Deja Vu: Light duty truck for winter / haulin

Hey all,

I had a very similar thread a while back, but I had included some pretty insane criteria.

I just sold my 96 impreza wagon for $1500 and I'm looking to replace it with a light duty truck. I often need to do a lot of motorcycle haulin' (sportbikes and dirt bikes) but have never had the means to.

I ride my FZR400 every single day that isn't below freezing or snowing, and my commute is only about five minutes.

So I'm trying to replace the Impreza with about $1500 worth of truck. New Hampshire and Maine craigslist are the two I surf most often.

I've come across Ford Rangers, Nissan Hardbodys (92ish), and Mazda B2200. But there are a LOT of chevys and gmcs that are very very inexpensive, which kind of gives me the creeps.

Also what are the basics of checking a frame for rot/rust when looking at a car?

no offense.. but keeping the Impreza and adding a light trailer and hitch to the equation would have been better

mad_machine wrote: no offense.. but keeping the Impreza and adding a light trailer and hitch to the equation would have been better

fair enough... the only place to store a trailer on my property would be about 50' through snow which can be around 4 feet layered snow and ice by the time winter rolls around.

http://maine.craigslist.org/cto/1931650704.html

Comments?

Somebody on here in another thread recently included a link to a Ranger-specific site that gave a year-by-year breakdown of features, options, and upgrades. (It's pretty long, since they've been making Rangers approximately since the invention of the hammer.) I think this would be a great cheat sheet if you're going to be Ranger shopping.

I always liked the ranger.. especially the smaller and lighter earlier ones.. not the wannabe F150s

Stealthtercel wrote: Somebody on here in another thread recently included a link to a Ranger-specific site that gave a year-by-year breakdown of features, options, and upgrades. (It's pretty long, since they've been making Rangers approximately since the invention of the hammer.) I think this would be a great cheat sheet if you're going to be Ranger shopping.

Man I would love to find that, I have a date to check out the truck I posted tomorrow. Any ideas what keywords I could use to try to find it?

mad_machine wrote: I always liked the ranger.. especially the smaller and lighter earlier ones.. not the wannabe F150s

Me too, I like the boxier ones much more. Not going to lie.

I can't decide between 4x4 and 2x4. I like the snow capability of the 4x4 but I also like the simplicity and the fuel economy of the RWD.

On '88-98 Chevy's, check for rust in the following places:

1) cab mounts (front & rear) 2) above rear wheel wells (worse with earlier models) 3) rear cab corners (worse with earlier models)

The TBI motors '88-95 were pretty reliable, have plenty of torque down low, but are out of breath by 4K RPM. The later Vortecs ('96-98)have more power up higher, and can have intake manifold and injector harness issues. Once fixed, they're a good combination of power and reliability.

2WD and dedicated snow tires can work very well if you don't truly need 4WD.

Taiden wrote: http://maine.craigslist.org/cto/1931650704.html Comments?

I've owned a couple of those. EGR problems are rampant (but cheap to fix). The M5OD-R1 is a great gearbox with great ratios, and it should last forever behind the 4-pot, but keep a very close eye on bushings and seals leaking. They don't hold a lot of fluid, and I've rebuilt a ton of them that popped a bushing or seal on a long trip, worked the fluid out, and it welded stuff together inside. Not pretty.

If you ever do a clutch, don't use a factory throwout bearing. They are junk. Get the McLeod unit and smile.

Honestly, if I were doing a small pickup I would do something like an S10. Its not that they are more reliable or anything special, its just that parts are so cheap. The oft-maligned 2.8L has never been anything but wonderful for me, and the 2.2L and 4.3L have proven to be great workhorses. Even if they do explode, there are a few gazillion of them in junkyards for $200. Try finding a Ford 3.0 or 4.0 for less than $1200. Even the 2.5L is selling for $600-900 these days.

Put it this way - I recently was in the market for a small truck and I ended up with a $500 S-10 with the 2.8 and five speed. I've had three of these in the past of various configurations and (except for rust issues for you up north) they have been the winners as far as cost of ownership for me.

Taiden wrote:

Stealthtercel wrote: Somebody on here in another thread recently included a link to a Ranger-specific site that gave a year-by-year breakdown of features, options, and upgrades. (It's pretty long, since they've been making Rangers approximately since the invention of the hammer.) I think this would be a great cheat sheet if you're going to be Ranger shopping.

Man I would love to find that, I have a date to check out the truck I posted tomorrow. Any ideas what keywords I could use to try to find it?

That would be here. http://www.therangerstation.com/resources/RangerHistory.htm

I wish CL sellers would leave their number. :(

Is this a long bed? Looks like it may be... I'm hoping to land a long bed.

http://maine.craigslist.org/cto/1948004081.html

Oh, will any of these tow a car trailer (uhaul rental) or is that a whole different tier of truck?

