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Chevy S10 Owner Reviews

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  • ryanbabryanbab Member Posts: 7,240
    I drove a 4 cylinder sonoma (automatic)for about 3 months while my grandpa was in the hospital. (me and my cousin switched every wk) That thing was a dogg. My cousin took it after my grandpa died. It just recently got totaled.

    Ryan
  • expert1expert1 Member Posts: 133
    A truck with 120hp and gets 29+mph is a little doggish, but who cares. Did you ever check the gear ratio? Tall gears will dog a 4 cyl. My 2000 S-10 is plenty peppy for my use around town. The LS has all the bells and whistles, AC, PS, PB, and were do you think all those accessories get that power?
  • shelby12shelby12 Member Posts: 25
    4.3 V6, Power window, locks, cruise, cassette, tinted extra-cab(with crappy little jump seats)windows and rear window, tilt, and bucket seats with center console. A little more plush on the door panels, chrome trim etc. 226,000 and looking to sell. Body is clean, 1 year old paint(same white), painted for look only, no accidents. Runs great, no oil burn, and still good compression, but have no idea what someone would pay for it. Any ideas? I am not expecting much...
  • bobs5bobs5 Member Posts: 557
    If you look at the front page of www.edmunds.com, there is a "try our used vehicle appraiser" and "used car and truck prices & reviews" section.
    It should have the information you are looking for.
  • shelby12shelby12 Member Posts: 25
    Thanks...I'll check it out.
  • madridjoemadridjoe Member Posts: 28
    My wife and I pick up our 2001 LS Ext. 4X4,Auto on Saturday. We have been real happy with our 95 Sonoma, equipped the same way, and had two S-15s before that. Some of the posts here have me wondering how happy we will be with this one. I'll keep you informed as time goes by.
  • eddyveddyv Member Posts: 12
    Own a 97 chevy s-10, ext cab. 4.3L. 5 speed. Anyone install a header/dual exhaust system on one of these. I've been lookin online for an exhaust setup like this, but with little luck. Any input is greatly appreciated

    Ed
  • obyoneobyone Member Posts: 7,841
    or NOS or both...
  • barlitzbarlitz Member Posts: 752
    checkout S-Series.org
  • krusenkrusen Member Posts: 3
    I have a 2000 S-10 2wd ext with the 4.3 and an auto. I have had it to the dealer several times in 15K miles with a persistent pinging problem. This past summer it was so bad it retarded the timing and zapped the power. The dealer said this is normal and to run premium in it(midgrade doesn't help). I didn't buy the 6 to get the 4 power and don't want to spend the 12 cents/gal extra for premium. Anyone else noticed this problem and any solutions? I am just about ready to trade it in.
  • coxmcsecoxmcse Member Posts: 5
    My 95 has the HO 4.3L and it runs fine on 87 octane with very very little pinging (usually when under heavy load).

    The 4.3L in your 2000 is rated for high altitude use so I don't think that should be an issue but, where do you live? Also, have you tried gas from another vendor? Cheap gas can cause pinging amongst other things. Does your SES (service engine soon) light come on? You could have a bad knock sensor but this is usually a cause for the SES light to come on.

    Let us know what goes on.
  • luvchevys10luvchevys10 Member Posts: 1
    I own a 96 S10 2WD 4.3V6 extended cab fully loaded minus limited slip axle, sliding window and 3rd door. If you get one, get the limited slip axle or traction will be difficult with the 4.3. I think that on this year the interior trim is a little cheap but the truck itself is solid. This truck is driven to the max and with 78,000 it still runs perfect.
  • krusenkrusen Member Posts: 3
    I am in Wisconsin so the altitude is not a problem. I have tried various brands of fuel and it seems to run somewhat better on "independent" stations gas. Strange as it may sound, it ran the best on 87 octane "reformulated" (20% ethanol) gas I filled up with in Chicago and Milwaukee a few times. The SES light has never came on. I am sure the knock sensor works because you can feel a dramatic loss of power when the pinging/knocking stops as the timing is retarded.

