My S10 Experiences

[beenjamin]

I own a 1995 chevy s10 std cab with the 2.2l 4cyl and a 5spd manual transmission. This is my first post, and I mainly just wanted to list a few of my experiences with this vehicle. I've just recently hit the 101k mark and have owned my truck for 3 years (it had about 70k miles when I bought it). This truck is my first vehicle and I've learned a lot about repair and maintainence over the past few years. I purchased a Haynes Auto Repair Manual when I got the vehicle and have used it for just about everything since.

Overall I've been very pleased. It looks pretty sharp, its always started up right away, runs very smooth, and the gas mileage has been decent(currently getting 24.5mpg w/cheapest octane). The interior is decent and clean, although it sure could use a cup holder or two (driving a stick with a drink can get tricky). I dont drive it too hard, since pressing the peddle farther doesnt seem to do very much :P . Power has never been a big plus with this vehicle, but it can definitely spin a tire and its top speed is somewhere above 95(its electronically limited). The heaviest thing I've had in the back was a large motorcyle, and it did pretty well luggin it around. Im very glad I ended up with a manual trany, and have had a great time learning to drive a stick. I've never had to have more than 600 bucks spent on a repair, and have been able to do 90% of the work myself. Thats not to say every thing has been perfect though, as I've had to do a fair share of work to keep it putterin along. Below I've listed what I've had to do maintainence-wise, and a few of the more serious problems I've had, over the years. I hope this post helps anyone out there with a similar problem or who is considering buyin an S10.

Basic maintainence:
New tires(Bridgestone Dueler Revo's, great tires, look nice, traction is excellent, very little road noise)
Replaced spark plugs
Oil/Oil Filter change every 3-4k mi
Greased steering bearings
Topped off various fluids as needed (a little trany fluid and a slash of power steering fluid)

Problems I've had with my truck:

-tires: The tires that came through this thing were HORRIBLE (firestone wilderness somethings). Traction in anything but the most ideal conditions was non-existant. I literally have done 180's and 360's through intersections in the rain at least 4 times, and lost traction on many normal stops (no collisions luckily :P ). They had to go. Replaced with the bridgestones, been great ever since.

-spare tire fell off while driving(I still feel bad for the guy that was behind me): What happened here was the nut thingy that goes on the end of the cable that holds the tire up under the vehicle just managed to work its way loose. No biggy, got a new nut thingy.

-alternator went bad: One day I noticed my battery was just about toast, and I assumed it was just a problem with the battery. Nope, turns out the alternater wasnt charging, and on the way to Napa the battery totally died; along with every electrical system in my vehicle. Not cool, my 2500 lb truck instantly turned into the power-nothing death sled. Got a new alternator at Napa. That one went bad after a year or so, and they swapped it out no charge.

-coolant system problems: When I bought the vehicle I noticed it was leaking coolant. I looked for the leak and found the water pump was leakin(weep hole was leakin fluid). Replaced that and found the vehicle still was leakin fluid. Went lookin for a leak again and noticed a coolant residue on the trasmission. Apparently there is a leak in the rear of the engine(corroded freeze plugs??). To this day I havent been able to fix this one, since I think I'd have to drop the tranny to get to those freeze plugs and I dont really have the tools or knowledge to do anything that extreme. The vehicle has always run cool though, and I've only had it overheat once while waiting in the drivethrough line at McDonalds on a hot summer day(mmm, fillet'o'fish). Even then it didnt boil over; I parked and shut it off before it got too hot. Just this evening I am flushing the coolant system for the second time since I got it. Lots of brown coolant gunk comin out.. better out than in I guess. I've never been able to locate the block coolant drain, any one know where this thing is?

-starter went bad: This started with a small grinding sound when attempting to start the vehicle, and eventually turned into a total failure of the component. Bought a new one, tried to install, but there was one little tiny friggin bolt in the back that dispite many hours and much beer and a freinds help, I was not able to remove. Took it to a shop and they threw it on there for a few bucks. No problems since.

-exhaust: Heard a loud rattling sound when I was at low RMP and shifting, got scared and thought it was something in the trany until the guy at the repair place kicked my cat. Turns out the catalytic converter had gone bad and the peices were rattling around. Replaced that and the muffler while I was at it (OEM muffler was 60 bucks, so I just got a "turbo muffler." I kind of regret that, 'cause now my truck has the classic 4cyl-wish-I-was-fast whine and everyone with a real engine feels the need to put me in my place(last) :/ ). Power and throttle reponse improved after that (went from anemic sloth to elderly tortoise).

-clutch: When I bought the vehicle, the clutch was pretty worn. There was a slight vibration when I enaged it, and it only grabbed in the last couple inches of the pedal play. I knew trany work was far beyond me, so I took it to a trany place(coastal transmissions) and they threw in a new clutch disc and resurfaced the flywheel. It cost 600$(Ouch) but has been fine ever since.

-rear brake/turn signal: Bulb popped out. Weird. Plugged it back in, a-ok now.

Welp, hope I remembered everything.. Overall a good truck. Practical and great for gettin around. It worked out perfect for me as a first time vehicle. Now if it just had power...

[S-10kid]

yeaa i am rollin with a 95. Love it. But now that i am gettin some money time to make mine perrtyy and fast