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All I do have is the 'driving pattern graph' from Nissan's service manuals. And on 96, 97 cars, its like 'stand on your head, brake for 20 seconds, rub your tummy while accelerating, cruise for 20 miles....' Im exaggerating, but its just as unrealistic. On these early OBD II cars, its nuts what you have to do to set the monitors. Thankfully, the manufactures caught up with the regulations soon after. I recently had to replace a vent valve on my 03 Sentra before inspection.. I reset the 'evap gross leak' code and drove the car literally around the block and all but the evap monitors were set. In NY, you pass with one open monitor so I was done.

I cant speak for Mass., but here in upstate NY, we do NOT have a list of the cars that have exemptions to the monitor readiness test.(I am a NY state inspector at a Nissan dealership) We have learned by trial and error that some 96 and 97 Nissans are on that list as well, but we have to plug the car in and be prepared for it to fail inspection before we know. (of course, its nice information to have when you run into the next 'problem' vehicle of the same make and model) I first learned of the exemptions with my 96 Outback when I found it impossible to set certain monitors and in aggravation just plugged it in to get a 10-day extension. And I was surprised to find it passed with flying colors. This car had no issues and I was not trying to 'cheat', and a couple months later after driving it all over creation, I checked the monitor status with my scanner....and they were all set. So, it CAN be done. But it must take a long time and just the perfect driving patterns. Just thought I'd throw that out there... I am between Subarus again and just checked into the site to see whats new. Always in the market for a good Subie winter beater...

1966 Honda S90 Geekmobile, yes. But how many of you have had the same bike for damn near 38 years? LOL

yeah, the B/W auto (and the Jap automatic they used in '72 and '73) sucked all the fun outta a 510. But great cars... bulletproof. Except for the rust... you are lucky to be in CA, where some survive. There are no Nissans/Datsuns from those days left in my parts... I imported a '95 truck from Petaluma, CA because virtually all the Hardbodies from around here have gone to the crusher. My first 'brand new' car was a '79 310GX. Not a car that has earned any respect over the years, and it probably doesnt deserve the accolades that the Z's and 510's get. But it was my first new car... if I got the chance, I'd own another of those too. I still know the VIN... how sick is that? KHN10 000851 RIP, my little silver beauty. LOL!

DAMN! What a sweet collection! Where to start....The Roadster is awesome, is that a original color? I dont think Ive ever seen one in that shade. The Z, well the original was the best, and its sportin the original wheel covers! How often do you see that? But the B110/1200... Oh, do I have memories of that car! I had a '71, and this was at the height of the 'Dukes of Hazzard' show (the first time around) We did it up in Hemi orange, with the flag on the roof, the O1 on the doors, the push bar up front....I even got the 'dixie' air horns from JC Whitney. 13 inch mags, it was a 'mini-General' And that car does look like a mini-Charger.. One of my all-time favorites, and a car I wish to own again... this time as a stock 1200 Fastback. The 510 wagon..... My FIRST Nissan ever was a '71 510 4 door... Had the Borg Warner automatic, that made it quite a slug. LOL I used to drop that thing into 'D' after I floored it, and I'd get a little 'chirp' from the rear tires. My sister had a '69 2 door, 4 speed, and I was so pissed.. but dad bought both cars for us...you takes what is available at that time... lol. A ton of years later, I still predominantly drive Nissan products. Upstairs in the garage is a NOS bumper for a 510, still wrapped in Japanese paper, along with a lot of other s**t Ive probably forgotton about ...Ive worked at the dealer for over 30 years Those are some awesome cars, man, but the 1200 Coupe is the star in my mind. If you ever want to part with it, give me a shot

Anyone know a good on-line site for exhaust system parts for older cars? Ive been Googling tonight and found one possibility, but they seem to be few and far between... Unless you get model-specific, and have a popular old car, there isnt a lot out there. I thought my local exhaust shops could help me out, but they have no listings or 'cards' for their bending equipment for my car (68 Fairlane Conv, 302, single exhaust) I need the front pipes, crossovers, etc, and in my head Mustang stuff must be the same or real close, but no one will confirm that and I dont want to order a bunch of stuff that wont fit. Just thought I'd take a stab in the dark.. ya never know who has a good line on a place.

