It's important to work safely under your car getting it safely and securely in the air. The jack that comes with the Forester really only good in a pinch and should never be used if you intend to get any part of your body under the car while it's in the air. If you aren't working on the brakes set the parking brake and put the car in gear before jacking it up. Always use a good set of jack stands and don't just rely on the jack. For changing the oil I usually use a set of Rino-Ramps but if you need to get the wheels in the air for brake or suspension work do the following.

For the rear you can use the rear diff to lift the wheels off the ground.

Then place jack stands under these locations. Double check where the top of the jack stand will contact. Floor jacks will lower in a slight arc that changes where the stand will hit. I usually get it close to touching then re-position both sides.

In the front there is a jacking plate just behind the plastic shroud in the center.

Closer shot

Place the jack stands as shown. Again watch where the top of the stand will hit the subframe, the position will shift as you lower it.

I have two floor jacks. When getting all the wheels in the air I like to lower the car onto the jack stands and then leave the jack in place with just a little force. Just as an added precaution.

Use the right tools to get the car in the air, blocks of wood and cinder blocks are not the right things to use. Jack stands and floor jacks are not as expensive as you might think and are a very good investment.

Peaty 11/09/03

A few people have pointed out that I did not Chock the wheels when jacking up the car. This is correct and the first time you jack the car up chock the wheels on the opposite side. I've since picked up a set of chocks for under 10 USD. Better safe than sorry.

Chock = a wedge to stick under the wheels that are on the ground to prevent the car from rolling.
Peaty 11/22/03

Some more info on jacks. I use a floor jack to lift my car. I purchased a plate with a cushion that fits in place of the cup type that came with it. Some people put a hockey puck in the cup to prevent damaging parts the jack contacts and that's a good idea too. I also purchased a "Pinch Weld Adapter" That you can use on the OEM jacking point. The OEM jacking point just under the side skirt on the Pinch Weld. If you use a flat plate here it will bend that weld flat. Not sure if that will hurt anything or not but, it's not the proper way to do it. This adapter makes it so I can lift the side properly for those times I rotate my tires. See the attached pics to see what I mean.

The pinch weld adapter.

I purchased both the cushion and pinch weld adapter here:

http://www.eastwoodco.com/

They come in pretty handy.

Peaty 11-20/04

just some more info.