    On a trip to Omaha, running across the small hills on I-80 in Iowa, With the cruise on it would drop 4-5 MPH and kick out of lock-up to try and climb the hills. It was just my wife and I and about 100# of luggage. Nothing in the bed at all.

    I really like the truck, but this problem is irritating. I am thinking about trading it for a ZR2, but if this is the way it is (as the dealer says) than the 4WD and bigger tires will compound the problem. I have the 3.42 and limited slip rear end now. I don't want to change brands. I had a 93 K3500 dually 4WD with the 6.5 turbo diesel that sold me on Chevy trucks. This one is unfortunately a disappointment
  • superjim2000superjim2000 Member Posts: 314
    I have a '99 with the V6 and dont have the problems you describe.
  • gmsjsbgmsjsb Member Posts: 8
    Check the spark plug gaps (good luck). I had a '97 Plymouth that came with spark plugs WAY out of spec. It might help.

    I have a 99 4cyl and have never heard it ping.

    Jeff
  • madridjoemadridjoe Member Posts: 28
    I have seen some posts from 4.3 S-10 owners saying that they have switched to the K&N air filter. I priced them today and see that it will cost about $50. The manufacture's claims sound good, but before I lay out that much cash, I would like to here what people who have made the switch have to say. Are these filters really worth the money? What sort of benefits have you seen?

    Thanks,

    Joe
  • tommctommc Member Posts: 66
    Pinging; Not common for these to ping as you describe. Some pinging is normal but you need to call the factory rep and set up a time to meet at the dealership. I'd suspect a piston problem in this. They may reprogram the ECM but performance and economy will suffer.
    Headers. Go over to www.sportruck.com and check out that forum and click on the new forum. Many, many guys have modified their 4.3s with this type add on.
    K&N air filters; Haven't seen any difference in the cars I've put these on. I tried them on two cars and won't waste the money again. If you have other modifications, may be worthwhile though.
  • mdecampsmdecamps Member Posts: 115
    I have a '98 S-10 with the 2.2L 4-cyl. I've never had any engine problems with it. For the last year, however, the engine has a "knocking" sound when it is very cold outside before the engine warms up. I spoke to the dealer about this and they told me that many people have complained about this and that it is completely normal for the engine. I was advised that this is the design for this engine to lose it's oil prime and that there is no damage being done. GM does not consider an engine noise a problem if it doesn't last more than 15 mins. Does anyone have this same problem? What has your dealer said?
  • tommctommc Member Posts: 66
    Earlier 2.2 engines had this problem, the pistons in these engines had a radical wrist pin position that was supposed to increase dwell at top dead center. Resulted in piston slap after initial wear of the side coating. Was a TSB on this but in the later trucks like yours this was supposed to have been fixed. If your truck is quiet when warm at a steady highway speed, you probably don't have a major problem. Sometimes a different type of oil may help cold engine noises.
  • tallcattallcat Member Posts: 3
    I'm new here and maybe this has been discussed before, if so please forgive. Does anyone know if GM is planning to add a fourth door to the Extended Cab S-10 pickup in the '02 model year? Thanks for your comments.
  • mjbwrtrmjbwrtr Member Posts: 172
    i own a 1993 s-10 tahoe pickup. my girlfriend bought me an 8-ball shifter knob for it and i cannot seem to get the stock one off. any suggestions? also, my exhaust rusted through in a perfect location to give me an excuse to put a catback system on it. and how-to's or advice on how to save a little green on the project?
  • pocahontaspocahontas Member Posts: 802
    For those interested, Edmund's review of the 2001 Chevrolet S-10 LS Crew Cab is now available. Here's a direct link to the Road Test: 2001 Chevrolet S-10 LS Crew Cab 4WD, by Philip Reed.

