ferret

The only thing I can see that the term 'Solid Lifter" refers to is that there is NO device between the cam lift and the valve to take up the clearance so the engine will be quieter instead of the tick-tick-tick the 2.5 makes. The phase 1 2.2 did have hydraulic 'lash adjusters' which did serve this purpose. I do agree that the lifter was a product of the OHV engines of the late 50's and still some present ( Ford std 5.0L , Mopar 3.3 and 3.6 V6 to name a few, and these are hydraulic). The 2.5 phase 2 uses a single cam with dual row of rocker arms. The rocker end riding against the cam has a roller to lower friction and the valve end of the rocker has an adjustment screw and locknut right out of the solid lifter / rocker arm engines of the past. Hence nothing to take up the small clearance and the audiable tick-tick-tick.

Been discussed many times recently. Do a search on filters. here are a few url's I found discussing the new smaller filter in particular: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=24402&highlight=filter http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=26901&highlight=filter http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=28500&highlight=filter

Lenny, there are 3 choices: Dealer Repair Auto Upholstery Repair shop Order repair kit, (new elements) from dealer. On the older models, these had a vague set of instructions on replacing the elements. But assumed you already had the seat cover off. Hog ring pliers make it much easier, but you can get by with a good set of long nose as well. TRUE, the Factory Manual doesn't cover this repair at all ! YES I have done 2 of these. Much Easier with the seat removed. Then play the rest by ear, or feel when it comes to the 'blind' hogrings in the lower seat area where you feel the side to side indents in the bottom cushion. Not impossible, but be careful and take your time.

Also, If changing the oil that frequently, I recommend the Fumoto Valve. http://www.fumotovalve.com/ Had one on my 02 Forester, 04 Forester and wife's 04 Highlander. I also put a ziploc type sandwich bag over the filter when unscrewing it. It helps keep the oil off your hands and 'zip' the mess is closed. End of my oil change tips.....

Go to Subaru.com and set up MY Subaru for your new vehicle. Along with recalls, you can keep track of you service history here and enter your own oil changes and mileage on the date you do it. This way if there are any questions about service, you can point to the Subaru Website for your vehicle and the service intervals which were time stamped the date you entered them. Also any service done by Subaru is automatically entered here also. Good place to find a recent service history of a vehicle registered by the original owner. Almost as good as a Carfax, but only for newer and Subaru's. Did this for my 2002 Forester AND current 2004 Forester. I enter my own....and see the dealer service as well, like the coolant sealer recall for the 2002.

I had the same experience, BUT on a 2002 Forester Non-Turbo. After 5-10 minutes warmup, I could be on the highway, or in town, the engine would just SHUT OFF. No Chk eng light. It was under warrenty and the dealer had NO STORED CODES. It wasn't until I took the Service Rep for a ride that they started to do real Problem Determination. All the time, I was told it was 'bad gas'. But I could reproduce it at some regularity. Turned out to be a defective FRONT Oxygen Sensor. Seems it was telling the ECU that the engine was running rich and shut off the injectors. So the ECU thought all was normal. I finally found it, after the dealer replace a slew of parts, by unplugging the Oxygen Sensor. YES it set a code, YES the Chk Eng light was on, but then I could not get the engine to act up again. ( here the engine runs in 'OPEN' Mode) By this time, The service Dept was sick of me and I think changed the sensor to please me. Outcome....All Fixed. Afterward a guy I worked with 3 weeks later told me about a similiar failure he had on his 2003 Outback. His failure was more severe. When his car stopped, it just Died.....No restart. ECU....Sensors..injectors..Fuel pump...relays later found it to be the Oxygen Sensor. I AM aware the Turbocharged engines.....ECU's....and sensors ARE different with different programming and parameters, but if you CAN reproduce it as I could, IT may be something to try. My $.02....