"So while other pickups may last wonderfully well when driven by old men...." OUCH!, 3 Eyed. That cuts way deeper than any cracks about my truck. I'll be 52 next month and Im not thrilled to be on the 'downhill' side..but I can still out drive a lot of guys my age... its all good, I dont need a cane yet. I do remember the days of smokey burnouts. I had a couple Mustangs in my younger days... seems the rear tires had a very short life span which my dad was always shaking his head about. Glad we all have taken this as I, at least, intended... You've made one point that sorta impressed me...I was unaware that the 4.3 shared anything with the old small block V8. Even I cant fault a good ole Chevy small block. And btw, the later VG30s, including mine, are free-wheelers, so a broken belt would not do damage. But they never break when changed as per the schedule. (and the TB does not run the water pump as in Subies, so even a failed WP would not break the belt... not that I have EVER see a WP fail on a VG either!) I have a lot of vehicles, some of them come and go, when I can make a few bucks, or I just get tired of them.. others like my Fairlane (which Ive owned since 1976) are here to stay. The Hardbody is on the 'keeper' list, so this 'old man' will keep you posted if it happens to fail me. Until then, enjoy your S**T TEN, I hope you keep your AAA membership up to date, those tow jobs can get expensive! Peace

damn, 3 Eyed. You make it awful tough for me to walk away from this thread. I love a good debate. My bud Dan and I have known each other most of our lives, and we can crack a few beers on a Friday night and argue about anything. And its funny, because the next day, we are still best buds and will go fishing or 4 wheeling and our opinions mean nothing (he drives a Chevy, although a full size- LOL!) I sincerely hope this thread feels that way to you, I mean no malice to anyone. But I just cant stop there....LOL!!! 1st, although I did read all the original posts, I had not kept track of the poster's names, and did not realize that you had posted much further up the line. (I was very late to this thread, which I stated in MY first post) For that, I do apologize. Im always first to admit when Im wrong, but dont expect a lot more here. heh heh... 2nd, the crack about the timing belt in a truck.. ummm...this is a Subaru board, and you have a problem with timing belts?? The new Nissan Frontiers, 05 and up, use the VQ series engine with 3 timing chains...in theory, that means no maintainance..but if they have to be replaced, it is a MAJOR pain in the a**. and it does happen. Give me an easily replaced belt every 105 K any day! I have no idea about your Chevy 4.3s, or any other S 10 engines, but in 300 K I bet some of them need timing chain service...and I bet it aint no picnic. (I have a friend at the local Chevy garage, I plan on asking him about that....Im sure I'll hear a LOAD from you if Im wrong!) You claim I am brainwashed into believing my Nissan a superior truck. Im not going to change my mind about my truck, and neither, obviously, are you... But who is the more brainwashed here? The ONLY claim I make is that when it comes to mid- 90's small trucks (unmodified, unmolested, as they were built and intended to be used) my experience has shown me that Nissan built a bullet proof product. And some others were not (I aimed that at the Rangers, and admitted less experience around S-10s.) I havent had to to a THING to my Nissan other than normal maintainence...you seem to want to add this, change that, etc, etc. And neither I nor, I believe, the original poster, has the slightest interest in your nitrous, or how far you can do burn outs. Leads me to think that perhaps my 30 years of Nissan 'brainwashing' is longer than you have even been on the planet. And I have no problem at all with that, before you start! The original reason I posted in this topic was because I was shocked at the number of Chevy and Ford proponents for a small truck, on a SUBARU website! Nissan and Subaru had ties way back and still share a lot of parts and similar designs. I thought my truck deserved some credit, its still a great truck. It does what it was intended to do, unmodified, unchanged, and 14 years on still is reliable as ever. I see the good in all makes, and Ive owned about everything. And nearly all of them have built junk as well. (old enough to know about the Vega? I doubt many Chevy people want to talk about that one...) And seriously, I know I may have gotten a little sarcastic in the 2nd post, but I do mean to keep things 'light'.... Twitch and I found common ground in our love for AMCs... (I want a Eagle 4X4 too) peace, again, man.

