utcoyotehunter

Thank you all for your help and advice. Idosubaru if i had known that i certainly wouldn't have replaced the gaskets on a preventive maintenance program. Thank you for the education that would have taken me hours to write that S.A.

Thank you all for your advise guess I will be going with oem. But there is one thing that puzzles me since there is an issue with the original gaskets that causes them leak around 150,000 miles. so have the oem gaskets been improved or will i be replacing them in 150,000 miles again? The gaskets have not been replaced before. We are the original owners and this has been a very low maintenance vehicle. Thanks again for all of the support.

As preventive maintenance I'm replacing the head gaskets on our 09 Forester with 140'000 miles. The gasket set I revived is a Stone gasket set. I am old school and haven't ever heard of them. How is there Quality and do i want to use them. Also does anyone know what the torque sequence is?

I have a 09 Forester that has 125,000 miles on it. The car has been very low maintenance and dependable. I know that it is past time for a timing belt and I have also heard that the head gaskets have a tendency to fail on a older car. So my question is when I start on this what other things should I replace while I have it apart. I'm hoping to do it over a weekend so it would be best if i can have all of the parts in hand before i start. Thank you all in advance.

I have been dreading this update. I pulled the beast into the garage and manic March never seemed to happen. I rolled it back out in the back yard and tarped it back up the day before I had my rotator cuff surgery. I had two partial tears and one total tear repaired. I have been going to physical therapy sporadically due to my work schedule changing to 12 hr rotating shifts. But am healing very well and hope to get the doters consent to go on a Idaho ATV ride in October. He has informed me the dear hunt is out.

My plan is to un-tarp the beast this week and then start working evenings on it again. As far as photos I realy need to enter the 21st century and learn how to post them. I will figure it out soon. I went out in the desert this weekend and ran in to plenty of snow in the higher elevations but at this rate it will be gone shortly.

I have tried with no success. If I ever figure it out I will post some build pics.

As far as winter progress there hasn't been any. I tarped it and rolled it in to the back yard in November. I go in to semi-hibernation during the winter time along with hunting, ice fishing, and just hitting the hills. The buggy is about 1/3 done. The frame is mostly complete and tacked together.The engine installed along with the steering wheel and pedals hung. The rear diff is in place. The things that i remember that i need to do. Finish the frame around the passenger compartment install the rear shocks. Remove the engine and the and the rear diff then weld out the frame. Figure were the gun rack goes and install. Paint everything. Reinstall the engine. Wire the engine electrical system. Fab the seat brackets. Remove the temporary floor and install the real floor. Install the seats. Install the heater, radiator, speedometer etc... Skin the buggy. Wire the lights blinkers horn and so on. After I put the seats in I think the front passenger compartment may need to be shortened. o yeah i may need so shorten the drive line and install it. i usually come out of hibernation around April or May around the time it gets muddy in the hills. After making the list I think it is closer to 5 percent done.

Scott very cool I look forward to the reviews.

It's been about two months since my last post and a fair amount has happened. I've got the sub-frame completed and due to family needs I am making the buggy the same length as the original wagon. So in my case no drive-shaft modifications need to take place. I purchased a j-d squared pipe bender. A little spendy for my taste but a very good product. I've bent the hoops and one horizontal rung for the passenger compartment. I've removed the engine, front trans-axles, rear axles, drive-line and about half of the wiring harness this weekend.

any progress?

I checked the timing belt tonight it looks great I will replace it and the idlers next summer or the next. Thank you all.

Great, you saved my weekend I will replace it next summer or the summer of 2017.

When is it advisable to replace the timing belt on 08 Forester?

Scott that thing is cute. Your power to weight should be wicked.