92_rugby_subie Posted July 15, 2010 Share Posted July 15, 2010 Unsure if this is just the HG. Heres the ad: 1988 Subaru GL-10 AWD This wagon has a blown head gasket but is extremely straight and has great interior with a working power sunroof. It also has an automatic transmission and it is full time 4 wheel drive. It has 179,360 miles on it and is the turbo model. My wife was driving it one day and I got a call that the car had lost power so she brought it home. When I checked it out, I noticed white smoke pouring out of the exhaust and it didn't have very good compression. It hasnt been messed with since. I did try to start it but couldn't get it to start. I'm looking to get $250 firm and I may even have an extra set of tires for it. I really want this subaru... SOOO.... If its a good deal for the price, I will do it, cuz I have some experience with Subies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted July 15, 2010 Share Posted July 15, 2010 throw some new headgaskets on it and you're golden. the turbo's tend to crack the heads - check for cracks in the exhaust ports, cracks between valves don't mean much. more info on that here. slight chance it's only an intake manifold gasket leak since they like to do that as well, but the turbo's tend to blow headgaskets fairly easily so don't count on it. use the Fel-Pro permatorque heads and add 5-10 pounds to the final torque sequence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
92_rugby_subie Posted July 15, 2010 Author Share Posted July 15, 2010 Thanks so much Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
92_rugby_subie Posted July 15, 2010 Author Share Posted July 15, 2010 Any idea what the cause of it not starting all the sudden would be? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLoyale Posted July 15, 2010 Share Posted July 15, 2010 Are you getting spark? Maybe change the fuel filter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
92_rugby_subie Posted July 15, 2010 Author Share Posted July 15, 2010 Are you getting spark? Maybe change the fuel filter. I havent bought the car yet, I plan to in the next week, but I just wanna make sure that Im not looking at replacing an engine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLoyale Posted July 15, 2010 Share Posted July 15, 2010 I wouldn't worrie about replacing the engine, The EA82 is a pretty roboust engine and will stand the test of time, Sure the EA82T has issues with Heads cracking due to the boost pressures - but if you keep the boost low and keep your eye on the temp it'll be a hapy engine. Possibilities why its not firing: Coil failed, doubt that. Cap and Rotor failed, Possible. IGN Fuse blew, Maybe. Driver Side Timing belt broke, Since the Driver side timing belt also runs the Distributor - if that belt broke you'd have no ignition spark. And that could be a very possiable cause to not starting. Hope some of this helps -Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twitch de la Brat Posted July 15, 2010 Share Posted July 15, 2010 It may be the spark plugs are getting fouled out by the quantity of coolant being sucked into the cylinders. Also, the lack of compression on 2 or more cylinders would cause it not to run. Could just be trying to push air in an open cylinder. When you get the car, try giving it extra gas when starting, it may allow the car to run for a little bit. I know most Subaru engines can run on two cylinders, if given enough gas. Both my EA81 and EJ22 have run on two, but I've never dealt with an EA82T, so your experience may be different. Twitch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted July 15, 2010 Share Posted July 15, 2010 if the headgaskets are blown that could be causing the no spark. if it's been sitting forever - then battery, bad gas, bad plugs, bad cap/rotor, mouse nest in the intake - sometimes they crank right up but any car that's sat for awhile needs cleaned up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted July 17, 2010 Share Posted July 17, 2010 Sounds like junk to me. Nothing but hassle with that engine. Pass. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qman Posted July 17, 2010 Share Posted July 17, 2010 Sounds like junk to me. Nothing but hassle with that engine. Pass. GD Should I throw away my 86 GL-10 turbo with 244K on the original engine then? Rediculous..... again I am about to delete every "I hate the EA82" posts/responses. It may not even be the head gaskets. It may just be a broken timing belt. For $250 it would be a good deal even if you have to replace a head. The 88 will have gen3 heads least likely to crack of all the generations of heads. Cracking is OK, but, seperation is not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted July 17, 2010 Share Posted July 17, 2010 All EA82T-hating aside..... I thought that the Gen-3 heads were only availible post-production or possibly on the somewhat rare 1990 Loyale Turbo's..... I've never seen a straight answer as to which years came with which heads. I still say it's not really worth the trouble - it doesn't start, and when it does it doesn't run right and it's not particularly low mileage. Besides haveing a straight EA82 vintage body...... I'm not seeing where the $250 value comes in. Best case you are looking at fixing a broken timing belt..... worst case the heads are cracked to oblivion. Trust me - with used car's it's buyer beware and people do the most unbelievable things to cars - especially when your average Woman has been driving them and they are already old and frail Case in point - I just bought a '97 Legacy - EJ22 with only 147k on it. Head gasket was blown and they band-aided it by gutting the thermostat. Now that's not an easy engine to blow head gaskets on in the first place let alone at that relatively low mileage...... I'm just saying I don't think it's worth the price being asked. I've bought running, driving EA82's for $100 - several times. The EA82T aspect of the deal frankly doesn't help it's value either. If anything it's a such a double-edged sword of an engine that it doesn't do anything at all to the value. Slightly better power at dramatically reduced reliability and higher maintenance costs. The last first-gen Legacy I bought came with a 2" thick stack of receipts from the dealer and I drove it home for $250. It had a bad injector and needed a wheel bearing. But I could see it run, knew the codes, had the papers, etc. I just don't see any EA82 being worth more than a Legacy at this late stage of the game. They are tired, troublesome cars by comparison to what can be had for the same money in a Legacy. