Forester Repair/Shop Manual

[BoostHead]

I have a problem with my wife's 2001 Forester. In the last couple of weeks
the ECU has turned on the 'Check Engine' light. The first time the gas cap
was loose (found that 'fix' in the owner's manual), and the second time I
had someone connect a scan tool and it came up with a bad knock sensor.

This has been intermittent over the last several days, and I'm tired of the
nagging. What I need is a repair manual so I can figure out what is
happening.

BTW: I do my own wrenching on Porsche 944/951, so just point me in the
right direction.

Thanks!

 

[Edward Hayes]

My 2000 Forester has two O2 sensors. One is before the first cat and
supposedly that trims the fuel mixture while the second O2 sensor
checks that the cat and front emissions pieces are doing what their
supposed to. Subaru had a recall for the front O2 sensor on my 2000
Forester and I was told others years and models were involved in the
recall. Check this for your car. Without additional information I
suspect the front sensor. Let us know what you find. ed

 

[mulder]

I have a problem with my wife's 2001 Forester. In the last couple of weeks
the ECU has turned on the 'Check Engine' light. The first time the gas cap
was loose (found that 'fix' in the owner's manual), and the second time I
had someone connect a scan tool and it came up with a bad knock sensor.

This has been intermittent over the last several days, and I'm tired of the
nagging. What I need is a repair manual so I can figure out what is
happening.

BTW: I do my own wrenching on Porsche 944/951, so just point me in the
right direction.

Thanks!

First off you can't assume what the code is based on what it was the
last time. Could be the same, or could be something different. There
are literally hundreds of codes that can possibly be set. So, you'll
need to get it scanned again. If the same person can't do it for you,
Autozone will do it for free. Just be sure they give you the actual
code(s) that are read, in Pxxxx format, so you can access the related
information and troubleshoot properly.
If you plan to work on your own car frequently, and any other late
model ones you own as well, you may want to consider buying your own
OBDII scanner. They are extremely valuable to have around for
situations like this. I'm personally a fan of the AutoXray units,
which you can check out at www.autoxray.com
As for a manual, you can go to the Subaru tech website,
http://techinfo.subaru.com/html/index.jsp , and sign up for a
subscription for $34.95. This will give you 72 hours to download as
much of the manual as you need. It's broken up into individual pdf
files and there is a 20 file per hour limit, so it's a bit of work,
but well worth it considering that the print copies of the manuals are
hundreds of $.

 

[ruzicka]

Over on eBay, you can buy soft copies of the Forester manual on CDs, for
maybe around $10 or so. I can not attest to whether or not these are the
true official repair manuals that they claim to be. Most seem to come from
Canada.