Help me pick a work truck.... S10 ... I4 vs. V6 - both auto's

Erik

Erik

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 20, 2005
Location
Wilmington, NC
I need to buy a work truck tomorrow and i have narrowed it down to two.....

2003 S10, 76k miles, 4 banger, auto, std cab, long bed, vinyl floor, cd, ac, no power windows or door locks, leaking oil pan and tranny pan gaskets, real good tires and nice oem wheels. 17 MPG city, 23 MPG hwy.

2003 S10, 90k miles, V6, Auto, std cab, long bed, vinyl floor, cd, ac, no power doorlocks or windows, no visible leaks, fresh maaco paint, dented tailgate, half-assed-repaired passenger door, crap tires and ugly oem steelies with "beauty rings" 15 MPG city, 21 MPG hwy.

the V6 is $1k more, has almost 20k more miles on it, looks lower than the 4 banger, and needs a new tailgate.... but mechanically it appears to be cleaner underneath since it has no leaks, but neither have any rust or appear to have been in any sort of major accidents.

so, assuming both run and drive equally well tomorrow which would YOU choose and why?

this will be my WORK truck.... all city driving with a toolbox, ladder rack, and a couple spools of cable/wire.... maaco will be spraying whatever i buy white in the next few months and i'll be installing keyless entry and an alarm so the lack of power locks isn't really an issue. i will rarely see hwy speeds so if the 4 banger won't hold 80 mph with a ladder on the racks it's really not an issue.



so whatcha think? suggestions? opinions on these trucks?
 
The 4 banger will last forever just dont run it hot. My buddy has one with 260K on it and it has had no work done besides regular maint. I would go for the 4 banger if you dont have to tow anything.
 
2.2L 4cyl in the one is a PITA to replace the head gasket on, and it WILL go. oil pan leak is more likely rear main seal. the 4cyl is a gutless POS

4.3L V6, has intake gasket issues, coolant issues if it has never had the coolant changed. (DEXCOOL aka DEXCLOG ) the intake isn't all that tough to do, but plan on few other items to replace while in there.

If both truck have AC, figure 8.2 hrs repair time for when the heater core goes, and it WILL go, and you will not fix it with stop leak.

Door issues, hinge pins and bushings, IF they have ever been replaced, you might have a shot at a decent functioning door. if not, odds are replacement of the pins and bushings is only a band-aid, as they have chewed the fawk out of the hinge assy and those are WELDED to the door and cab A pillar.
 
Bullardbs said:
The 4 banger will last forever just dont run it hot. My buddy has one with 260K on it and it has had no work done besides regular maint. I would go for the 4 banger if you dont have to tow anything.
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hummm, well they also had a 2000 or 2001 s10 with the 4 banger and a 5 speed and a short bed for about $3k that i really liked (already white, 5 speed was preference, nice wheels and tires, and straight body) but i was scared b/c of the 190k miles...... i might also drive it tomorrow if the 4 banger is a long living motor....

Blkvoodoo said:
2.2L 4cyl in the one is a PITA to replace the head gasket on, and it WILL go. oil pan leak is more likely rear main seal. the 4cyl is a gutless POS

4.3L V6, has intake gasket issues, coolant issues if it has never had the coolant changed. (DEXCOOL aka DEXCLOG ) the intake isn't all that tough to do, but plan on few other items to replace while in there.

If both truck have AC, figure 8.2 hrs repair time for when the heater core goes, and it WILL go, and you will not fix it with stop leak.

Door issues, hinge pins and bushings, IF they have ever been replaced, you might have a shot at a decent functioning door. if not, odds are replacement of the pins and bushings is only a band-aid, as they have chewed the fawk out of the hinge assy and those are WELDED to the door and cab A pillar.
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if the headgasket isn't already shot, and i don't over heat it, then the 4 banger SHOULDN'T have HG issues though right? hehe :driver: i had a 98 sonoma 4.3 auto from 55k to 130k miles and a 99 astro 4.3 auto from 70k to 150k miles and never had any problems whatsoever with intake manifolds or heater cores... maybe i got lucky? or are the issues you speak of more common in the newer trucks?

as for doors... i've heard that before which is why i was looking at newer s10's rather than mid-to-late 90's models.... well, that and the miles....
 
