5 XT 2457ccm 230HP 169KW (Petrol) Subaru Forester 2007 SG [2002-2008] SUV SUV 2.0 X 1994ccm 158HP 116KW (Petrol) Subaru Forester 2007 SG [2002-2008] SUV SUV 2.5 2457ccm 211HP 155KW (Petrol) Subaru Forester 2007 SG [2002-2008] SUV SUV 2.5 XT 2457ccm 230HP 169KW (Petrol) Subaru Forester 2008 SG [2002-2008] SUV SUV 2.0 X 1994ccm 158HP 116KW (Petrol) Subaru Forester 2008 SG [2002-2008] SUV SUV 2.5 2457ccm 211HP 155KW (Petrol) Subaru Forester 2008 SG [2002-2008] SUV SUV 2.5 XT 2457ccm 230HP 169KW (Petrol)

looks right to me & other spring suppliers cross same part on 2.0-2.5 X & XT Take peddars for example the XT set crosses all engine X & XT models. All parts are listed from same supplier so would be wise call them with your exact model details- reg number & the KYB part numbers of items we looking at & get them confirm or correct as then if wrong they responsible for reshipping correct ones.

Be brave, building the strut is 1 nut & placing spring & few parts in correct. If you have rubber strips on original struts that spring sits on reuse them, once spring in add the strut rod boot & top hat parts & nip the nut down. Compressing springs is not that hard & you don't need wind them down too much. expect a local garage would build struts for 20-30 quid if you couldn't, plenty of online help here too if needed . Replaced a few peddars as don't seem last long, KYB for quality-price-ride is damn decent, we fit them & do 2 year no quibble warranty boldly printed on invoice as been that faultless. Standard Tokico made SLS struts are superb items but as only made to order direct to Subaru the prices are just ridiculous. Your non leaking strut is probably easily worth £60 as people grab them up if trying keep a working SLS set ...

can you not pad it out so better shape or tighter fit against glass.

not a fan of peddars, never used them but have had a few in with them fitted. I prefer the Jap KYB struts & must be paired with the KYB springs or ride height wrong. part numbers below > Right Absorber KYB 334344 Left Absorber KYB 334345 Coilover Springs KYB RC6431 These are normally around 80 to 100 quid each, we been paying £65 trade & get free boot kit for pair purchase. I see on eBay they doing these same KYB struts for £50 delivered :-O that is cheap Links below: Struts option 1 (try links below or fresh eBay search to get best prices as always changing) > http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rear-Right-Shock-Absorber-To-Fit-SUBARU-FORESTER-KYB-Excel-G-334344-/231696653638 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rear-Left-Shock-Absorber-To-Fit-SUBARU-FORESTER-KYB-Excel-G-334345-/321872620069 Struts option 2 (different seller, prices keep fluctuating) > http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/KYB-Rear-Right-Shock-Absorber-OE-High-Quality-Replacement-Excel-G-334344-/371255156011?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&fits=Model%3AForester%7CPlat_Gen%3ASG&hash=item5670881d2b http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/KYB-Rear-Left-Shock-Absorber-OE-High-Quality-Replacement-Excel-G-334345-/171674590359?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&fits=Model%3AForester%7CPlat_Gen%3ASG&hash=item27f89a5c97 Struts option 3 (different seller, prices keep fluctuating) > http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/KYB-Rear-Right-Shock-Absorber-OE-High-Quality-Replacement-Excel-G-334344-/391051412361?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&fits=Model%3AForester&hash=item5b0c7b0389 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/KYB-Rear-Left-Shock-Absorber-OE-High-Quality-Replacement-Excel-G-334345-/231476279528?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&fits=Model%3AForester&hash=item35e50fb8e8 Springs > http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rear-Coil-Spring-To-Fit-SUBARU-FORESTER-KYB-RC6431-/231145952439?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item35d15f54b7 Springs option 2 (sold in pair) > http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2x-KYB-Rear-Suspension-Coil-Spring-OE-High-Quality-Replacement-RC6431-/151573055486?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&fits=Model%3AForester|Plat_Gen%3ASG&hash=item234a7547fe Springs Option 3 (custom from Springcoil) > http://springcoil.co.uk/ Boot kit > http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rear-Protection-Kit-To-Fit-A-SUBARU-FORESTER-KYB-910046-/321380934320?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&fits=Model%3AForester&hash=item4ad3cbe2b0 Now all that will cost less than £160 * prices are at time of posting, do search to see if any better prices can be found before commiting to purchase* Fitting is quite simple, you will need spring compressor but this cheap tool if can't borrow one. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Pair-of-Heavy-Duty-Coil-Spring-Compressor-Kit-Twin-Hook-380mm-Professional-/281246170899?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item417b93ff13 Top tip is mark position of bolt heads to strut mount plates on hub mount as they are concentric camber adjusting bolts & then transfer marks to new struts so when refit your camber setting will be very close to original thus hopefully close to perfect. Very little involved really besides 2 bolts on hub & bolts on top mount in strut turret (remove inner trim carefully) Once removed you will need compress springs just enough so it becomes loose/no load on top hat, now remove old top hats for fitting to new struts (you could indeed buy new top hats if so wish, expect old will be totally serviceable though) your hardest part is the bolt on the strut rod to remove top hat, I got an airgun so super easy but I do know it can be a pain without an airgun in some instances . Be sure build up struts correct with springs positioned in spring cups properly (take good note of ones removed prior to stripping or don't strip both down so have one for reference if needed) Is tiny bit more work over peddar pre-built as have build struts (15 minutes work if bit experienced) but half the cost & better quality plus you will be a suspension master so any future suspension work will be a fearless before lunch fix :-) Main thing is have plenty of time, be calm & think first rather than hammer first :-) , treat things with respect & use a little wd40/duck oil rather than the hammer . If you are some what handy & have decent basic tools you will have little issues ... Rough guide on suspension heights ( middle of wheel hub to lower edge of arch )