1987 GL wagon, I'm looking to buy it but have a few questions.

[artistic_gore]

First, the ticker is at 278,000 (this isn't a concern by itself) and I am curious as to what I should look for at that mileage. The CO (current owner) says it has a leaky valve cover gasket. Is that a common problem, I changed the gaskets on my dads 89 long ago due to a split but I'm just wondering if I can rest assured that it is the VC gasket and not the HG.

 

Also, he says the throw out bearing is chirping. My question is what would be the average cost of having the bearing and the clutch replaced? My sister ran her XT in this condition for many several hundred miles (in fact I think it may have been thousands) so it's not a huge concern either, I'm just looking for a cost estimate so I know if I'll be able to afford it when it comes up (or hopefully before that)

 

Lastly, what is the recommended interval for timing belt replacement? I think for my legacy it was around 130,000? (please don't smite me if I am wrong). CO says it was replaced somewhere around 80,000 ago. I tend to trust him, he is from seattle after all.

 

Thanks,

 

Bryce

[daeron]

oil leak in no way points towards potential head gasket problems, most of these engines have leaky VC gaskets... pop the rad cap off and let it run for a moment, looking for bubbles. If the oil looks clean, the coolant looks clean, no bubbles and no overheating, then the chances are pretty good that the HGs are OK.. obviously a compression check would be nice, but not always easy to convince someone to let you do.

 

T-belts every 60K, non interference engine though. Lots of us leave the covers off to make it quicker, but that may increase chances of incidental damage; its your call. (if a timing belt snaps in the woods, and you don't have any covers to get in the way... did the timing belt make a noise? )

 

Clutch job, I dunno, I have an auto.. but I would say for a full kit 150 ballpark? don't hold me to that.

 

This engine will need timing belts, and while youre at it you should do some seals and the water pump. The big thing, is the oil pump. Find out what kind of oil pressure it has from the owner; if its tolerable oil pressure, you can get away with resealing the pump on there. If he has any qualms about oil pressure, or has had any questions, you ought to just get a new pump.

 

Seriously, if you were to get into it so far as to be doing the T-belts, water and oil pump and reseal, PLUS the VC gaskets.. it might be simplest to go ahead and yank the engine, do a COMPLETE reseal, and replace the headgaskets while you have it out, JUST to have a nice 200+K more worry free miles in it.. but that may be a little over the top.

 

Judging just from the info you posted, I would say this is a car worth getting into, if the price is right and the car suits you.