4x4, not necessarily Ranger or Tacoma!

So, last 4x4 request was for Jeeps, but we (my dear beloved bride and I - because let's face it, "we" could be some guy in the parking lot at Walmart... or not...) may seek the utility of a truck.

I see the post on Tacoma or Ranger, but I don't think we want to spend quite that much - maybe the $4K - $5K range.

I think of old (80's - 90s, but?) Toyotas, Chevys, Fords, so what years are "best" from parts availability, reliability, etc? I saw a lot of 86 and 87 Toy 4x's for sale, which makes me wonder if there are issues?

Intended use occasional trips up the back side of Mt. Lemon (local hill here in Tucson), runs to Home Depot and back - probably won't get in to any serious off roading or anything.

What says the great GRM collective?

Old Toyota 4x4 of that vintage, frame rust. They're also quite slow. Tough as nails though!

And not nearly as big as say a Ford F150.

Pick your poison.

Keep an eye on the local craigslist until you find someone selling a Nissan or Toyota for a reasonable sum. I have not been impressed with the compact 4x4 domestics.

They all have their issues (eg: even the beloved 22RE eats timing chains and will blow a head gasket every 200k), but the Toyota and Nissan are better trucks overall. Avoid the Toyota 3.0L V6...

foxtrapper wrote: Old Toyota 4x4 of that vintage, frame rust.

He's in Tucson.

Which is in Arizona.

Its worth asking yourself, if you're really not going to do any serious off roading and mostly use the truck for hauling building supplies, if you really need to spend the money on 4WD you may not use much if at all. The price variance between 2 and 4 WD trucks of that era can be quite a jump.

Short bed F-150 with the 300 straight 6.

Camanchee. Its a jeep and a truck

ShadowSix wrote:

foxtrapper wrote: Old Toyota 4x4 of that vintage, frame rust.

He's in Tucson. Which is in Arizona.

They rust because mud and E36 M3 gets inside the frame rails. Not as big a problem in the drier climates, but still something to look out for.

The 80's Toyotas do not have the rust issues the Tacos did. I second the opinion that if you don't need 4x4 don't get it. Not only are they more expensive to buy, the fuel mileage take a big hit.

http://phoenix.craigslist.org/wvl/cto/4053081223.html

You cannot beat a ranger... Ever. I recommend a manual or at least a tow package trans cooler on the autos. The 4.0 liter is what you want in a V6 steer clear of the 3.0 (300k mile engine but gutless and terrible mileage) the 2.3 or 2.5 (only a few years) are great 4cyl but very rare in a 4x4 93-96 only in newer body style manual trans reg cab only.

I would get a 97 or older 4x4 as they had the indestructible TTB d-35 instead of the later IFS D-35

I've owned an 88 97 and 04 Ranger. 87,88 and 89 Bronco 2. I love the reliability, ease of maintenance, economy, fun factor and aftermarket support on these great little trucks.

Jaxmadine wrote: Camanchee. Its a jeep and a truck

This. Comanche. Parts a-plenty since most stuff swaps with Cherokees and other Jeeps. Long bed. Simple. Reliable. Look good. Serious off-road capability.

They don't tow terribly well though.

ShadowSix wrote: http://phoenix.craigslist.org/wvl/cto/4053081223.html

I actually like that a lot. Im not a fan of the v6s in those trucks but i like the 4cyl. Easy-peesy to work on, very reliable.

But, are you necessarily looking for a truck?

Frame rust on hilux toyotas is wrong, not a problem, beds rust commonly but thats at big mileage in salty climates with no love. If undercarrige is cleaned with regularity, even the bed rust is no problem. Little known fact: beds are relatively cheap from toyota, I priced one out when I was an emloyee and my cost was like $1200. The 22re is a rugged little motor, with relatively little power (breathing mods and a cam helps a ton) and the 3.0 sixes were problematic (headgasket issues), the 3.4 sixes are a pretty easy swap from the newer trucks/runners and theyre reliable and strong (and trd blower makes them wail in the old trucks). The 2/3rz 4 cyl from the tacos are a common swap too. The electric locking rear diff from the trd taco/runner is basicly a drop in deal too.

Here's mine (an 89 22re with no lift, and 31/10.50/15 tires that were an option) <img src="" />

Ford. F150 or Ranger.

No Toyota tax, parts to fix all of it everywhere, huge aftermarket.

all toyota trucks have box frames, and they all eot out gloriously. from the inside out breaking in half, usually at

rhe dogleg at the back of the cab. somwhow, taco owners of a small year range succeeded in getting toyota to own up to it. I've swen rhe same breakage in old hilux, t100 and tundra. about yhe only thi g I've found interesting is how the 4x4 frames bloom rust faster, and seem an afterthought redesign.

JFX001 wrote: Short bed F-150 with the 300 straight 6.

bingo

For the occasional haul, an older F150 with the straight 6 could be cheaper than a trailer and hitch.

To say a box frame design is fundamentally flawed is um..... interesting. Also, not all toyotas have boxed frames, the tacoma does not, and the frame rust issue/recall was regarding those trucks (frames on recall trucks were outsourced to dana, IMHO thats why they were junk). Not trying to step on toes, just trying to avoid misinformation.

No body mentioned a Dakota

Maybe my uncle got a bad one but his 2000 or so Ranger 2wd 4cyl 5 speed is a POS verses my 94 2wd 22re pickup. It might be that he put a custom shell on it but the ranger could barely keep up with my truck on the freeway.

My 22re powered toyota just turned over 250k miles and runs great. Changed the time chain at 185k miles, still on the original headgasket. My only issue is I had a hole rot out in the cylinder head causing a pinhole water leak. I don't know if head porosity is an issue, Maybe I just got a bad one. I was plugging it with JB weld and it popped 50miles from home not near an auto parts store. I found a hardware store had two part plumbers epoxy, I plugged up the hole and it seems to have works surprisingly well.

Everyone says the 22re is slow but I've ran it hard and I think they are plenty fast, you just gotta lay on the go pedal. Truck runs out of speed at about 90mph but feels unstable above 85mph or so.

The only answer is an 88-98 Chevy 1500 or -2000 2500 or 3500.

Get whatever is cheap with a good body and interior and work it forever.

S10/S15 with a TBI 4.3... bolt a 350 in, hook up the TBI setup to it, and have some fun...

No body mentioned a Dakota

I love dakotas and hate 4wd dakotas. The fact that the crossmember directly under the rear of the transfer case does not come out is so assinine i flat refuse to own one. Also, i really like 2wd dakotas.