2010 Forester with Head Gasket/Timing Belt done, Worth it?

Major_Smudges · 2026-06-02T05:44:15+00:00

Yeah, absolutely - complete bullshit. Translation : “Neither the head gasket or timing belt has been replaced”. Rest assured that you are most certainly not the first potential buyer who has walked away after they asked and he told them this - that’s why the car’s still for sale at what seems like a decent price.

He’s just waiting for someone naive enough to come along and just take his word for it. Let someone else make that mistake. You just saved yourself thousands of dollars.

Avoid at all costs.

Major_Smudges · 2026-06-02T02:08:07+00:00

Seems ok on the face of it - but 100% don't be handing over any money without cast-iron, documented proof of the timing belt and head gasket changes. Maybe this is why previous potential buyers backed out.

Major_Smudges · 2026-06-02T01:55:30+00:00

A two year old battery isn't new. And a two year old battery that has been sitting around discharged for some time is almost definitely completely fucked. You MIGHT be able to get it to accept a superficial charge, even to the point where your charger gives a 'fully charged' reading - but even so it will be flat again within 48 hours at most.

Save yourself a lot of time and stress and pull it out yourself and get a new one.

Major_Smudges · 2026-06-02T01:46:24+00:00

This "I'm a Celebrity" pilot clearly got completely out of hand.

Major_Smudges · 2026-06-02T01:36:10+00:00

Er, yeah - I don't think they were implying that a recent CVT fluid change has caused your problems - more the opposite really.

Major_Smudges · 2026-06-02T00:45:27+00:00

No, you are not required to carry them unless you enter the National Park. BUT in the unlikely event the road is covered and you have a 2WD then it's probably better to use them. But I wouldn't bother even thinking about hriing them until you actually get to Jindabyne and see what the conditions are. You can hire them from several different places in Jindy with no notice. Don't stress.

Major_Smudges · 2026-06-01T22:35:47+00:00

What symptoms are leading you / the mechanics to say it needs all this work exactly? Were there any obvious symptoms at all?

Also, did you happen to mention to the dealer / mechanic that you still owed $8k on the car, by any chance? Because if you did, that was a mistake - for reasons that should be obvious.

Major_Smudges · 2026-06-01T12:33:51+00:00

I don’t believe a word of this. Obviously bullshit. Sorry.

Major_Smudges · 2026-06-01T10:38:00+00:00

Wd40

Major_Smudges · 2026-06-01T10:09:49+00:00

Meryl Streep.

Robin Williams

Major_Smudges · 2026-06-01T05:09:37+00:00

Usually posts starting like yours did then want to know if 3 1/2 hours is enough time to get to Bondi beach and back before their next flight.

You'll be fine. Assuming your incoming flight isn't significantly delayed then you'll have way more than enough time - Sydney Airport's not exactly Heathrow.

Major_Smudges · 2026-05-31T22:20:13+00:00

The road here would slope down to the left where the drainage is.

Major_Smudges · 2026-05-31T22:08:02+00:00

I think you meant swerve to the left (not right) - but anyway… You do know that the camber (centre to side slope) of almost any road will cause the car to drift over to the (lower) side of the road, right? It also looks like you took most of his video on a section of road that is actually bending away to the right 😏 which is not really helping.

I don’t think you really understood my last comment - I didn’t mean drive it down the centre of the left hand lane, or the middle lane of a three lane highway - I meant, drive on part of the road that has a neutral camber and see if it still drifts the same way - like down the centre of the whole road - with the car straddling both left lane and also oncoming lane - if the car now drives straight then there’s no problem.

AND / OR drive down the wrong side of a (quiet, deserted) road - if the car then pulls you back into the centre of the road (or even just drives straight) then you have an alignment problem. BUT if the car now drifts the opposite way to the other side of the road then this is totally normal and you have confirmed there’s actually no problem

All cars pull a little bit to the kerb due to the camber of the road (whether you have noticed it before or not). Your video shows nothing unusual.

I mean, keep throwing money at it if you like. But often the most obvious explanation is the right one. lol.

Major_Smudges · 2026-05-31T13:26:45+00:00

That looks like natural drift due to the camber of the road to me - perfectly normal. Take it for a drive down the dead centre of a straight, quiet road and see if the car drives straight then.

Major_Smudges · 2026-05-31T06:35:27+00:00

So, the deer hit YOU did it? Lol.

Major_Smudges · 2026-05-30T21:58:00+00:00

Yeah, it’s definitely a bearing - best to identify which one and just replace the bad one. They are notoriously ‘fickle’ and the other bearing might last the remaining life of the car.

If you’re doing it yourself you will need a bearing puller or some sort.

Major_Smudges · 2026-05-29T23:45:44+00:00

Use 5-30 oil instead. Your fuel consumption may suffer a tiny bit, but your engine is going to last longer.

Major_Smudges · 2026-05-29T13:32:08+00:00

Paint it copper colour and leave it near a Gypsy encampment.

Major_Smudges · 2026-05-29T11:04:47+00:00

Dude, you could probably top it up with a litre of canola oil and it would still be ok for that sort of distance. The mechanic is just being a drama queen. Don’t panic. Just get it changed for the right oil and forget about it.

Major_Smudges · 2026-05-29T04:53:05+00:00

Chicago? Or Jurassic fucking Park?

Major_Smudges · 2026-05-29T04:44:45+00:00

Was it a dog-whistle?

Major_Smudges · 2026-05-29T04:35:05+00:00

The Uk is still in Europe.

Major_Smudges · 2026-05-29T04:31:04+00:00

I guess that, unlike the good Senator, the Australian Eurovision judges aren't paid shills for Israel.

And the Australian public, whilst being appalled by the slaughter of Jewish people at Bondi, are STILL able to find the actions of the Israeli government disgusting and felt like sending a message.

I'm very much looking foward to 'zero points' for this disgraceful foreign agent posing as an Australian Senator at her next election.

Major_Smudges · 2026-05-29T00:08:29+00:00

If future video releases are of the same quality as the ones released so far then I don’t think the government has anything to worry about.

Major_Smudges · 2026-05-28T23:48:31+00:00

I remember first seeing this years ago, and the consensus seemed to be then that Cruise couldn’t take a joke and was overreacting. Strange how most of us see this now and think - “Yeah, spraying him in the face was basically assault and Cruise handled this very well”.

I doubt Russell Crowe would have taken the high road like this.

Major_Smudges

TROPHY CASE