If 5 speed, unscrew the shift knob Open console cover and remove 2 screws at top front, then remove trim from cover to shifter. Remove shifter cover (just pull the 5 speed bezel off) Remove 2 screws in bottom of console storage (toward rear seats) Remove the 3 screws by the shifter, then the console comes out. 5-10 minutes

To each their own on Oil Filters. I HAVE had a Fram fail causing complete engine replacement (77 Plymouth Arrow...my replacement was a 79 Subaru DL Front wheel drive). For that reason I will not use a Fram on my own or any vehicles I service (neighborhood mechanic) But Russ Knize, at the link below, has done his own study and has had threats from different companies about his observations. Like any study, read it and use the information along with other information/experiences you have had. My $.02 http://minimopar.knizefamily.net/oilfilterstudy.html

PL-14612......Forester 2003 Turbo, ALL 2004, ALL 2005. Subaru is changing all 4 cyl to this filter.PL-14460 is for 2003 Non-Turbo and all previous Foresters. Subaru has a dealer Memo though that states 'for NON-Turbo applications, the older filter CAN be used without voiding the warrenty' or some statement to that extent. The newer 14612, although smaller on the outside, has a larger filter surface area, BUT a lower bypass valve setting.

Yes, My 2002 Forester had 16" alloys for the summer and Steel 15" for the winter. HOWEVER 2003 and up can ONLY take the 16". Front Disks and rear disk or drums are to large for the older 15" rim.

Bought headlights here a few years ago for our 94 caravan....Legacy shows about $125 us http://www.autolightwarehouse.com/legacy.html

Don't know...only removed and replaced during belt replacements. Question a good parts rep could look up and answer. OR maybe Emily (CCR) if she reads this thread.

All the Manual EJ's have it. The 1.8, 2.0, 2.2 and 2.5. It's there because the crankshaft can stop or jerk erratically (popping the clutch, etc) because it is directly engaged to the wheels. This is to prevent the timing belt from jumping a tooth or two while the belt still has inertia from the cams. I have also seen it on 1 automatic 90 legacy when I did the timing belt. It was a car from an auto auction about 8-9 yrs ago. I suspect this was not the factory motor, but I didn't think to look at serial numbers at the time. Just did the belt and water pump back then. That one had a bad tranny a few years later and the owner junked it. It was full of gremlins....which is what made me think about the belt guide......on an automatic...or who put this 'frankenstein' together then wholesaled it.

What really makes the 2.2 phase 2 and all 2.5's interference motors is not the 'solid' lifters or DOHC, BUT Subaru changed the valve angle. The valve face is now a little closer to the center of the cylinder, coming form further away. The angle is more acute. In doing so, Combustion is more complete, ie more power and less emissions, AND exhaust is also more efficient. Down side, Valve edges now proturde further into the combustion chamber leaving a negative clearance to the piston. As described, the valve edges now can hit the piston like the edge of a chisel. Destroying the piston, and bending the lightened hardened valve stem. The DOHC also can suffer from a slow cam turning (such as replacing the timing belt). This can damage the edges of the valve where they seat and seal. I haven't seen this one yet, but heard it can happen. That's why Subaru is so explicit about holding the cams when replacing the 2.5 DOHC, or which can be turned at which time, and in what direction.

YES...the 2.5DOHC has 2 Camshafts....But what I'm describing is the 2.2. The phase 2 2.2 has 1 Camshaft mounted in the center of the head with 1 complete rocker arm assy on each side of it. Intake rocker assy on the top, exhaust rocker assy to the bottom, hence 2 rocker arm assemblies. No Hydraulic lash adjusters, but at 105K miles, the valve clearance should be checked or adjusted This IS the 2.2 Interference engine Subaru introduced during the 97 model year. The Phase 1 2.2 also has a single camshaft in the center of the head, but here there is a single rocker arm assy mounted above it, with the exhaust rocker arms extending to the bottom of the engine, and the intake rocker arms extend to the top. The Hydraulic Lash adjusters are in the phase 1 only.

There is an easy way to tell if your 2.2 is an interference engine or not: Where do your spark plugs insert? High up directly into the head..... 2.2 phase 1....single rocker assy...Hydraulic Valve lash adjusters...single row of valve cover fastening bolts in middle of cover assy.....Non-Interference Thru a wide valve cover....to cover the dual row of rocker arms...valve cover fastens with bolts along the top and bottom........2.2 phase 2.....Interference engine.

