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Just my 2 cents...
I have a low mileage '90 S10 with 127,000. Friend of mine works for company that drives fleet of delivery Astro Vans. They have 4.3L and most have 200,000+, one has 277,000. Pretty amazing for commercial use with multiple drivers.
I would really like to hear from someone who has used the Max Life oil. They have testamonial letters posted on their web site, and they sound encouraging. That's advertising though, and you don't exaxtly get an unbiased opinion there.
tom
I've been modifying car audio systems since it meant hanging an 8 track player under the dash. What I like to do to really upgrade the sound is install seperate speakers. Go to radio shack and buy a pair of their universal 100 watt 3 way crossovers. This will enable you to have correctly wired seperate woofers, midranges and tweeters. I have even installed a 2 way crossover on the midrange output to have high and low midrange speakers. The factory speakers usually make acceptable midrange speakers, but I usually replace them with aftermarket speakers any way. I usually install the tweeters in the doors, up high. The woofers must always be mounted in a wooden speakers enclosure for good bass response and to prevent unwanted vibrations. I always put in the largest power amp that can physically be mounted conveniently. The factory radio (head unit) are usually quite good, unless yours doesn't have a cd or cassette or whatever. I also like to use the factory radio because it does not draw attention to the fact that I have a lot of bucks into the stereo system and they do not attract thieves. I always try to hide the installation of components as much as possible for the same reason, and to preserve the stock factory appearance of the interior as much as possible.
One word about reponsible use of such a high power sound system. I abhor "boom trucks". Obnoxious use of excessive bass in public incites road rage. The only times I "kick out the jams" is usually when I am alone on the highway with the windows up. Around the city I turn down the volume at stoplights. Some of my vehicles have had over 700 watts of clean undistorted music power (that was in a '93 GMC Sonoma, the S-10's twin).
I'm pretty happy with the new stuff in my S-10, but I am certainly not as demanding as you must be. I guess I am nowhere near what you would call an audiophile.
tom
Just got back from my second long trip in my S-10.
It ran real nice and smooth and got 27.0 MPG going up to Illinois and 25.6 MPG coming back, but that tank included some in-town driving before I started the trip home.
What a fantastic little truck! Love it!
It now has just a hair under 138,600 miles. I have put a little over 4000 miles on it since buying it on 7/16/01.
tom
tom
Thanks for your post.
tom
Any more details would be appreciated, like how reliable has it been over the years, and stuff like that.
tom
I never do much in town driving, but it sounds like we get very similar highway mileage.
Got any pics to post?
tom
I appreciate your taking the time to email me about it, so please don't be upset that I have decided to try it anyway.
I'll be sure and post how it turns out for me. I have bought the oil already, but I won't be due for an oil change for another 1500 miles.
If anyone else out there has any opinion about Max Life, please post a message, especially if you have had a bad experience with it like Vidtech.
thanks
tom
last wednesday it went over 100K.
Never had any problems until about 2 months ago. Seemed to idle rough and die when backing out of the garage. Dad had a new exhaust put on (catalytic converter was shot). Ran better but still not good. Changed all sensors and i mean all of them. Got fed up took it to the chevy dealer. They replaced the fuel filter and it ran better than ever (he replaced the filter 15K prior).
Running good. Itll be passed down to my brother next year.
Ryan
tom
my dad is a mechanic and has done all the work himself (brakes, etc)
New shocks are coming. Any suggestions? I ordered bilsteins for my silverado but for a truck with 100K he doesnt need fancy ones
Dad had a bad day. Got to work noticed tire was low checked it later and it was flat changed it. Then he went to start it after work truck would turn over but wouldnt start. Checked it out no spark.
I had to go pick him up he left it. Guy is leaving him a new control module to change see if it works. If not possible new ECM.
tom
will find out tomorrow im sure its nothing major
that led to the ignition control module burning up. Changed those and its running again
tom
Its running great (except i have to go get a tire fixed for it tomorrow it has a nail in it)
When a new 2004 S-10, er, Colorado starts pushing $25-35K, that old paid-for truck in your driveway will look downright beautiful!!
Joe
Are those Colorados ugly? I heard they are bigger than the S-10's. Very few new models of any vehicle have ever looked as good to me as the ones they replaced.
