S10/Chevy gurus I need a helping hand...

[Stallacrew]

Alright, Earlier today I posted my 1993 ZJ limited on Craigslist to trade and I got a hit (much to my surprise).

I am tired of horrible fuel economy with the 5.2 L and this guy offers to trade straight up a 1997 S10 LS 2wd 2.2L auto, and its in what appears to be really good shape.

I am gonna give it a look over tomorrow morning and may trade the guy straight up for it. Mine is a little rough and worth about 200 or 300 more, but i gain the economy of 18 city and 25 hwy (which I have never been close to getting). Well worth the trade of leather and power everything for cloth, manual and MPGs.


Anyhow, if anyone here has Chevy experience with the S10 around the 1997 year then let me know if there is anything I should know, or if the engine is crap, etc etc.

I want to be as well informed about it as possible. I'm gonna go try to find a STEN board and read some.




Don't worry, I still have my XJ back home. I just need a better fuel efficient vehicle.



PICS:

That Vinyl is going first thing, and also the maroon on the bottom will be black eventually.....with a sweet toolbox in the back.

 

[MPETESS10]

you do realize you said its a manual and then in the pics its clearly an auto. 2.2 is a dog and the auto behind it makes it worse. if your lucky you will get 30 mpg highway but figure more on like 25 ish. around town it should get 21-22. there really sint much difference in city to highway mileage on them. being an auto it will probably have 4.10 gears which will help out alot get off the line but on the highway with those little tires its gonna wind out. I love S10's and still have my 96 although its not on the road anymore. mine is a 4.3 5spd and considering the mpg I have gotten out of the V6 I will never consider a 2.2 for a dailly driver.
4.3 5spd 3.42 gears and I have gotten 25 mpg regularly and have gotten 27-28 mpg on a few occasions.

2.2 is good for 150k no problems except you may have to change the timing chain and tensiner somewhere in that time frame. I would not expect more than 200k out of it and thats an absolute maximum. but junkyard replacement engines are easily found and are cheap. motor swap would only take a few hours. the rest of the truck should last 3-400k miles easy if you dont live somewhere where rust is a problem.

check out
www.s-seriesforum.com thats my favorite.
other places to check out
www.s-series.org
www.s10forum.com

good luck finding a toolbox that fits ontop the bed rails. the stepside bed is a rare bird for stuff like that. get a box that fits down in the bed between the rails. it will look much better and be easier to find. dont expect the bed to haul much either. I have had both the stepside bed and the regular bed and the stepside bed is almost useless. and the reg cab is even worse. again I have an ex cab and unless I was building it for drag racing and wanted the least weight possible I'd never consider a reg cab because they are just soooo small. you and a passenger and a jacket or 2 and your cramped.
those are camaro wheels that someone else put on there and the tires look really short. probably a 245/50/16 which is 25.6" stock size is 205/75/15 which is 27" so the speedo is probably off a bit as is the mileage. which brings me the question how many miles are on the truck? I didnt see that mentioned in the post. overall it looks like a good truck and if your ok goin from a V8 to a dog 4cyl then the rest of it seems like you will be ok.

good luck hope it works out for ya

 

[RichP]

Go drive a 2.5L auto TJ, god, what a dog and dangerous when trying to get on an interstate merge ramp. My 82 S10 with 2.8 4 sp got 25mpg and was not much of a dog even with the 2:92 gears. I can't imagine a 2.2 auto. Take it for a test drive and see how it goes. Also whats with the bent hood, did he forget to remove a wrench after a tune up or what.

 

[Stallacrew]

Well I looked it over and I liked it so we have traded. I appreciate all the info. I checked out the S10 boards last night til the early hours.

I said that it was a auto transmission, but everything inside was manual (as in no power windows locks etc). At least thats how I meant to make it sound.

The thing is pretty strong running. I am going to change the oil, transmission fluid, and coolant in the coming week when I have time. He has some vacuum hose issues and has simply blocked off the vac tank. I just need to run some more line. Also sounds like there is a small leak near the manifold.

I like it alright other than it smells like a skank, doesnt have a tach, needs tires within the year, and is a LOT less power on the interstate....but those are all things I will adjust to or fix within the next few weeks/ months.

Any other thoughts, then post them up. I appreciate it.


He left some CD in it, has a buffalo and an FF on it, I figured Franz Ferdinand, but I couldnt find anything online with the same art......listening to it right now, as it wouldnt play in the truck.



Later.


EDIT: just googled the lyrics and its the Foo Fighters. Sweet action.

 

[bigalpha]

I don't know if they're comparable, but my 2.3L in my Ranger has a little pep if you really push it. Otherwise, it's pretty slow and i only get 20 mpg out of it.

 

[BIgDaddyChia]

if u do a search theres a company that specializes in performance goodies for the 2.2

 

[IslanderOffRoad]

Never a fan of the 2.2

Miss my SS though:

 

[MPETESS10]

haha your truck was just starting to pan out into sweetness. all it really needed was some TLC and a good paint job and it it woulda been badazz. I prety much gave up on my S10 too. its sitting at my mom's house untagged with a blown slave cyl. been sitting since november. might actually try and fix it in the next couple months. not much motivation to do so but it would be nice to have that bed available when I go to the junkyard to pick up my 8.8 LOL

 

[IslanderOffRoad]

My paint was actually pretty epic other than the hood (that I then replaced), I had it polished pretty good. Should have kept it never went to the Mustang, I'd have a really nice S10 and an awesome Jeep by now.

 

[lilredxj99]

Headgaskets were an issue...I think they had a design change... the were bad about splitting at the DS rear at the alignment dowel...