I)arkZrobe Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 I have been out all day looking around for some decent old imprezas... failed... But I found a 1988 GL-10 Turbo with no rust, no dents, no paint problems, and the interior looks brand new (It seems to be some sort of pillow top design kind of weird for me but hey its comfy). It has 150000 miles on it and the engine looks like it is in good condition other then it may leak oil or has leaked oil at some time. Its a automatic and not four wheel drive (I was kinda looking for a 4wd car and maybe stick but hey this car is awesome looking). Interior wise it has the works, cruise control, sunroof, powered everything, trip computer, and one of those digital speedometer things). So What do you all think? Are there problems with the turbos? I really dont know much about that aspect of the GLs. Anyway thanks for the look! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faithless88 Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 I would trust a factory turbo over a bolt on anyday, but there is extra wear and tear on the internals. I would try and find out the history on the car, I will give an example of my exp. Was looking at a car looked brand new engine was in pristine condition and had all the extras on it for a real good deal. But I decided to check the history on it and found out that it had been in a t-bone with a line truck and the whole front half had been rebuilt by him and not a good shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I)arkZrobe Posted July 8, 2007 Author Share Posted July 8, 2007 Autocheck and Carfax reports show up clean, it seems like a garaged car... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bucky92 Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 The EA82 Turbos do have some issues with head gaskets..more so then without the turbo..but as long as it was well taken care of you should be fine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I)arkZrobe Posted July 8, 2007 Author Share Posted July 8, 2007 I am a little worried about that. There is defiantly a oil residue like it either has at one time had a bad leak, or currently leaks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 an EA82 that doesn't leak would be a true find. by this time something is usually loosing some oil. the turbo's are touchy. remember that it's 20 years old. when you have a turbo you have extra things that can fail after that amount of time...turbo gaskets, turbo bearings, oil lines, and turbo coolant lines. these are additional failure points and each one can cause really bad things to happen in an engine. but if it's running now and all is good, you can address all of that on your own and these are in general good engines. they don't hold up well to lots of playing...if you're going to play with the boost and do power mods then i wouldn't plan on the 20 year old headgaskets lasting much longer. keep it stock and keep the coolant and oil sytems in check and chances are good you won't have many problems with the engine if it's in good shape now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I)arkZrobe Posted July 8, 2007 Author Share Posted July 8, 2007 Im not that mechanically oriented so I dont plan on modifying anything but maybe the stereo. How much more power can I expect from the turbo compared to my 86 wagon which has a 1.8L Single Port Fuel Injected engine with the same automatic transmission? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 turbo GL-10 - 115 hp. non turbo makes 90 hp, about what your old wagon made. that will make it a bit nicer. i wouldn't expect a race car, they aren't all that fast but it should feel sufficiently better than your 86 that you won't be disappointed. on to the best news, i'm almost positive the GL-10 turbo 88 should have the 4EAT transmission. that's the same transmission in the XT6 and it is a great auto trans. it is orders of magnitudes better than the 3AT. your 86 should have had the 3AT transmission in it, those things suck. the 4EAT is very reliable for an auto trans. that's what i drive, if they weren't reliable i wouldn't be using it as my DD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baccaruda Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 I've had a few turbos. They're a BLAST to drive, especially with the air filter box chopped out and a proper exhaust fitted. The digital dash can be quirky, as in the temperature gauge (a bunch of bars like your cell phone reception) can burn out on whichever bar is on the most.. so normal operating temperature can mean that you won't see a reading on the gauge .. the digital dash is also impossible to read when the sun is on it. The engines do require more attention to maintenance but that is manageable if you have the money to buy parts and do things in stages, in a preventive strategy (in part): exhaust gaskets at the heads and pre- and post- turbo, and the turbo oil and coolant lines at the same time as all but the heads' exhaust gaskets are easiest with the turbo removed. all coolant lines on the top of the engine block, and the heater hoses, WILL fail eventually. Replacing them all at once means only draining the coolant once. Change the coolant too. The radiator almost certainly will need to be replaced before 175k miles.. a new 2-row core can be had for less than $120 if you're lucky. You would probably want to handle the timing belts and an oil pump service and water pump replacement all at the same time, and hit the cams' and crank's seals for convenience's sake as well. Valve cover gaskets too.The big question in my book would be whether a 2WD auto car would be worth the extra effort. My personal preference would be for a 4WD 5-speed, more bang for your buck. And a wagon too but that's me If you don't wrench much, an older Subaru can be a great learning experience - but won't be as enjoyable when it catches you by surprise. The infamous How To Keep Your Subaru Alive book is available for download in some places, one of which I host: http://www.worldwidecm.com/HTKYSA.pdf good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSubaruJunkie Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 I had a RX with a EA82T in it. Was fun, then i started to modify it. Intake... Exhaust.... up the boost with a manual boost controller. They are good motors stock, but if you start trying to make real power, you run into problems like this: But luckily they are easy to rebuild too -Brian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I)arkZrobe Posted July 8, 2007 Author Share Posted July 8, 2007 No Modifying for me... Just going to keep it