Ok so its an 87 gl-10 with the ea82t and 5speed. I just got it and don't know the history of it besides it's been parked for a while. I just put a brand new battery in it and tried to start it up to see what and if anything needed repairs. When I went to start it it almost seemed like the starter was bound up, so I put it in gear and rocked it back and forth to see if it would free up... No luck. I looked through the inspection hole at the flywheel and it's not moving at all when I rock it... Hmm any ideas on where to start? Or how to free things up?

Yep. Sounds like one or more pistons is froze up. When the y sit, depending on conditions, the rings can rust to the cylinder wall. STOP trying to rock it or start it or you will bust the rings. Go to NAPA and get some PB Blaster. This will work the best, as it contains magnetically charged particles that will help it's penetrating oil creep up to the tops of the rings. Pull the plugs and spray a good 30 seconds into each cylinder. Repeat that process until the can is empty. Let it soak 24 hours the try to turn it over BY HAND from the front pulley with a ratchet or wrench in a back and forth motion (leave the plugs out for all of this). If you get it loose, turn it over at least a dozen times by hand, then go ahead and crank it over 3 or 4 times for 10 - 15 seconds each. This will clean most of the penetrating oil and any other crap out of the cylinders. Put the plugs in and change the oil. It's now full of debris and penetrant. Fire it up and let it run at idle for at least 15 minutes before you rev it up. It all seems excessive, but it really reduces the chance of internal damage.

Possibly hydrolocked due to either leaking intake gaskets or headgaskets - pull sparkplugs to diagnose/relieve.

 

Possible seized timing belt idler - pull covers and remove t-belts to diagnose.

 

Possible rusted cylinders due to water exposure.

 

Possible seized rod bearing and/or thrown rod - thrown rod would be noticed by hole in top of crankcase...

Thank you both for the input. I'll try the PB and I can see about hydrolock when I pull the plugs. Ill update when I have a chance to try it. Also my gas tank seems to be pretty full, what's the best way to get the old gas out? Drop the tank? -matt

Can you turn the crank with a 22mm socket?

if cranking an engine with plugs out... assure you prevent spark (disconnect coil)... it is possible and I have personally proven that plug wires dangling in an engine bay where flammable fluid is ejected from a piston (while a spark jumps from the boot to a metal ground with flammable mix in the air) can induce...

 

ahhh... good times...

Alright I pulled the spark plugs (only gouged my hands 2 times!) two of the plugs look pretty decent with a small amount of carbon and the other two have some small traces of rust. I did the PB can just now so well let it soak overnight since there does seem to be rust living in there. I hope this works if not I'm feeling like this is a useless endeavor. So if I were to swap a different/ better engine into it what would it be? Or should I try to track down another ea82t (even though it doesn't seem very well liked)

383 V8 Nice. Or.... Flat 6 or a busa motor/tranny combo. More hp and better transmission!!!! except for the reverse part

If were to swap to a different engine should I find one that is turbo, since mine is? or will a ej22 be fine? Keeping my wallet in mind

Remember, this isnt a bolt out and bolt in and go type deal if you are going to a different engine.

I understand that, but if it comes down to needing to put a another engine in it seems like a more durable Ej would be worth the work. Mainly Im curious if it's easier to swap an EJ22t rather than a EJ22? I would much rather the ea82t just free-up so I don't have to do any swapping or engine pulling.

So I let the combustion chambers soak for a little more than a day and it's still bound up. I was suspecting a head gasket leaking and causing it to rust up so I checked the radiator level and topped it off and since the plugs are out it filled up the front passenger side cylinder and is dripping off of some fluid fitting on the head. So I guess it got parked and rusted up the rings. So I guess I need to track down a short block EA82 so I can get this beast on the road. I will try to get pictures if they would help but I can't upload them from my iPhone

. Dripping from the fitting in the center of the picture?

Today I tried again to turn it over by hand, no luck. This engine is a gonner I looked closer today with a lamp an I think I can see a chunk of ring in the passenger rear cylinder. So Im guessing the PO had that leak start under the head and it overheated and seized? Is that possible?

Anything is possible. But you think only one side overheated?

Mostly likely cause of such a quick leak is intake manifold gaskets. The drip that you see is most likely due to it being a low point and the drip found its way there.

The passenger side cylinders are where the leak seems to originate from, the front cylinder filled up with antifreeze when I filled the radiator and the rear one I can see what looks to be a price of ring going across right below the plug threads. I think that since the leak seems to be on the side that looks the most haggard, is it possible that just the one side overheated and seized up? What should I do next? Pull the engine and look for a short/long block and swap it out? Seems like the most practical way.

I think, at minimum you should pull the engine, because to fix it, it has to be out, and to put a new one in, it has to be out :-p

This is true! I just need to track down a short block ( know of any around southern OR?) and a engine lift. Im not used to this engine out the top deal, I'm an air-cooled VW out the bottom guy. But not for long I guess.

Just be careful about all the vacuum lines. We can have an EJ out in half an hour to an hour, but these ea-82t's have dumb 80's emission technology, makes them take a bit longer.

Yeah there is a ton of hoses and stuff disconnect, I plan on taking a lot of pictures of detailed spots and tape and sharpie marking the the connections. Any helpfull tips beyond what I said?

it really doesnt take that long to take out. my friend and i had mine out in 30 minutes. but it took us about an hour to get it back in. damn motor and tranny mounts fought us. i have a 1988 GL10 with the EA82 turbo engine, and i just got done fully overhauling it and putting it back in. much luck so far, but having RPM issues. good luck with your car. oh, if your still looking for the original engine, the local junk yard where i live has about 4 em last time i checked.

Yeah I need to check around the wrecking yards around here to see what they have. sometimes they have specials like, carry or drag it through the door and it's $50-100. So I hope I don't miss out on that. I put a WTB ad on here so far just engines from Washington (14 hr round trip for me) so I hope I can find one a little closer.

Yeah there is a ton of hoses and stuff disconnect, I plan on taking a lot of pictures of detailed spots and tape and sharpie marking the the connections. Any helpfull tips beyond what I said?

 

You can leave a lot of the vac stuff intact, and it all can come off with the intake, all you do is disconnect the car end. do not bother to undo fuel lines and everything in between the manifold, as it is not necessary.

 

I had a motor that rusted up from haveing standing water in the cyls. Soaking with PB blaster for a week, and removing the heads and smacking the pistons with a hammer and block of wood freed it up. This motor still lives today, after 10,000 miles, and sitting around for 5 years, it found its way into the Monster Wedge(from the XT forum)

 

You could use a carb block and get away with it, have a little better bottom end torque, if you do not go modifying the boost and the timing. you will have to make a routing around the pcv port on the top of the turbo block.

This is all good info, thank you guys for that. I'm going to try to pull the engine out on my next days off, pull the heads to see what the hold up is. Prob better to do that first then go track down a long block of mine is unsalvageable.

-milesfox what is the routing around the pcv port you were mentioning? Is that if I find a non-turbo block?