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Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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I have had both. Avoid the S-10 with the 2.5 or 2.8, they were nothing but trouble. The 4.3 was a great engine, really just a 350 with 2 less cylinders. Avoid the digital dash, too, they were problematic and expensive to repair.
I have a 2007 Ranger now, XLT 4WD with the 4.0 and no problems. I have friends that had older ones and they seemed to last forever, especially the 2.3 I4 with manual.
I just bought a 2002 Chevy S-10 with 170,000 miles on it. It has a Vortex 4 cyl engine, 2WD, SWB, manual tranny, and when I'm driving it I feel like I'm in a brand new vehicle.
yeah today their are some pretty decent complete swap kits available unlike the older days where you had to do a bit of fabrication work to finish the original/earlier conversion kits.
But Good luck and enjoy a S-10 or Ranger with a V-8 Swap aree still very quick and will give you performance that is not too much slower then a modern 2015 Mustang GT or 2015 Camaro SS for 1/10th the cost if you find a engine and trans combo and are DIY capable
I have an '03 Mazda B3000 (Ranger with a Mazda sticker) that has been a pretty good pickup. It's comfortable to drive and is an honest half ton. With 6 ply tires, I can put 1000 lbs in the bed and drive comfortably, which was not true of the Dodge Dakota I had previously. At 120,000 miles, repairs have been minimal, just brakes and a fuel pump. I keep it well maintained, and will probably drive it another 10 years.
My dad got an '85 S-10 6 cyl , I bought it from him but the thing had a carburetor that was a pain. Had problems with it and it was underpowered. It turned out to be unreliable and we only kept it as a stop gap to save money to pay cash for the next car. Then I inherited his 2000 S-10 6 cyl which was better though I ended up selling it as I didn't really need it.
I imagine this has been asked before but I'm considering getting a smaller truck. Would love a Tacoma or Frontier but can't afford so looking at these two.
I found a cool red ranger stepside 1998 with bedcap relatively low miles but was reading Edmunds reviews and nothing but terrible reviews.
Talking with people Ford people say Chevy's suck and Chevy people say Ford suck.
Which is a better truck? Also are there any particular years or models that are better than tohers?
the ranger and s10 are great trucks because they are like cars of the 60s, there is nothing to them personally i like the ranger because i think the s10 is a ugly truck 1980+ but they are two very capable trucks especially the 4 bangers good on gas and still tough little trucks
if you want a truck for truck stuff like hauling and such id recommend a used 1990s early 2000s dodge ram 1500 the v8s can be found for 3000 or less
I'm Chevy all the way but i did have a ranger4x4 it was light when I needed heavy weight truck but it pulled a good amount of weight and brakes didn't have the ads I needed.. but do little stuff with them they are nice.. my daughter will be driving age soon and I'm thinking of getting one and putting a new drive line in one or a s10 both 4x4. they are good truck's but i would get new complete drive line front to back with upgrades of course.. but I'm also thinking of new Malibu 6cyl. cause they got new safety stuff like monitoring speed n stuff. but also what is price of new brain if it goes out vs others.. the choices the choices..
In 1989 i bought my 1988 Chev S10, 4x4, 4.3l-v6 engine-auto tranny. She has always ran real good for me.
She has Smitty bumpers, oversized tires, came raised a few inches. A good looking truck.
Over the years i've replaced the battery a few times, a few brake jobs, (3000mile lube/oil/filter). Had the alternator rebuilt, new fan belt, muffler,exhaust pipe, etc. She has been a great truck. Now has about 225000 miles.
We live out in the country on side of a forested mountain. We also have a 1994 Ford ex-cab 4x4 5.8l- 35x12.50x15 mudders/ 1989 Chev Silverado 4x4 5.7l/ oversize tires. All great running trucks.......We like to have a few extra vehicles in case we have some problems with 1.
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