Ford Ranger Vs. Chevy S10 and what years are best? (vehicle, joint)
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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?
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?
I had a 99 Ranger stepside 4 cylinder that was a great truck. I sold it with 343,000 miles because the engine gave. I never had a single issue until about 120K when the alternator gave and then 185K when the Ball Joint needeed replacement. I never heard of anyone truly having bad luck with a ranger. They have their quirks. The big one for rangers from 1995-i think 2003 was the door ajar light staying on. That problem is fixed by spraying WD40 in the door latches. I now drive a 2004 GMC Canyon(rebadged chevy colorado aka S10 replacement) with only 102,000 miles. I have had few problems but they were fairly major.
I had a 99 Ranger stepside 4 cylinder that was a great truck. I sold it with 343,000 miles because the engine gave. I never had a single issue until about 120K when the alternator gave and then 185K when the Ball Joint needeed replacement. I never heard of anyone truly having bad luck with a ranger. They have their quirks. The big one for rangers from 1995-i think 2003 was the door ajar light staying on. That problem is fixed by spraying WD40 in the door latches. I now drive a 2004 GMC Canyon(rebadged chevy colorado aka S10 replacement) with only 102,000 miles. I have had few problems but they were fairly major.
Wow 343k. Do you happen to know if '98 your '99 were the same generation or same engine or whatever? Basically wondering if a '98 would have the same reliability as your experience with yours?
Wow 343k. Do you happen to know if '98 your '99 were the same generation or same engine or whatever? Basically wondering if a '98 would have the same reliability as your experience with yours?
Yes the generation was 1998-2000. The engine was the 2.5 Lima engine. If you have a 1998 4 cyl it will have the same configuration. I'll dig up a couple pics for you
Damn I miss this truck. When I replaced it I decided to buy this.
But than I did this.
so now I have this.
lol like the picture storyline. was just about to post the link of hte one I was thinking of buying, really sharp truck, stepside which I really like and this really nice red color with matching bed cover.
ive never owned a truck before so this would be a first but I go to a lot of storage auctions, police auctions and have a motorcycle so am often needing something better than my camry to move stuff around.
the differnece in prices i see on rangers is crazy. sometimes you'll see one with 200k going for like 4k and other times you see one with like 85k going for teh same price.
wahts the most miles you would buy a ranger with on it?
I've never owned a Ranger so I can't comment on them, other than i never really liked their styling.
I have owned 4 S-10's. 3 of them were the old 1st gen box style. The other was a 2nd gen curvy style.
The 2nd gen I had seemed to be a lemon from the start. Long story short the 4.3 liter V6 spun a rod bearing at 48k, then the 4L60E trans started not shifting right.
Of the 3 first gens I had, the oldest ('84) had a small block 350 V8 in it. Man that thing would haul ass. It was light too...only weighed 2700 lbs with the V8 in it and w/o a driver.
As the years progressed they got heavier and heavier.
Second oldest I have now, it's a '91. It's a pretty good truck except it's 20 years old and while it's in good shape for it's age, it does have some quirks in it...most notably the 5 speed manual that sounds like rocks are being thrown around in the gear case. That and the clunking when the clutch is engaged or the trans is shifted. U joints are good. The 4.3 V6 runs pretty good. I did have to replace the alternator (squealing), radiator, a few other gadgets.
The newest 1st gen I had was a '93....had almost 200k when I sold it. Damn good truck. It was slow as hell with the little 2.8 liter V6, but it never gave me an ounce of trouble and I used to beat on this truck unmercifully. I did do regular maintenance on it, water pump at 143k, starter at 145k, alternator at 172k, radiator at 175k. Clutch was replaced at 65k and was still strong when i sold the truck over 100k later.
So there's my testimonials. However I will say this...if you get an S-10, try to steer clear of the 4 cylinder models unless you don't mind being slower than everything on the road/have people laying on their horns for you to move. Also avoid the 2.8 V6....especially the pre '86 models as they're known for internal trouble. '86 and up they beefed up the bottom end but they're still as slow as the 4 cylinder models. The 4.3 liter was the only engine in the S-10 worth having.
Location: Finally escaped The People's Republic of California
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I really think it depends on what you want the truck for.
I had a Chevy S-10 with a 4.3 liter V-6, that was a quick strong little truck, towed an 18' bass Boat with it all over the west, even towed a small horse trailer. Never had any problems, except normal stuff, Alternator once I think, burned a little oil when she was totalled with 232,000 miles.
Wife now drives a Ford Ranger with a 4 cylinder engine, can't pull much with it, cept maybee a couple bales of hay and groceries, but it gets 28 miles to the gallon, compared to the Chevy's 20....All in all we both think the Chevy was a better truck, but others will argue for the Ford.....
lol like the picture storyline. was just about to post the link of hte one I was thinking of buying, really sharp truck, stepside which I really like and this really nice red color with matching bed cover.
ive never owned a truck before so this would be a first but I go to a lot of storage auctions, police auctions and have a motorcycle so am often needing something better than my camry to move stuff around.
the differnece in prices i see on rangers is crazy. sometimes you'll see one with 200k going for like 4k and other times you see one with like 85k going for teh same price.
wahts the most miles you would buy a ranger with on it?
As far as rangers the most miles I would buy with it on is 120K just because IMO thats when I ranger is pretty much just broken in. I wouldn't buy any 200K vehicle unless I had some really detailed maintenance records
i have driven both in the past, and i prefer the ranger as it tends to have a bit more room than an equal S-10. both seem to perform about the same given similar engines. but from everything i have heard the S-10 tends to have more issues than the ranger does overall. both are good little trucks though. in my opinion the ranger is the better of the two.
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