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qman Posted July 17, 2010 Share Posted July 17, 2010 That is your opinion. Just because you get them cheap does not mean others do. Just because you tell everyone that they suck does not mean they do. Abuse is abuse. Legacy, Loyale, GL doesn't mean crap. Each vehicle is unique as to needs and requirements for repair. People making blanket statements is simply ignorant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted July 17, 2010 Share Posted July 17, 2010 (edited) People making blanket statements is simply ignorant. I agree to a point - but what do I have to give other than opinions and experiences? If I'm not mistaken that is what the OP asked for regarding his potential purchase. According to the OP's location he's about 15 minutes from me. So he is fully capable of responding to the same craigslists ads that I have found. These deals are availible to anyone with the patience to wait for them. 180k is a lot of miles. Other than blanket statements I can say that I regularly see EA82/T's in the condition described (doesn't run, etc - but we swear it's an easy fix! ) on craigslist around here for about that same price. They get listed over and over and over again because people simply aren't buying them. That says a lot to me about their value on the market. I can say that if I were to buy that car for the price being asked and the obvious unknowns with regard to it's "problems" I would have to figure at a minimum of $750 parts and (my) labor (worst case) to get it mechanically straight - cooling system overhaul and timing belt/WP kit for sure - plus probably heads and such. So you are looking at a high likelyhood of having $1000 into the car just to start driving it. I can find lower mileage, perfectly running examples for that much money - probably several a week on craigslist around here. That is not a good investment IMO as the unknown variables are just too many. I would rather just pay the $1k for one without the problems and then do any work in a premptive fasion. I buy and sell cars quite a bit and that's how I see it. I'm being totally honest about it without any prejudice toward the EA82/T specifically - it's just an old car with high mileage and unknown, possibly severe, mechanicaly problems. I would say the same about anything of similar vintage/condition. GD Edited July 17, 2010 by GeneralDisorder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLoyale Posted July 17, 2010 Share Posted July 17, 2010 GD, just to give you a stright answer to the Gen-3 heads. No, the gen 3 heads were also on Loyales (Wagons, Sedans) MilesFox has a set of Gen-3 EA82 heads in his garage that he showed me. -Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qman Posted July 19, 2010 Share Posted July 19, 2010 I agree to a point - but what do I have to give other than opinions and experiences? If I'm not mistaken that is what the OP asked for regarding his potential purchase. According to the OP's location he's about 15 minutes from me. So he is fully capable of responding to the same craigslists ads that I have found. These deals are availible to anyone with the patience to wait for them. 180k is a lot of miles. Other than blanket statements I can say that I regularly see EA82/T's in the condition described (doesn't run, etc - but we swear it's an easy fix! ) on craigslist around here for about that same price. They get listed over and over and over again because people simply aren't buying them. That says a lot to me about their value on the market. I can say that if I were to buy that car for the price being asked and the obvious unknowns with regard to it's "problems" I would have to figure at a minimum of $750 parts and (my) labor (worst case) to get it mechanically straight - cooling system overhaul and timing belt/WP kit for sure - plus probably heads and such. So you are looking at a high likelyhood of having $1000 into the car just to start driving it. I can find lower mileage, perfectly running examples for that much money - probably several a week on craigslist around here. That is not a good investment IMO as the unknown variables are just too many. I would rather just pay the $1k for one without the problems and then do any work in a premptive fasion. I buy and sell cars quite a bit and that's how I see it. I'm being totally honest about it without any prejudice toward the EA82/T specifically - it's just an old car with high mileage and unknown, possibly severe, mechanicaly problems. I would say the same about anything of similar vintage/condition. GD So, what you're saying is that you would rather buy a $1000.00 car and repair things as they break than to buy a $250.00 car and put $750.00 into it and know what is right/wrong with it. Now, that makes perfect sense... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yo'J Posted July 19, 2010 Share Posted July 19, 2010 I'd expect the worst case scenario on the motor, but thats my luck it seems:rolleyes:. Just north a little, here, I could see buying it to sit on, till one got a lift, ej and kit, d/r trans,and whatever mods one deemed necessary for the end game plan, BUT, if you are gonna drive it stock, its gonna take some cash and there might be better options out there with less work. There are a lot of cars on the road right now and a lot of them are subies. What would your plan be for the car? Do you have a truck load of parts kicking around with a shop to work out of? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted July 19, 2010 Share Posted July 19, 2010 (edited) So, what you're saying is that you would rather buy a $1000.00 car and repair things as they break..... No - what I said was that I would rather buy one for $1000 that has reccords and runs/drives and then do preventative maintenance - I don't wait for things to break - I inspect and repair as needed to insure I don't get stranded somewhere. The whole problem is that he does NOT know what's wrong with the car. All he has is speculation from the current owner who is not willing to fix it. With something that runs and drives you are at less of a disadvantage. Sure - it could be something simple like a coolant hose. But then it could easily be something severe. He says head gaskets - that's the same diagnosis that was given on my '91 SS when it was bought by the member I got it from - turned out the engine was completely shot. Cylinder liner melted, tons of metal in the oil pan..... etc. That was a costly mistake to buy the car - he figured at $1500 for the car he would be down the road for $2k. Turned out to be much closer to $4k after buying a replacement engine, turbo, radiator, heater core, etc etc. Just got a friend into a low mileage '90 Legacy from a little old lady. $1k and there's nothing wrong with it. I'll be doing a timing belt/WP as her funds are availible, etc. THAT is the kind of deal I'm refering to. Could something go horribly wrong? Sure it could. But the likelyhood is small. With a $250 car that doesn't run or drive - skys the limit as to what kind of time/money that's going to eat up. Too much gamble. GD Edited July 19, 2010 by GeneralDisorder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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