Conclusion:
I have now finally sorted out my car! so here's a recap for the archive.
Fozza 2.0 GLS, non-turbo, year 2000.
First, my car was bottoming out on sleeping policemen, then as the suspension got worse, the springs collapsed completely and I was all but sitting on the rubber spring mounts. time for action.
I got messed around by my Subaru main dealer who told me i had leaking self-levelling suspension, and they wanted fifteen hundred quid to put it right. I then tried an independent subaru guy, Phil Rowlands, in Cullompton in Mid Devon. He's brilliant and really knows his stuff, so I thoroughly recommend him. he pointed out that I didn't have self-levelling suspension. he fixed a brake disc problem I had, but then I left devon and was on my own again.
because of the recommendations on this site I went to buypartsby and ordered a set of standard KYB shocks and springs, total cost two hundred and sixty quid. then set about putting them on myself, having never done such a large job before. it was a bit daunting, but if you are mechanically minded, and aware of the standard stuff that can go wrong, like stubborn brake line nuts disintegrating, then it's not too bad.
1. First, I took the (inside cabin) metal dust caps off the top strut mounts. Then loosened the big shock nut on top of the piston.
2. jacked up car, supported with stands, and removed wheel.
3. undoing the brake line nut on the shock mount is probably the hardest part of the whole job, depending on how old your car is. I would recommend that if your car is old and rusted, that before you take on this job, spend a week gently heating it with a blow torch, not enough to melt the rubber, and spraying with penetrating oil. I heated the female side, then sprayed the male side with the oil so that it cooled faster and hopefully opened up a slight gap. It worked on one side but not the other and I eventually destroyed the short brake pipe and had to replace it.
4. undo the brake pipe nuts before you remove the square washer that holds the brake line in place. I couldn't even see this washer it was so dirty, so a good scrub with oil and a toothbrush will reveal how it works.
5. Having separated the brake line and removed the washer, the flexible line pulls out and I stopped it from leaking with a toothpick.
6. more heat and oil on the big nuts till they finally turned using a breakers bar. I undid the anti-roll bar nuts to allow the hub to fall making it easier to remove the shock.
7. Rebuilt the new shock using the old top hats and rubbers, but replaced the piston helpers and dustboots. it's not difficult, but you will need spring compressors, remember the old springs are knackered, but the new springs are much stronger.
8. make sure you know which way up the springs go, i found i did one each way and had to go back and do it again.
9. just follow the marks on the top hat, and it's easy.
10. put it all back together again.
11. the only tool I didn't have was a deep socket ratchet with a hole in, I will get one of these so that I can do the final tightening on the big nut. so far I have just given it a tweak once the car was back together again, and sitting on it's wheels.
12. it's not a hard job, but requires a bit of strength moving those shocks in and out at arms length, I only saved about a hundred and fifty quid, but the result was well worth it.
the car is transformed, it drives properly, doesn't get anywhere near bottoming, the rear now sits up slightly higher than the front, with plenty of clearance. I'll need to get my tyres realigned, but now I am one very happy bunny.
good luck and thanks to you all for your help.
stumbler
ps. there is a link to someone lowering their fozza on Scoobymods with pictures and much more technical detail at
http://www.scoobymods.com/jdm-forester-sti-pink-t2666.html