Taiden wrote: Oh, will any of these tow a car trailer (uhaul rental) or is that a whole different tier of truck?

Technically yes.

I towed an rx7 on a uhaul dolly with a 87 toyota.. It works, be sane and you'll be OK.

Expect 3rd gear on any sort of a hill and to be passed by vw microbuses( really!).

the hardbodies are very good trucks, but anyone that has spent some time up north without proper care will now be a softbody.

For your price range and need, buy the best cared for truck you can afford. Brand really dosen't matter. The super duds are long dead.

Does it have to be a pick up? How about the Jeep Cherokee?

The XJ is a good idea, except that I really would like a bed, and certainly wouldn't mind a bench seat up front.

The Dodge Dakota was a decent truck, and was even available with a V8.

XJ and towing is a good way to find out what the colour of adrenalin is...

http://nh.craigslist.org/cto/1950686759.html

I just had a long chat on the phone with the seller. It sounds to be in awesome shape. Lots of new stuff that he didn't mention, plus he is very straightforward and seems honest.

Anyone got tips on the Maz-trucks?

+1 on find the best in your budget, regardless of brand

What do we think of S10s and Dakotas?

Seems like every S10 around here doesn't have a frame anymore due to rust, while the old Nissan trucks are still puttin around.

My 1996 S10 4x4 is still going strong at 233,000 miles. The 4.3L V6 doesn't use oil between changes and gets 18-20mpg on the highway.

Watch for tranny issues on the S10's. There were some wiring harness revisisions with harness upgrade kits avaiable from GM. The conveter lockup can also cause codes, and transgo has a kit to fix it. To make the lockup less noticeable to the driver GM would allow the converter to slip during engagement, this caused wear in the valve body.

The pushbutton 4wd has a vaccuum switch on the transfer case, and those can stick preventing the front diff from engaging or disengaging. ($15 part to fix)

Mine may be the exception but there's no real rust on the body (some small fingernail sized spots where the paint has chipped), and typical surface rust on the frame, but nothing that would be even close to weakening it.

The bigger issue for mine is paint erosion. The roof has the clear coat worn through in line with the windshield washer nozzles, and the top edge of the front fenders are wearing through to the primer.

Since getting the mini-van for my wife, I've been running the forester and the truck has been sitting. I'm torn on keeping it or selling it an putting a hitch on the forester. If I decide to sell it it will be going up on the worcester mass CL in the net few weeks.

Good Luck. Joe

Hey Joe, how much would you be asking for it? I'm in Maine and have been scouring craigslist for a 96+ s10 4.3L 4x4 5 speed.

Unfortunately mines an automatic.

It has 40K on a rebuilt tranny (95% highway with 130 mile round trip commute daily), and the torque converter was replaced with a reman converter at that time and the cooler was flushed.

I'm still researching the asking price, but it will probably fall between $1750 and $2250. There are a few things I should do before selling (see below), so the price depends on how ambitious do I feel and how much free time do I have. My wife broke her ankle and is in a cast and with a 6 year old and 15 month old, free time is tough to find.

Its an extended cab, 4wd works great, extang tonneau cover (new canvas last year), bed liner,ice cold a/c, alloy wheels, and spare power mirror for passenger side (replaced drivers last spring).

Alternator, a/c compressor et al, ball joints, pads & rotors, fuel pressure regulator, ignition coil, and throttle position and MAP sensor replaced.

New windshield going soon ( large crack from stone on highway)

The issues: Tires - there are three good Uniroyal cross countries on it, the forth needs to be replaced (my sister borrowed the truck and and cut a sidewall going through construction). I need to get a pair of tires on it to replace the damaged one.

Stabilizer link bolts+bushings - I bought the new bolts and bushings for both sides but haven't had a chance to put them in.

Wiper motor - Wipers work, but occassionally the intermittent goes several cycles continuously before pausing.

Wear and tear on interior and paint. Not major tears (one small on drivers seat at edge) , clear coat hazed on hood, various scratches and chips in paint (no rust worse than some discoloration)

Cat is hollow - somtimes throws a 420 code (low catalyst efficiency) but otherwise no issues. the catalyst broke up into small pieces clogging it up, only option due to time and need to get truck running for work in the morning was to empty it out.

I think that covers everything about it.

Joe

I am not a huge fan of the s-10 the front end is weak most with any real milage have bad tie rods, a bad idler arm and pitman arm. 4x4 is for mud or sand anything else and your just wasting gas. rangers are a bad ass truck but stay away from 3.0s (head gasket issues) just my 2 cents

junkbuggie wrote: 4x4 is for mud or sand anything else and your just wasting gas.

You dont drive 4-5 months with snow on the ground do you?

-Ross from Wisconsin