S10?

[rockin86ranger]

My brother has had 2 s10 (a truck and blazer) and loves them, to bad he spends 90% of his free time fixing them

 

[Jraymer360]

I love the body of that generation S10. I'd 383 that thing in a heartbeat if I could find one worth modding.

yeah it doesn't look as bad as the 2nd gen..those things are fugly.

 

[Captain Ledd]

My 97 2wd 4 banger has done me well for many years.

Parts are starting to wear out and that is the main reason why I'm starting to tinker with it.

The S-10's are far less durable than Rangers. My friend had a 96? S-10 (it was around my year of Ranger). It didn't haul crap we put 4 heafty people in the bed and it was dragging it's mud flaps. with 7 in my Rangers bed I still had 2.5" to the bump stops, mud flaps no where near the ground. The frames are larger, the axles are better, the engines are better or at the least comparable. I'll say the manual transmissions are fairly comparable though.

Oh, and just about ANY truck is going to be rough, a bit beat on, and need some work for $950 or less.

If you think you can fix it, cool. But my vote is to wait and keep checking, A LOT.

 

[Jraymer360]

My 97 2wd 4 banger has done me well for many years.

Parts are starting to wear out and that is the main reason why I'm starting to tinker with it.

The S-10's are far less durable than Rangers. My friend had a 96? S-10 (it was around my year of Ranger). It didn't haul crap we put 4 heafty people in the bed and it was dragging it's mud flaps. with 7 in my Rangers bed I still had 2.5" to the bump stops, mud flaps no where near the ground. The frames are larger, the axles are better, the engines are better or at the least comparable. I'll say the manual transmissions are fairly comparable though.

Oh, and just about ANY truck is going to be rough, a bit beat on, and need some work for $950 or less.

If you think you can fix it, cool. But my vote is to wait and keep checking, A LOT.

i have a lot of free time. i spend like an hour a day at least just browsing craigslist. and i know things are going to need work, it's just my dad likes to point out EVERYTHING that's wrong with something and tell me i shouldn't get it. he'd rather see me driving his 02 neon ...i'd much rather have a truck.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

My grandfather has an '89 2.8 S-10 std cab shortbox 5-speed he bought for $500 13 years ago... but runs great but is as rusty as all get out.

He just bought it for a street legal four wheeler to check cattle and fence with so it has never really pulled anything but it seems have a fine amount of power for just running itself around.

 

[rockin86ranger]

If you have access to another car i would pass up the s10 and wait for something else. Used car prices should drop a little after tax time.

 

[Jraymer360]

If you have access to another car i would pass up the s10 and wait for something else. Used car prices should drop a little after tax time.

i've been basically browsing since this summer and it's stayed pretty steady around here. i mean there is that one in like 5000 deal every once in a while , but they are gone within a few days and i doubt i'll be able to react in time to get one ( my dad wants to go with me when we look at something..and he works 6 days a week and doesn't wanna do anything after he gets home! )

 

[rockin86ranger]

Been there done that, but waiting for dad is what got me my ranger instead of a rusted out pos silverado.

Also i see you're from belleville, i livedin monroe for 3 years and taylor for a year.

 

[shane96ranger]

A guy I work with has an S10 (87 I think) with the 2.8 V6. It has about 290,000 miles on it with damn near no maintenance. My Dad had an 83 Camaro with the same motor, and it took a dump at 160,000 miles with regular maintenance. The Camaro is to this day the slowest car I've ever driven.

 

[Jraymer360]

A guy I work with has an S10 (87 I think) with the 2.8 V6. It has about 290,000 miles on it with damn near no maintenance. My Dad had an 83 Camaro with the same motor, and it took a dump at 160,000 miles with regular maintenance. The Camaro is to this day the slowest car I've ever driven.

Well my parents basically told me no on the S10. So i'm gonna go for the diesel!

 

[Will]

I wouldn't buy a diesel on a $950 budget. I'll bet that truck needs about 10 quarts of oil on an oil change. Mine's not a Ford, but I have to change the oil every 2,500 miles. There is a warning sign on the visor to remind you. A diesel isn't forgiving to neglect. Let a hard-starting problem go and you can destroy $300 worth of batteries in a month. That's just the tip of the berg. You're much better off in a cheap little pick-up.

Turbo vs non-turbo doesn't matter too much if you aren't towing. An idi diesel FEELS pretty strong just driving around empty. Actually, it has better off-idle throttle response than a non-waste gated turbo. The problem is, when you head up the on-ramp onto the freeway, especially pulling a load, you'll quickly run out of pull. Also, the turbo makes the engine run much, much quieter and much, much cooler.

 

[Jraymer360]

I wouldn't buy a diesel on a $950 budget. I'll bet that truck needs about 10 quarts of oil on an oil change. Mine's not a Ford, but I have to change the oil every 2,500 miles. There is a warning sign on the visor to remind you. A diesel isn't forgiving to neglect. Let a hard-starting problem go and you can destroy $300 worth of batteries in a month. That's just the tip of the berg. You're much better off in a cheap little pick-up.

Turbo vs non-turbo doesn't matter too much if you aren't towing. An idi diesel FEELS pretty strong just driving around empty. Actually, it has better off-idle throttle response than a non-waste gated turbo. The problem is, when you head up the on-ramp onto the freeway, especially pulling a load, you'll quickly run out of pull. Also, the turbo makes the engine run much, much quieter and much, much cooler.

My dads a mechanic and he's got a 04 Dodge ram 2500 with a cummins in it so we know about the maintenance. he'd rather see me in that then the S10 So i figure, why the hell not. And oil changes every 2.5k? my dads is like every 7k if not more..
and i won't be using it for towing much, just maybe hauling hay on the back roads and the occasional helping someone move type deal.

 

[Wicked13]

My father had one and loved it. He'd still be driving it this moron kid didn't blow a stop light and t-bone it. The only reassuring thing was the kid was driving his brothers grand cherokee while he was on vacation and he specifically said "don't touch my jeep while I'm away"

By the way, GM fan here. And I have to say I'm sick to death of "Ford is better than Chevy, Chevy is better than Ford" garbage. And as you can see by my profile, I'm clearly driving a Ford. I'll drive anything if it's the right price.

 

[Brandon Nootenboom]

I'm not a fan of the 2.8 GM either mostly because it's a Chevy and gutless, but a couple older guys I know including my great uncle have the 2.8 in 2wd S10's all of which have over 400k, one with 750k and none had any major problems, just the regular maintenance and a couple sets of gaskets. I'd still hold out for a Ranger tho, I hardcore hydrolocked my 4.0 at 252k, tore it apart, cleaned it and it fired right up with no problems (so far *fingers crossed*) But it's up to you, gutless 2.8 or hang in there for a different rig with a little bigger engine

 

[rockin86ranger]

go for the diesel, i wish i could find a deal like that hear. I have been searching for 4 years for a decent diesel and all i find are worn out 6.2l that are on there last leg. I wish i could find a 6.9l or 7.3l f350 (really wanting a powerstroke but i'll take an idi)