Mr B

I would say yes. We only do pumps on 90,000+ plus. Not unusual for Jap original water pumps to last 130,000+ miles . Pump is not a dealer listed service item hence why not done but for cost of part & when mileage high it worth doing along with belt for extra belt safety/peace of mind & saving labour cost if pump decides leak shortly after belt service.

Tip for those who don't do this regularly, rotate engine to line up timing marks with old belt, check timing correct & familiarise yourself with what is hopefully the correct timing positions, now use a marker pen & mark one tooth on pulley to the 2 belt teeth that lay either side of that pulley tooth. Do this for all pulleys requiring timing & mark crank with a C so you got a reference point. Transfer these mark to new belt by counting teeth between markings & also count teeth total to check belts same. Once done this makes putting belt on easy & if slips a bit on one pulley easy to fiddle till right then recheck against proper alignment marks. Do be aware if you do a full revolution clockwise you pen marks won't line up again so be 100% happy with your belt position & you can turn engine anticlockwise a fraction then clockwise to align your marks to be sure then rotate fully clockwise to settle & recheck tension & timing with standard markings. Other tip is spend some time looking at standard timing alignment marks prior to pulling it off as that will be of benefit in helping you be sure you right at end of job. Could help the OP too, as by marking what pulleys are right & one that out you should find it easier to correct without loosing timing on correct ones, small bull clips can be handy too for holding belt to pulley if you ain't go a spare hand. Impossible to be half a tooth out in sense of belt to pulleys but actual marking tolerance, some degree of movement of crank pulley on keyway, looking at marking at silly angles, belt slack present as not rotated & tensioned correctly, faulty/poor spec parts can cause some issues here too so check old to new & double check everything as removed & replaced to eliminate error & doubts. Also use a decent belt kit such as the ADL as there is a good reason why most decent subaru independents use it ...

coil per plug/cylinder has lots of advantages, reduced radio frequency interference,smaller lighter coils, use less energy, coils have longer recharge time between cylinder firings. Loss of distributor & advancement of engine electronics has improved fuel economy, reliability & engine life span drastically. I don't miss messing with points & condenser :-) do think manufacturers need keep an eye on how advanced they go these days & on replacement parts costs as some of these component/sensor prices are ridiculous ...

Yeh the coil on plug type are a bit fiddly, this was single coil pack & much easier. Basic servicing is not really that expensive excluding you high end performance boys, HT leads I used here may seem cheap but quality is as good as £40ish leads so spending more is not always needed.

Standard lines are good enough if in good order, braided lines are normally for custom setups & speedy dissembling. Least got to the bottom of it & having a mitsi turbo certainly was cheaper than if was a IHI :-S Hope all sorted, third time lucky ...

:-) Yes nice when quick to diagnose & basic parts which cheap, this is only second time I had a fault on my own Subaru vehicles mainly as if you buy decent ones & do decent basic servicing they are close to faultless.

Had my latest purchased 03-SG Forester in the workshop, on permanent loan to my sister :-/ . she had lack of power, uneven running & intermittent CEL with some CEL flashing. Was still drivable so dropped it in straight away, Was hoping for the best but expecting perhaps ignition pack or worse. Fortunately nothing more than an original HT lead had gone bad, A set of PROSPARK OES1229 Ignition HT Leads (£19, good fit, ok quality for standard vehicle servicing) & some new NGK BKR6E-11 ( £7 a set, Find NGK copper core fine and have hardly any faults/failures compared to some expensive spec plugs) plugs just for good measure. Running perfect once again & hopefully won't see it till MOT time in December, lol ...

On modern turbos with water & oil cooling & quality synthetic oils turbo timers are almost pointless. If you spanked it to death or just come off a track run then a little running time before turned off is not a bad thing for the rest simply not worth it. Some alarms outputs can be set to run timed circuit etc so can control a run timer if setup to, seen this done on clifford & autowatch alarms.

Easy but expensive mistake, always inspect/clean oil feed & returns as slightest blocks or kinked pipes can be catastrophic. What residue was found blocking your pipe & what was it's likely source as don't want more of the same !? Have you done an engine oil flush & new oil/filter ...

ADL kits is all we ever use & belts are better than many, tensioners/idlers are all the same as all come from same single & only manufacturer. ADL parts are from selected manufacturers & mostly japanese sourced so sometimes parts are coming from OEM sources & generally quality is very very good for the price.

How much did you save over the dealer quote :-D

Programming Remote Keys to the System: Remote keys can be added or removed to/from the system following the sequence below: i) Type in to the keypad ** ii) Type in to the keypad the “existing PIN code” then * iii) Type in to the keypad 91 * “ the number of keys to be used” # iv) Press the first remote key button until bleep sounds, release and press next key. Continue until all keys have been taught to the system. Note the maximum number of keys is 4 and all keys required to operate the system must be taught during this operation - any key not included will no longer operate the system. When using the keypad always observe the following points: - The PIN number should not be entered too quickly or too slowly - When a digit has been pressed the small LED built into the keypad will illuminate briefly as confirmation and only then should the next digit be entered. - If an incorrect digit is pressed or the delay between entering digits exceeds10 seconds, then the LED above the keypad will flash rapidly and the PIN attempt should be aborted and started again after 30 seconds. - Due to the small size of the keypad some users may find a rubber tipped pencil easier to use. DO NOT use the sharp tip of a ball point pen etc, or press excessively hard on the keypad as this will only damage the membrane and cause a digit to remain pressed, causing a continual incorrect PIN. - The keypad allows only THREE PIN attempts and then will "Lock Up" if an incorrect number is entered a third time. This is a security feature to prevent random PIN attempts disarming the system. Your way will work also, it just matter of getting use to keyboard & not being too slow or stalling at a step too long or you have to start from scratch.

