Faults:
Rebuilt Engine at 120K due to most engine seals and gaskets hardening up and leaking.
Drivers side rear brakes came apart a few days after I got the truck.
I bought it used, and they had it "serviced" before putting it out on the lot.
I think someone didn't lock one of the springs down securely.
Tail pipe disintegrated about a year after I bought the truck.
It finally got to the muffler and I replaced it.
When pricing I found out it needed a complete exhaust system, from the rear catalytic converter, back.
This was going to cost about $175!
I opted for the stock intermediate pipe, which connected the converter to the muffler, then get a $12 "California Turbo" muffler, some plumbers tape to hang it, and a couple of short sections of miscellaneous exhaust pipe.
The whole thing ended up only costing me about $40 and it came off with a rather "raspy" sound, but not as obtrusive as you might think.
Recently the slave cylinder for the clutch blew, and I had to change it, but at 202,000 miles and 13 years old, these types of things are to be expected.
UPDATE: 8/31/09 - Just changed out the clutch. Got 120,644 miles out of that one... and it was only 2/3 gone. Probably coulda gone at least another year before I was out of disc. Unfortunately, 3 of the 4 springs in the clutch disc had broken and 1/2 a coil of one of the springs popped out and jammed the pressure plate, so it wouldn't shift. This is not one of the easier vehicles to do a clutch job on. 10 bolts hold the tranny to the engine. A number of brackets to remove. Not much room to get to the top bolts (make sure you pull those before lifting the truck). Cross member that braces the torsion bars sits right under the back end of the tailshaft housing, so tranny cannot just be "dropped", but needs to be "manuvered". I left it up and pushed it back as far as possible. Had about 10" of room to work with. Tranny mount has braces for E-brake yoke and cables. Spring for yoke needs to be removed (not the easiest thing in the world to do). Cables are held in by simple sliding clips. Mount secured by 4 nuts and bolts, two to a side, and the nuts were on top of the brace the mount connected to, which means trying to maneuver a 14mm combo wrench to hold those nuts. I flipped that arrangement over upon reassembly. Everything else, pretty straight forward.
Most parts were replaced with good junkyard parts, and I've saved quite a bit of money over the years doing things this way.
Oddly enough, for many years, the only trucks I could find were made in 1987.
Thus, I jokingly tell people that if I throw anymore '87 parts into my '89 Mazda, I'm gonna start calling it an '88! ;-)
General Comments:
For the most part, I'm quite pleased with my little truck.
For any homeowner who has a decent sized piece of land (say at least 1/2 acre), these little trucks can't be beat.
Another thing I'm often quoted as saying is this little truck is the best d**n wheelbarrow I ever bought!
For disposing of leaves in the fall, or trimming hedges or tree limbs, this thing works great! I wish I'd had one of these when I was a kid, when my dad used to make me do all the yard work!
Park it under a tree and clip the branches right into the bed, then haul it off to the woods and dump it.
Momma wants the wood pile moved closer to the house?
No problem, move it all at once with one of these little things.
Their small size makes them easy to maneuver around in tight spaces, and I average a combined city/freeway mileage of 25 mpg, so I don't feel as guilty about the gas I burn while driving around in my unloaded truck, as when I had my '65 GMC with the V-6 that only got 8 miles to the gallon.
This truck works great and even if I sell it tomorrow (not a chance, kids!) I'm sold on the mini-truck idea.
Best little "toy" any one could have.
3rd Sep 2003, 13:46
Check engine light very simple to turn off. Under the dash, you can switch two wires and it will turn off, but designed to turn back on after another 60K miles or so as a reminder. Consult the Chilton books.