I just sold my 87 SR5 Turbo...
I bought it with 130k on it and #3 rod bearing wiped out and the piston smacking the head.(drove it home in 4Lo
) Then built a 22rte for it and swapped it in.
They are fairly tough, minus a weak turbo casting that will eventually fail due to excess heat near the wastegate. The other problem they suffer from is the fact that they are not Intercooled. This poses a huge problem, even with the low boost that they create even in stock form(5-7psi). The heat soaks up in the exhaust side and cracks the casing between the impeller and the wastegate causing boost to be lost under accel.
But, even with a cracked turbo, they will still go alright. infact, a friend of mine bought a rotted out turbo xcab with a 5spd that was only making 3-4psi and on the ride home was able to spin through first and part of second...
I would just talk him down as much as possible and expect the worst case scenario, that you may have to put a turbo in it. LC Engineering makes some good stuff for boosting 22re's.
I would also check the fluids to make sure it isn't swapping coolant and oil.
Good luck!