stock, except for maybe some filters and stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daeron Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 some subaru junk in the hand of the subaru junkie, i love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSubaruJunkie Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 No Modifying for me... Thats what they ALL say An exhaust is the best thing you can do to that motor. That and an Intercooler with a good intake. Definatly at least do the intercooler to keep your temps down. -Brian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I)arkZrobe Posted July 9, 2007 Author Share Posted July 9, 2007 Hmmm A Intercooler might not be a bad idea... However my dad doesnt want me to frankenstein this thing to much... Could someone point me in the direction of a thread with instalation tips? I tried the search... and didnt come up with much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hondasucks Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 Intercooler's pretty easy, especially if you put a Spider intake off of an 88+ XT Turbo (Pretty easy, but not all that easy to find...) The main hose to replace is the one that runs underneath the turbo, it is a pain in the arse to replace, but it's a lot easier to replace it in your garage than to replace it on the side of the road. Also make sure you keep it cool, turbos like to crack the head if you overheat 'em too much (although if it's an 88 or 89, chances are it's got Gen 2 or Gen 3 heads, which don't have as many problems with cracking as the first gen heads did. I've never had any major problems with my 87 Turbowagon except I discovered that 20 psi + A/C + the two summits on I-70 before you get into Denver = blown water pump gasket :-P Had to limp it back to Laramie with three bottles of stop leak in it... But didn't have any problems with it after that really... (Moral of that one is if your wastegate isn't functioning properly and is feeding your engine too much boost, back off the throttle, even though 20 Psi is fun..) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skip Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 After you replace the rad. Best this you can do for MO POWR after the IC and boost control is a high flow cat and.... Dad will not even know you modded it until you start it up?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I)arkZrobe Posted July 9, 2007 Author Share Posted July 9, 2007 AC doesnt work on it, however I do plan on getting it fixed (I believe it just needs a recharge, anyone got some freon? ) But with AC on those old wagons a pay very close to the temperature on the car along with battery power (My old gl was rather psychotic about its AC) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subaru key collector Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 any pictures? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 on to the best news, i'm almost positive the GL-10 turbo 88 should have the 4EAT transmission. that's the same transmission in the XT6 and it is a great auto trans. it is orders of magnitudes better than the 3AT. Sadly, it's not a 4eat. The 2wd 4EAT was only offered in XTs. 2wd GLs and GL-10s have a 3at. (I know cause I junked one and the 3at is in my garage still) Upside is that on the turbos, the 3at is a bit beefed up and has taller(3.545) final drive ratio, so possibly better highway milage if you stay out of the turbo. Only the "fulltime" 4wd automatics had the 4EAT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I)arkZrobe Posted July 10, 2007 Author Share Posted July 10, 2007 Sadly, it's not a 4eat. The 2wd 4EAT was only offered in XTs. 2wd GLs and GL-10s have a 3at. (I know cause I junked one and the 3at is in my garage still) Upside is that on the turbos, the 3at is a bit beefed up and has taller(3.545) final drive ratio, so possibly better highway milage if you stay out of the turbo. Only the "fulltime" 4wd automatics had the 4EAT Well first off I did buy it, I will have pictures soon. And I defiantly noticed the transmission is a little different then the automatic in my 86. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSubaruJunkie Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 Check the junkyards, or even Ebay for a Saab 900 Intercooler. They are a good intercooler to use on the EA82. Not too big, but not small. And the outlet is the same diameter as your intake manifolds inlet. The one thing you need to plumb is a ByPass Valve (BPV). The EA82T stock does not have a BPV or a BOV, but after you install an intercooler its important you use one. The Saab 900 uses a bosch BPV that will work. its what I used. Here are some pictures of my intercooler install on my RX: Your intake is 2 3/8" outside diameter. And so is the Saab Intercoolers Inlet & outlet. I searched the internet for 2 3/8" outside diameter 180 degree mandrel bends. I was able to order two 180 degree bends for like $18 shipped to my door. Then i cut them in half to make four 90 degree bends. Then i ordered some silicone couplers that are 2 3/8" inside diameter from TurboHoses.com (prolly like $30 or so) and began to piece everything together. The biggest problem is the oulet from the turbocharger is something like 2 1/4" (i cant remember off the top of my head) so finding a reducer to go from 2 3/8" to 2.25, or maybe 1.75 (like i said, cant remember the turbo outlet) was a pain. I ended up using some rubber plumbers reducer I got at Home Depot, and it didnt like the turbo temps all that much. I would recommend something different. Are you familiar on how BPV's work and where everything needs to be plumbed? -Brian p.s. There are plenty more pictures here: http://gallery.usmb.net/album19 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I)arkZrobe Posted July 10, 2007 Author Share Posted July 10, 2007 The dealship's price was to much for my taste, but my dad did buy it lol. And the rule is no modifications period... So I am looking for a Impreza atm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSubaruJunkie Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 These mods wont hurt the motor, only help. But i guess since its your dads car its hard to talk him into it. -Brian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I)arkZrobe Posted July 11, 2007 Author Share Posted July 11, 2007 Wagon Pics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyman03 Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 heck yea that is exactly what i was looking into for my gl-10. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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