im about to buy a 87 T2 for 1400. has a 30,000mile jspec just dropped in. and body is straight. but for some reason the turbo doesnt spool or boost very much. very light boost. he says its probably an exhaust leak from his exhaust gasket. would this cause this? he got it checked out at a shop and thats the reason they gave for it not boosting. what do you guys think? he already has teh gasket but hasnt installed it. how hard would it be for me to do that? please any info will help! by the way the car runs fine. im also hearing wastegate actuator might be stuck. what would you say would be the difficulty of repairing this? and is this a good deal on this T2?

 

Could be clogged cats... I know that before I put on my RB exhaust, I was getting next to no boost... Also, if the clutch is shot, you will feel like you are getting no boost as well.

 

Dont buy it till he fixes it. If he has the gasket and doesnt want to put it in, offer to put it in for him (its not hard). Have you checked the turbo for shaft play?

 

How are you determining that it is not making boost? About a year ago I thought my TII was not boosting. Eventually found that the stock gauge needed to have its contacts cleaned. Boosts all the way to the top now. Exhaust leak can affect boost but it would be easy to hear a leak large enough to cause low boost. That gasket is not hard to replace, especially if the air pump, acv, etc., has already been removed.

Todd

 

i dont think it has anything to do with an exhaust leak. if anything, an exhaust leak would raise your boost, not kill it. now and exhaust CLOG could definitely be the problem.
start the car and drive it around for about 15 minutes then come back and left it idle for a second. look under the car at the main cats (or down the back of the engine bay for the precats) and see if any of them are glowing red red hot. i bet your problem is something in the exhaust being clogged.