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Need Some Quick Advice on my 'new' 85 XT


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Hi Guys,

 

About a month ago, i scored a 1985 XT Turbo for a great price, in near-perfect shape visually, and it drove pretty damn good to boot...

 

Since im new to Ru's, I took it to a trusted Subaru-only mechanic to give it a good once-over.  I had noticed the temp had been reading too high for my comfort level, which was my main concern.

 

Long story short: he claimed he checked it w/a heat gun and that the sensor was likely bad or a thermostat issue.  Told me I was fine, flushed the tranny (which made me twitchy), put on a new set of belts & sent me on my way.

 

Couple weeks later, the rough starts begin.  Flooring it cleared it up, which seriously concerned me.  I sensed coolant was getting into the combustion and fouling it up.  A week later, I stalled in the road...

 

Brought it to another mechanic, he found the bad head after I traced a coolant leak & showed him.  I don't think the block is bad as he's quoting me on the head & labor (hopefully, still waiting on est.)

 

------------------   The Big Questions:   ---------------------

1.  How hard is it to change the head myself?

2.  Am I correct in my research that this model (front wheel drive turbo) sports the EA-82T?

3.  Is there a good source for parts you're aware of if they try to take me to the cleaners?

4.  Is there more that can be wrong after this & I may want to have a pro looking at it anyways?

5.  I found this, is this what I'm looking for? http://parts.subaru.com/p/Subaru_1985_XTGL10-TURBO/HEAD-ASSEMBLY-CYLINDER-------------------92----B/49223305/11039AA780.html

 

Thanks to all for reading and for any potential advice you have to offer.  I will be a regular here if I can keep this thing running tip-top without draining the bank account...

post-54282-0-66461700-1406140421_thumb.jpg

post-54282-0-68205100-1406140436_thumb.jpg

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That car is super fly! Was the head actually cracked or could it just be a head gasket? Keep in mind if you change the head, you will have to reseal from at least that point out which can run you some more $$$ in gaskets. As birdmobile said, pulling the engine is required(or at least super helpful), which isn't super hard and there is allot of support and "how too's" available, but will take a good chunk of time. You'll save allot of money on labor though!

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do you guys have and know about the little black blocks , sold here as sealwel? Sourced from the USA ,about a half inch square, inch long, smells soapy, break it up and shove it in the cooling system and run engine at operating temp. If is going to work and be quite a perment seal of coolant into other chambers, will do so in 15 to 20 mins.

 

I had a suspected HG, so, both  off and serviced, new genuine HG's and still had a steam engine. A chat with machine shop resulted in one of the miracle blocks, instructions to drive above normal op temp - nearly 60,000km or more ago. Suspect it was the turbo leaking.

 

A most recent case of buttermilk in an AWD E4AT turbo XT found a new lease on life just two weeks ago. No more tears for a while at least :)

 

 

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/SEALWEL-COOLING-SYSTEM-SEALER-CLEANER-SEALS-RADIATORS-HEADS-GASKETS-28xCUBES-/291187997179?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item43cc2839fb

 

and get yourself one of these lifesavers

http://enginewatchdog.com/tm2.html

 

You get used to seeing what temps engine works in, in traffic, up hills, cruising, different seasons. I noticed mine was 5 C warmer and found I'd lost half a litre of coolant - that was the turbo above I think, just starting to lose water. Saved the engine

Edited by jono
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That car is somehow so fugly but equally appealing at the same time that I would have probably bought it too. There is something awesome about it.

.

This. X1000.

 

Pretty much how I feel about all of Subaru's mid-80's vehicles... boxy, lame retro-futuristic styling that goes with big hair, cheesy synth music, and spandex... mission to mars cockpits that try to be futuristic but fail it completely. Artifacts from an age of boundless, yet baseless optimism.

I love it - can't get enough! :D

.

.

Edited by BirdMobile
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Thanks for all the info and appreciation of this 'so ugly it's beautiful' car.  I feel the same way, it's my throwback to Knight Rider that turns all the kid's heads here in Cali.  I've now caught 3 people taking pics of it in a 3 weeks, mostly due to it's impeccable condition.

