1986 Nissan Hardbody Pickup Reviews - Page 7 of 9

The original engine blew a head gasket at 199,860 miles.

Front end ball joints and lower control arms were replaced at 250,000 miles.

Replacement battery exploded at 310,000 miles!

Original alternator pooped out at 394,000 miles.

Since 1986, I have driven this truck to and from work, a distance of 120 miles per day, plus numerous weekend trips to the desert, river, Mexico, Canada and Texas (some towing a car on a trailer), without the slightest problem overall. What else can you ask of a truck, then to take you 396,580 miles with a minimum of expense?

I have replaced the starter once at 115000 miles. I had to replace the thermostat at 120000miles because the engine has been running cold. At 132000 miles, the AIV filter and canister were completely rusted out. The whole assembly has been replaced.

This is my first car and the most reliable car I have ever owned. This says a lot because I also own a Lexus.

After every tune-up, this car runs like it's new.

Recently in preparation for a long trip I changed out the timing chain. The chain was in fantastic condition however the tensioner was worn and almost ready to give out. If you own one of these I recommend a change out of all timing chain parts prior to the 200,000 miles mark.

The water pump had to be replaced.

Some of the emissions controls system parts were rusted and had to be replaced.

Clutch was replaced at about 140,000.

This is the best car I have ever owned and is well worth spending some money to repair and keep in good working order. I also checked the Valve clearance and at 186,000 miles and they were still at factory settings no change needed. Even the alignment has been fine with little adjustment needed. My current wife purchased this car new and only recently have some of the parts been replaced. I did notice the rubber cover for the clutch connection at the transmission point needs replacement.

I got this truck from my dad. He bought it in 1987. When it was his he rebuilt the engine and the transmission.

From the time I got it til now, I've had to change the fuel pump and it needed to be aligned about 3 times.

I love my Nissan. It's my first car and it's a charm. It's been really reliable to me.

The seats are a little worn, and the transmission's a little rough.

Thermostat crapped out, $5 fix and twenty minutes of my time.

Dog slow. I like fast cars and this isn't one. And to the guy who claims his does 98mph at the end of the quarter mile is full of it (it might be 73mph), unless he has some serious mods to his truck.

Extremely reliable. Starts up goes down road without a problem.

Handles a lot of weight both towing and what you can load in the bed.

The Pickup is rusted pretty good, but it's not in a shambles, we sanded down one side and put primer over it and it rusted back through.

The speedometer went out at 42,000 miles, we never got it fixed so we have no idea how many miles are on it.

Everything else that is wrong with it is our fault, like a torn seat & cracked windshield.

Our Nissan is actually a 1986.5 so it's a little more rare. I said I have no idea how many miles are on it, but I think it's probably around 180k-200k and it still starts every time. We also drove around without an exhaust for years and it should have messed up the timing or something, but it didn't.

I have been looking for specs on the 3.0 V6 in the 86.5, like HP, but I couldn't find any if you have some please e-mail me a Mstang1985@yahoo.com.