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Campfire Regular
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I was thinking about buying a 2003 Chevy S-10 ZR2 pickup I ran into. It has 88K and the body is in good shape. Anyone familiar with these? It has a 4.3 liter automatic. Just thinking of something for hunting and daily driving. Pro's and con's? No, just no! Look away. I had the 99 Blazer iteration with some upgrades (6 cd stereo, heated leather seats, etc). Nickel and dimed me to death the whole time I had it. Wasn't big enough to haul anything I wanted, gas mileage was about the same as my brothers F150. Not enough ground clearance to drive over a supine gopher with out it scraping the bottom of the transmission. Replaced the front wheel bearing on both sides (right side twice!) and the altenator. Motor developed a good tick about the time I came into enough funds to upgrade to a Silverado. In the end, the only thing I missed was the heated seats. Kaiser Norton
The Kaiser- "If it ain't broke, I can fix that!"
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Posts: 3,379
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 3,379 |
all you geniuses that are killing 4.3s I imagine you're the kind of fellers that can break a fuggin anvil with a rubber mallet as well. I've put one hell of an unholy beating on a couple 4.3s and they took it in stride.
I kill chit. "The Heathens nest"
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Mar 2006
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I've known a couple guys who've owned S-10 ZR2's. The 4.3 is a good motor, but in this truck it delivers terrible mpg. Think 12-14.
4 out of 5 Great Lakes prefer Michigan. 
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Dec 2002
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I read the whole thread. Who killed a motor?
People who choose to brew up their own storms bitch loudest about the rain.
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Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 340
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Exactly what blackheart said, pretty snappy when running, but needs to go to the shop way too often. Four wheel drive engagement system designed by Rube Goldburg ![[Linked Image]](http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z13/bricky62/sugar/100_1778.jpg)
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Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 32,312
Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 32,312 |
The Japanese seem able to engineer the drama right out of ANYTHING. They make exceptional machines, world class really. Tacoma for the WIN!
The CENTER will hold.
Reality, Patriotism,Trump: you can only pick two
FÜCK PUTIN!
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Joined: May 2005
Posts: 1,098
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: May 2005
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The Japanese had issues with their camshafts breaking in two. Thing is, the media focused on problems of Chevy and Ford at the time because it was politically correct to do so.
Dad was a GM engineer (now retired) during the time, so I had a vested interest in the lopsided media coverage.
Anyone recall the problems Mitsubishi had with brakes? My wife has a 2001 Montero and I was therefore reminded of it as I went through it after the purchase. The brake accumulator was faulty and subject to recall; however, this one had been replaced by the previous owner.
Point is that there are problems with any given vehicle in the race to build cheaper. Whether it's a cheaply made intake gasket or a brake accumulator that leaks nitrogen into the lines... the decision is what you want to deal with, not what won't break.
I personally find Chevy very easy to work on and inexpensive to repair. I don't trust any but myself to do most work on the vehicles above changing the tires and oil changes (and with the tires, I go around with a torque wrench I keep in the back.)
Idaho Shooter, with all respect, I'm sitting here scratching my head at the things gone wrong with your '99 and also with the prices you paid to repair 'em. Unless I'm very out of touch with shop prices (and that could be; I've not worked in that industry for 15 years at least) you were way overcharged for shop time on a couple items looks like.
Jacques, I'm not sure why you opine that the 4x4 system is a Rube Goldberg design. It's basically the same as most other push-button systems in use: You punch a button, an electric shift motor shifts the transfer case, and a solenoid engages to provide engine vacuum to a front axle shift motor to engage the axle.
My 1985 Cherokee had a vacuum actuated front axle. Most vehicles that don't have locking hubs have an electric or vacuum motor to engage the front axle.
My only real complaint is that the security system is so integrated into the computers that there's no overriding it. I prefer separate security systems, but that's just personal preference.
Regards,
Josh
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Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 12,321 |
I have a 2003 Chevy S-10. I drove it every day to work for 9 years. It's now been retired to the farm as the designated Hirshwagen. For two months out of the year I use it to pull deer out of the field.
Gas economy was about 20 MPG. The first year, the A/C controls went bad and required replacement. Just before the warranty expired, the gas pedal broke on I-75 and I spent a day stranded in Richmond KY, while the dealer tried to find a new cable. The differential got water in it right after the warranty expired. I replaced it with a Positrak and felt I was ahead of the game.
In 2006 the driver door broke and had trouble getting the lock mechanism replaced. It blew a head gasket in 2008 and the transmission went in 2009. In 2012 I was driving down I-75 in rush hour traffic and the back wheels almost fell off. Both rear bearings failed.
