Noobie Subie

[busdriver]

Hi all, New to this forum. Excited and proud to be a subie owner again. OK, I picked up a somewhat cherry 87 gl-10 Turbo, 4wd, 5 speed. I test her and everything does what it's supposed to. But there is a funny vibration/ grindy feeling when the turbo kicks in. the car accelerates okay, it almost feelings like a drive line or something. Very strange. Anyways, she's got 135,000 on the clock, new engine at 77k. New clutch at 96k. She may have been sitting for awhile on the lot. I added some fresh fuel (92) and going to put in some new NGK's. Any help, on this would be great appreciated. BTW, are these turbo'd subies as dependable as the non-turbo models. I've had wonderful luck so far with subarus.

[subiewonkenobi]

Welcome to the board! Can't answer your question on the turbo noise, but I can tell you that the early turbo (older than '90) are not as reliable as the non-turbo models. Blown headgaskets being the most common problem, and sometimes warped heads. Good luck with your new car!

[busdriver]

Welcome to the board! Can't answer your question on the turbo noise, but I can tell you that the early turbo (older than '90) are not as reliable as the non-turbo models. Blown headgaskets being the most common problem, and sometimes warped heads. Good luck with your new car!

Thanks for the help, I don't plan on driving her hard, I need her to last for awhile. My other subies have always taken a brutal pounding. so hopefully if I'm nice, she'll be nice as well.

[thealleyboy]

BD:

The vibration you describe may be unrelated to the turbo system. Try revving while in "P" or "N", and see if the noise is still present.

Technically, the turbo motors are probably just as reliable as non turbos. Problem is that it's hard to keep a turbo vehicle within Normal Operating Conditions. Not only is it tempting to run them harder, but the turbo's run alot hotter. Under these harsh conditions, your margin of error is much lower than with a run-of-the-mill EA82.

All of the turbo motors I've had have shown (at least) some signs of gasket failure, cracks, or outright warpage. The presence of cracks is probably "normal", but long-term reliability is still debatable once you have them.

My best advice: go overboard to keep your cooling system in A-1 condition. Unless your rad is relatively new, replace it now. Also, replace all hoses, t-stat, rad cap etc. Do your coolant flush once a year, always backflush.

To a lesser extent, be careful with oil - especially if you have any leaks lose some out the tailpipe. A super hot motor low on oil will overheat too, and can warp those aluminum heads. No matter what your philosophy on oil changes, remember that a turbo is always gonna run under "extreme conditions", so the normal intervals do not apply.

good luck, John

[NorthWet]

...but I can tell you that the early turbo (older than '90) are not as reliable as the non-turbo models. Blown headgaskets being the most common problem, and sometimes warped heads...

Well, I don't think that they are really less reliable, just pretty intolerant of cooling problems. (BIG surprise!)

 

The three things that you have to remember are:

1) Cooling

2) Cooling

3) Cooling

 

Well, and good clean oil, too.

 

If you don't already have a 2-row radiator then think of getting one. A broken rubber coolant hose can really ruin your month, so check them out. The hoses that run coolant to/from the turbo center section experiences REALLY high temperatures (I can hear water boiling off in mine after shutdown, even after waiting a minute for spool-down/cool-down. From what I hear, these hoses are supposed to be special silicone hoses; my used car came with regular heater-type hose, which crumbled on my wife and took the engine with it. A couple other hoses need close looking at, as they are hard to service and often leak, like the one that runs under the intake manifold. Check your hoses!

[maximumBRAT]

Also, replace all hoses, t-stat, rad cap etc. Do your coolant flush once a year, always backflush.To a lesser extent, be careful with oil - especially if you have any leaks lose some out the tailpipe.

You heard the man... hoses and junk replaced every year-year and a half on my turbo RX, never had any problems. if you don't replace them ,the heat/cooling makes them hard, start to crack, and thousands of dollars later, you'll have wished you prevented it.