forester2002s

My 2002 Forester has only one washer fluid reservoir (under the hood). It serves both front and rear windows. And the two small pumps are clearly visible, mounted on the side of the reservoir adjacent to the battery.

Why did I buy a Subaru? Near to where I live, there is a steep road with even steeper driveways. Someone had put up a road-sign reading "Rue Subaru". That's when I started noticing the high-percentage of Subarus around. I too live at the end of a steep road, so when I was looking for a new car......

14mm? That's not very big. You should be able to get that at Sears. EDIT: Whoops, I misread the OP. I thought that we were talking about a 14mm socket (which isn't that big). However a 14mm Allen Key is kinda large!

Another consideration is the wear-resistance of the rubber. My 2002 Forester came with original Yokohama Geolander tires. They gripped the road like a cat, but were worn out at 53,000km. My tire shop told me that they were made of relatively soft rubber. A harder rubber tire should last longer, but may not grip the road as well. I replaced the Geolanders with Motomaster SE tires from Canadian Tire. They seem to perform almost as well as the Geolanders, and should (!?) last longer, being made of harder rubber. At the end of the day, I think that it is a bit of a crap shoot. I suspect that driving-style, alignment, and inflation pressure are more important.

No, you can do it yourself. See this site: http://www.cars101.com/subaru/keyless.html

I have a hidden immobilizer switch, wired in series with the clutch-pedal switch. When activated, the switch will not allow the starter to work. Everything else looks normal on the display.

I use 10W30 (dino) in summer; and 5W30 (dino) in winter. To be honest, I cannot tell the difference in the way the motor runs. The 10W30 is slightly cheaper, but I use the 5W30 in winter so that starting is a bit easier on the engine in colder temperatures.

This site has lots of info about remotes: http://www.cars101.com/subaru/keyless.html#alpine

My 2002 Forester has the following switches: - Rear Window Defogger: Cancels itself after 15 min, and also when ignition switched off. - Side Mirror & wiper-blade Heater: Only cancels itself when ignition switched off. - Seat Heaters (toggle-switch): Never cancels. Stays on forever, unless switch is turned to off. I have rewired the seat heaters with the addition of a relay and a pushbutton switch. Momentarily pressing the button will latch-in the relay, which allows the seat-heaters to energize. The relay drops out when the ignition is switched off. Ideally, all of these switches should be the same as the Rear Window Defogger, which cancels itself after a set time.

I wonder if this is the same problem as called 'hesitation' by many owners? Do a search on this board for the word 'hesitation', and you'll find lots of suggestions. Many posters have suggested resetting the ECU, to cure hesitation. For myself (2002 Forester), I find that hesitation is most noticeable if I start the engine and then drive off immediately. However if I start the engine, wait about 10-seconds and then drive off, then there is no hesitation.

I wouldn't be too concerned with the observed PSI reading. Unless you bought a precision gauge, I would guess that the accuracy of a mass-produced pressure gauge could be in the order of + or - 20%. So what does 80 psi mean, as opposed to say 60 psi? I don't know. What is more useful, is to watch the position of the gauge over time. As you say, watch it as the engine warms up; and watch it over many miles and over many months or years, to see if the pressure degrades. And also after oil changes. And of course, if the pressure reading goes to zero, STOP THE ENGINE right away!

I agree. This is the simplest mod to make. Just watch the vacuum gauge as your foot presses on the gas pedal. In no time you'll be saving gas.

When I traded my old Dodge 360cu.in V8 gas guzzler in for a Forester, I reused that old locking gas cap from the Dodge (I had it for years; it wasn't OEM; bought it at an auto-part store years ago). The old cap fits the Forester perfectly. And no CELs! So, moral of the story, try a Dodge locking gas cap.

I would be interested to know if this works to cure the idle hesitation. And what exactly will the dealer do to 'reflash the ECU'? Will they just disconnect the power to the ECU for a while, or will they actually 'reprogram' the ECU with new software? Let us know what transpires.

Could be that the OP was committed to an Insane Asylum, a few days after asking his question?

I wouldn't say that Geolanders are that bad. They appear to be made of fairly soft rubber, which makes them grip the road like a cat, but they wear out fast. If money is no problem, I would leave them on, and just replace them when worn out.

Do a search for 'hesitation'. There have been lots of posts on this board. What I have found (on my 2002 Forester 5MT) is the following: - Start the engine, and drive off immediately = Hesitation at slow speeds. - Start the engine; idle for 10 seconds, then drive off = No hesitation. The other thing that you can try, is to reset the ECU (by disconnecting the battery for 20 mins).

http://techinfo.subaru.com/html/referenceHome.jsp USD35 for 72 hours access to the whole site for downloads. Do a search on this site for tips on how to do the download most efficiently.

This reminds me of a safety tip that I learnt: - When using jumper cables, ALWAYS TURN YOUR HEAD AWAY when making the last connection to the battery. All it takes is some errant hydrogen gas, and then a small spark, and BOOM. At least if you look away, you might save your eyes.

I use a 'club' for the same reason: Why try to steal my car, when the one parked next to it is easy pickings? And so my club is nothing special, just the cheapest one that I could buy at Walmart. Sometimes I don't even bother to lock it! But there it is in full display.

Subaru sell Factory Service Manuals on-line at: http://techinfo.subaru.com/html/ixSearchNkSm.jsp?level=1&model_year=1998&vehicle_line=Impreza You can either pay for specific portions of the manual, or else pay USD35 for a 72-hour access to download any and all of Subaru's technical info. It is all in pdf format. Do a search on this forum to find tips on how to do the download.

If you are reading 6.5V on the ignition switch during 'start' (and the starter doesn't turn over), try tracing this voltage back to the battery. In particular, what voltage do you read during 'start': - on the battery clamp? (if only 6.5V, then you may have dirty battery terminals). - on the centre of the battery post? (if only 6.5V, then you have a deceased battery). And you could also check the voltage between the centre of the negative battery post to ground on the engine block (this should be near 0V even when cranking).

I can't really help either. But, I have a similar problem with my overhead garage-door opener. During the winter, when the garage is colder, the opener works fine. But in the summer months, the door will close on its own, usually just a few seconds after it has been opened. Its been like this for a few years now, and is quite repeatable. Definately temperature-related. I assume that something happens to an internal electronic component, which changes the device's logic. Maybe your remote is doing the same?

I used to have a gas-guzzling Dodge V8. To get through the e-test, I used to increase the idle speed as far as I dared. In my case, the V8 would fail on the idle test, and this helped get it passed. The test centre had a max limit on the idle RPM, I think that it was either 1100 or 1500 RPM. One time I was over the limit, the engine was screaming at idle; the testman let me get away with it, but warned me: 'not the next time...' And one other obvious tip: make sure that the engine is good and hot before going in for the test.

I use the cheapest API-tested oil that I can find (usually at WalMart). I change the oil and filter every 3000km (2000 miles). And I use Fram filters. I know that they have a bad rap. But I've cut several open after changing them, and they all look fine to me. Is there any evidence that Fram filters cause engine failures? In over 40-years of maintaining my own cars, I've never had an oil-related engine problem.