    Thanks for your comments. ;-)

    Pocahontas,
    Edmunds.com/Pickups Host
  • iusecadiusecad Member Posts: 287
    has anyone here gone from a fullsize truck into an S-10? if you have, do you miss the fullsize? I looked at Dakota Quadcabs when they came out and I had 2 salesmen tell me I wouldn't like "downsizing" and a Chevy salesman told me something similar about the S-10... but I like the look of the S-10 Crewcab and my brother really likes his '91 reg. cab w/4.3 and he's 6'-4... My K1500 is only getting 14 (13 in the winter) and it's getting old... could I expect better mileage from the S-10 w/4.3?

    thanks in advance for your thoughts
  • glassdanglassdan Member Posts: 1
    I own a 2000 ZR2 Ext. Cab with the 3rd. door, I have owned the truck for 1 year. Highway mileage is 22-26 and around town I get 17-18, the only real gripe I have with the truck is that the air pump seems to fail about every 4000 miles, the truck just passed the 8200 mile mark and I have had to have it replaced again. The only modifications I have done, is K&N air filter, which I highly recommend, Mobil 1 synthetic, and replaced the factory plugs with Bosch Platinum Plus. I have taken this truck off-road and it performed great, I would recommend this truck to anyone considering buying one.
  • barlitzbarlitz Member Posts: 752
    I went from a 99 F250 4x4 Supercab to a 00 ZR2,on occasion I miss the big truck but I don't miss the trips to the gas station,the ZR2 is holding its own with me Its my 3rd new truck since May of 99 which was a 99 SVT Lightning then the F250 and now the ZR2.If I could do it all over again the Lightning would be in storage and I would have a 95 or so Ranger,S-10. You'd be surprised on how much room the ZR2 has and the 3RD door is a great feature,I do miss the get up and go of the lightning and I did put a catback,K&N fipk and a superchip in the F250 and that had a lot of power too,if anything I miss the power but thats only because I like to drive fast sometimes,The ZR2 is a great truck and I'll keep this one for awhile, next spring I'll mess around with some mods on it. Good Luck
  • iusecadiusecad Member Posts: 287
    thanks! do you guys have a stick or an auto? and what gears 3.42 / 3.73?

    I was going to get a Silverado, but my biggest complaint with it is the $$$... and it shook at 45 mph... otherwise I would have had one since July... the S-10 is looking better all the time. A crewcab equipped the way I want is around $5k less then the Silvy, so maybe the Impala won't find it's way into my garage after all...

    uhm, what's an air pump?
  • jbordovajbordova Member Posts: 15
    Sorry about the first post, I hit enter by mistake. We have a 97 S-10 that we are selling. It has 4 cyl, auto, a/c, cd, alloy, LS. Right now it has about 34,000 miles on it. We are thinking of selling it for 8,000-9,000$. Is this a fair price? or is it to high or too low? Thanks for any replies!
  • pocahontaspocahontas Member Posts: 802
    In addition to the feedback here, you may also want to try out Edmund's used car appraiser. Good luck, and let us know how it goes. ;-)