Geeze, I was gonna let this rest, but I gotta ask 3 eyed and Twitch a couple questions... A) Did you actually read the original post, the one I was replying to? (as in a cheap, reliable small truck, capable of towing and carrying smaller loads) You cant recognize humor? (as in my nah nah nah comment, which was just picking fun at Twitch, who was determined to turn this into a horsepower war. OF COURSE my 3.0 isnt going to beat a 4.3...jesus, sorry for trying to lighten this up) As far as the quality and reliability of mid-90's small trucks, my opinion stands. Im not brainwashed, 3 eyed. The favorite vehicle in my fleet is a Ford, a genuine, made in Dearborn classic, and I wouldnt part with it for anything. I also own a nice CJ Scrambler built in the AMC days (and man, have I defended THAT rig, and AMC, over the years!) You like your Chevy? Thats awesome. (I am pulling for them to get their head out of their a** also) Still would wager that when it comes to what the OP was asking for, there are better, longer lasting options. Thats my opinion, but its on topic. With enough money, knowledge, and work, I suppose I could make any truck you wanna name out work your truck and mine. But that isnt what was asked now, was it. Peace, to both of you.

"you cant have a battle of wits with a unarmed person" I wish I knew who said that first. A wise person, to say the least. A TWO ton load, behind your Chevy, or my Nissan, is too much. That is NOT what the OP was asking for. With that, I leave you to whatever ramblings you care to add. But my Nissan will beat your Chevy....nah nah na nah nah LMAO! Peace and out, Im back to getting cool advice for my Subaru. Sorry I stirred up the rednecks.

Mine aint jacked, mine aint off-roaded (although bring it on, I'll do just fine on my Titan 17 inch rims) I spose I could fit a Infiniti V8 in there just as easily as you can a 350 in your S**T 10, but why? You've really missed the point of the original poster's question. As far as a day's work, are you serious? Jesus dude, you gotta be a Subaru fan or you wouldnt be here.....you dont think a Jap truck can work for a living? Dont mean to start a 'brand war', I was just putting in my 2 cents... I guess all of us now own a piece of GM (government motors) so I better HOPE they get their S**T together and build a truck better than my Nissan. Peace...

Wish I had found this thread earlier, it seems pretty burned out at the moment. Frankly, Im amazed that especially on a SUBARU board, that most of you seem to be bragging up the American branded small trucks. I'll admit Im biased, I have been a Nissan tech for 30- some years.. and since the original poster was interested in early to mid 90's trucks, please bare in mind that my comments are directed to roughly those years. Short and to the point- Ive had friends with Rangers in those model years, and they were garbage, plain and simple.(Please know that I was brought up a Ford man and I take no pride in saying that) I know less about S 10s, but they both do have the advantage of lots of spare parts and lots of aftermarket stuff available. But you have to ask yourself...is there a reason for that? (other than they were sold in larger numbers) Another point to consider is where you live.. Toyota to a large degree, and Nissan to some degree, had big problems with frame rot in the mid 90's. Not a problem if you live in Arizona, but something to look real close at in my neck of the woods. Im not saying Fords and Chevys dont rust, but its one area, in those years, where I would give the American trucks the advantage. My opinion is you can not go wrong with a mid-90s Nissan Hardbody, rust issues withheld. The VG30 V6 is indestructable, if the timing belt is done on time, I havent seen many tranny issues (the 4 cyl truck's standard trans had some bearing issues, but we are sticking with the 6s, right?), and everything else holds up too. This truck was pretty much unchanged from 86.5 thru 97, there is LOTS of parts interchange and many available.. My personal truck is a 1995 Hardbody, SE-V6, king cab 4X4. I imported it from Petaluma, CA.... it has NEVER seen a salty road, and never will as long as I own it! haha (thats what my Subarus are for!) Its a automatic, and I'd prefer a stick, but other than that its perfect for me. It tows my 4 wheeler, it brings home all the typical Home Depot stuff, and it keeps up with traffic just fine. (underpowered my A**! It will eat a V6 Ranger for lunch!)

