What happened? (Shifter linkage, U-joint, ?)

[subinubi]

Went to check out a sweet GL 10 turbo wagon, with a little 2" spacer lift and mud tires all ready to go. Problem is, it "broke on him on the freeway" and made a loud grindy noise without the clutch pedal pushed in.

So I go see if I can immediately diagnose the issue- but come out more puzzled.. The driveshaft came out at the U joints and possibly marred the yoke, and there was obviously oil leaking out of the driveshaft. Should've looked more to see if the casing had been busted from the driveshaft but forgot to. Anyhow, I get inside and it's all clean- the AWD edition with rear diff lock. The shifter is ALL slop, no findable gear- leaving me to think catastrophic transmission failure.

Any wise words? Run away? Or grab it for $500 and put some time and money in?

I'll see if I can get more pictures later.

[DaveT]

If you can do your own repairs, and it's not your daily driver, and you want a project, ok.

 

EA82 turbos are difficult.  Some parts are no longer available.

 

I don't do turbos.  I bought a rust free wagon from a guy in CA, had it shipped here, CT.   Needed head gaskets, and then I  swapped the transmission a year later.   None of that bothered me.  But I have spare parts.  Here rust free is rare.  

[subinubi]

If you can do your own repairs, and it's not your daily driver, and you want a project, ok.

 

EA82 turbos are difficult.  Some parts are no longer available.

 

I don't do turbos.  I bought a rust free wagon from a guy in CA, had it shipped here, CT.   Needed head gaskets, and then I  swapped the transmission a year later.   None of that bothered me.  But I have spare parts.  Here rust free is rare.  

Yes I can do my own repairs. I figured the turbos make it a bit difficult for everything.

Is there a chance however it could just be shifter linkage?

[idosubaru]

Sounds like a ujoint busted and the drievshaft slid backwards (during the incident, during towing, or maybe someone already diagnosed it) letting oil out of the transmission which they always do if you pull the shaft out.

 

If towed or pulled up a hill after the failure (unlikely it blew up where its currently sitting) that will cause tons f oil to run out.

 

Speaking of towed - was it towed with 2 wheels on the ground and how far?

 

A failed and flopping shaft can cause damage to the trans extension housing. On later manuals and autos you can replace just the extension housing alone without dropping the transmission. Theyre pulled all the time for center diff repairs. But I’m not sure you can do that with EA MTs as well? If so it would be an easy enough repair and you’d have a chance of no damage as well.

 

Sloppy shifter - I wouldn’t worry much about. presumably it drove fine before this failure event so that’s a good sign. ask the seller how it drove. You can replace the shifter bushings.

Edited November 6, 2017 by idosubaru

[subinubi]

Sounds

like a ujoint busted and the drievshaft slid backwards (during the

incident, during towing, or maybe someone already diagnosed it) letting

oil out of the transmission which they always do if you pull the shaft

out.

 

If towed or pulled up a hill after the failure (unlikely it

blew up where its currently sitting) that will cause tons f oil to run

out.

 

Speaking of towed - was it towed with 2 wheels on the ground and how far?

 

A

failed and flopping shaft can cause damage to the trans extension

housing. On later manuals and autos you can replace just the extension

housing alone without dropping the transmission. Theyre pulled all the

time for center diff repairs. But I’m not sure you can do that with EA

MTs as well? If so it would be an easy enough repair and you’d have a

chance of no damage as well.

 

Sloppy shifter - I wouldn’t worry

much about. presumably it drove fine before this failure event so that’s

a good sign. ask the seller how it drove. You can replace the shifter

bushings.

 

 

Not sure how it was towed- I'm hoping flatbed. I know the driveshaft was leaking tons of oil, but not sure if case is fucked. That's my main fear, considering the shifter isn't just sloppy, it's literally unusable with none of the shifter gates in line (AKA I could move the shifter in circles, no distinct gear selected). So I was thinking something could've broken in the transmission, binded it up, and somehow broke the linkage? I'm assuming these MT's are internal linkage.

Side question- are these AWD models with rear diff locks desirable? There's also a dual range wagon on craigslist which is running AND driving... So that's tempting

Edited November 8, 2017 by subinubi

[Dee2]

 

... Or grab it for $500 and put some time and money in?

 

I don't see this car worth $500 with all those problems.  If you decide to do this project, i would offer substantially less.  I would start with offering to haul it away at no cost to the owner,

[DaveT]

Yes I can do my own repairs. I figured the turbos make it a bit difficult for everything.

Is there a chance however it could just be shifter linkage?

Who does the repairs makes a big difference in the economics of running one of these older models.  Correct, turbos add problems, including additional NLA parts.. Turbo EA82s seem to have more problems with cracked heads and cooling system troubles.  I'm also thinking that it's pretty likely that the engine will need a reseal if it hasn't had one.

I haven't worked on any of these with a standard shift transmission, so I am unfamiliar with diagnosing them.

 

 

[subinubi]

Who does the repairs makes a big difference in the economics of running one of these older models.  Correct, turbos add problems, including additional NLA parts.. Turbo EA82s seem to have more problems with cracked heads and cooling system troubles.  I'm also thinking that it's pretty likely that the engine will need a reseal if it hasn't had one.

I haven't worked on any of these with a standard shift transmission, so I am unfamiliar with diagnosing them.

 

 

Thanks for the heads up. Yea I'll be steering clear of this one, thanks.