nidgep

Thanks again @Mr B Good to hear from someone with experience and puts my mind at rest. That's what I have done on the few occasions I've rebuilt calipers including these. I invested in a tub Millers Red Rubber and Silicone grease. Use Permatext on the brake hardware, pad back and piston faces. Should last me a lifetime. On this particular car the caliper guide pins were stiff to say the least with one of the front caliper guide pins seized and causing the pads to wear at an angle and ultimately causing the OSF brake to overheat. That's what started the rebuild of all 4 calipers. The OSF caliper pistons weren't in the best of condition.

Thanks @Mr B Your opinion is always welcomed. I understand that it's not practical for a business to spend this much time on a caliper rebuild. Slightly off topic and I'm guessing you've no doubt already answered this question loads of times. What is your take on the red rubber grease on the caliper piston seal versus brake fluid when rebuilding?

Sorry for the delay in posting new photos. Seems to have cleaned up ok - tried the dust shield and retaining clip which fit ok now the rust has been removed. Combination of Evapo-Rust remover -soaked for 36 hours (hence the colour), then refitted the old piston and seal and manualy removed the remainder around the dust seal area.

Thanks for the reply @SebP10 I'll ty to clean it up as best as I can and then post again. Reconditioned caliper is not really an option as I've already invested in the new pistons and seals and wanted to rebuild them myself.

hi I'm in the process of rebuillding all of the calipers on my car - its a Forester SG9 2.5XT. I've completed the fronts and just started on the rears, I hpoing someone can confirm whether the rear caliper in the photos is able to be re-used if cleaned up or better to just locate a donor caliper and rebuild that instead? Mainly concerned about the rust on the brake caliper piston seal groove that can hopefully be seen in the photos. Thanks in advance.

Thanks again @Mr B I've ordered the oil. Thanks for the tip on the blueprint filters. Just managed to order 4 on ebay for £15.24 delivered from carpartsinmotion. Cheers

Thanks for the reply @Jay762 Did they actually fit ok in terms of OEM locations? The chap who bought the ones linked to above mentions that the rear are a poor fit...

Hi About to rebuild the front calipers on my SG9 Forester XT and would like to replace the flexible brake hoses (all aroud) at the same time, I've read many times that the brake pedal feel is improved by fitting stainless steel braided hoses. From your experiences (taking into account fitment, length, quality etc.), can anyone recommend a manufacturer (Hel, Goodridge etc.). Cheers

From what I can tell - the front caliper pistons on my FXT are 43mm diameter, 42mm collar size with a height of around 48mm 48mm height x 43mm diameter piston x 42mm collar diameter Does that seem correct?

Thanks for the reply @Juddian I'll get some parts ordered. Just to confirm, the Subaru Forester caliper pistons are 43mm in diameter with the outer dust seal collar diameter being the same as the piston body? E.G. The outer dust seals do not have a retaining spring

Thanks agan @Mr B Been in touch with Westway and they have recommended this oil There's definately a cost saving using Westway @ 20 litres Would you agree that the oil is suitable? Thanks in advance cheers

I realise that this is probably a newbie question...so please go gentle.. When operating the twin piston Tokico calipers are both pistons supposed to move together in a linear fashion.. Or is the caliper designed to allow one to operate until it meets resistance at which point the hydraulic pressure acts upon the second piston. I'm asking due the way my OSF caliper is currently operating. With the caliper removed from the hub and hung up - pressing the brake pedal causes the upper most piston to operate (move out) but the lower one remains static. If I then chock the top piston with a piece of wood and operate the break pedal again - the the lower piston does start to move. My thought are that they should both move in sync. The OSF front wheel/caliper/disc are getting pretty hot after a short journey so checked the caliper for movement and found that the top 'slider' was really stiff so replaced it and drove the car again, but same thing happened. It now looks like the disc(s) and pads need to be replaced as the OSF disc has a blue tinge to it from the excessive heat. It appears as though the lower piston is partially seized and a caliper rebuild is required. Could one of you help explain the caliper operation and whether my diagnosis is correct please. Cheers