    Pocahontas
    Host
    Pickups Board
  • rick00s10rick00s10 Member Posts: 1
    I have a 00 S10 2.2L 5 spd.
    When I lift my foot off the throttle the headlights blink off and on.
    It has to be real cold and will only do it for about 20 miles. This is a ver pronounced blink!
    I have had people pull over that are in front of me.
    Chevy has looked at it and can't diagnose the problem. The "event" happens to fast for there on-board computer to log an error code.
    Any ideas?
  • barlitzbarlitz Member Posts: 752
    I've got the 3.73 gears in my truck,bringing in for 1st oil change this morning 1018 miles after 3 months engine hasn't even broken in yet.You can get a lot more info at www.zr2.com and S-10.org there's a guy over there who has 44" tires on his truck,it looks nice but I think you need a step ladder to get in.Another thing I've been reading is the 4.3 Vortec is a great engine lasting for over 300,000 miles if you take care of it although in my case it will take me 75 years to drive that many miles.
  • iusecadiusecad Member Posts: 287
    thanks for the sites... I don't plan on putting big tires on if I do go with an S-10. the farthest off road I've been is my drive-way!
  • greg116greg116 Member Posts: 116
    I am considering buying a brand-new S10 or Sonoma, hopefully before the 2001 MY runs out. I want a V6 4x4 SLS Extended cab, sportside, offroad (not ZR2) model with lots of luxury. I work hard and I deserve it. any longevity tips from the seasoned owners? Its gonna be seeing a fair number of highway miles and taking me and a friend or two skiing.
  • tallcattallcat Member Posts: 3
    Does anyone know if the ext. cab S-10 will be available with four doors in the 2002 model year? I really like my '98 GMC S-15 but will be trading it for a - pardon the expression - Ranger if I don't see four door extended cab S-10's in the showrooms next fall.
  • superjim2000superjim2000 Member Posts: 314
    Apparently just a crew cab.
  • oididitoididit Member Posts: 3
    i just bought a 2000 S-10 2.2l Vortec (dual fuel) ext. cab ls. after 2 days of driving it, the head started leaking coolant. they have told me it was defective from the factory. i'm in the process of arguing with
    the dealership to have the truck replaced, instead of having the head, seals and whatever else is damaged rebuilt. my brother owned one of these also and had nothing but problems. his was eventually bought back under the lemon law. i bought this simlpy because my 1991 S-10 tahoe
    2.8l v-6 was a dream (with the exception of paint delamination that i found about too late for warranty work). are there others out there having the same problems with this engine? my aunt & sister-in-law own 4.3l vortecs and have not one problem.
  • brydonbrydon Member Posts: 1
    I have a 1997 reg cab 2.2L 4cyl 5 speed 56,000 miles if i decelerate in 5th gear it will pop out of gear and once in a while it will do it in 4th gear any buddy had the same problem and or have a fix for it.
  • fjulfjul Member Posts: 1
    I have a 97 S10 SS, L35 V6, Automatic, 50k, When I drive for a few hours and the trans gets good and hot, the SES light comes on and the trans shifts very hard. When I stop and shut the truck off then re-start it the trans shifts fine. The SES light will go out in time. Dealer says its typical for that GM trans. Recomends a $2,000.00 rebuild!!!!!! But can't provide me with an explanation.
    What the hell.....appreciate any input on this...especially from GM Service Techs.
    THANKS
  • expert1expert1 Member Posts: 133
    I just picked up my 2000 S-10 LS with everything you mentioned with 1300 miles on it for $10000. I think you might be a little high at $9000 for a 1997. With the closeout rebates GM was giving at the end of 2000 a brand new one was in the high 11a and low 12s.
  • expert1expert1 Member Posts: 133
    If your problem can be related to transmissions in general, it seems as if your shifting fork is bent and not allowing the gear to fully engage or the teeth are rounded on the 5th gear, thus not fully engaging. A fix for it is a tranny rebuild. If the syncros and other gears are not bad maybe you could get by with just replacing the 5th gear and the fork. Hey, Chevys trannys are cheap and plentiful. I would check a junk yard.
  • jdaniojdanio Member Posts: 1
    I'm going to be buying an S10 in the next few days. I'd appreciate hearing what people have been paying for their S10's in the last couple weeks of 2000. You can email me @ tiggerdano@netzero.net or post it here.
    Thanks,
    Jason
  • ryanbabryanbab Member Posts: 7,240
    Could you install a trans cooler? Dont know if it would help but it would be worth a try.