The anti-lock brake module failed in 2013. The speedometer failed last year. The brake lines failed in 2014 I've had to call the tow truck twice because of trouble with the fuel tank.
. . . and outside of that , everything's been great. Along the way, I've gotten to know the local tow truck driver well, and we're now friends on Facebook.
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Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 12,523
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
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all you geniuses that are killing 4.3s I imagine you're the kind of fellers that can break a fuggin anvil with a rubber mallet as well. I've put one hell of an unholy beating on a couple 4.3s and they took it in stride. I don't think anyone's fussing about the 4.3, except for the mileage. They are fussing about the REST of the truck falling apart around the motor. I looked at S-10s and Colorados, before buying my Frontiers. I didn't like the tinny feel, and the steering felt sloppy (new, on the dealer's lot) and they didn't impress me on build quality in any way at all.
You can roll a turd in peanuts, dip it in chocolate, and it still ain't no damn Baby Ruth.
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Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 340
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Well lets see what is wrong with the 4x4 engagement system - Button on the dash, wires and fuse to a vacuum can by the headlight, pulls a cable that runs to a linkage under drivers butt, that pulls a lever right below the floor in the middle hump. What could go wrong? All this seems to work well if you don't need 4x4, but when you do need it about half the time it seems like it wont engage. It's pretty easy to get it to engage by hand, even though there is not enough clearance on the S10, you can still reach up in there with you head and shoulder under the truck and pull the little lever by hand. Problem with that is you were probably stuck in snow or mud when you needed 4x4 in the first place. So you take it to the shop and get a new, switch, vacuum can, cable, whatever and drive off with everything working again and it's good as new. You can test it every once in a while to see if it's still working and it is, It won't quit working until you are in the worst place to have to crawl under the truck and engage it by hand again. I finally fixed it myself, after having it done at the shop too many times by cutting a little flap in the carpet and drilling a small hole in the floor so that when the Rube Goldberg system fails I can stick a screwdriver through there and flip the lever over from inside the cab. A factory lever would be too easy to put here, and I get it that suburban ladies like to push buttons, but such an easy fix, and I'm not even an engineer, just a dumb rancher/mason. . .
Now my Ford Exploder push button system had its failings as well, but it is NOT designed anything like the Chevy's. On the Exploder the button turns on electric magnets that lock the hubs, but any amount of dust or grit and the magnets aren't strong enough to fully engage. At least with the Chevy there was a way to get it in by hand on the trail and get out of whatever you were in, albeit your ear may be full of mud or snow, with the Ford you are just screwed. The Ford was an easy fix, when you finally got home you could take the hubs off and clean em really well with some brake cleaner and get all the dust out so the magnets can do their job again and this will work for a year or so (ranch trucks more dirt road than highway but only 4x4 when needed rarely) or until you are in a bind and need it to work now. Best solution to this is when you get tired of cleaning the hubs every year just go buy some after market hubs that you have to get out and lock in with your fingers like the old days ( not an option on the S10 because it don't have hubs, it engages the front drive line) Buttons be damned!!! If an option on either of these was to buy one without the damned button that would be my choice, but it is not an option. 4.3 kicks ass though way snappier than the Ford and never had a problem with it and I have over 200k on it, the rest of the S10 is the problem, it has never made it 6 months that i can recall without needing something fixed. I have never had any problem with the Ford other than the hubs and it has over 200k on it as well.
The Chevy is much more fun to drive, the Ford is much more dependable and cheaper when shop bill is factored in to drive.
If you get the S10 though, find the lever and make the hole in the floor before you need it, because you will someday, and if you are in 8 inches of mud, and nobody is nearby to pull you out, when you do you'll be pissed if you didn't.
If you get a Ford just put aftermarket hubs on before you need to and you'll be set. I can't speak for Toyota or any other 4x4s cause I have no experience with them, but if they have magnets in the hubs, get manual, if the button locks the front drive line like a Chevy, figure out how to bypass it before you need to.
![[Linked Image]](http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z13/bricky62/CJGAHGW.jpg)
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Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 2,285
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
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Posts: 2,285 |
I had a 19something S10 extended cab, 4.3L, 4spd. Did everything I needed it to do, including towing an 18'6" glass boat. I'm sure I did some maintenance, but nothing that jumps out at me.
I've moved on, 1999 5.3L extended cab Z71 Silverado. 2005 5.3L Extended cab Z71 Silverado. 2015 5.3L extended cab 4X4 Silverado. Each full size Silverado got/gets better milage all around and towing than the S10 was getting, and each newer model Silverado got/is getting better milage than the previous.
