What are the best early 1990's small trucks?

[Bick]

I've seen several Pinzgauers around Boulder.  Very cool.  Not sure if they fit your mileage requirements

http://www.youtube.com/v/6AaRL2jSrHw&hl=en&fs=1

I have owned a couple Nissans, both '92 I4's.  They both did very well on gas.  Tinny construction, like all small pickups in the day, but they ran well and minimal maintenance issues.

[ducatiz]

The Frontier with an extended cab fits what I need.  I saw one for sale in Florida with a 3" lift that made the truck look much nicer without overdoing it -- it looked less like a toy. 

They are cheap too, usually around 3500-5000 depending on condition, I think that's what I'll end up with. 

Was yours auto or stick?  Anything I need to know about that model (I assume it was an XE?)  I am very set on the 4cyl not the 6.

[NuTTs]

truck = toyota diesel or turbo diesel. they WILL keep going forever, guaranteed.

[ducatiz]

truck = toyota diesel or turbo diesel. they WILL keep going forever, guaranteed.

Toyota never sold diesels in the USA and only a tiny few diesels, all Mazda and Mitsubishi I believe (Ford used a Mazda engine in the Ranger)

[meano_lover]

have you thought of a chevy s-10 pickup? they have the 2.2l, easily available in man. or auto, and are way cheap to find. my bro has one with the extended cab shortbed. it works great for weekend hauls.

[Grampa]

I would do a  older toyota over an older nissan any day.

the older frontiers sucked (says the guy who owns a newer one)

[ducatiz]

have you thought of a chevy s-10 pickup? they have the 2.2l, easily available in man. or auto, and are way cheap to find. my bro has one with the extended cab shortbed. it works great for weekend hauls.

yeah, i like the way they look, i just don't see many for sale with high mileage.  you see old nissans and toyotas with 200k miles on them but the chevys dont seem to make it

i look at the mileage on these old trucks to see how they fare later on -- the nissans and toyotas seem to last 200k miles easy on the original engine, but few chevys over 150k.

I would do a  older toyota over an older nissan any day.

the older frontiers sucked (says the guy who owns a newer one)

why do you think they sucked?  they had a good engine (I'm talking about the I4, not the V6) and plenty of them up for sale with 150-300k miles around.  they seem to last pretty well if taken care of.

[x136]

Those mid-80s through mid-90s Toyota trucks (which were just called "pickup" in the US, apparently, and Hilux elsewhere) seem to be one of those vehicles that will outlive man, and give cockroaches a run for their money. I mean, how many of them do you see on any given day, looking like the following image (or much worse!) and still chugging along?



Wikipedia's article on the thing even has a section devoted to how tough the little bastards are.

[Grampa]

I had a  used 87 4x4  similar to this



the thing ran forever, and required almost no maintanance. I sold it for more than I purchased it for after driving hard for over three years.

I worked for a  nissan dealership in the late 90's. the frontiers were in the shop all the time with lil nit picky issues and lots of major internal engine issues. both toyota  and nissan sound like you are driving in a tin box, but the Toyo felt more solid.

[SKOM]

I used to own an 89 S-10 with the 2.5L 4 cyl. 5spd manual. That truck was AWESOME.

Great mileage - as good as my old VW golf.
Most reliable vehicle I ever owned - and I beat the shit out of it.

It is in a better place now thanks to an "incident".   

[darylbowden]

have you thought of a chevy s-10 pickup? they have the 2.2l, easily available in man. or auto, and are way cheap to find. my bro has one with the extended cab shortbed. it works great for weekend hauls.

I used one of these for business for about 3 years.  Decent truck, but by 200k miles, I had rebuilt the engine, tranny, replaced the clutch 2x, new A/C compressor 2x, new power steering pump, etc, etc. In other words, they only last if you constantly fix them.

[SKOM]

I used one of these for business for about 3 years.  Decent truck, but by 200k miles, I had rebuilt the engine, tranny, replaced the clutch 2x, new A/C compressor 2x, new power steering pump, etc, etc. In other words, they only last if you constantly fix them.

The 2.5 liter engine was nicknamed the "iron duke"
I never had to replace anything on it. It had around 150k miles when it was destroyed. I was t-boned by someone going 40 mph. It still ran. I wish I had a picture. The body was so screwed that you couldn't even sit in the drivers seat. It still ran.
It was relatively indestructible. Can't really speak for the 2.2L.

edit: sorry - I just remembered that I did have to replace a belt. Once.

[x136]

I used to own an 89 S-10 with the 2.5L 4 cyl. 5spd manual. That truck was AWESOME.

I had a car with that 2.5L in it. Good engine for the time, lots of torque. Unfortunately, the car had a three speed slushbox. I bet it would have shone with a five speed. Even so, I eked 30-35MPG out of the thing.

[darylbowden]

The 2.5 liter engine was nicknamed the "iron duke"
I never had to replace anything on it. It had around 150k miles when it was destroyed. I was t-boned by someone going 40 mph. It still ran. I wish I had a picture. The body was so screwed that you couldn't even sit in the drivers seat. It still ran.
It was relatively indestructible. Can't really speak for the 2.2L.

edit: sorry - I just remembered that I did have to replace a belt. Once.

Mine was a '91 4-cyl, can't remember the size.  All I know is that it cost me almost as much as a car payment every month with all the things I had to fix on it.  Of course, I did drive it 60k/year, but still my Toyota never complained.

[SKOM]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GM_Iron_Duke_engine