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Finally!!

Reply #15 –
the 318 was always chrysler's dog motor.. never put out the amount of power it should have for the amount of gas it guzzled (i use the term guzzle literally.. lol). a buddy of mine has a 93 dakota with the 3.9.. it's 3rd transmission is dying already and it only has 110k on the clock. the motor used to run strong. i maintain it for him on a regular basis.. oil change every 3 months, plugs/wires every 6 months or so, cap and rotor every other tune up.. it runs like it has 410k on it and struggles to pull a small utility trailer with nothing on it. that and neons are a prime example of why i'll never in my life own a dodge, they're terrible.. and after the durango i fought with for months, i won't work on another dodge other than maintainece ever again. i'm trying to get away from regular auto repair all together, so i'll start with sending dodge owners elsewhere lol


Quote from: Haystack;372006
And in my experiance, they do not last as long either.

really? my sonoma has 240k on the clock and it still runs like it did with 60k on it (what it had when my mom bought it in 97 or 98). all original drivetrain (except the tcase, i swapped out the electric case for an older, mechanical case). she hasn't seen an easy life either. she's been wheeled hard, towed my projects around on a trailer and i never really kept up on the maintainence very well (has had the same oil, plugs, wires, cap and rotor in it for 4 years now) and she's never let me down, except for when i got sand in the gas tank that killed the original fuel pump lol.. so it's safe to say, my small GM trucks have done me well.. i bought my 88 with the eff'd up piston, but i drove her for about 15k like that before i started cutting into it.. now she's packed away in my shed, waiting for a new frame to be built

ShadowMSC.com < < Still Under Construction

R.I.P. 'Zump' 8/29/86 - 11/11/11
3- 87 TC's / 1 really mean 83 Capri RS / 94 Sonoma SAS Project on 37x12.50 TSL Radials / 88 S10 that's LITERALLY cut to pieces / 84 F150 SAS, 351M, 39.5 TSL's / 85 Toyota regular cab, 22R 5spd, 3/4" drop, my little junkyard save/daily driver

Finally!!

Reply #16 –
I am not trying to offend you in any way, just listing my experiances.

My dad taught me how to drive a stick in the 1976 ford van that he drove in high school that his parents took on multipul cross counrty road trips. I think it had alittle over 300k on it when it got junked. Kepy blowing tranny's behind the 4.9 6.

My first car, $110 police auction car, bought at 235k, drove the  out of it, got towed at 296k.

1987 cougar, 178k, $550, drove till alittle bit over 200k, then drove it to the junk yard when the tranny started slipping.

My old 87 bird, had around 135k when I bought it for $400, and I drove it to the junk yard at 180k, less then two years after buying it, because work was slow, and needed the money. I got $295 for it.

I have had many that had less miles on them, that I wish I kept, but every car I have ever driven had close to 200k on them, and then was driven to the junkyard when they needed too much money to fix them, over just buying a new one. Most of them, I junked when the tread ran out on the tires, because new tires cost more then I paid for the car. I never went broke trying to keep them on the road. If I was smart and out time and money into them, instead of just rebuying the same car, I would have been a lot better off. Basically every car that I have gotten rid of was because the tranny started slipping, and it would cost me more to get it rebuilt, or get a 90 day exchange junkyard one, then to buy a new car.

Not sayin that there are not good chevy's out there, because I know there are, but when you start hearing about guys with 200+k on a car, its either on its 3rd engine, or a ford someone took the least bit of care of. My bang for the buck has just so happened to be on an old, cheap, v-8 ford. I can't think of a cheaper way to drive. Then, I get almost all of my money back out of it when I drive it to the junkyard.
Quote from: jcassity
I honestly dont think you could exceed the cost of a new car buy installing new *stock* parts everywhere in your coug our tbird. Its just plain impossible. You could revamp the entire drivetrain/engine/suspenstion and still come out ahead.
Hooligans! 
1988 Crown Vic wagon. 120K California car. Wifes grocery getter. (junked)
1987 Ford Thunderbird LX. 5.0. s.o., sn-95 t-5 and an f-150 clutch. Driven daily and going strong.
1986 cougar.
lilsammywasapunkrocker@yahoo.com

Finally!!

Reply #17 –
Quote from: Haystack;372006
I drove my freind's dads gmc with a 4.3, back in high school. It would murder any 4.0 I have ever driven. My problem with chevy's are te cost, and how much smaller they are then most other cars. I can own 2 or 3 fords for every chevy, in similar condition/class. And in my experiance, they do not last as long either.

I hated my neon, worst car in the world. My freinds 91 dakota with a 318 was fine, other then on gas.

 
Have you ever driven a 4.0 SOHC. My OHV was a dog. But my wifes 01 Ranger Edge would beat the brakes off of my brothers 4.3 extreme and has was a 5spd mine was a auto.
88 Cougar LS 5.0 .030 over, ported E7s with GT40 valves & trickflow springs, Proform roller rockers, HO cam, removed air silencer, K&N filter, smog pump delete, 2.25" dual flowmasters, Pacestter H-pipe & headers, HO computer, 65mm TB, Explorer intake, 19# injecters, 3.45s, rebuilt posi, and TCI shift kit.

Finally!!

Reply #18 –
Well after fighting with my camera, I finally got a picture. I wanted to get more but I put new batterys in and got one picture and it died.
88 Cougar LS 5.0 .030 over, ported E7s with GT40 valves & trickflow springs, Proform roller rockers, HO cam, removed air silencer, K&N filter, smog pump delete, 2.25" dual flowmasters, Pacestter H-pipe & headers, HO computer, 65mm TB, Explorer intake, 19# injecters, 3.45s, rebuilt posi, and TCI shift kit.

Finally!!

Reply #19 –
My tranmission started making noise today. So when I got off work today I went by the store and got some ATF and a suction gun. When I got home I drained the old fluid and I only got a little less than a cup of fluid.:wtf: So I put almost three quarts in and its alot quitter but now it has a slight whine.:punchballs:
88 Cougar LS 5.0 .030 over, ported E7s with GT40 valves & trickflow springs, Proform roller rockers, HO cam, removed air silencer, K&N filter, smog pump delete, 2.25" dual flowmasters, Pacestter H-pipe & headers, HO computer, 65mm TB, Explorer intake, 19# injecters, 3.45s, rebuilt posi, and TCI shift kit.
 

Finally!!

Reply #20 –
I had a 1990 Ranger Supercab with a Jasper 2.9 and a stick, that was a fun truck and sturdy.  I also had a 1983 GMC s15 extended cab with a 2.8 v6 and automatic.  That was not the best designed layout for that truck but I put a cheap oil pressure and temperature gauge on the 2.8 and kept the fluids changed, she was a very dependable little beater!

I had the privilege of doing a 5.7 4 bolt main v8 and TH350 swap in a 1982 s10 longbed.  That was a fun truck!  Would literally boil the tires off and get stupid on you real quick if you didn't watch it!

I would like to do a 302 swap into a Ranger but keep it EFI; would not even have to be an HO motor.  Bruce, yours looks like a good prospect for that!

One thing I do know considering the Ford vs GM dealio, a friend of mine has a 2002 S10 ZR2 with the 4.3 and High Rider package.  Its a cool truck, stock Bilstein suspension,  but I have been on some forums to diagnose a missfire problem and noticed those have their flaws.  They have alot of them showing frame cracks and brakes in less than 10 year old trucks due to less superior metals used in the early 2000's.  I don't recall Ford ever having issues with the Ranger like this?  I know the Windstar has been recalled a few times in the last year due to the weaker metals leading to frames and axles falling apart.

Good luck with the truck Bruce