JME
Ed
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Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 25,861
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 25,861 |
Idaho Shooter, with all respect, I'm sitting here scratching my head at the things gone wrong with your '99 and also with the prices you paid to repair 'em. Unless I'm very out of touch with shop prices (and that could be; I've not worked in that industry for 15 years at least) you were way overcharged for shop time on a couple items looks like.
Josh
Yep, the Chevy dealers repair prices are exhorbitant. This was the newest car Momma had ever had. And I made the mistake of taking it to the dealership for repairs for a few years. Oh, did I mention the replacement fuel tank, because the original developed a hole in the top. How about having to repair the wire harness because it was installed from the factory in a manner which allowed it to get against the exhaust manifold and melt. Or the pressure relief valve in the fuel injection system because it started running rich. And the emissions control issues, caused by I don't even remember what, but it cost another $350 at the dealership to repair. I have a stack of receipts on that Blazer about two inches thick. I had two friends with the same rig, different year models. They also had a bunch of problems with their's, Although none to the extent of mine. My fuel pump issues really pissed me off. I had a new lifetime warranty fuel pump installed at the dealership. A couple years later, the car started frequently stalling in the middle of the street on hot summer days. I took it to a good certified mechanic's shop which diagnosed low fuel pressure. I took it back to the dealership, where they stated 'The fuel pump tests within factory tolerence" and they refused to honor the warrenty. I took it back to the aforementioned mechanic's shop. They replaced the fuel pump on my dime, and it has never stalled again. GMC builds some great full size trucks. I have a 95 K2500 w/ 5.7. It is a wonderful vehicle. My buddy's 02 k2500 is great. He also owns two Canyons w/ the inline five. They work well as his family's cars. But run away from the 90's to early 2000's S-10 as fast as you can. A half ton k-10 with a 5.3 or 5.7 will be much more dependable and get the same fuel economy.
People who choose to brew up their own storms bitch loudest about the rain.
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Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 340
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Yep, same with fuel pump, and same with wiring harness, also air conditioner pump, and both cvjs on front, pretty consistent, one thing after another. Truck was very rarely taken to back country serious hunting or fishing trails--too high of odds of having to hike out! But it has seen more than its share of gravel, often washboard, Wyoming back roads.
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bought a 2000 Blazer back in December. knew it needed some work. But for 2600...couldn't pass it up.
I have replaced both spring shackles, rear brakes and rotors, front brakes and rotors and a universal in the rear driveshaft
It now has 118000 miles on it....16000 since I bought it. Good truck.
Ain't no flies on the S-10....if you know how to fix them.
Don't let the name fool Ya!
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Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 871
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Posts: 871 |
The 4.3 is my favorite domestic V-6. It's probably not a Toyota level example of engineering, but it's worlds better than the 2.8 that was put in a some S-10's years ago.
We all know advertising works, we just don’t think it works on US!
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Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 25,861
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 25,861 |
bought a 2000 Blazer back in December. knew it needed some work. But for 2600...couldn't pass it up.
I have replaced both spring shackles, rear brakes and rotors, front brakes and rotors and a universal in the rear driveshaft
It now has 118000 miles on it....16000 since I bought it. Good truck.
Ain't no flies on the S-10....if you know how to fix them. Sincerely, I wish you much luck with the next 65,000 miles.
People who choose to brew up their own storms bitch loudest about the rain.
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Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 2,686
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 2,686 |
I have a 95 with a 2.2 (?) 4 cylinder with a 5 speed manual transmission. It has survived one fender bender, 2 collisions with deer, an ice storm under a pine tree, and 3 sons who drove it from age 16 to 18. It now has 200K and neither the engine nor the transmission have been opened up. Pretty good truck I'd say.
The biggest problem our country has is not systemic racism, it's systemic stupidity.
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Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 2,278
Campfire Regular
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Joined: Jan 2011
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The Japanese seem able to engineer the drama right out of ANYTHING. They make exceptional machines, world class really. Tacoma for the WIN! Speaking of the Tacoma, which is starting to show up in numbers here in NM, I notice that Nissan is now advertising a new US-made pickup with a Cummins engine. Thoughts? BYW, one of my buddies just bought a new Tacoma to replace his Chevy Silverado crew cab that started making valve noises at around 120,000 miles. He had the Tacoma for about 3 weeks when it was stolen from his wife at gunpoint in their driveway neat the Univ. of NM in Albuquerque. It was later found trashed and he bought another new Tacoma.
