early 90's toyota pickups?

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: H2GURU
If Toyota had a head gasket issue, they stepped up to the plate and took care of it like a man. If you have an issue with a domestic you can just forget about it. Toyota was doing free head gaskets on vehicles with over 200,000 miles on them because they felt there was enough failures to justify the expense and protect customer relations! The only early 90s Toyo p/u you'll find that will still be any good will be a 2 wheel drive owned by a geriatric. Try your local Craigs' List.


Just like they stepped up to the plate and took care of the how many million engines affected by the sludge issue, right?

 

[brianl703]

Illinois does not have a vehicle safety inspection program...and it's obvious if you ever happen to drive in that state.

(For those unfamiliar with what a safety inspection checks: Brakes, lights, suspension, tires, steering).

http://www.vsp.state.va.us/Safety.shtm#InspectionProgram

 

[TomH]

Originally Posted By: Max_Wander
Originally Posted By: cousincletus
A better choice is an old S-10 Chevy 4 cylinder. Japanese pickups are overrated. The domestics build the best trucks. Don't forget about the head gasket problems on that era Japanese vehicles.


with the iron duke?? Good lord no


I second that! The Iron Duke, and the later Cavalier based 2.2 used in the S-10s are complete garbage, only ahead of the Pinto based 2.3 used for years in the Ranger pickups.

The Japanese 4 bangers, especially Toyota and Nissan, are the best choices for a small pickup.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: TomH
Originally Posted By: Max_Wander
Originally Posted By: cousincletus
A better choice is an old S-10 Chevy 4 cylinder. Japanese pickups are overrated. The domestics build the best trucks. Don't forget about the head gasket problems on that era Japanese vehicles.


with the iron duke?? Good lord no


I second that! The Iron Duke, and the later Cavalier based 2.2 used in the S-10s are complete garbage, only ahead of the Pinto based 2.3 used for years in the Ranger pickups.

The Japanese 4 bangers, especially Toyota and Nissan, are the best choices for a small pickup.


Ford's (and subsequently Mazda's dual-ignition head version) of the 2.3 was a good little motor that worked surprisingly well with the small Turbo they put on it in the SVO and T-Bird Turbo-coupe. While no marvel of engineering, they are known to be very reliable, although somewhat gutless in N/A trim.

 

[01rangerxl]

Originally Posted By: TomH
Originally Posted By: Max_Wander
Originally Posted By: cousincletus
A better choice is an old S-10 Chevy 4 cylinder. Japanese pickups are overrated. The domestics build the best trucks. Don't forget about the head gasket problems on that era Japanese vehicles.


with the iron duke?? Good lord no


I second that! The Iron Duke, and the later Cavalier based 2.2 used in the S-10s are complete garbage, only ahead of the Pinto based 2.3 used for years in the Ranger pickups.

The Japanese 4 bangers, especially Toyota and Nissan, are the best choices for a small pickup.

The 2.3 and 2.5 Lima engines in the Ranger are far better than the Iron Duke and 2.2 in the S-10, and IMO equal to or better than the Japanese offerings. They are more powerful than the GM engines (though not by much) and very reliable. Many Lima engines have 300,000+ miles on them. You really can't beat it for reliability.

Small trucks in general from 2004 and earlier really have two things in common...they are slow and they are fairly reliable. You can't go really wrong no matter what you choose. The condition matters more than the brand or engine.

 

[xlt4me]

Have you been looking on craigslist?

http://chicago.craigslist.org/nch/car/766527907.html

 

[Max_Wander]

Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL

Ford's (and subsequently Mazda's dual-ignition head version) of the 2.3


I don't believe Mazda ever touched those Lima's. Maybe one or two years of the Ford B2300 perhaps.

Yes while the 2.3L OHV Ford and the ol' Iron Duke were more or less on the same level, the iron duke suffered far more issues. The nylon timing gears come to mind. Does anyone remember an original Astro van with the 2.5L I4? what an inappropriate team!

