My New to me Chevy S-10

[Wdbutcher97]

I told myself if I ever found another clean Chevy S-10 with low miles I would buy it. Here it is. This is the 5th one I've owned, but the first one with the 4.3 V6. I know I'll miss the gas mileage of the 2.2, 4 cylinder, but I do like the power.
Does anyone have any suggestions on how to keep it relatively rust free on the salt covered winter roads other than just soap and water? I've put oil inside the inner wheel wells in the past with little luck. The wheel wells and rocker panels take a real beating here in the winter months. Thanks

 

[Baxter6551]

Great truck. I had one of the very first ones in the 80s can’t remember the year. I think it had the 6 cylinder with a 5 speed 2 wheel drive. Traded it in for a Jeep CJ7. How about having it undercoated ? Would they do that on a used truck ?

 

[LVSteve]

Back in England we used to be able to buy rattle cans of what we called "bitumastic" paint. It was thick and black and formed a protective layer over the front valance and the rockers (AKA sills in England). Does an S-10 of that era have wheelarch liners? If so, I would remove them so you can spray bitumastic or whatever right on the painted metal. As for the inside of the rockers, I have no clue. On cars I have owned ingress into those areas of water, dirt, and salt can be hard to stop if the vehicle hasn't been designed right.

 

[TripLeader]

"Fluid Film" is a popular product used to prevent rust.

 

[shovelmike]

Nice

Congratulations on getting the S10. We have a '99 Ranger here with 4 liter V6. I like those small trucks.
I don't have much advice on rust prevention, I have lost a lot of good vehicles to the ravages of road salt.

 

[Wdbutcher97]

Great truck. I had one of the very first ones in the 80s can’t remember the year. I think it had the 6 cylinder with a 5 speed 2 wheel drive. Traded it in for a Jeep CJ7. How about having it undercoated ? Would they do that on a used truck ?

I believe my 1st S-10 was a '87' long bed with a V6. My nephew repaired that for me.
My 2nd was a 2000 with a 2.2 and automatic with a 150,000 miles on it. I sold it to a friend shorty after I got it. He sold it to some one else. The motor rattled when I bought it and I guess it's still rattling somewhere in Arizona.
My 3rd one was a 2001 4 cylinder auto with 60,000 miles on it and drove it until last week with 138,000 miles on it. Probably one of the best trucks I've ever owned. I sold it to a friend for a work truck.
I had another S-10 I had bought for parts. It had a great body, but no oil pressure at 250,000 miles. It became a Father and Son project. I believe it has a V8 in it now.
I believe there was a company called Z-bart that used to undercoat new and used cars 40 years ago. I don't know if they're still in business, but I doubt they had as much success with used cars.

 

[JET4]

Fluid Film

 

[Wdbutcher97]

Congratulations on getting the S10. We have a '99 Ranger here with 4 liter V6. I like those small trucks.
I don't have much advice on rust prevention, I have lost a lot of good vehicles to the ravages of road salt.

It's hard to believe how corrosive the ice melt is that's used today. I turned 16 back in 1972. There were no vehicles I remember back then that ever had rust like we have today.
I did have a used 1973 Chevy C-10 that had rear fenders rusting after only 3 years. I took it in on a trade. It had a 307, V8 with 3 on the tree. I believe it was one of the worst vehicles I ever owned.

 

[llowry61]

Congrats on the truck. Had a 1996 manual transmission with the 4-cylinder motor.

Bought it new and drove it for 11 years till the timing chain broke on the freeway. It had 186k miles on it.

Might have been a bit on me since it had recently started ticking, so I think the tensioner was going bad and I didn't realize it.

Sold it for $500.00 to a guy that wanted to drop a V-8 in one, the body breaks etc were all still in great shape.

To answer the question, I have always washed off the road salt / de-icer during winter here in Ohio, but I am sure we don't have as much snow and ice as you get in Nebraska.

 

[wood714]

"Fluid Film" is a popular product used to prevent rust.

Works good, smells most bad.

 

[yaktamer]

I had a '94 4x4 extended cab with the 4.3 V-6, automatic and the ZR-2 package. It was a great truck (once Chevy figured out that the OEM front brake pads were inadequate). Sold it because I needed more seating for a growing family.

 

[jeffrefrig]

That's a nice truck, well worth protecting it from the elements. If there's a "speed shop" or some other custom auto place around maybe they can offer advice, hopefully FREE advice! Nice Blue. Well worth protecting, eh? (Even for a small fee!)

 

[Fishinfool]

I know a guy who owns a 2003 chevy 1/2 ton that has no rust, and is a daily driver - that's saying a lot considering PA salt use. He has a garage with a drain. Couple days a week during the winter he brings it in and washes the underside with a power washer and a 4 foot long perforated wand. Says it is best between washings to keep it parked outside so the "salt ice" stays frozen and doesn't melt and further seep into the body work.

Does it work? It seemed to much effort for my 2006 GMC PU. It rusted away.....

Nowadays, I hit the car wash with the under car spray once a week during the winter. No rust yet on my 2016 Ford.

I did try that "film" spray on my 2006. It stunk pretty bad, and in the end, nothing seemed to help that rust attracting machine.

Larry

 

[DWalt]

In south Texas we don’t worry much about rusty vehicles.

 

[Paul in Nevada]

I hope the metallurgy and paint are better than the '94 I had. Mine was a 2.4L "Iron Duke", 2WD, regular cab, 5-speed. The body didn't stand a chance so close to the ocean. Loved that truck but it popped a headgasket with only 93k miles.

 

[JohnRippert]

I had a '97 S-10 Blazer 4-door for several years. I loved that vehicle, and miss it still. Unfortunately, the AC could not keep up with our Texas summers.

 

[Tom S.]

Agree with others, a yearly treatment of fluid film will help keep it pristine. Also, be aware that the V6 engine had intake manifold gasket issues. If your coolant starts to "disappear" the gasket is the most likely culprit. Replacing isn't rocket science but plan on a full day.

Other known problems: Plugged heater core. People blamed the coolant which was partially to blame but the root cause was contaminates getting into the system, usually through an ill fitting radiator and/or coolant tank caps.

I owned three of the little beasties and loved them.

 

[Ruger 13]

The last one I owned( a 97 V6, 4x4 was factory undercoated!i

 

[OLDSTER]

Really nice. Those "small" pick-up trucks in nice shape are like gold around here. Too bad they are no longer made.

 

[pharmer]

Had an '87, '95 and an '03 S-10. The last 2 had 5 spd stick and the 4.3 V6. All of them absolutely trouble free. Sorry to see them go. Joe