Trucks: Nissan or Mazda

Both 4X4, manual, 4 cylinder, 90 (Nissan)/ 88 (Mazda), mileage in the low 100s. Which is the best buy?

Stan

nissan.. but watch for rust!!!

The one that has been maintained better.

The Toyota you forgot to mention. ;)

All things being equal, I'd take the Nissan over the Mazda. But, things won't be equal, so go with what ManofFewWords has said and figure out which one has been maintained better.

Nissan hands down.

the mazda is either the mitsu 2600 motor that crack heads burn oil and randomly do other crap, or the totally gutless 2200 that just burns oil and has a hopelessly complex carb.

the hardbody would have to be pretty ratty to loose this comparison in my book.

And I don't hate all B-series, that's just not a great year.

put a rotary in the B series!

Is the Nissan a KA motor in that year, or still the Z24i?

as mentioned, toyotas are good that age. BUT, for the money, I'd take a lima powered ford. though if you want 4x4 I'm not sure they used that engine, and you absolutely don't want a 2.9 ford pickup.

come to think of it, if the mazda is a 4x4 in '88 it's almost certainly the JUNK mitsubishi motor.

Hardbody hands down. My 86.5 Z24 had 386K miles on the original engine/trans/rear when I sold it. My 96.5 had 160K when I sold it. They are great pickups and nearly indestructible.

It looks like the Nissan gets the nod.

I would like to find a 2.3 4X4, but they seem to be pretty rare. I like the availability of parts...

Why no love for the 2.9? I thought that was the better motor compared to the 2.8 (which I had in a BII and seemed to be ok).

...and as always, while the better maintained vehicle would be the best, I'm thinking you don't always get the facts...

thanks, Stan

When I was in the market for a truck a few years ago, I almost bought a 88 Ranger with the 2.9 2wd and extended cab. I've heard nothing but bad things about that motor and to run from it! Ask Wreckerboy about Nissan hardbodies. I think he had one up until near 400k miles before it rusted away..

Watch the tranny on the Nissan. 4cyl 4wd trannys can get pretty clunky with age. I've had a bunch of hardbodies and they are indestructible appliances.

My first Nissan P/U was an 80 model king cab. It only ever had a clutch, alternator and rear brake cylinders in 287k of service. When it was too rusty for me to drive, I parked it in the woods. About 3 years later a guy wanted to buy it. It cranked right up and drove off.

2.9 ford's may as well be made of glass. Even when they're not broke they sound like crap, use more gas, and they hardly have more power than a 2.3 anyway. Is there really such a thing as a lima 4x4 ranger? That would be sweet!

+1 on the Nissan. My 86.5 V6 SE 4x4 was a great truck. The only thing that went south on it was a bearing in the tranny at ~160K or so. This seems to be a not uncommon problem. The bearing will look just fine, but you look at the 'midplate' and you can see where the bearing has spun inside it. Some of the trucks had a little plastic bleed plug at the top of the cooling system that will pop when you least expect it, too.

Otherwise it was bulletproof. It got the crap beat out of it carrying dirtbikes, yanking fenceposts, you name it.

92dxman wrote: When I was in the market for a truck a few years ago, I almost bought a 88 Ranger with the 2.9 2wd and extended cab. I've heard nothing but bad things about that motor and to run from it! Ask Wreckerboy about Nissan hardbodies. I think he had one up until near 400k miles before it rusted away..

Closer to 500K before the tin worm got Harvey The Wonder Truck (I purchased it new as a leftover in Jan '89). The '90 will be the later multi-point fuel injection system KA, which is nicer than the earlier ('88 and down?) Z24 toilet body systems.

The Nissan (of that era) had it all over the Mazda in terms of truck capabilities, and was about equal to he same vintage 'Yota. Greater payload and towing capacities, but the Mazda offered more luxuries than either the Toyota or the Nissan. If I remember correctly, one of the deciding factors in the purchase was that the Toyota bed was single wall vs. the Nissan's double wall bed.

Weak points on the Nissan were tie rod ends that failed every 60K like clockwork (you could set your watch by it) and a transmission that required mainshaft bearings every 150K or so. Keep in mind that mine saw severe duty - it towed the racecar, and occasionally WAS the racecar (2:15's at Bridgehampton)!

belteshazzar wrote: ...Is there really such a thing as a lima 4x4 ranger? That would be sweet!

Yep. There's one relatively close that is running 37s. I think I'll steer clear of that one...

Stan

wreckerboy said:If I remember correctly, one of the deciding factors in the purchase was that the Toyota bed was single wall vs. the Nissan's double wall bed.

My toyota has a double wall bed

I had a good experience with an Isuzu Pup that age fwiw.

the big 2.6, 5sp, and NO options (a/c, p/s, or otherwise). Was actually kinda zippy in that combination.

wreckerboy wrote: Keep in mind that mine saw severe duty - it towed the racecar, and occasionally WAS the racecar (2:15's at Bridgehampton)!

hahaha, that's freak'n awesome!

+1 Nissan although I do respect the ford 2.3 ranger, and I do still favor the V6 Nissan, the VG's are a fantastic engine

The one weak point of the Nissan trucks is the steering. If you plan to lift it at all, your idler arm and center link will fail often according to the nissan forums I used to frequent. The 1990 yr trucks have the KA24DE motor, right? That one makes more power than the 22RE in the Toyota and is just as reliable. My vote goes towards the Nissan over the Mazda.

+1 on Nissan, I've heard that Mazda B-series trucks are trouble. Ford pickups are generally troublesome too.

The pre-Ford Mazda B series were pretty good trucks, at least down South where rust is an ugly tale used to frighten children into obeying their parents. The worst we saw was generally the exhaust air injection tubes developing holes and they were a bitch to remove. They were comparatively underpowered though, so I'd still give the Nissan the nod.

The Isuzus of the era were great trucks too but yes there were head cracking problems. They were also underpowered compared to the Nissan and even though I am an Isuzu fan I'd still go with the Nissan.

Silly Stan. The answer is Miata!

thatsnowinnebago wrote: The 1990 yr trucks have the KA24DE motor, right? That one makes more power than the 22RE in the Toyota and is just as reliable. My vote goes towards the Nissan over the Mazda.

The KA24DE wasn't until quite a bit later. early hardbody's with the KA were single cam KA24E's. Timing chains rattle a little on startup, and the front cover will leak. You can ignore both for a long long time.

The shop I used to work for would tow cars back from auction 300 miles with their z24 powered example. Two at a time as often as not. And my grandfather used to pull his 20ft camper from oregon to arizona every year with a z24 truck. Obviously, not very quickly. Both trucks were sold around 200k miles no less healthy than new.