 

[H2GURU]

Sludge issue was resolved and the people who failed to change THEIR OIL in a timely manner STILL got a free engine. Once a TOYOTA makes it into the driveway its only a matter of time until the whole fleet becomes TOYOTA. Check the driveways in your neighborhood.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: H2GURU
Sludge issue was resolved and the people who failed to change THEIR OIL in a timely manner STILL got a free engine. Once a TOYOTA makes it into the driveway its only a matter of time until the whole fleet becomes TOYOTA. Check the driveways in your neighborhood.


I believe the sludge issue involved a class-action lawsuit to get "resolved", hardly Toyota "stepping up to the plate".

In my neighbourhood I see a pile of Chevy's, a couple Honda's, a pile of Ford's, three Toyota's (all owned by different people) and two Chrysler products.

I know it's hard to contain the Toyota zealotism but please try.

 

[01rangerxl]

Originally Posted By: Max_Wander
Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL

Ford's (and subsequently Mazda's dual-ignition head version) of the 2.3


I don't believe Mazda ever touched those Lima's. Maybe one or two years of the Ford B2300 perhaps.

Yes while the 2.3L OHV Ford and the ol' Iron Duke were more or less on the same level, the iron duke suffered far more issues. The nylon timing gears come to mind. Does anyone remember an original Astro van with the 2.5L I4? what an inappropriate team!

I think you are right. Mazda never messed with the Lima engines. Ford added four spark plugs around 1991 or so for emissions reasons. One bank fires before the other, they don't fire at the same time...it is just to get a more complete burn.

The 2.3 Duratec in 2001.5-current trucks was designed in a joint project between Ford and Mazda.

I had a roommate who had an '88 Iron Duke S-10 with about 220,000 miles on it. We didn't know the exact mileage because the odometer broke. It still ran. It ran like [censored], but it ran. My other roommate had a '93 Ranger with about 200,000 miles on it and it got the [censored] beat out of it...it ran great. One time my roommate got the valves to float on it and it was fine...nothing seemed to mess it up.

 

[ffracer]

I have a Ford Ranger Lima with 160k - 110k with Mobil 1/Motorcraft filter driven hard with sports car cornering and trailers and heavy loads ..... changed every 5k.

It is like new, except the body. Usually get between 25 -28 mpg.

Great truck - you need to know how and when to shift. Has original clutch.

I have owned 3 Hondas and all three were great. The Toyotas have good drivelines, but the bodies are not as robust as the Ranger, hence, why I bought one.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: 01rangerxl
Originally Posted By: Max_Wander
Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL

Ford's (and subsequently Mazda's dual-ignition head version) of the 2.3


I don't believe Mazda ever touched those Lima's. Maybe one or two years of the Ford B2300 perhaps.

Yes while the 2.3L OHV Ford and the ol' Iron Duke were more or less on the same level, the iron duke suffered far more issues. The nylon timing gears come to mind. Does anyone remember an original Astro van with the 2.5L I4? what an inappropriate team!

I think you are right. Mazda never messed with the Lima engines. Ford added four spark plugs around 1991 or so for emissions reasons. One bank fires before the other, they don't fire at the same time...it is just to get a more complete burn.

The 2.3 Duratec in 2001.5-current trucks was designed in a joint project between Ford and Mazda.

I had a roommate who had an '88 Iron Duke S-10 with about 220,000 miles on it. We didn't know the exact mileage because the odometer broke. It still ran. It ran like [censored], but it ran. My other roommate had a '93 Ranger with about 200,000 miles on it and it got the [censored] beat out of it...it ran great. One time my roommate got the valves to float on it and it was fine...nothing seemed to mess it up.


For some reason I thought it was Mazda that implemented the Dual-Ignition. But I definitely could be wrong.

FYI, dual-ignition is actually a VERY old technology. I have seen it on numerous old marine engines including a 1920's vintage Van Blerk. The plugs fire out of phase in order to ensure complete combustion.

 

[artificialist]

The other problem with the Iron Duke/Tech4 is that the valve cover gasket almost always leaks.

 

[OVERKILL]

What about the sass-tastic Quad-4? LOL!!!

 

[alphasparky353]

I know this is not quite on topic but....I just missed out on a mint 1981 toyota diesel pickup for 1400 bucks!!!! A sad day indeed...