I don't like the styling of the 94 and up S-10 nearly as well as the good old "square" S-10 like my '89.
I just put the 5000th mile on my truck since buying it on 7/16/01. It's up to 139,503 on the odometer now. I'm lovin' that little truck! It runs great, hasn't required any oil between changes so far, and gets great gas mileage.
tom
of the good old days when I had 2 of them.
My first truck was a toy hi lux 74. Bought
during the gas crunch. Man was it good on
gas....Thas about it..Many problems with
head gaskets and blowing off the exaust
system....RUST RUST...Here in NY by 79
it was rusted to pieces.....And talk about
a lousy heater I froze to death. So in 79
we had another so called energy crisis and
I bought a 79 toy...same problems.
By 83 i smartened up and bought a 83 s-10
4 cyl stick 2wd...It had a Isuzu motor...
but no problems and traded in 97 for another
s-10 2.5 4 cyl stick kept that one till 90
and got into full size 4 wd gm trucks ever
since.......Geo
they had GREAT heaters and the bodies
looked good with no rust after 3-4 years.
Never had many warranty issues like the
toys....When I did GM service was 100%
better than Toys arrogant service dept.
At one time my 2 cousins and uncle had
s-10s all at once. We all get the GM
employee discount so that helps a lot.
My cousins 86 lasted untill last year
till it wouldn't pass inspection. Rust
bug finally took it after 14 years.....
Good luck with yours and enjoy one of the
BEST trucks on the planet !!!!.......Geo
one problem about 18k on it. Great on
gas. Man is it sorta slow but only a
4 cyl...But he tows his bass boat or
the jet ski around and it sees many
trips to the lumber yard hauling stuff.
He laughs when I tell him the lousy mpg
with my fullsize one.................geo
I still can't get over how great that little S-10 of mine has turned out to be! I have to pinch myself to see if I'm only dreaming that I got such a nice truck for only $2450 with tax and license included.
tom
OUCH! Nope, I'm not dreaming!
The old farmer said he was selling it because he was 81 and couldnt see well enough to drive. He was asking $4300 for it but I got him down to $3950. I wasn't really looking for a pick-up but I always thought it would be handy to have especially since we sold my wifes mini-van and got her a 01' Chrysler Sebring Coupe. So far I really enjoy it, once I got the carbon cleaned out with a few bottles of Techron and premium gas, it now hums right along. The interior looks like new, even though it has no A/C or cruise control I hauled a 6x12 U-Haul 400 miles in August to deliver my son to college with no complaint from the engine or my son. The only customizing I have done so far is install a small tach on the dash, by the window pillar, just dont like to drive a stick w/o one. It my not be the fastest thing on the road but I get a kick out of it! Will continue to monitor all the posts.
See you on down the road!
He also used several other NSX owners to help judge the results. Considering that many of these guys think of their cars as if it were their religion (there's something very sad in that thought) I knew they would "take no prisoners" when it came to determining which wax worked best.
Here's the link to see the results of the test:
http://www.nsxsc.com/nsexcitement/waxtest.html
Have a good day!
Joe
How about a pic of that baby? Would love to see it. What color is it?
I can't believe it, 48K miles on a '91!!! That was sure a lucky find for you.
How's the gas mileage? I just love the good mileage mine gives me... about 24.5 average.
Mine is up to 139,6xx miles now ans still running great. Still haven't had to add oil between changes so far.
Let's hear some more details about yours, and, if possible, post some pics.
tom
I am in western Ky, just outside the little town of Greenville.
Is your truck a short wheel base? Forgot to ask that too.
tom
It had only been 2500 miles since my the last oil change, but I had bought the oil and filter a couple weeks ago, and I was tired of the stuff being in the way in the cab of my truck.
My truck used only half a quart of oil in those 2500 miles since the previous oil change, and I can sure live with that!
I found out this time that it really takes 4 quarts and 6 ounces of oil to get the oil level to show exactly full with a filter change, and I ALWAYS change the filter when the oil is changed (doesn't everyone?).
Last time the oil was changed, they only put in 4.0 quarts, so it must have been about 6 ounces low to start with after that oil change, which makes it even nicer that the oil level was only half a quart low after 2500 miles (the truck had used only about 10 ounces of oil, not 16 ounces).
