16th Jul 2005, 21:45
I bought a 1996 s-10 extended cab with the vortec 4.3 about 6 months ago. For the most part, I am happy with the truck. This is my first truck, I have 2 porsches and a BMW so I bought this for a usable truck. however, I have problems with the a/c. any comments let me know.
6th Jun 2010, 11:31
Hi, I bought my 96 S-10 4 cyl in 02 with 82,000 miles. I put ia water pump, new plugs and a valve cover gasket on it and drove it 1 year. Then the trans slave cylinder went out (pull trans). Then it needed a battery.
A year after that, new A/C compressor. Next year it need a belt idler pulley, that you have to buy the whole front engine bracket to get, and it's a PITA to replace. Then the U joints.
Put a new oxygen sensor on it as maintenance, then the ABS light (new front wheel speed sensor). I'm a mechanic so I change the oil belts and fuel filter regularly. It's got 132,000 on it now, and doesn't leak oil or burn oil. So all in all, it's a great truck LOL!?
I see these for sale with 200,000 miles on them, so they will go if you can keep up with the maintenance.
13th Aug 2004, 11:52
My first truck was a 1998 S-10 2WD with the 2.2 4cyl. and it was really slow. I didn't want to use the truck to haul anything so I started adding aftermarket parts to it and decided to show it. I put a 4/4 drop from DJM Suspension, a full phantom grill, molded roll pan, and a set of Boyd Coddington Blaster 17" rims. the only problem I ever had was the u-joints went out due to the drop. Other than that I never had any problems. I now own a 1996 S-10 extended cab step side with the 4.3 V6. It is lowered a little bit, not like my first one, and I just recently put a set of 20" Nitza Alloy Amnesia rims on it. I have never had the first problem with the truck. It will be put in the paint shop to be fully shaved and have a House of Kolors Brandywine Candy paint job. It has four 12" MTX subs in the back with a 1000 watt Hollywood amp. The only thing that I have had to fix was the air and all it needed was new freon. The truck has 75,000 miles and still runs like it is a new truck. I will never drive any other vehicle besides an S-10. Everyone now calls me the S-10 GURU due to my knowledge about S-10 trucks.