AndyW1966

Hi everyone, I'm looking to get hold of a rear subframe for my 58 Plate Subaru Forester. I've looked after the car for many years and don't want to give up on it. Engine is sound with 144k on clock. Had new injectors, recent struts, etc., but now rear subframe needs replacing. Cannot locate part on e-Bay or usual channels. Does anyone know where I can source the rear subframe part (location; North West, UK)? Any help/advice greatly received. Thanks and regards, Andy W

Okay, after some deliberation I finally got around to having my Forester problem analysed. Courtesy of Paddy at Dales (Subaru), who I would highly recommend, the problem was diagnosed as faulty injectors. Unfortunately, to diagnose this the injectors had to be removed, which in the Boxer Diesel variant means the removal of the engine - which was around £1,000 in labour to start with!! The injectors were analysed and 3 out of 4 were failing. Already in for £1,000, I chose to have all 4 replaced - initially quoted £569+VAT per injector. Paddy did manage to get Subaru to reduce the price. Coupled with some additional work to get the car through its MoT, and a new Air-Con Compressor to fix a long-standing air conditioning malfunction, the total bill was circa £4,000 including VAT. Not cheap and an expense I could have done without right now. On the plus side, the car drives like new. When I asked Paddy about potential reasons for the injector failure and any preventative measures that ought to be taken, he did stress that the use of supermarket fuels are deemed detrimental as they contain approximately 5% bio-diesel which is a big no-no for this vehice model. Thankfully, I was aware of this and due to my location I only use branded (Texaco) fuel which doesn't contain bio-diesel. However, I suspect that the previous owner used cheaper supermarket fuel. So, going forward I should be fine. Anyhow, for completeness on this thread I thought it was worth providing details of the outcome, which I hope is beneficial to others. Andy

Thanks Rizmo. This best matches the problem I'm having. I'll get my mechanic to take a look at the potential sludge issue in diesel tank as first option. Cheers, Andy.

Okay, so six months on from reporting the initial problems, I have been closely monitoring DPF performance using Free SSM. There are no problems with the DPF nor regenerations. Everything appears to be functioning properly with regular soot "burn offs" during normal driving and full regenerations occurring as and when required on longer motorway journeys. However I still have the "surging" issue, which I am now convinced is NOT related to the DPF. The "surging" issue is really frustrating as it occurs intermittently. Sometimes the car drives like a dream but other times the problem is really apparent. There appears to be no rhyme or reason to it - there seems to be no correlation between fuel fill-ups, quality of fuel, whether engine is warm or cold, etc. The main symptoms are when driving in 4th, 5th or 6th gear (occasionally experienced in 2nd or 3rd) but more prevalent in higher gears. Under hard acceleration in 4th, 5th or 6th gear, i.e. pushing accelerator quickly to the floor (for example when overtaking a slow-moving vehicle on a rural road), the car jerks ryhthmically at first and if I keep the pressure on the accelerator pedal, i.e. Pedal to the metal, the car begins to jerk progressively more violently (serious misfiring effect without any 'explosions' being heard), so much so that I'm forced to ease off the accelerator. If I try again, the problem persists, i.e. Once I experience the vehicle doing this the problem seems to be there for the rest of the journey. If however I build up speed more gradually I can usually get to a situation where accelerator pedal is pushed to floor and there is no hesitation or "misfiring". The frustrating thng is that the ca may drive perfectly later in the day. I've trawled the internet forums to try to find other instances of this being experienced by other drivers, but to-date no experiences fully match those that I'm having. There are suggestions that problem could be sensor (O2), malfunctioning fuel pump, dirty fuel filter, coil issues, injector problems, etc. I even pursued idea that it may be the knock sensor....to later discover that the car doesn't have a knock sensor!! I just don't know where to start to try to resolve the problem most cost effectively. Any advice/recommendations gratefully received!! Thanks, Andy.

Thanks again Stants. I'm new to the Forester and all advice gratefully received. Love the car and the drive, but just frustrated by the niggles since buying 2 months ago. One of the things that encouraged me to buy the car was the "7 dealer service stamps".....make of that what you will :-)

Thanks Stants. I'll give those alternatives a try. Cheers!

Hi Stants. Thanks for quick reply. No - sadly, cannot check O2 values on FreeSSM. Consensus on other forums is that O2 sensors have a life span of around 100,000 miles (mine's at 83,000 miles - so I guess it's feasible). Currently using Texaco Diesel BS EN 590. Do you suggest an alternative? Andy

