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found a ea81 turbo need advice asap


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first off, i know nothing about turbos.i found a 83 turbo wagon (complete) at a junkyard this weekend w/ only 120k on it! the guy wants $500 for the engine w/ manifold, fi, turbo and everything. we don't know whats wrong w/ the car. here are some questions, just to start, i'm sure it will bring up a dozen more. oh, and getting the whole car is not an option. he wants too much and the body ia not in the condition that i want.

 

1.) what's it worth/how much would you pay? it's lower milage than i've ever seen, but we don't know what's wrong. i've got no problem rebuilding it, and i could probobly get him to include the harness. oh, and they pull it, not me.

 

2.) how big a pain in the rump roast do you figure to put it in my '80 hatch. it's probobly more than i've taken on before, but hey, it's a challenge. what are the biggest obsticles?

 

3.) are these engines worth the hassle? my mechanic friend sais ea81Ts are pure crap. what are the downsides? (what goes wrong with them) what are the benefits?

 

4.) the engine looked clean. and had no obvious cracks, what should i look for to make an educated guess as to wether or not it's good?

 

edit :

5.) would i be better off just getting the turbo and fi junk and putting it on the ea81 i already have? i was under the impression that there were some differences w/ the heads as well.

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IMO they should sell you the whole car for that price. A friend of mine has one for sale. He wants $200.00 For the whole car. It has around 129K. Who's your mechanic. I have had nothing but good luck with the EA81T's. Yes they are finicky but they run out well.

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#1. 500 bucks is a pretty decent price for an EA81t. I would look for an engine harness and under dash harness out of a turbo coupe because it will just slide right in where the wagon harness I think needs some modifying (not sure).

 

#2. It should all bolt into your hatch if I'm not mistaken. May take some finesse but it should all bolt in.

 

#3. I've been told by a few people that these are kind of a desirable motor but you might want more opinions on that one.

 

#4. Check the valve covers for any signs of oil leaks and the oil pan too. Check the dipstick to see if it has any coolant in the oil (it will look like chocolate milk) and vise versa (oil floating on top of coolant when the radiator cap is removed)

 

hope that answered you questions. #4 basically goes for any engine you're looking at whenever you're buying a full car or just the motor. Hope you have fun with it cause its gonna be one fast hatchback:headbang:

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If the engine doesnt run, then I wouldnt buy it. $500 is WAY too much for a EA81T that isn't guarantee'd to run. THe major problem with the motors are cracked heads. Have them start that car, listen to it run, then hand them the cash.

 

It would be alot of work to fit into your '80 hatch, but it would be a fun car afterward.

 

-Brian

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