'enjoy the car, i would be so tempted to do the timing belt sell it for $5K and smile.' Well, John...If you remember me from before (Im the Nissan guy) , you know that IS a possibility... I never even got plates on my Impreza OB and someone waved a LOT more cash in my face than I had invested.. and it had to go bye bye. I dont really want to part with it, but profit is a nice word, isnt it? LOL

Hey fellow Subie people... Long time, no see. Ive been 'between' Subarus for a while, but I always knew I'd be back! LOL! Traded in at the non-Subaru dealership where I work, was the classic ole lady car, and I couldnt resist. 1999 Outback Wagon. Identical colors to the '96 that I sold a while back (Green on top, gray bottom) and for a '99 in this part of the country, it is sweet. No rust, shiny paint, spotless interior. It runs strong, I hear no piston slap, no torque steer issues, no blinking AT temp light, no 'check engine' light, coolant is full and clean, the overflow bottle shows no signs of the dreaded 'crud'.... The odometer reads 34,000 miles, but that was a little too good to be true. Turns out the speedo head died and was replaced, but the old head is in the car. Adding the miles together equals still low for a 1999 (right at the 100,000 mile mark) I called and talked to the original owner....get this- she apologized for trading it in in such a 'filthy' condition.. LOL!! The thing is cherry, honest to god, it shines better than my 96 did after buffing, polishing and a lot of sweat equity. The tires and brakes are new, the exhaust is solid and still wearing all the heat shields (huh??) The only thing I could find wrong is a torn inner CV boot on the right side. The bad news is, as meticulous as this owner was, she could not remember ever doing head gaskets or a timing belt. She did say she has a pile of paperwork of everything she has done to the car, and promised to drop it all off to me. She is elderly, and perhaps she doesnt know exactly what was done. Believe me, I know a well-cared for car, and this is as good as it gets for a 10 year old trade. On the phone, she kept stressing that the mileage was not accurate, that I had to add the miles on the old speedo....she was that worried about misleading the next owner. Sweet lady. So, I think I have my winter rat a lot of months early this year. I wasnt in a hurry to find one yet, but when it comes along, you have to grab it. I wont make any decisions on what Im going to replace until I see the records, but unless its verified that the TB and related parts were done, I'll tackle that before I drive it far. OK, bottom line... I paid 2 grand for this car. I think I could do NOTHING to it, drive it for the winter, and still not lose my shorts. But the anti-Subie idiots at work think Im nuts for spending that much on a car I dont even plan on driving for 5 months or more. I know a few of you die hards will support me, so I had to log in and get some good vibes.

Has it been really, really cold where you are located? Are you using higher viscosity oil than recommended by Subaru for your car? If so, this may be the same thing I warned about in a couple earlier posts, ALL based on experience with Nissan engines.. thicker oil than prescribed in extreme cold temps WILL do exactly what you describe to a Nissan engine, Ive seen it first hand. And the camshaft in aluminum head is the same setup as in a Subaru. Im not saying this is what happened, I always bow to the more experienced Subie guys here.

can anyone say 'snake oil'? LOL.

Anyone see on the news tonight, what the ONLY car company to increase $$$$ last year in the US was??? Even Toyota and Honda were down, I wont even pick on the U.S. guys..... YEAH Subaru!

