82 coupe smokes blown head gasket?

[mtburk1]

I have a 82 sport coupe in excelent shape. 49,000 original miles no rust looks like new. Of course with its age dry rot is a problem. I did not know anything about a turbo car so I have learned a lot from here and before black. It ran good after I had changed the air filter and had the exhaust replaced. After nailing it one day and the valves knocked bad I found out that the ESC wire was disconnected. I got it back on but now oil is coming out of the drivers side exhaust manifold. I'm almost certain that the head gasket has blown. It smokes real bad but there is no anti freeze in the oil. I read from cottons performance.com that detonation can cause the head gasket to blow. I'd like to know if you guys think this is what has happened?
The car is in awesome shape and I want it fixed right. I'm also going to have all the turbo seals , gaskets and ESC sensor replaced. The person I found that will do it is into drag racing, he has a Super Stock Mustang and was voted in Readers Digest magazine as one of Americas most honest mechanics. He said he replaced a head gasket on a 4 cylinder mopar turbo beacuse of the smoke only to find out the turbo was cracked. Is there a history of the turbo cracking in this car? You input would help.

Thanks.

 

[TurboBuickSix]

common problem common solution...

You need a turbo!Do a compression test to check the head gasket.and look for endless bubbles in the radiator while it runs

 

[maske76]

I have an 83 t-type with the exact same problem and I was wondering if you have had any new success in troubleshooting it. In my case, the car runs great, but I am having the same trouble with the leak and the profuse smoking. Everyone I talk to has begun to point to the turbo as well. Let me know if you find anything else out...

 

[TurboBuickSix]

Remove the turbo from ther car and inspect it.If you don't know what you are looking for then post once you get it off and one of the experts here will help you out.

 

[mtburk1]

smoke from turbo?

If the turbo was the reason for the oil and smoke, why would the car still run good? The oil is so heavy that I can see it come out of the exhaust manifold, right at the head. And the exhaust manifold is wet with oil. If the turbo was sending that much oil down the intake into the cylinder how could it run. The plugs would be so bad they would not fire. It doesn't brake up or anything. It runs good. But maybe your right. I have someone that has a Super Stock class car and is a shop owner looking at it this week. He also said he replaced a head gasket on a Import with a turbo and it still smoked because it was the turbo. He will check that first since the turbo has to be removed first before anything else.

 

[b4black]

Originally posted by mtburk1
I got it back on but now oil is coming out of the drivers side exhaust manifold.

When you say out of the manifold, do you mean out of a crack in the manifold? Even though the '82 uses cast iron manifolds, they will crack between the #3 and #5 cylinders (center and rear). There should be a cover (heat stove) on the manifold which will hide the crack. If it is cracked, you can get another from the junkyard. It's the same on all 81/87 RWD Buick V6's (not turbo specific).

If it leaking between the manifold and the head, either the manifold is loose, or a gasket has blown out. From the factory, there was no gasket, but people sometimes put them in. After blowing out three, I don't use them and haven't had a problem.

Bad turbo seals are more likely than a blown head gasket. At 9 psi max, the head gaskets can handle a fair amount of detonation.

In a draw-thru set-up, bad seals will leak most on deceleration (highest vacuum) and then it is least likely to effect the way the car runs.

Instead of just new seals, consider replacing the entire center section. This is probably a good deal:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1857670429

 

[mtburk1]

bad turbo

The turbo is bad. Turns out that they do not make this year and no one has one. I called Cotton, Presicion and Durabuilt. Durabilt is going to rebuild for me. I must have the only 82 that still runs.

 

[FJM568]

Did you check with John Craig @ Limit Engineering???

Limit Engineering - John C. Craig
885 Kiowa Ave Lake Havasu City, AZ 86403
1 (928) 453-7321
1 (928) 453-0789 (fax)
Turbocharger specialists

 

[TurboBuickSix]

I had EXELLENT results at my local diesel shop,if you are looking for a local simple solution where you don't need to ship it.If you are looking for an upgrade you need to contact the above mentioned source.

 

[b4black]

Re: bad turbo

Originally posted by mtburk1
The turbo is bad. Turns out that they do not make this year and no one has one. I called Cotton, Presicion and Durabuilt. Durabilt is going to rebuild for me. I must have the only 82 that still runs.

There are plenty of running 82's. The reason you have difficulties find a complete turbocharger is that the turbine and compressor housings are specific for year vs year and RWD vs Riviera. Nobody will carry all the different combinations.

The center section's are all the same and easy to find (like the link I gave you on ebay). Anyplace can rebuild them, just make sure they know it's a draw-thru, so they use the right seals.

 

[oyvindbl]

Have you tried Turbocity? They gave me a great service and they seem to have most turbos in stock. They are located in California ( I think...?) but I had my turbo in Norway 3 days after I ordered it. I think the price for the turbo on my 79 Regal was $452,-. They also sell cartridges if your housing is in good shape, I think the price for those were appr $350,-. Their homepage is http://www.turbocity.com

Good luck! Been there done that!