Thanks again @Mr B To my limited knowledge of Subaru engines - it sounds ok to me so I'll continue to use 5W40. Could you help with the following? Cheers

Many thanks for the reply @Mr B I neglected to mention that I've changed the oil and filter every 3k-4k so at least once a year on the current usage/mileage. I'll look to see if Millers have a comparable 15w40 oil and use that instead. On another note, I also need to change the gearbox and rear diff oils. Can you recommend oils for those please and quantities. Cheers

hi, I'm sure this kind of question has already been asked lots of times before - but just in case opinions have changed... I've got a 54 plate 2.5XT with 163,000 miles on it. It doesn't cover many miles a year (<6k) but still like to use quality oil. To date (since I've owned the car) I've been using Millers XF Longlife 5w40 and at the last oil change switched to Millers XF LongLife C3 5W30 (recommended on the Millers site). Given the current total mileage and annual mileage what what would the recommended oil be? Should I make any changes? Cheers

hi guys Fixed the problem on my car so thought I'd add a bit more info in case it helps someone else with the same P2016 fault code. In my case, even when the fault was present, the car seemed to run fine. First thing for me was to realise that IMRC (Intake Manifold Runner Control) sensor is actually the TGV sensor (Tumble Generator Valve). Next step was to confirm that Bank 1 is the UK drivers side. Next step was to locate the TGV valve as I had no idea what it was!!! Apologies in advance is this is a numpty explanation!! Turns out that at the front and rear of each of the intake manifolds are sensors and motors. Bank 1 has the motor at the front (near the radiator) with the TGV sensor being at the rear - near to the turbo (the most awkward one to get to!) Tested/compared the values between the 2 TGV valves using FreeSSM and could see that Bank 1 was giving a higher voltage reading than Bank 2. This article helped me in deciding that the TGV sensor was at fault. Removing it was a real pain - just didn't seem to be enough room. (turbo mainly). So removed the the air box assembly top crankcase ventilation hose which helped a lot and could then see the top bolt/screw released all of the wiring harness/plugs from the inner wing. There are 2 x 7mm hex head 'screws' with cross head slots (top/bottom) that hold the TGV in place. Getting to the top one wasn't too bad (I used a tiny bit ratchet with a 7mm socket and an open ended 7mm spanner). The bottom screw is tricky, you can't see it and I couldn't even feel it. Used a magnetic mirror and torch to enable me to see the bottom screw and then used a 7mm ring spanner to undo the screw a tiny bit at a time. (7mm ratchet spanner would be better). OK, so now I could now remove the TGV and for those of you who are not aware, it is spring loaded and under tension against the rod that runs through the inlet housing. As I removed it, there was a distinctive 'click' as the TGV tension was released and it returned to it's default position. Bought a used TGV from eBay part number 22633AA210 Fitting the replacement....TGV As the TGV needs to be refitted whilst tensioned, the method is to offer it up to the housing with the screw holes 90 degrees to the left, align the housing spindle into the TGV and turn 90 degrees to the right aligning the screw holes. Great, except that one of the pipes (the nearest big one -from the air inlet!) wont let you turn the TGV through 90 degrees, so no way to refit using that method! This is what I came up with and it worked pretty well. Took the copper earth wire (CPC) from a piece of 1.0mm twin and earth electrical cable and bent it to look like a staple to make it fit the TGV as shown in the pic. With this I was able to pre-tension the TGV so that I didn't need to turn it through 90 degrees to get it to fit again. (Used hole in the TGV housing) I attached a piece of strong thread to the new copper 'staple' so that I could pull it free once the TGV had engaged with the housing spindle again. This worked a treat! The remainder of the job was to refit the screws, connector, crankcase ventilation pipe, wiring harness and air box assembly. Having a 7mm ratchet spanner would be a great help for this job. Hope this helps.

thanks for the reply. Where is the Intake manifold Runner Position Sensor/Switch located? (IMRC?)

