forester2002s

You were lucky. A rear-ender, with 40mph relative speed, would more likely result in enough damage for it to be written off. Yes check the body carefully. Glad that you're OK.

All that sludge points to a lack of frequent enough oil changes.

Personally, I would only use a split-boot as a very temporary fix. Even then, I would probably try wrapping a torn boot with cling-wrap and tape, before trying a split-boot. But only as temporary fix to buy me time. There's a reason why car manufacturers don't use split-boots.

If you could find the correct wires under the dash, then you would be able to troubleshoot Volts & Ohms from there. That would tell you if the switch was behaving normally, or if the problem was located somewhere else. But you'd need a good wiring diagram.

Is there any resistance on the top of the clutch fork when you try to push it by hand? Or does it feel loose?

Soak the threads with a penetrant/lubricant for several days. Those nipples shear off easily.

I have a set of snow-tires mounted on their own (steel) wheels. I put these on the car for about 4-months each winter. I watch the weather forecasts, and put the snow tires on when the ambient temperature is below about 5C (40F), even if there is no snow. The soft rubber gives good grip on wet roads, deep snow, and hard-packed snow. I never have to worry about getting stuck. These tires are now 8-years old, and I see no signs of the rubber getting hard. Mind you, I keep the car in a garage at night, and keep the snow-tires stored out of sunlight when not on the car. The snow-tires are noisier on pavement, than my summer tires, and I'm usually glad to get them off at the end of the cold weather.

It's probably leaking when you're driving, so the oil-drops get blown away. Try parking with the engine running, with a piece of cardboard underneath. Maybe the leak will show up.

Your timing-belt should be OK, after only 20,000 miles, IF it was either OEM or other good make e.g. Gates. However, I've had two no-name T-Bs deteriorate badly soon after replacement. Check the T-B for surface transverse cracks, especially on the backside of the belt.

First click unlocks driver's door? Second click unlocks all other doors?

Could be a torn rubber-boot on one of the rear CV-joints. The torn boot would fling grease from the CV-joint on to the muffler or tail-pipe, causing smoke (and a horrible smell!) And the 'knocking' could be the CV-joint failing from lack of grease. But it could also be any number of other things...

I have taken my rear diff out, and reinstalled it (2002 Forester). Following advice that I read somewhere on this forum, I did not remove the two rear wheel hubs. Instead, I did the following: - Lowered the exhaust by unclipping the 4 rearmost rubber hangers (3 on muffler & 1 forward of the diff). I temporarily supported the weight of the exhaust using a long zip-tie on the rearmost hanger. - Disconnect the drive-shaft at the forward end of the diff (4 bolts) - Then disconnected the diff from the forward steel bracket (4 horiz & 4 vertical bolts) - Disconnected 2 nuts at rear of diff. - Slowly lowered front-end of diff, and pulled the diff forward to extract the two rear studs from the cross-member. (to do this, exhaust needs to be pulled gently towards the floor. - The two, left and right, drive-shafts can then be pulled out of the diff, and supported temporarily. And you're done! It's not too bad a procedure You'll need a trolley-jack, and loads of pieces of timber shims. There's a better write-up somewhere, maybe even a video.

I have always found that an oil and filter change does wonders for quieting noisy lifters.

I've never heard of a 3-piece radiator-hose before. And I've never seen a hose loose enough, and close enough to touch the fan blades. It looks as if you don't have the correct radiator, and someone has rigged-up an extra long hose to teach the radiator. Have you compared this set-up with other similar models, or with a picture in the Factory Service Manual? You definitely need to keep that hose away from the fan. Use some zip-ties or wire to pull the hose away from the fan and towards the engine.

I've had a leak (in my 2002 Forester) with water getting in through one of the mounting bolts for the overhead longitudinal roof-rail. And this leak was hard to find, because the dripping water was hidden behind the interior wall-panels of the car. The leaking water was evident on the trunk-floor, and in the well for the spare-tire. However the water never entered the rear light-assembly. That unit is virtually sealed all around, except where the bulb is fitted.

Clutch-fork: - with no force on the clutch-pedal, can you manually move the top of the clutch-fork to the rear? Should be able to feel some looseness/movement. - with clutch-pedal partially-depressed, can you move the top of the clutch-fork? - with clutch pedal fully-depressed, can you move the top of the clutch-fork? What I'm thinking is the possibility that: - as the clutch-fork moves, the bottom-end of the fork and the throw-out bearing may not be moving as they should; or - the clutch-plate is stuck in the disengaged position, and the fork & bearing are moving but not actually doing anything. I realize that none of this fits with your description that that clutch-pedal feels normal.

Burnt CV-joint grease smells like barbequed grasshoppers.

Camshaft Position Sensor?

If you have a multimeter, check that you have 12V at the bulb-holder; also that you have 0-Ohms resistance, from the ground -terminal at the bulb-holder to the chassis. Make these checks with the bulbs removed.

It's probably a grounding issue.

Clutch-fork broken/cracked? Have said that, I can't think of a scenario when high RPM or WOT would make a difference to clutch feel/performance.

Willow, I see that you are from Australia, where DRLs are not mandatory. Maybe your car has the DRLs? Do you still have weak headlights when the headlight-switch is all the way to 'ON'?

I would definitely buy some battery jump-start cables. And I would seriously consider buying a spare battery, and keeping it fully charged at all times. And how's the cell-phone reception where you're headed?

"Brake light"? Do you mean the warning-light on the dash-panel? Or the red-lights at the rear of the car?

On my 2002 Forester, the MT drive-shaft is different from the AT drive-shaft. See attached PDF from the 2002 Forester FSM. That page shows 3 Universal-Joints for the MT. And 2 UJs and one Double-Offset-Joint for the AT (the DOJ allows for axial movement). DS02 Propeller Shaft.pdf