Turbo brat with head gasket issue

[Born_a_Brat]

I found an 87 turbo Brat. A mechanic friend tells me an older turbo Suburu with a head gasket leak (this one has water out the tail pipe but not in the oil yet) can be a real problem. He says all the turbos blow their gaskets when they get hot, and almost all of them crack the heads. Is this true? I want to purchase this Brat...but not if i will have to install a non-turbo engine. How tough is it to install a newer turbo, or at least a higher horsepower fuel injected motor?

[SuperBrat]

I found an 87 turbo Brat. A mechanic friend tells me an older turbo Suburu with a head gasket leak (this one has water out the tail pipe but not in the oil yet) can be a real problem. He says all the turbos blow their gaskets when they get hot, and almost all of them crack the heads. Is this true? I want to purchase this Brat...but not if i will have to install a non-turbo engine. How tough is it to install a newer turbo, or at least a higher horsepower fuel injected motor?

 

They only made turbo brats in 83-84, is it a automatic? Yes on the head gaskets, yes on the heads, open your wallet to keep them on the road..::-\

[GeneralDisorder]

Not entirely true. The EA81T is much better than the later EA82T. They generally do NOT crack heads like the later models, and frankly they generally don't blow HG's either - especially if the recall has been done that changed them to water cooled turbo's instead of the orginal oil cooled units.

 

If it's just blowing out the tailpipe and not in the oil, then it's very possible that it just needs new manifold gaskets, which is about a 2 hour job, and the gaskets are $3 each from the dealer. It's a common failure, especially if they were replaced with non-OEM intake gaskets in the past, or not torqued properly (12 ft/lbs) or both.

 

The automatic transmissions (all EA81T's were originally auto's) are widely considered to be junk, and generally failed long before the engine. Still they can attain 200k or more if properly maintained, and not overheated or used to tow heavy loads.

 

And yes - *somthing* is fishy with the 1987 part. Either the engine isn't original, it's not a turbo, or that's the wrong year. 83/84 only.

 

GD

[Jellef]

my turbo brat is leaking oil pretty bad and it overheats when i push it hard. Dose this sound like a HG problem?

[GeneralDisorder]

You should start a new post - you'll get better response.

 

When you do - tell us where the oil is comming from. The stock turbo is oil cooled, so if it's leaking there you may not be getting sufficient oil flow through the turbo.

 

GD

[Born_a_Brat]

I was mis-remembering...it IS an 84. The guy claims no rust, good body, pretty good interior. It's an automatic with Air that may or may not be working. What is this worth?

[GeneralDisorder]

If it's nice - depending on condition - anywhere between about $2,000 and $8,000.

 

GD