ATV Florida Forum

I'm in the market for a small four cylinder pick-up, two doors, good on gas, stone reliable, don't care about power, cosmetics too much, or looks.  I'm looking to spend no more than $3000, hence I'm looking at early 90's. 
Now, I've heard that the Toyotas and Isuzus are very reliable, but I've also hear that the Rangers are too.  I've also heard that all the domestic ones weren't as good as the imports.
I was thinking also to get one with a carb in it as opposed to fuel injection, because maybe it'd be easier to figure out problems if any ever arose?  I'd lose out on some mileage though.
Preety much what I'm looking for is the cheapest way, yet still really reliable, for me to stick my dirt bike in the back of the truck and do 70-80 all the way to Croom from Broward, that kinda thing.  Any ideas on which brand, engine size, etc, I should be looking at?

Not sure about the EFI thing but I've always liked Rangers for fuel economy and Toyotas for power. My dad's ole toyota was his second truck after his mazda sucked at towing. It lasted 12 years before it was rusting away and he had to trade it in for the jeep. And it towed a 22' Boat with that ole 120 horse four.. just not very fast.

So between a Ranger and a Toyota, if it's power vs. fuel economy, I'd take the Ranger.  One guy on here has one for $2000 that I'd like to get, but still have to make sure I'm getting the right kinda truck for what I want.  I'm not gonna be towing any trailers, just stuff in the bed more than likely.

I gotta go with Toyota 22R

What about an S-10?

I sell auto parts for a living. I have for 22 years. If you want a 4 cylinder I think the Toyota is the way to go. If you wanted a V6 I would get an S10 (first choice) or a Ranger.

I had a '91 Ranger short bed that had 135,000 mi on it when I sold it (impractical for a family of 4).  The only thing that ever went out was the fuel pump.  I had the 4 cylinder that had 8 plugs, EFI, and got 22-25 mpg highway.  It was a bit slow though, and I still laugh that the spedo in the ranger had only 1/2 the range of what I have now.  Good luck finding one.

what are you talking about, the early 90's 4 cylinder rangers had problems out the a$$ from the typical iacv to the tranny

rangers suck unl;ess you get a v6 andd still they are a very underacheaving truck go with a toyota or a nissan

american cars/trucks will never be as good as an import and thats a FACT

go to consumer reports and look what is says about american car manufacturing

1 out of every 33 american made automobiles will be a lemon
1 out of every 99 japan made automobiles will be a lemon

that is my vote also

i'm sorry i have to disagree.

i admit that you cant beat an asian for a 4 cyl. but nobody and i mean nobody can beat an american made v8.

the japs are infants when it comes to v8s.

i dont care what any report says.

4 cyl-japs

v6-v8 usa.

i would recommend the 22r.

but i would never buy a car from a country that bombed us. (an atv yes) ;D

definitely with this guy.

r 22 BULLET PROOF

I would highly recommend the Chevy S-10.  I had a 93 extended cab with a V-6 Tahoe engine in it and that thing never let me down.  Before I got my Silverado I put over 160,000 miles on my S-10 and when i got rid of it, it still ran strong.  Plus it was easy to work on.  It had a manual transmission which made it good on gas.  I would suggest that if you are going to get a truck don't get a four cylinder, get a V-6, they can take a better beating.  If you are getting an early 90's truck you are gonna have to expect a lot of miles on it so a V-6 would be better to buy.  You don't want to buy a four banger that someone used to tow their 30 foot boat and put all that stress on the four cylinder engine.  Ford Rangers suck, nothing but problems.  Imports are reliable but when something goes wrong with them it will cost you an arm and a leg to get it fixed.  Whatever truck you decide to go with make sure you get a manual for it, they show you step by step what to do when you work on them, plus they have pictures.  I suggest Haynes manuals.  You can buy them at any auto parts store like Pep Boys or Discount Auto Parts.