My frustration continues - potentially two issues and I'm wondering whether there's a correlation? Firstly the DPF issue. Having returned from Subaru dealer after oil and filter change (due to oil dilution @ 10%) and being told that I need a new DPF due to the fact that the vehicle appears to be constantly trying to do DPF regenerations and Oil Dilution Ratio is rising too fast whilst Estimated Distance to Oil Change is coming down too quickly, I took the vehicle up the M-Way yesterday - a 45 minute trip at >2,500 RPM in 4th gear at a constant 70mph to check if DPF could successfully regenerate. I didn't notice anything (except a decrease in the fuel tank!!). Secondly a MISFIRING issue (?). A few weeks ago I was getting heavy surges/jerks when putting my foot to the floor in 5th gear. My local mechanic suspected a sooted-up EGR valve and possibly dirty injectors. My mechanic cleaned the EGR and injectors but didn't report "excessive soot". On my drive back from the DPF test yesterday I hit a dual carriageway and decided to test the vehicle on heavy acceleration - bearing in mind the engine was pretty warm by now after the M-Way journey. I got huge jolts/jerks when putting my foot to the floor in 2nd gear and 3rd gear. Having read a number of forum threads I am suspecting a faulty O2 (front) sensor. So, I have today hooked up Free SSM and checked the values for my DPF. Reported as:- DPF Cumulative Ash Ratio = 13% (same as dealer report) Soot Accumulation Ratio = 47% (15% less than dealer reported) Running Distance Since Last (DPF) Regeneration Count = 1,137km or 706 miles (appears high and seems to confirm that the vehicle is currently incapable of DPF regeneration) Oil Dilution Ratio = 2% (bearing in mind I had an oil/filter change last week and only done 120 miles since!) Estimated Distance to Oil Change = 11,900km or 7,389 miles Mass Air Flow (at idle) = 12.58 There are no DTC codes recorded. So, my question is......could the MISFIRING and surge issues under heavy acceleration due to a (potentially) faulty O2 (front) sensor be connected to the inability for the vehicle to perform a DPF regeneration, i.e. incorrect air/fuel mixture and poor combustion? I would really appreciate some expert advice on the issue - it could be the difference between spending £200 (replacement O2 sensors) compared with £2,500 (replacement DPF)!! Any thoughts out there?? Thanks in anticipation. Andy

Thanks for the replies - much appreciated. I'll probably get a copy of FreeSSM (cheers Stants!). It will allow me to monitor the DPF, oil dilution, etc., although doesn't allow oil dilution reset - however I may have tracked down some code for this :-) Cheers, Andy

Thanks for the reply. This is an option and it would also allow me to take the vehicle to my local mechanic for regular servicing as I wouldn't need the SSMIII at the dealer to reset the oil dilution count each time!! I've since done a bit more digging and discovered that the previous owner only covered 1,000 miles in a six month period prior to me acquiring the vehicle. This suggests lots of short trips and potentially lots of failed/partial DPF regenerations causing the oil dilution to increase and the oil dilution count to increase. Although the oil dilution count is only an estimate by the ECU and not a scientific measure, I suspect that the oil dilution was nowhere near 10%. I'll stick to the Subaru Forester recommended "driving style" and see how things unfold in next few weeks/months. I'm not convinced of a fault with the DPF as suggested by my Subaru dealer. Surely at 62% soot and 13% ash there's plenty of life left in it, and if the vehicle is failing to perform passive regenerations it points to something else, perhaps; sensors, injectors, EGR, etc. and not the DPF chamber itself? Andy

2 weeks ago I got a flashing DPF light which according to the manual suggests a visit to my Subaru dealer. However, my local mechanic advised on a 20min trip up the M-way in 4th gear to see if light cleared. It did. Approximately 50 miles covered and the flashing DPF light reappeared. I followed same procedure (20min trip up M-way in 4th gear) and the light cleared. Another 50 miles later and the flashing DPF light returned. I covered over 150 miles after this third appearance and emulated previous attempts to clear the light but to no avail. Then, 10 miles (after a trip of around 200 miles)from home the flashing light vanished. Today I took the vehicle to my Subaru dealer. The diagnostics threw a P1468 Oil Dilution code - with no other codes and no other engine codes. The dealer has made a number of checks, applied PAK update from JP3F530A (old) to JP3F541A (new), changed the oil (C3) and oil filter, then reset the oil dilution. Ash is reported at 13% and Soot is reported at 62%. Vehicle mileage is 83k. The engineer then took the vehicle for a test drive on M-way to find the vehicle "trying to regenerate all the time", noting "oil dilution going up" and "estimated distance coming down too fast". My Subaru dealer is recommending a new DPF and new sensors in DPF at circa £2,500, advising that the problem appears to be a failing DPF. I would be grateful for any advice on the subject, i.e. do the symptoms described above necessarily point to a failing DPF? And if so, rather than replace the DPF, does anyone have any advice on getting it professionally cleaned by a company such as Ceramex (http://www.ceramex.com), and indeed would cleaning be likely to solve the problem? Regards, AndyW

Thanks Mr B. You're a star!! Much appreciated. Andy

I have a Subaru Forester 2.0d XC 2008 (-2012) model which has a problem with the air conditioning. My repairer has checked over all of the component parts and everything is functioning correctly; compressor, compressor clutch, refrigerant, pressure, charge, relay, etc. The air conditioning works fine for five minutes or so then starts to blow normal air. Upon inspection by an auto-electrician, it seems that the circuit between the switch (in the car) and the relay is losing earth causing the air conditioning system to stop working. I want to avoid taking the vehicle to a Subaru dealer (who will probably try to convince me that I need a new air conditioning compressor!), so I was wondering if anyone has a wiring diagram for the air conditioning circuit on this model to help my auto-electrician fix the problem (relatively cheaply)? Any guidance/advice will be gratefully received. Thanks, Andy