Do yourself a favor and forget about an s(hit)-10 and get something else. Anything else, Toyota, Ford, not isuzu cause it's just a rebadged s-10, Nissan, anything will be more reliable. And the s-10 sucks to work on. In my (not so humble) opinion one of the worst vehicles to roll off an assembly line from the first to the last.
 
If you are tuck on an S10 Id get the 4.3 no questions asked.
The 4s are gutless and as they age they are down right anemic.
I would not take the 4cyl if it was half the price, but thats just me.

Now that said. a 4.0 ranger is a better work truck imho, they have heavier rear spring ratees factory and seem to hold up better.

All this opinion stems from my 5+ years experience with a corporate fleet of S10s that were changed over to Rangers in 03. At one point I probably had 45 S10s, and in total we probably ran through a few hundred in my branch. BTW we had camper shells on them and used them for low voltage work. Pretty similar to your uses IIRC. The 4cyl. we went to 85k trade ins to keep them from needing RMS. Th 4.3 we kept the trade interval at 200k. At 200k they were used up, tolly and generally got 2-300 at auction....
 
rattlecanpaint said:
Do yourself a favor and forget about an s(hit)-10 and get something else. Anything else, Toyota, Ford, not isuzu cause it's just a rebadged s-10, Nissan, anything will be more reliable. And the s-10 sucks to work on. In my (not so humble) opinion one of the worst vehicles to roll off an assembly line from the first to the last.
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no offense to you but i can't really take your opinion seriously if you can't back up what you have to say with some facts.... you come across as if you have a personal vendetta against s10's....

i have worked out of an s10 before and it was as perfect as a truck as i could have ever wished for... the only thing i would rather have than an s10 would be an astro van and since their aren't any "good" ones around here for sale i have given up tryingt o find one by tomorrow.

i've had a ranger and i thought it was a decent truck, except i didn't like the bucket seats as well as the s10's and i didn't particularly care for the dash... it was a v6 gas guzzler though and for that reason alone i wouldn't buy another.
so, back to the original questions!

-Erik <--- would love a tacoma but can't afford the $4k the lot wants for a down payment on the ONE they have in stock

SkyHiK5 said:
If you are tuck on an S10 Id get the 4.3 no questions asked.
The 4s are gutless and as they age they are down right anemic.
I would not take the 4cyl if it was half the price, but thats just me.

Now that said. a 4.0 ranger is a better work truck imho, they have heavier rear spring ratees factory and seem to hold up better.

All this opinion stems from my 5+ years experience with a corporate fleet of S10s that were changed over to Rangers in 03. At one point I probably had 45 S10s, and in total we probably ran through a few hundred in my branch. BTW we had camper shells on them and used them for low voltage work. Pretty similar to your uses IIRC. The 4cyl. we went to 85k trade ins to keep them from needing RMS. Th 4.3 we kept the trade interval at 200k. At 200k they were used up, tolly and generally got 2-300 at auction....
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i will have to drive the 4 banger and see how bad it really is i think... i'd rather have the 4 banger for gas, but i don't want to be hating life when i turn on the a/c and rob the engine of it's power....

and yes, i am in pretty close to the same line of work.... or at least my payload would be very similar.... and the extra weight capacity would be helpful but an add a leaf would solve any problems i would incur once i get a shell or bed cover for it so also it woudl be nice out of the box, adding srings wouldn't be THAT much of an issue...

their are only 3 rangers i've found locally and they are all "older" models, as in no 2002ish or newer models.... in fact, i think 99 is the newest i've found so far.

so rear main seals are a normal repair @ 85 or so thousand miles on the 4 banger s10's, or rangers?