I have Max Life 5W-30 in it now, so we'll see how my truck likes that stuff.
Gave my baby a good bath today, so he's looking good (I think it's a he, cause I'm calling him Roy after an uncle who was born on July 16th, the same date that I bought the truck).
Man, what a FANTASTIC little truck! I am getting 24.5 miles per gallon on my regular driving, and as I have said, it uses almost no oil between changes.
Roy has 139,700 miles on him now.
tom
my dads tires are looking like crap. Only got 30K miles out of the 205's on 14 inch rims which are rated for 70K. Well the tire guy told him at (all terrain) tires last longer and thats what my dad wants. Also for better snow traction. He wont make it this winter
He is letting me get the new tires for him ( i want him to get some 285 BFGS but he said NO haha)
Any suggestion on brands? I am thinking size 215 on 14 inch rims???
Thanks
Ryan
tom
tom
(im from nw indiana)
Brentebc, did you see the pic of my S-10 (I posted one in one of the early posts in this discussion)? You said yours is white with red interior and has the Tahoe package. Well, so is mine! I do have AC, though. You still didn't say whether yours is short wheel base. Mine is.
You get the same gas mileage that I do, about 24.5.
What town do you live in, ryanbab? Your dad works in a steel mill, so I'll bet you live very close to Hammond. I worked one summer at Youngstown Steel (it has probably changed names by now). I think it was about 1968 when I worked there.
tom
P.S. I just checked, and it is post number 10 where my pic is posted.
P.P.S. I'm with you on the tach, brentebc. It does seem strange to have a five speed and no tach! How much lettuce did you have to invest in getting that tach, and how hard was it to hook up? I'm NOT a mechanic, but I might want to have one installed, if it isn't too expensive.
youngstown steel? DOnt know about that since i was born in 79. Currently there is LTV (having alot of problems), bethlehem (just filed chpt 11), US Steel, and ispat inland (where my dad works).
Did you grow up in this area?
Ryan
I think that LTV may be the same mill that was once known as Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company, where I worked one summer at the No. 3 Sheet Mill.
The two biggies back then were Youngstown and Inland.
What part of Hammond do you live in? I was on Woodward Avenue, two blocks east of Calumet Avenue off of 165th Street.
Columbia Pipe and Supply was on 165th, right at the end of our street. Woodward was only one block long, and most people never heard of it.
tom
I paid $82 for the tach from auto-guage on the net. Put it right on the left by the window pillar, attached it to the speaker grill by the screw. The tach is 3 inches in diameter so it is unobtrusive. Was fairly easy to hook up, just four wires, one to the distributor one to the fuse box for power, one to the light switch and one to a ground. Took me about 1 hr to hook up. I really like this truck, just today I used it to haul my 19 foot boat out of my lake and to my lake cottage garage for storage. It was only about a mile but the truck handled it well, wouldnt want to haul it on the highway though, the 2.8 just doesnt have enough umph for that. I have one question, maybe you can answer. Does the S-10 have posi-traction? I didnt think so but today when I pulled my boat out of the water both my rear wheels were spinning.
I don't know about posi-traction on an S-10, but I suppose it was an option, and I guess yours could have it. Don't know if mine does or not.
I guess I'll have to lay a little patch of rubber and see if I get rubber on both sides.
I sort of think I don't have posi, but I'm not sure.
Thanks for the info on the tach.
tom
Check your glove box and if you see this you probably have the option
DOnt know for sure my dads doesnt have it
I'm afraid that I wouldn't be interested: I have the perfect little work truck in my '89 S-10. It only cost me $2450 tax and all, and it runs great while getting excellent gas mileage. It suits my purposes just fine.
Good luck in selling yours, and I hope you get something you'll really like when you get your next vehicle. I can see where having three kids to haul around could be a problem in an S-10, even with the extended cab.
tom
Still goin' strong, and I'm still lovin' it!
tom
I have had the habit for years and years of checking mileage on whatever vehicle I have been driving, and I had never had three tanks check out exactly to the same MPG right down to the tenth before this.
Weird, huh?
tom
could do that.....13 to 18 mpg for me.
And seen 18 only once..............Geo