 

About the head:  Yes, it's cracked (as least the mechanic claims).  I found a coollant leak I couldn't trace, but it lead to the head.

 

I've never gotten so far to drop an engine; only a tranny.  Got the mechanical skill to change most anything that doesn't require a cherry picker or special expensive proprietary tools.

 

From what I'm hearing, I think I'd be better off biting the bullet and paying someone with experience.  This car is too rare to go codswalloping up playing shade-tree mechanic...  I'm a computer guy anyways.

 

Again, thanks for the great info.  Once I get her back, I'll give everyone an update.  I'll tell you this, when the head was still OK, the thing FLEW...Not much could catch me at a light after the 'crosswalk' turbo kicks in ;)

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do you guys have and know about the little black blocks , sold here as sealwel? Sourced from the USA ,about a half inch square, inch long, smells soapy, break it up and shove it in the cooling system and run engine at operating temp. If is going to work and be quite a perment seal of coolant into other chambers, will do so in 15 to 20 mins.

 

I had a suspected HG, so, both  off and serviced, new genuine HG's and still had a steam engine. A chat with machine shop resulted in one of the miracle blocks, instructions to drive above normal op temp - nearly 60,000km or more ago. Suspect it was the turbo leaking.

 

A most recent case of buttermilk in an AWD E4AT turbo XT found a new lease on life just two weeks ago. No more tears for a while at least :)

 

 

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/SEALWEL-COOLING-SYSTEM-SEALER-CLEANER-SEALS-RADIATORS-HEADS-GASKETS-28xCUBES-/291187997179?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item43cc2839fb

 

and get yourself one of these lifesavers

http://enginewatchdog.com/tm2.html

 

You get used to seeing what temps engine works in, in traffic, up hills, cruising, different seasons. I noticed mine was 5 C warmer and found I'd lost half a litre of coolant - that was the turbo above I think, just starting to lose water. Saved the engine

Sounds too good to be true...  anyone else have the guts to dump this in the radiator and say a prayer?

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I did one of those radiator additives when I realized I had a compression leak in my head gasket. K-Seal, I think. Surprisingly, it worked... for about a week. Same problem developed again, and I decided at that point to tear down the engine.

It's probably worth a try.

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I wouldn't use any sort of "stop leak" type stuff. Nothing like having it clog up the radiator, the heater core and part of the block. I've seen it before on a few different Subaru engines, one being an old EA82T that I tore down. Find a good set of heads and do the work yourself. It is time consuming but it'll be cheaper for you to do it then to pay a shop to fix it. Do it right and it will last another 30 years!

 

Oh and I love my XT. The looks I get, the people who randomly come up to me and start asking me about it, random people taking pictures of it on the street in front of the shop and so on. But I have the 2.7...

Picture for posterity!

20140611_191844_zpsenpddq3i.jpg

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Fix it proper is best. I am a convert, not to any engine leak fixer - just the little black block :) Can't wait to find a buttermilk bargain and try it again :)

 

By proper fix I mean don't let your mechanic skimp coz he wants to keep repair bill as cheap as he quoted. An EA82T this age - age, not the number of low miles - may need new metal hoses to and from turbo, banjo bolts on turbo, banjo bolt into underside of turbo side head for coolant to/from turbo.

 

A new oil resistant 5/8" ? hose about 120mm long for the turbo oil drain back. I have used silicone 1/2" hose with Gates hose bender coil for longevity over genuine rubber coolant hose from head to turbo underneath. The inlet manifold has a few cooant passage gaskets at the back water transfer that could do with replacement to be on safe side - so too the few tiny freeze/welch plugs at the back of it once water transfer is off. Ask to see all the coolant hose connection points to ensure corrosion is not set in - best time to replace !

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  • 4 months later...

Hi everyone,

 

I forgot to mention that I really appreciated all the advice you gave & took it to heart.  Finding out I have a kid on the way basically destroyed any dream I had of rebuilding it.  I put it on Ebay for 1900 if anyone is interested.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/111544339147

 

Thanks again for all the advice.

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