ianwagwrex Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 Alright, so I'm buying a '90 Loyale turbo all time AWD wagon that the guy says needs headgaskets, I figure since he only wants $400 for the car it would be a fun first sooby project car so this so0b n0ob could get his feet wet a bit. Here are my questions: The car has a little over 184K miles on it, has been sitting for 2.5 years and the guy says it was leaking coolant out of the heads when it was parked. What am I getting myself into here? Just a blown gasket or possibly cracked head? If I do yank the motor and comb through it will it last me for a good while longer? Will I have to port/polish the heads, what does that run? And are there any special tools I need to pull the heads/gaskets? Thanks so much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quidam Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 Alright, so I'm buying a '90 Loyale turbo all time AWD wagon that the guy says needs headgaskets, I figure since he only wants $400 for the car it would be a fun first sooby project car so this so0b n0ob could get his feet wet a bit. Here are my questions: The car has a little over 184K miles on it, has been sitting for 2.5 years and the guy says it was leaking coolant out of the heads when it was parked. What am I getting myself into here? Just a blown gasket or possibly cracked head? If I do yank the motor and comb through it will it last me for a good while longer? Will I have to port/polish the heads, what does that run? And are there any special tools I need to pull the heads/gaskets? Thanks so much! Just some thoughts from reading your post. That many miles on any turbo Subaru is a lot of miles. I don't think this is a good first project to dive into. You may need to replace the whole motor. If this is your first auto project, I'd advise you pass on this one. Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianwagwrex Posted November 29, 2011 Author Share Posted November 29, 2011 So the motor probably doesn't have a whole lot of life left? I talked to the guy and he said that it was his elderly dad who bought brand new from the show room. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesFox Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 I say you will be good to go. It is fairly simple. it would be a good learning experience. YOu can repair this engien for within $250 in parts. Not too bad considering you are getting the car for 400 bucks. others will tell you that the ea82t is a headache. others will tell you that you should swap an ej. I will tell you that a 400 dollar car is not that bad a deal to try and bring it back to life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john in KY Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 Had the same car a few years ago. Sold it with 250K on it and it was still running great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbone Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 If its been sitting for a couple of years with bad hg's, theres a good chance theres water in the crankcase and/or cylinders. Check the dipstick and if its overfilled theres water in the oil pan. Pull the plugs out and turn it over by hand. If water comes out you know its not good. Coolant will eat the cylinder walls and coolant in the pan will eat the bearings. Been there, done that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianwagwrex Posted November 30, 2011 Author Share Posted November 30, 2011 If its been sitting for a couple of years with bad hg's, theres a good chance theres water in the crankcase and/or cylinders. Check the dipstick and if its overfilled theres water in the oil pan. Pull the plugs out and turn it over by hand. If water comes out you know its not good. Coolant will eat the cylinder walls and coolant in the pan will eat the bearings.Been there, done that When I go and look at it besides pulling the plugs, is there anyway I can diagnose if there is water in the motor, just by looking at it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 Pass. As others have said it will be a mess inside. 95% chance you will have to rebuild/replace the entire engine. Leaking coolant externally sounds like exhaust port coolant jacket cracking so the heads are big paper weights - coolant will destroy the cylinder liners sitting for years like that so you would be looking at a new block, new heads, etc. And you would never get your $400 back. Go spend your $400 on a first generation Legacy. 20 more HP and no ancient turbo-charged mess to deal with. Last Legacy I bought needed a timing belt job and radiator and cost $550. GD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caboobaroo Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 Unless you plan to part it out, I wouldn't worry about fixing it. After its been sitting for over 2 years, it will need more work then just the engine. All the fluids will need to he changed, the radiator might be rotted out on the bottom, the fuel tank will need to either be replaced or removed and cleaned, the fuel lines will need to be cleaned out..... I've been down that road. Not worth the trouble but that's my opinion. You'll end up spending way more then you originally anticipated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quidam Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 (edited) So the motor probably doesn't have a whole lot of life left? I talked to the guy and he said that it was his elderly dad who bought brand new from the show room. The history does make a difference. It's still a turbo car tho. You may need every seal, gasket, hose and belt replaced. Timing belt kit, thermostat, water pump, fuel filter, pcv valve...possibly a fuel pump too. Pull the injecters and have them cleaned, tested and replaced if necessary. Don't skip this step! A turbo motor with dirty, clogged injecters will cause you grief. Believe it. And that could be a short list. I just see too many young people get burnt with turbo cars. I know of one right now who is having problems with a Dodge. Poor knowledge, lack of maintenance, and not enough money to even put synthetic oil in it. Not a good combination. Forget the port and polish, it's a station wagon? It's not a race car. The turbo was put on these for the extra grunt for the weight it has to drag around. The heads may very well be cracked and unusable. Or they may be cracked and usable. Won't know untill inspection on that. Still, it could work out for you. Doug Edit: If you can, do a cranking compression test. 145 psi is the standard for that car and depending on what you get, it may need rings. The turbo puts way more pressure on them than a N/A motor has on it...and a lot more than 145 psi. Edited November 30, 2011 by Quidam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianwagwrex Posted November 30, 2011 Author Share Posted November 30, 2011 Dang, I'm sure glad I didn't just jump into buying it. I'll have to go and inspect it pretty well, but at this point i'm kinda leaning towards waiting for another wag. to come around. Thank you guys for all your help, you've saved me $$ for sure. And I think its official, this is my favorite soob forum. I probably would have gotten booed out of NASIOC for asking this lol Thanks again for puttin up with this newb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AKghandi Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 (edited) I say you will be good to go. It is fairly simple. it would be a good learning experience. YOu can repair this engien for within $250 in parts. Not too bad considering you are getting the car for 400 bucks. others will tell you that the ea82t is a headache. others will tell you that you should swap an ej. I will tell you that a 400 dollar car is not that bad a deal to try and bring it back to life. i bought my 87gl-10 ea82t for $500. i had and still have drivetrain work to do but the motor is perfect. it has 241k miles. its a beast. pullin explorers out of ditches and drifting everywhere. its worth the blood sweat and money.(no tears with these. they never die!) but where i am there are 5 soobs to every 18 yr old lol.. and i believe you can take the turbo parts and put them on a n/a block. with the turbo cams... i could be wrong tho. Edited November 30, 2011 by AKghandi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesFox Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 I would have done it. But then agian i am experienced with these cars, and i have a spare motor:). But at least in your geography there is enough to pick and chose from. I would have taken the car as it would have been the only one ever available in my area. good luck with fnding the right soob. don't be discouraged:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianwagwrex Posted November 30, 2011 Author Share Posted November 30, 2011 Just found a pair of 90 legacy wagons with about 166k miles on each ones a parts car, and the other runs with some timing issues and the guy only wants $500 for the pair! Thats the EJ22 motor, right? I'm thinking its a pretty sweet deal, what do you guys think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redcap Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 Just found a pair of 90 legacy wagons with about 166k miles on each ones a parts car, and the other runs with some timing issues and the guy only wants $500 for the pair! Thats the EJ22 motor, right? I'm thinking its a pretty sweet deal, what do you guys think? Good deal! Make one decent car and part the other carcass out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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