Norman Solberg
International lawyer, lately for 25 years in Japan, now working on trusts in the US, the 3rd greatest tax haven. NRA Life Member for over 50 years, NRA Endowment (2014), Patron (2016).
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Joined: May 2005
Posts: 1,098
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
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Well lets see what is wrong with the 4x4 engagement system - Button on the dash, wires and fuse to a vacuum can by the headlight, pulls a cable that runs to a linkage under drivers butt, that pulls a lever right below the floor in the middle hump. What could go wrong? All this seems to work well if you don't need 4x4, but when you do need it about half the time it seems like it wont engage. It's pretty easy to get it to engage by hand, even though there is not enough clearance on the S10, you can still reach up in there with you head and shoulder under the truck and pull the little lever by hand. Problem with that is you were probably stuck in snow or mud when you needed 4x4 in the first place. So you take it to the shop and get a new, switch, vacuum can, cable, whatever and drive off with everything working again and it's good as new. You can test it every once in a while to see if it's still working and it is, It won't quit working until you are in the worst place to have to crawl under the truck and engage it by hand again. I finally fixed it myself, after having it done at the shop too many times by cutting a little flap in the carpet and drilling a small hole in the floor so that when the Rube Goldberg system fails I can stick a screwdriver through there and flip the lever over from inside the cab. A factory lever would be too easy to put here, and I get it that suburban ladies like to push buttons, but such an easy fix, and I'm not even an engineer, just a dumb rancher/mason. . .
Now my Ford Exploder push button system had its failings as well, but it is NOT designed anything like the Chevy's. On the Exploder the button turns on electric magnets that lock the hubs, but any amount of dust or grit and the magnets aren't strong enough to fully engage. At least with the Chevy there was a way to get it in by hand on the trail and get out of whatever you were in, albeit your ear may be full of mud or snow, with the Ford you are just screwed. The Ford was an easy fix, when you finally got home you could take the hubs off and clean em really well with some brake cleaner and get all the dust out so the magnets can do their job again and this will work for a year or so (ranch trucks more dirt road than highway but only 4x4 when needed rarely) or until you are in a bind and need it to work now. Best solution to this is when you get tired of cleaning the hubs every year just go buy some after market hubs that you have to get out and lock in with your fingers like the old days ( not an option on the S10 because it don't have hubs, it engages the front drive line) Buttons be damned!!! If an option on either of these was to buy one without the damned button that would be my choice, but it is not an option. 4.3 kicks ass though way snappier than the Ford and never had a problem with it and I have over 200k on it, the rest of the S10 is the problem, it has never made it 6 months that i can recall without needing something fixed. I have never had any problem with the Ford other than the hubs and it has over 200k on it as well.
The Chevy is much more fun to drive, the Ford is much more dependable and cheaper when shop bill is factored in to drive.
If you get the S10 though, find the lever and make the hole in the floor before you need it, because you will someday, and if you are in 8 inches of mud, and nobody is nearby to pull you out, when you do you'll be pissed if you didn't.
If you get a Ford just put aftermarket hubs on before you need to and you'll be set. I can't speak for Toyota or any other 4x4s cause I have no experience with them, but if they have magnets in the hubs, get manual, if the button locks the front drive line like a Chevy, figure out how to bypass it before you need to. I'm sorry I didn't get back here sooner. Come October we lost my father-in-law unexpectedly and my wife had to have major surgery. Not much time for much else. I think you and I agree on the essentials. What's different are our expectations. I'd never take an S-Blazer on the trail without extensive modification. The system is built around snowy roads. When I was into offroading heavily, I had a 1976 CJ5 that had locking hubs and a tricked out 304 V8. I can't imagine doing much serious offroading with a semi-floating front axle and chain-driven transfer case, regardless of how it switched into 4wd. I'm just fine with using it for the snow and such. In fact, my Bravada had full-time 4wd or AWD, no low range, locking rear axle from the factory, and not many moving parts to the system. It was wonderful in light mud (unimproved roads to fishing holes when raining) and snow. I'd kinda' like anther Jeep with manual hubs, though... Josh
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Joined: Nov 2010
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 37,102 |
I was thinking about buying a 2003 Chevy S-10 ZR2 pickup I ran into. It has 88K and the body is in good shape. Anyone familiar with these? It has a 4.3 liter automatic. Just thinking of something for hunting and daily driving. Pro's and con's? I had a 2000 I drove for 12 years. Good truck. 4.3 is a great engine, basically the old 350 block minus two cylinders. DF
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