Gary, If you search this board, you will find this has been discussed here. The new smaller filter will replace all EJ 4 cylinder engines when the older stock is gone. The 6 cylinders will still have a seperate filter number. So when all the dealers are out of ..AA060, then the dealer will sub it up to ..AA100. This was also discussed in reference to using filter wrenches here: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=24402&highlight=oil+filter I am not sure what OEM manufacturers (Fram, Purolator, etc) will do. If they will phase out the older numbers also or keep them. The new filter, even in a smaller package, does have a larger filter surface area, But a lower bypass valve pressure rating. My $.02 is up.....

Unlike the ElectroPnumatic suspension of the past, The 05 Forester XT and LL Bean editions have a self-leveling unit contained in each rear strut. There are no outside adjustments that are in any manual I have access to to overcome this. Completely sealed units like I've seen on US vehicles in the past, like Caravans, etc. Unless someone comes up with an idea to 'trick' the inner workings, you have what you bought. You could replace them with conventional aftermarket units already.

Not the Golden Rule, but my experiences: 2002 Forester L 5sp, usually 23mpg overall, lowest 16, best 27. 2004 Forester XS 5sp usually 29mpg overall, lowest 25.5, best 34.2 Both are the same engine, tranny, gearing. 02 was 50lbs heavier with a BAD case of piston slap. There is a difference in the emissions controls, This is the biggest reason I can see for the difference in mileage.

Yes, with the latest software, you can monitor full screen up to 4 sensors at once. I have an old 486 laptop and 12v adapter, so I can set it on the passenger seat while I drive a vehicle and monitor it. Freeze frame data also shows what all the sensors were at when the last code triggered. Very good also. Yes I did see quite a few slow O2 sensors using monitor mode. But under warrenty, the dealers will usually not replace them unless they trigger a code. I mean GM, Subaru and Toyota to name those I and my neighbors have delt with.

Rear Outlet is wired completely different from the front. There is a Relay used here. Power comes from fuse-19 as you have tried. Then it goes to the contacts of a relay marked Seat Heater/Rear Power Acc. From the N/O contact out it goes to the rear thru 1 large connector near the passenger front kick panel. The relay is powered off the Acc contacts on the Ignition switch. Then thru fuse-4 to power the coil of the above relay. I would check fuse-4 next, especially if you don't have seat heaters, you will never know it doesn't work except for the Rear Acc outlet not working, Then the relay. The relay is 1 of a stack of 3 up behind the fuse panel. 3 relays are in this stack, this is the lowest one with a white connector. Above it is a blue connector relay and on top a red connector relay. Hope this info helps.

As far as checking the Brake fluid level, did you just look thru the plastic resevior or take off the cap? I had this on my 82, 85 and 90 legacy. There is a rubber bladder as part of the brake resevoir cap so as fluid is pumped into the calipers and stays there as the disk pads wear, the bladder moves down as not to allow air into the system, yet still allow the fluid level to go down. What happened to me, and probably you, the bladder has come down in the center of the cap, so from the outside, the fluid level looks good, but in the center, it's pushing down enough on the float (used for low fluid level detection) to trigger the reed switch and turn on the brake lamp on the dashboard. What I did to fix it was add a little fluid until it was time to replace the disk pads. That's when I also replace the fluid completely. My experiences and $.02

P0125, from the Service manual it states that the engine is driven and detecting load. After a specific time, as determined by the temp, the coolant does not reach operating temperature. Could be defective coolant sensor or thermostat stuck open. That's for starters, after that you get into ECM and wiring continuity checks.

If it's the same as the 04, the only Subaru one I used was the original. My 1st replacement I bought a small (1.50) furnace filter and cut it down keeping the edges covered with the cardboard. After that 1st one, and careful measurement, I found it to be real close to the Toyota RAV4. Then found them cheap (8.50) on the internet for an OEM aftermarket one. Ordered 4, put in the 1st one 3 months ago, been good since. Have 3 more to go. C38188 was the number on the box. My $.02

I owned a 2002 Forester...and currently a 2004 Forester. I had many problems with the 2002 from 7 oxygen sensors in 58K and a very bad case of piston slap, leaking seals and gaskets. Of the 7 Subaru's I've owned, this was the Worst. The 2004 is much quieter, larger rear seat leg room, more comfortable and better gas mileage (best on the 2002 was 26.6, Worst on the 2004 has been 27.1) Both were/are 5 speeds. My $.02.