forester2002s

'Headlights burning dim' could be related to a bad ground somewhere.

Does the fan work on all speed-settings?

2002 Forester 2.5 MT (stock OEM compressor): - LP side o-ring: Subaru #73039TA0120 (21.50 mm OD; 16.80 mm ID) - HP side o-ring: Subaru #73039TA0140 (15.80 mm OD; 11.10 mm ID)

I've used Fram filters for years. Never had a problem. I tend to change my oil filters more often than recommended, so they are not in service for very long. Maybe some other filters have better-looking innards; but if the Fram does the job, then I'm happy.

Thanks for posting this. Did you have to glue the split-hose, to hold it in place?

The CEL is emissions-related. I cannot imagine that it has anything to do with the seat-heaters. Your problem sounds like a loose connection or ground-fault. To start with, check the electrical resistance of the seat-heaters, and compare between the two seats (there are connectors under each seat).

My 2002 Forester came equipped with P215/60/R16 tires, and stock wheels with a 55-mm offset. I bought the same size snow-tires 5-years ago, and mounted them on steel-rims with a 42-mm offset. I've had no clearance problems at all. I bought the steel-rims at Canadian Tire (Item No.09-6099-8, which I now cannot find on their website). I keep my snow-tires on all winter - anytime when the ambient temperature is below about 5C (40F). The softer rubber on the snow-tires makes for much surer road handling, even on a dry pavement. On a snow-covered road, the AWD plus snow-tires are amazing. I see from the weather forecast that Ontario is being blasted with cold weather and snow. You'll love those snow-tires.

Ain't this forum wonderful?

I keep track of my gasoline purchases, and enter them into a spreadsheet. It is then easy to plot gas consumption. (I love graphs - give me set of numbers, and I'll plot a graph). The figures from each gas fill are not much help; they jump all over the place, based on how much fuel actually goes into the top of the tank. So I plot a 5-fill moving average; I average out the fuel consumption from the the previous 5 fills, and I plot that. The graph is now fairly smooth, and one can detect long-term changes to consumption. Most of my driving is in and around the city, but on longer trips I can see the improvement quite clearly on the graph. I bought this car new, and 10-years and 190,000-km later, the fuel consumption really hasn't changed significantly over time.

There's a switch especially for the parking lights. It is on the top of the dashboard just ahead of the steering column. I bet that it has been accidently switched on. Just switch it off, and put some tape over the switch.

Trans. and diff oils: In my experience when draining gear oils, a small amount of grey-fluff on the magnetic-plug is normal. And the drained oil might be slightly opaque, a hint of grey in an otherwise clear oil. And a few tiny metallic chips are to be expected. This is just normal wear on the gear surfaces. This never seems to go away, even on a high mileage vehicle. On the other had, a lot of grey-fluff, and really dirty oil is bad news. And large metallic chips (especially in the transmission) are a sign of hard service. My point is not to expect the drained oil to be in pristine condition.

I don't get it. The timing belt doesn't have that much load on it. It just drives the camshaft(s) and the water-pump. And in any case, wouldn't the parking brake be on whilst in transit?

How's the oil level in the rear-diff?

Pretty slick. But I wonder if the headgaskets will still leak?

Torque also comes into the equation. Your 2002 5MT Forester puts out peak torque at about 4,000 rpm. And the 5 speeds are chosen to allow adequate torque in each range. The automatic 4EAT has 4 gears, and these would also be chosen to give adequate torque, but with different speed ranges than the 5MT. With the old carburetted engines, one could achieve lowest fuel consumption by using a vacuum-gauge connected to the inlet manifold, and using the throttle to control vacuum level. I don't know if this still works with the new-fangled computerized fuel-injected engines. Does anyone know?

Bump. Any resolution on this?

Door switch?

I had a water-leak in the roof of my 2002 Forester. Water leaked in around the rear mounting-bolt of the roof-rack rail. The water ran down behind the roof-liner, and behind the rear side-liners, and then out onto the cargo-floor. It took a while for me to figure this out! I wonder if such a leak could get into the rear lights?

At the risk of asking the obvious, is the 'virgin switch' on the top of the steering column accidently switched to the ON position?

That should work. The wiring diagram for my 2002 Forester shows that the wiring connections for the washer motor are mostly inside the combination switch. The washer switch feeds two pairs of wires: One pair connects internally to the Intermittent Switch module (this is what triggers the wipers); the other pair feeds externally to the washer motor. One could disconnect this external pair of wires from the combination meter, and then reconnect them to a new push-button. The P-B would then energize the washer, but not the wipers.

Just bleeding the brake fluid may make the pedal feel firmer. So, it would be hard to factor-in new hoses too.

I don't understand your question. What brake problem are you trying to address?

125 psi of air pressure on a caliper to move the piston? No thanks. My life's not worth it. What you have is a small bomb, ready to explode and launch the piston where you least expect. Air is compressible, and can store energy when pressurized. Be very careful!

I agree. I buy the cheapest oil that meets API standards, and change it often. Usually the cheapest that I can find is Walmart's own brand. In over 50 years of driving, I've never had a lubrication-related failure.

15 seconds? If it takes that long to fire, then the car has other problems.