Could be one of quite a list of possible faults, when under warranty it needs you to be ruthless with the dealer if necessary to get it sorted. @sparkymll - If not under any warranty you ideally need go to a good independent with diesel boxer knowledge as dealer pricing is beyond belief on these sort of jobs. Could be injectors but ideally need be sure as parts are expensive so don't want be buying unneeded parts if you footing the bill ... Injectors did have a recall at one point, personally I think a lot of noise related issues is due to poor calibration/settings from the ECU & retune functions ...

Would agree with Jays suggestion above, get them compare a couple more to yours so you can conclude if yours is abnormal. The diesels are known to have some odd faults & to be honest Subaru are doing a poor job in terms of new vehicle quality & dealer quality on handling of customer issues & warranty, & as you have just invested heavily make um earn the money & don't quit till you are 100% happy ...

The Forester key is a conversion done by sigma, they made the remote board fit the central locking subaru remote key & had a new one button cover made, Keyless fobs work & program just the same. I take it your current fob will lock/arm & unlock/disarm !

Would of thought the GLS was mechanical LSD as standard (all S models are but 99 year could be either), Splines are longer on the LSD I believe. Personally I would get another LSD diff over going standard open diff ...

maybe keep an eye on this: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SIGMA-SUBARU-BMW-HYUNDAI-VW-LTI-ETC-EARLIER-M-SERIES-1BUTON-REMOTE-ALARM-KEY-FOB-/310919408031?pt=UK_Car_Accessories_Safety_Security&hash=item48643da99f#shpCntId

Instructions are on here too: http://uk.subaruownersclub.com/forums/topic/1543-alarm-system/ Never bothered with ordering codes as mentioned above they all too often changed, in very rare cases we had no fobs & codes our local sigma approved alarm installer has been able reprogram using there sigma kit.

Not having much luck by sounds of it :-/ I would say both gaskets replaced & heads inspected & surface cleaning/polish if not needing skimming would be about £1,200 all in for a worthwhile repair effort on your 6 pot ... If you shop around you will probably find quotes around £800-900 but a gamble on how well they prep & rebuild unless know their work ...

having a conclusion at least allows you to make choices. My suspicion was gasket & also suspect it mild problem & was present at time of sale & possibly improved with some coolant leak additive. Good worthy job on head gasket replacement is not cheap, done a few over the years & used Reinz gaskets when can & along with very good prep of head & deck finish can be better than when new, unfortunately it quite time consuming & can incorporate a few additional jobs/parts thus not a nice repair bill.

As long as have one working remote & a good key it not a big deal, if on a sigma you can reset the manual pin code manually & add new remote yourself, any good locksmith can supply the keys/fobs but may have order them from past experience, would not cost silly money unless go to Subaru dealer & was a good excuse to work price down ...

Yeh I would say a good job would be around £400 with decent clutch & maybe little more depending on flywheel & clutch pedal assembly serviceable condition, you go too cheap & half the bolts get left out & everything they break while rushing is fixed back with cable ties :-S

Getting the bits is the hard part, Sill steps or rock guards should be available if hunt around online. Rear bumper bar is an idea I had from the rear hitch mount universal ones you can get but I will have a go at making one so runs along lower edge of rear bumper for bit of protection. A lift can be done with springs or top hat spacer blocks, personally I would use 1" spacer blocks & then gain a little more with some slightly bigger tyres. Some skid plates are available but at high cost & probable international shipping so you could get a local shop make one up cheaper. Want get round to doing this myself as not a fan of the plastic nappy subaru use & 2nd gen onwards are particularly nasty plastic clippy mess so making an alloy one that retains the arch parts as plastic & lips the front bottom edge of bumper will look good, add worthwhile protection & get rid of a tatty sloppy subaru nappy :-)

I would go more off-road look as by far the more useful & will retain value better when/if ever sell it. 1 or 2" lift & a set of decent wheels/tyres. Front alloy sump plate with bumper lip guard would be good & the acrylic smoke black bonnet edge trim. Some chrome or alloy sill guards & a similar short tubular rear bumper edge bar mounted into the tow frame would look good & be practical ...

Does sound sloppy, I would want give it a good look at & on a ramp to make sure no signs of things being damaged from jacking things up ... Steering wheel can only be out if wheel taken off & put back on a few splines out or if track rods adjusted & wheel not centred prior to adjustment, also possible steering rack pushed out of position slightly ... Deffo needs looking at & I would suggest looking yourself while on a ramp or getting someone with some knowledge have a look too as not sounding the most trustworthy of shops ...