LOL. Yeah, your right, the new Corvette is a POS and so is the Ford GT. I bet you could beat one with a stock Honda Civic.  ::)  Anyways, I don't know much about the 4-cylinder S-10's, but I have always heard great things about the V6 ones, my dad had one and it never had 1 problem, ever. It was his work truck, but he wanted something newer and got a V6 Ford Ranger, and let me tell you, that was the biggest piece of junk ever. It was in the shop all the time, so he requested for a new truck again, so they gave him a 4-cylinder ranger..No better, its always in the shop for all kinds of diffrent problems ranging from A/C and Electrical (the interior lights wont shut off because they use some kind of sensor that is faulty and the radio's volume adjuster is always going crazy), Oil leaks and alot of dead battery's and transmission problems. From what I have seen of the Ford Ranger, I would never want to own one... I am not sure about the gas mileage on the V6 S-10 but I am sure someone here knows or you could look it up.. I think you would probably care about power more than you think, because when you want to pass someone or make a light before it turns red  >:D you will fall short... But, If you really want a 4 cylinder, go with the Toyota.

Definitely YOTA

If the Ranger's are only getting around 22 mpg on the highway, you'd be better off getting an older diesel, because they'll get just as good on the highway, but you'll have way more power and reliability. Also keep in mind, diesel just went down 8 more cents last night  8) I'm still paying around $2.75 for a gallon of diesel, getting 18 MPG pulling my trailer to the track isnt soo bad. With no trailer, going 70-75 my truck will get around 22-23. The older 7.3 diesels got better mialage than mine does too, I have the 6.0 Ford diesel.

He's only looking to spend $3000. The price of parts will kill him also.

a buddy of mines gotta s10 ex cab 2wd w/ 4.3 v6 w/ auto he wanted to take it out to the blackhole w/ me n some friends [he coulda driven my bronco]  so anyways that truck w/ street tires would go thru any thing till he decided to go thru the big one only 3-4 ft deep :D any how made it thru the 1st time bu on the way back got water in the engine well to do the same i did to get the water outta my mazda wich took about 1 hr it took 2 day s on that truck engines way to big 4 the compartment i gotta a 91' mazda 4 sale ext cab w/ 3inch lift an 103k mi  it gets 27-30 mpg i'm askin $1,000 needs alittle work [throwout bearing + alternator n some cosmetic stuff but i'm willing to work with the price ]

yes my dad had a 96 s-10 4 cyl good on gas milage and cood do sum good towing for a lil four banger it towed the most evr i thik was a 6x12 trailer with our buggy and one bike!he sold it for 1900

Alright, it seems that the Toyota is the most common suggestion, and I am looking for a 4 cylinder.  What I'm gonna be asking of this truck is to just put the dirt bike in the bed, and drive in the 70's to Croom, which is like 4 and a half hours.  I'm gonna own the thing for about 9 months or so, then when high school is over, sell it, hopefully for what I bought it for.  So I'm gonna keep a lookout for the Toyota.

go with s-10 good little trucks  ;)

4 cyl has always been yota, Sorry.

MAZDAS are 1/2 the price n just as good mine -2wd- would hang with my buddy in his unstoppable 78 bronco n got 35 mpg before i put the lift on it n i can fit my full size ute 4 wheeler in the bed of it

toyota with a 22R or 22RE. we had 2 rangers and they both had all kinds of problems. we also had a bronco 2(same as the ranger pretty much) and it had all kind of problems. never had a problem with a toyota or nissan. had a celica with a 22RE in it and had 325,000 miles on it and it ran great til it was totaled. nissans are good too.

So 22R and 22RE are engines, so what model am I looking at?  What were the name of the trucks that had those engines in them?

Toyota SR5s. My dad's ole truck had a 22RE in it, lasted longer than the truck itself did. :( I think the E is for EFI.

The Mitsubishi's are good also. I had 2 of those before. Now I got an"87" toyota with 200,000 mi.  and going strong with a/c kicking. 8) The last "mighty max, D-50" I got had the 2.6 litre engine which I liked even better. I would have to imagine 4 bangers will be getting sold quick with gas so high . GL

Toyota pickups. thats what they were called. those are the best trucks ever!

Hilux?

evidently his ford bronco isnt unstopable. it took 2 trucks and 3 hours to get you both out of that mud.