-Erik
 
Ive had both the 4.3 and the 4 banger in a s 10, and a 4.0 ranger. I vote 4.3 all the way. I think it had more power than the 4.0 and I know it got better fuel mileage.
I have the 4 banger now, going to drop a 350 in it if I ever finish the other 50 projects I have going on.
 
I've had the 4 banger and the 4.3, and 2.8(dads old ride). I got the best milage out of the 4.3 because I didn't have to abuse it to get around. By the way I had a pressure washer setup it the bed of both. Go 4.3 or you'll end up spending more in the long run.
 
grrrr, i liked the 4 banger better! haha, but it sounds like the 4 banger might be a let down in stop and go traffic huh?

i'm still going to wait and make my decision based on the test drives, but i think i already know the answer.....
 
well, you could go a little newer and get a Colorado, those are fine for crap valve springs and seats, head bolts that just break, and timing chains that require TOTAL engine removal and disassembly to reset ( as they will NOT stay in place when attempting to replace the head for the valve spring and of head bolt repairs.

Of course, Ford's 4.0 with the over head cams are known for tensioner and timing chain issues as well.

I don't think there is a make out there that doesn't have some sort of issue anymore.

Though Toyota seems to have the better reputation since the 3.4 came out
 
Erik, You can PM mileshigh on here and get his opinion. He drove one of our 4cyl S10 loaded down for about 6 months.

As I recall at 125k they told me 68 was WAO downhill with a tailwind....
 
Ive had 2 s10's w/ 4.3's, both have been very reliable trucks. First was a 2000 last was a 2002.
IMO, comparing a fleet vehicle to a personal work vehicle is not a good comparison see as that the fleet vehicles with so many people driving them, or that one person driving it probably doesnt see as much maintenance as a personal truck.
That said, I got great mileage out of my s10's, till i lifted the last one and still got about 17-18 on the highway, but before that it was about 21 in a 4wd.
The breaks are great, engine ran great even after suckin mud into the motor, and auto trans was awesome.
However, yes the door hinges can wear out pretty quick and the fuel pumps usually go out at about 100k or so but if you can drop the tank your good.
If i hadnt have wanted to get a new truck i woulda kept the 2002.
 
SkyHiK5 said:
If you are tuck on an S10 Id get the 4.3 no questions asked.
The 4s are gutless and as they age they are down right anemic.
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I've got to agree. We've got one (an '03) as a delivery truck, and it's an absolute dog
 
blah, i bought an astro, haha

i didn't want anythign full size with a gas guzzling v8 so 2 of the 3 were a bust and after driving a ranger today at a lot i didn't want one of those either....

i actually really liked a 4 banger 5 speed s10 i test drove and if i wouldn't have come across this astro for $1500 i would have bought it without a doubt.... the auto 4 banger sucked bad though!

thanks guys!
 
You did much better with the Astro. Ever try working on an s-10? If you've got 3 elbows on each arm and joints that spin 360* in your fingers it's not so bad, but till that happens...
Blkvoodoo pretty much summed it up but to that I will ad, try changind the tranny fluid on one. With the exhaust across the front of the pan and the tranny crossmember across the back, what, if properly designed should take 10-15 minutes, takes 2-3 hours after breaking off the rusted exhaust studs and crossmember bolts that strip out upon removal etc, etc. Sorry, I've worked on quite a few vehicles in my day and that was by far the worst one I ever worked on from a design standpoint. Just to make you feel better though, BMW is coming pretty close with it's latest generation of cars. I think they've hired the s-10 engineer...:shaking:
 
But are Astros any better?
they are just full bodied S10s right?
 
SkyHiK5 said:
But are Astros any better?
they are just full bodied S10s right?
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with a unitized subframe chassis and some even have fiberglass springs in the rear :eek:
 
corvette springs BITCHIN!
 
i want 5% on all the windows and either a strip of 5 on the windshield or the whole thing done 35% :)

-Erik <--- needs a new windshield first
 
yea i changed my mind :)

did you come over today and measure the windows in my cibbbbb for tint? :)

-Erik <--- wondering which door was open!
 
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