87 GL-10 Turbo Wagon

[JohnNK]

I am looking at purchasing an 87 GL-10 Turbo Wagon. Any suggestions on what to look out for?

Thanks!

[MilesFox]

Old hoses and corroded radiator.

 

worn or corroded coolant temp sensor.

 

Timing blelts if they are old, and the tensioners.

 

These are things that can cause failure due to lack of maintenance. Takce care of these items before they fail you and the car will last many miles

 

Trans has a 3.7 final gear, and a 25 spline axle, should you want to swap in a dual range trans, you will need a 3.9 rear and a 23 spline axle.

 

the rest of the car is based off any 85-94 dl/gl/xt/loyale

[MilesFox]

If this car runs and drives no problem, then change all the hoses if they are old and brittle. A mild overheat can cause a headgasket issue. headgaskets are not the end of the world, and can be fixed rather easily. You decide how much of a project you are looking for.

 

You will be limited to upgrades, but they can be done with intercoolers and turbos from leater soobs. DO NOT OVERBOOST this engine, or you will be wasting a good car.

[JohnNK]

Thanks for the great advice. It is much appreciated.

[Sonicfrog]

I have an 87 T-Wag - Murphy, the $500 87 Turbo Wag!!!!!.

 

Love The Car!!!! Soooo much fun to drive!!!

 

Most important things to check / replace..... water hoses that are connected to the turbo!!! The USMB is rife with guys, myself included, that have had one of those fail while driving. They are a pain in the royal arse to replace, so do it now before they inconvenience you on the road. On a related note, does the car have the original radiator? The original was adequate for the non-turbo models, but barely kept up with the extra heat generated by the turbo engine. The dual core rads work MUCH BETTER for this car! This is well worth the cost. If I would have known about this or... uhm... listened to the guys here on the list when I first got my GL-10, I would have saved myself much time and money doing this right off the bat! When i bought my car, the previous owner was having problems with head gaskets. Turns out, the cause was indeed a bad radiator. People here told me I should definitely replace mine when I first bought the car... but did I listen???? Well, a blown head gasket three months later convinced me they were right!!!!

 

If you have the 3 speed automatic, you will soon notice it gets crappy gas mileage, especially on the freeway. The reason is that the tranny was designed in an era when the max speed limit in the US was 55 mph. At that speed, the top great would be up to about 3000 RPM. At 75, which is the norm in todays driving world, you'll find you're pulling roughly 4000 RPMs out of the thing. It sucks gas... And just plain sucks! This is why so many, myself included, have done the crappy 3 speed auto to awesome 5 speed manual swap. It's some work, but well worth it.

 

Another thing - does yours have the Pneumatic Air Suspension? Mine did. it was great while it worked, but once they break down, they are very expensive to fix. When it fails, it's much better to just swap in a normal strut assembly and be done with it.

 

If you're good with electronics, you may find yourself pulling the digital dash in lieu of an analog one. That is not as easy as you would think. You would need to replace the on-off oil sensor at the front of the engine with a pressure sensor as the analog gauge requires it.

 

All that said, again... I LOVE this car!!!!! I've had it for five years now, and don't plan on getting rid of it anytime soon.

Edited March 7, 2011 by Sonicfrog