Evening all and happy new year, My 2.5 XT Forester has stood on the drive under a cover for the last few weeks. Took the cover off the other day to start it up - battery flat (almost). Charged it up and started the car and let it warm up. The engine light had come on and the cruise control light on the dash was slowly flashing. Used my cheapo OBD scanner to reset the fault code. Before doing do I made a note of the code.(see photo) It read as follows:- P2016 Intake manifold Runner Position Sensor/Switch Circuit Low Bank 1a Took the car out today for a short run (25-30 miles) and on the way back the engine light and cruise control ights came on again. Plugged in the scanner, read the fault code - exact same fault code and message - P2016..... Can someone please advise on how to diagnose and verify whats wrong and how to fix please. Thanks in advance.

Thanks again@savage bulldogs. I don't really know the car that we'll (first subaru). I've attached a couple of photos of the plugs in situ which is pretty clean and dry. Could it still be the cam cover gasket? Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

Thanks@savage bulldogs. What's the reason for the plug threads being oily? Is this normal? Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

Took one of the plugs out today. NGK ILFR6B. Any comments on the condition and electrode gap? Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

...or even the BKR6EIX....which opens up the possibility of using the Iridium spark plugs....I think...

With no replies... :-(, I've tried to find out which plugs might be the correct ones, and even though it seems to be down to 2 versions of NGK, it's still not clear. Info taken from the NGK spark plug finder/lookup or NGK spark plug finder. My car seems to be somewhere in the middle! A 2004 (54) plate with an EJ255 engine code on the VIN plate with MY2005 and SG9. Am I correct in thinking that some cars have EJ25 on the VIN and some have EJ255? That being the case how can a 2004 car have an EJ255 engine? Anyone? Passenger vehicles > Spark plugs for petrol engines Model and model versions Cyl. Ltr kW Year of construction Engine Code All4 All2.02.5 All1101161301551699092 All01.2008 -03.1999 - 200203.2008 -06.2008 -08.2012 -09.1997 -09.1997 - 200209.2005 - 02.20082005 -2006 - 02.2008 AllEJ20EJ204EJ20JEJ25EJ255FB20A / FB20B Forester 4 2.0 90 09.1997 - 2002 EJ20J Forester 4 2.0 92 09.1997 - EJ20 Forester 4 2.0 110 01.2008 - EJ204 Forester 2.0 X 4 2.0 110 08.2012 - FB20A / FB20B Forester 4 2.0 116 09.2005 - 02.2008 EJ20 Forester 4 2.0 116 03.2008 - EJ20 Forester 2.0 Turbo 4 2.0 130 03.1999 - 2002 EJ20 Forester 2.5 Turbo 4 2.5 155 2005 - EJ25 Forester 4 2.5 169 2006 - 02.2008 EJ25 Forester 4 2.5 169 06.2008 - EJ255 PFR6G Type: PFR6G Stock No.: 4793 Details Wrench size: 16 mm Thread diameter: 14,0 mm Thread Length: 19,0 mm Spark gap: 0,8 mm Or ILFR6B Type: ILFR6B Stock No.: 6481 Details Wrench size: 16 mm Thread diameter: 14,0 mm Thread Length: 26,5 mm Spark gap: 0,8 mm

Hopefully an easy one for you knowledgeable guys... Following a very poor experience at a local garage, going to attempt to do a full service on my Forester 2.5XT. It's a November 2004 54 SG9 EJ255. VIN shows MY2005. Just need to get the spark plugs. Not something I've done before on this car so important I get the correct plugs before I start. Can someone advise on the best plugs to get (eg. NGK Iridium) and the correct part/model number please. Car is standard and covered 156k. Many thanks in advance. Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

In the end, just for piece of mind, I bought OEM from main dealer Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk