Setright

It would probably be worth it to do a full refurb job on the calipers. Get a seal kit, remove the caliper, push the piston(s) out and replace the seals. Polish the piston(s) and refit.

Does sound a bit out of the ordinary. By the way, torque spec is 120Nm.

Official Subaru recommendation here in Europe is Midland Oil. Which is also known stateside as "Quaker State". I would personally suggest one of the following: Mobil 1 5W-40 Mobil Delvac 1 5W-40 (shushes piston slap nicely) Motul 8100 "X-cess" 5W-40 Please not that these oils have such viscosity ratings at 100 degrees C that they almost qualify as 5W-50 I base my suggestion not only on opinion and here say, but oil analysis performed by Blackstone Labs. Drain and replace interval from 5 to 7 k miles.

Yes, it should light up..

The flow is too slow at the "edges" of the central piped radiators. So, any little contaminate will tend to drop off there and stick there. That will attract the next contaminate...chain reaction. By 50 k miles, only the central 4-6 inches of the rad flow coolant. Common fault. I do suppose yearly flushing (just with pure water) and coolant replacement will keep this clogging at bay. Three years is too long for this design.

You can easily check to see if the fan motors are working: Key to ON, engine off. A/C switch pressed in. Both fans should come on. (This doesn't confirm that the thermo switches work, but you'll know if the motors are still okay) Clogged radiator, is my guess by the way. Either external or internal.

Added to which they put the top (flow in) rad hose on the middle of the radiator. I've seen these clog INTERNALLY in less than 50K miles. No flow at the ends and the gunk starts to build up

Fixing your car with a used beer can. Creative for sure, and very cheap, but hardly a a long term solution

Glad to hear yet another story of people walking away from a bad shunt in a Subaru. It does look like it will cost too much to fix...shame.

Just a drain hole. I second that. And I've had my head under many a Subaru's bonnet/hood and never seen anything connected down there.

Yeah, radiator is clogging up. Does your top hose connect to the middle of the rad? That configuration has proven susceptible to clogging, since the flow is compromised.

A new rad cap is only around ten quid, and that's worth it. But it does sound like an internal headgasket leak. (Bad rad cap will allow coolant to spill over the expansion tank and slowly leak out.)

So far, the only common fault has been a software problem - modern times, eh? - which sees the CEL flashing and the Cruise Control disabled. Takes ten minutes to fix with Subaru dealer equipment, and is covered by warranty.

That's customer care

What's an "Impressa" ?? ;)

Well, as my long winded explanation - abundant on these pages - states in bold, leaving the cap off and waiting for the fan to switch on is the sure-fire way to be certain that the thermostat has opended and airbubbles pumped out. Removing the upper rad hose, to fill an empty engine isn't strictly necessary, as you say tcspeer. However, it does make for far less air trapped inside the block, and for some us that gives peace of mind when warming up an engine. It means that more coolant is present inside the engine block, and that means a more even distribution of cooling effect. Filling via the rad neck means that coolant must seep through that tiny hole with a plug in it on the thermostat. Effectively, the radiator fills quite quickly and once near the brim, coolant spills over through the top rad hose and that's when the slow rising flow from the thermostat housing is "confronted" with the flow from above. That means a large air pocket inside the block. Sure, it will be purged if you leave the cap off and heat the engine fully, but it seems a less elegant method to me. Filling via the top hose is a smidgen more complicated, but worth it for sticklers like me

3.0 liter engine shouldn't need any additives. Yes, use distilled water, and 50/50 mix. You can tune the ratio, more water in hotter climates, or more antifreeze in colder climates. Always have 20% antifreeze, it's needed to lubricate the water pump and prevent corrosion. And here's my tried and tested advice on re-filling copied from an other thread: Having replaced coolant on my boxers many times, I have been searching for the right way to get all the old fluid out and getting as much new fluid in, without having to burp the system for a week after I'm done. I think I have finally cracked it! Draining Drain the radiator as far as possible with the little "faucett", and then detach the lower hose from the radiator. (If you are like me, replace any coolant hoses that you remove, and use stainless steel clamps on the new ones) Even more fluid will drain from the radiator, and some will drain from the engine block. Detach the upper hose from the radiator, and run clean water through the rad until it comes out of the bottom clear in color. Now, I do not contest that the best way to flush the engine block is by unscrewing the two drain plugs, but these are often seized and could turn into a source of trouble if you strip the threads or if they won't seal tight when you screw them back in. SO, I jack up the rear of the car until the engine block is tilting slight forward, ie. wheels about 6 inches off the ground, unscrew the thermostat housing, and let the old fluid run out through the thermostat opening. (Needless to say, I replace the thermostat gasket) Run clean water in through the upper hose until clear water comes out of the thermostat opening. Leave the car in this position until it stops dripping water. Remove the expansion tank and flush it, there will be plenty of "snot" in the bottom of it! Rinse the hose too. Install the tank again and fill to the FULL mark. Filling Close up the bottom end of the cooling system, ie. thermostat and lower hose. If possible, perform the next phase on a slight incline, car pointing upward. Get a funnel with about 10 inches of half-inch diameter hose on the end of it and slide this down the upper hose in toward the engine block. I do this because bending the upper rad hose causes it to collapse and that makes pouring coolant into it impossible. Pour your preferred coolant directly into the engine block. Pouring slowly, and pausing along the way will help keep air from being trapped inside the block. It should swallow at about two litres before it starts to rise and threaten to come out of the hose. At that point, attach the upper hose to the rad and continue to fill slowly through the rad cap hole. Once it seems full, start the engine, let it run for twenty seconds and shut it off again. This will dislodge the few air pockets that are unavoidable and the fluid level in the radiator should drop a little after the burp, top it off. Start the engine again, and let it run until the radiator fan starts running, be patient! When then fan starts running, top off the level in the rad and install the radiator cap - and bleed screw if there is one. During the warm up, a small amount of coolant will spill over the rad filler neck, have a cloth to absorb it. Take the car for a shortish run, just a few miles to get it fully warmed up, and park it on level ground. Check hoses for leaks of course, and let it cool. This will take a number of hours, overnight is good. In the morning, note the level in the expansion tank, it will probably be a little lower than FULL. Fill to the FULL mark, and you're all set. Obviously, you should check the level in the expansion tank for a few days afterward, but there shouldn't be any problems. Resist the temptation to open the rad cap, this will only interfere

Yeah, what's the rule of thumb? No more than 25mph or 50 miles total distance? Of course, engine running, you can select neutral and freewheel for as long as you like.

If you want a 4-inch lift, then yes.

One more vote for ericem

Here's my advice: Having replaced coolant on my boxers many times, I have been searching for the right way to get all the old fluid out and getting as much new fluid in, without having to burp the system for a week after I'm done. I think I have finally cracked it! Draining Drain the radiator as far as possible with the little "faucett", and then detach the lower hose from the radiator. (If you are like me, replace any coolant hoses that you remove, and use stainless steel clamps on the new ones) Even more fluid will drain from the radiator, and some will drain from the engine block. Detach the upper hose from the radiator, and run clean water through the rad until it comes out of the bottom clear in color. Now, I do not contest that the best way to flush the engine block is by unscrewing the two drain plugs, but these are often seized and could turn into a source of trouble if you strip the threads or if they won't seal tight when you screw them back in. SO, I jack up the rear of the car until the engine block is tilting slight forward, ie. wheels about 6 inches off the ground, unscrew the thermostat housing, and let the old fluid run out through the thermostat opening. (Needless to say, I replace the thermostat gasket) Run clean water in through the upper hose until clear water comes out of the thermostat opening. Leave the car in this position until it stops dripping water. Remove the expansion tank and flush it, there will be plenty of "snot" in the bottom of it! Rinse the hose too. Install the tank again and fill to the FULL mark. Filling Close up the bottom end of the cooling system, ie. thermostat and lower hose. If possible, perform the next phase on a slight incline, car pointing upward. Get a funnel with about 10 inches of half-inch diameter hose on the end of it and slide this down the upper hose in toward the engine block. I do this because bending the upper rad hose causes it to collapse and that makes pouring coolant into it impossible. Pour your preferred coolant directly into the engine block. Pouring slowly, and pausing along the way will help keep air from being trapped inside the block. It should swallow at about two litres before it starts to rise and threaten to come out of the hose. At that point, attach the upper hose to the rad and continue to fill slowly through the rad cap hole. Once it seems full, start the engine, let it run for twenty seconds and shut it off again. This will dislodge the few air pockets that are unavoidable and the fluid level in the radiator should drop a little after the burp, top it off. Start the engine again, and let it run until the radiator fan starts running, be patient! When then fan starts running, top off the level in the rad and install the radiator cap - and bleed screw if there is one. During the warm up, a small amount of coolant will spill over the rad filler neck, have a cloth to absorb it. Take the car for a shortish run, just a few miles to get it fully warmed up, and park it on level ground. Check hoses for leaks of course, and let it cool. This will take a number of hours, overnight is good. In the morning, note the level in the expansion tank, it will probably be a little lower than FULL. Fill to the FULL mark, and you're all set. Obviously, you should check the level in the expansion tank for a few days afterward, but there shouldn't be any problems. Resist the temptation to open the rad cap, this will only interfere.

WAIT! Don't drive it anywhere! Your transmission might be empty. Maybe they drained the transmission and just filled new oil into the engine. That second drain plug under a Subaru has fooled many a non-authorised mechanic. Check the oil level in your transmission before driving again!

HANG ON!! You don't need to source an entire car! The self-leveling bit is a small pressurized gas container that piggy-backs on the suspension damper. So you only need to "import" a set of rear struts. And you're sorted Hmm, maybe you'd need front struts too, since I can't vouch for the balance between front and rear spring rates.

We'll have those here at the end of this year !

Very tidy work! Next time I happen to drive across the Atlantic I'll drop by ...