    Ryan
  • expert1expert1 Member Posts: 133
    Like I said in my previous post, I picked up a Space Blue 2000 S-10 LS, with sliding rear window, chrome bumpers, body side mouldings, CD, Air, 4 cly, 5 speed, mats, etc. for $10,000. It was used, but had only 1300 miles on it. The private party even paid the registration and half the taxes on it also. Looking in the paper the same car closed out in the low 12s to high 11s. Its retail price was 15,777, but Chevy also gave a rebate on that price reducing the MSRP to the high 13s.
  • oididitoididit Member Posts: 3
    the 2000 s-10 i bought had a 2.2L L4, 5 speed, ext. cab, ls pckg, full size spare, bed liner, 8 miles on the odo, and an engine with a defective head (see post above). all this was had for $13,500 before financing. btw, the dealership refused to take the truck back until the owner of the dealership heard about it. he told them to take it back. i'm now waiting the 8-10 weeks for my new 4.3L v-6 w/5 speed LS ext. cab to be delivered. whatever you do, stay away from the 4 cyl. i've found more people in the last several days that are much happier with their 4.3 than the 2.2 (power & reliability wise). my personal favorite is the 2.8L v-6, great little engine, too bad the don't put it in s-10's anymore.
  • expert1expert1 Member Posts: 133
    Sorry about your bad lemon luck. I checked Edmunds before my purchase and they rated the 4 cyl. 5 out of 5 stars for the 2000. The 1999s and below had engine troubles, but supposeably they were fixed on the 2000 model. Maybe you got one of the 1999 motors in your 2000. I just drove it into the mountains, with my wife, and only had to shift down to 4th a couple of times. Going back home it remained in 5th the whole time. 23-29 mph has some sacrifices and power is one. With 2500 on the odo it runs great, doesn't knock when cold, doesn't shift hard into 2nd, and stops on a dime. For what I got, Vortec 4 and all, I am quite pleased. The ride is far superior to the small Fords and Dodges and for what you get for the money is well worth it. I know a guy that had the old iron duke 4 in his S-10 and got 200K+ miles without a problem. Maybe the 2000 Vortec 4s can be this same engine.
  • oididitoididit Member Posts: 3
    somehow i completely missed that board. thanks for the link.
  • wishmaster350wishmaster350 Member Posts: 1
    Hey, I have a 1987 chevy s-10 pickup. It has a 2.8L v-6 4 spd auto(700R-4) I have some 14 inch rims with p195/75/r 14 tires on it. I want to put some "big meats" under my truck without having to deal with a lift right now. What size could I put under it and at what costs? Thamks for your help. Wishmaster350
  • pocahontaspocahontas Member Posts: 802
    You're welcome. Thanks for you participation. ;-)

    Pocahontas
    Host
    Pickups Message Board
  • glennmangeglennmange Member Posts: 1
    I have a 1998 Chevy S10 truck. Overall the truck has been pretty good to me with a few exceptions. Every so often the "service engine soon" light comes on. It has been doing this for the past year or so and each time I have brought it to the dealer they tell me its the light itself and not a problem with truck. Also the handle for the extended cab door broke off while I was trying to open it one day, and the handle to raise / lower the seat back came off as well. Either I don't know my own strength or GM uses cheap plastic. Other than that its been pretty good. Starts up no problem, drives no problem either.
  • mdecampsmdecamps Member Posts: 115
    Am I the only one that is getting the knocking when cold on the 2.2L in my '98 S-10? Mine started when the engine had about 25K on it. It's noticable in cold weather until the engine warms up.
  • the5carthe5car Member Posts: 26
    What do you mean by knocking? My motor makes
    some noise in the morning, but it disappears
    after about 5 minutes. And what do you mean
    by cold? How cold are your mornings? I've
    been dealing with lows in the teens for the
    last 3-4 weeks, so I expect some engine noise
    on startup until the oil can begin traveling
    throughout the motor. BTW, my engine now has
    126,000 miles on it ('97 LS 5-speed).

    I also posted earlier about some drivetrain
    noise that I heard...turns out it was the
    universal...when did GM start injecting plastic
    into the driveshaft yoke in order to prevent
    the joint from moving? What a pain in the tail
    that replacement was. I tried to do it the
    old fashioned, proper way by using a vise and
    some sockets, but it wouldn't budge. Ended up
    having to beat the thing out with a hammer.
    And why doesn't the factory joint come with
    a grease fitting like the replacement did?

    Sometimes I feel that car manufacturers are
    in cahoots with the parts dealers...
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