soobydaddy Posted February 5, 2004 Share Posted February 5, 2004 Im happy today cause of the 87 gl10 turbo4wd I just bought(160$).Shes in like new condition but has a blown head gskt(i suspect since coolent is coming out of the carb..am i right?).How can I be sure its the head gskt?How difficult is the head gskt to do on these?What kind of price and were is the place(or board member)that would have a good price on it?What else should I do at the same time?I have many years on a wrench but have never had to do a headgskt.Any info or ideas would be great. Thanx and its nice to be back on the board;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thealleyboy Posted February 5, 2004 Share Posted February 5, 2004 SD: These motors are easy to work on - provided you remove them from the car. That's going to be your biggest obstacle. Some people have done HG's in the car successfully, but I don't think I would try it. Of course while the motors out, you can go to town on it, and get lots of other things done that would be hard to do in the engine bay. Don't forget to address whatever caused you to overheat in the first place. Also, any possible damage to the heads themselves. If you find a good, low cost source for a Turbo HG kit, please let me know. I'm in the market too, and have struck out. The discount stores charge in the $125.00 range for a set, which seems kinda high to me. good luck, John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skip Posted February 5, 2004 Share Posted February 5, 2004 I am always learning about these cars. Mark aka XSNRG just learned me a whole bunch, thank you. But I have never heard of an 87 GL-10 with a CARB??? to wit "since coolent is coming out of the carb" Yikes whats next a GL-10 with wind up windows?? John is spot on you may need a radiator - 100 kmi is about it, look at the bottom portion for fin delamination. On the HG "kit" see Brian the Tailgatewagon's post "What do you want out of me " he'll set ya up me bets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calebz Posted February 5, 2004 Share Posted February 5, 2004 Skippers right. An 87 GL-10 turbo with a carb would definitely be an oddity. The turbo cars are MPFI.. Provided that it really is a GL-10 turbo, there are a couple of things to look for . if there is coolant coming from around the Throttle body, it might be because of the little coolant hoses that run in and out of the base of the TB. they are kind of a pain to get to, and an even bigger pain to get fron the parts store(dealer only) I replaced mine with high pressure fuel line The best tool in your battle with the headgasket is going to to be a good repair manual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skip Posted February 5, 2004 Share Posted February 5, 2004 Me thinks I should answer his question rather than slaming on his description. to wit "How can I be sure its the head gskt?" Ther are many overt signs, a) loss of coolant (not via a leaking hose) bubbles in the radiator seen when the cap is off c) an oil slick on the coolant d) excessive pressure blowing coolant out of the overflow bottle e) milky oil f) exhaust vapor in excess, sometimes smelling sweet g) have a compression test looking for a low cylinder pressure h) have a coolant sytem leak down done. Leave the plugs out, if a cyl gasket is blown - you will know it - if you crank it over after the test. i) look at the spark plugs - often a blown head gasket will steam clean and rust a plug. I'm sure I missed some obvious ones, please help me out guys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soobydaddy Posted February 5, 2004 Author Share Posted February 5, 2004 I meant the throttle body....geeshh:-p One type-o and your outed for life lol. How can you trace down the orig problem? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skip Posted February 5, 2004 Share Posted February 5, 2004 Wait now wait, we collectively gave you over ten ways to check and correct, I wouldn't call this "outed for life " As for you asking again "How can you trace down the orig problem?" What problem> coolant out of the carb er er throttle body?? Directly out like a fountain? Like when you remove the intake plenum (Al part over the throttle body that has "Subaru Turbo " cast into it) it spews out ?? or weeping out the side as Caleb mentioned. Specific questions get specific answers, you help us - we help you. Kind of a nice arrangement when both side cooperate don't you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickOregon Posted February 5, 2004 Share Posted February 5, 2004 Hi SoobyDaddy, Sounds like you got a good deal on that '87 GL-10. I got a similar deal on same year/model a couple years ago, also because it had a "blown head gasket." So, I replaced the head gasket (with lots of good advice from Skip and the gang here..), and it still leaked. Turned out to be a very small crack in the head was the actual culprit. Even though the group here suggested I pressure test the system, I didn't do it... So, you asked what to look for when you do the job. Based on my experience I'd check carefully for cracks in whichever head has the leak. Make sure it's not cracked. Here's some pictures of the cyl head we had that had a hard-to-locate crack: http://home.centurytel.net/venice/SubLeakPath.html Once it was determined that the head was actually cracked, I bought rebuilt head from http://www.aluminumheads.com/Subaru.html -- a couple years ago they cost $150 with a $50 core charge. I've done the cylinder hear removal both ways - with the engine in the car and with the engine removed. If I were you, since you just got the car and it may need other items replaced, I'd pull the engine this time around. I agree with others - it's much easier to get at everything with the engine out. Have fun, take your time, and enjoy the project. This board is a great resource, and I learn something new everytime I visit. Kind regards, Rick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickOregon Posted February 5, 2004 Share Posted February 5, 2004 Hey SoobyDaddy, If it turns out you need to purchase a new cylinder head, here's a link to a thread I posted when I was doing the work on our '87 GL-10 a couple years ago and was looking for sources: http://home.centurytel.net/venice/cheapheads.html (Note: I searched for this thread on the USMB board, but couldn't find it. Maybe some of the threads from the old EZboard site didn't transfer over.) Hope this helps, Rick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesFox Posted February 5, 2004 Share Posted February 5, 2004 Originally posted by Skip But I have never heard of an 87 GL-10 with a CARB??? to wit "since coolent is coming out of the carb" Yikes whats next a GL-10 with wind up windows?? . Skip, i KNOW you know of trashwagon6, 87 turbo with a carb, but of course, it didnt come that way. it came with no motor!!! anyway we used gl10 sedan doors on a wagon, having to swap in crank windows into them. so now you have heard of both!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesFox Posted February 5, 2004 Share Posted February 5, 2004 just remember that cracks between tha valves are normal, even if they go down to the valve guides. cracks to watch out for would be ones in the exhaust port webbing, or in the coolant passage like in the pics above the throttle body sits on a gasket, it has water passages. describe how the car is running, from cold to warm, or if it gets hot at all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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