Probably an unwelcome non-Subaru specific comment to this thread, but my 2 cents: If they call for 5w30, and you live where it gets really cold, thicker grades are NOT the answer. I live in upstate NY, in the Adirondacks, and it can get well below zero here in the winter (thats my definition of real cold, for reference) Ten years ago or so, we had a real bad cold snap and it was in the negative digits several mornings in a row. During that cold spell, we had 3 Nissans with the KA series engine that SNAPPED camshafts right in half at one of the cam bearings. All 3 were running 10w30 or 10w40. Ive never seen it again, before or since. But my conclusion is that it takes a thin oil at cold temps to move through so tight tolerances. I cant imagine Subaru oil passages being any more forgiving. Damn the piston slap, give them some lubrication!

Sold Izzy. Damn, I didnt want to do it. But money talks and BS walks, if you know what I mean. And this year, money talks loud. A friend of a co-worker wrecked his Impreza, and needed a car. He dangled $3000 in my face and I took it. Hey, I made some good money (I had less than $1400 in the car) but now Im without a Subaru again. That wasnt my plan. LOL. I have a line on a 2001 Outback... its a high-miler, but supposedly a Southern car with no rusty issues. And its loaded- leather, heated seats, etc.. puked a timing belt and got traded at a local dealership. I can buy it REALLY cheap. Another automatic, like my last Outback, and I'd prefer another stick, but its available. Im thinking a used engine swap and Im back into winter car mode. I'd rather it was a Imp with a stick, but then, Im the idiot that just SOLD that one! Hey, Im trading up a few years in the process....

Not exactly relevant to this discussion, but just so you know it isnt just Subaru that pulls these tricks. VG30 Nissan engines from inception through about 1993, used a 60,000 mile belt with 'square' type cogs. In or around 93, depending on the model, they switched to a 100,000 mile 'rounded' type cog. (I suspect, but have no evidence, that the design difference with Subaru is the same, and it may well all be because of emission regulations requiring a 'no maintenance until 100k' demand from the great old US government. Over the years, Ive run into this problem a few times, when an engine had been replaced, etc.. Aggravating? Yes. But personally I would not blame Subaru (or Nissan) for these issues.

I hesitate to add my 2 cents here, because Im afraid I could cause more harm than good. You DO NOT want to run the car with low ATF, period. And if you have maintained the car and have kept the ATF clean, a simple drain and refill is my advice. But years ago, probably around the late 80's, Nissan actually had a service bulletin that advocated a procedure similar to what some have said. They advised us to disconnect the 'output' line at the trans cooler, and while running the car at idle, let that fluid drain into a pan while adding a close amount of fluid into the fill tube. It works. And IF you are careful, you can get a close to complete fluid change. We used to do it all the time. Getting the full level correct at the end was a little tough, but we would add/drain as needed. I wouldnt recommend this now, maybe only as a 'last ditch' measure. As maintenance, drain and refill, and do it more often. Thats the key in my opinion.

Hey guys. I was reading the thread concerning 'C' solenoid issues, with the torque bind problems, etc. This was one of the problems I had when I bought my '96 OB, and with help from several people here, I replaced the solenoid and solved it. But that car was a automatic... my new rat is a 97 5 speed Impreza OB. The AWD works flawlessly, with no torque bind but plenty of power to all 4 wheels. I guess this falls under my old mantra 'if it aint broke, dont worry about it' but now Im curious. How is the torque split handled on standard trans Subies of that vintage? Is it all mechanical? Obviously, I have no trans temp light. Hey, if one of you guys are bored, I'd love to hear your input. (I did search around a little but didnt find what I was looking for)

Classic 'low charge' condition. You may have developed a larger leak, or maybe you were just on the verge of having enough refrigerant to operate well in the summer. If you are lucky a recharge will make everything good. (this is all based on general car stuff, if there is Subie specific stuff at work here, please wait for one of the Subie gods- lol)

LOL, I always thought the cars were girls and my pickups were boys. My old Fairlane Conv. is the exception- he is Henry Ford. My last Subaru was named after a favorite Great Aunt from my childhood. She drove a old Rambler wagon the same color as my Outback wagon, so I named her Sarah Subie. (spoke to her new owner yesterday and she is running fine with zero problems) My new winter rat is Izzy the Impreza. I dont have a clue where that name came from, I just looked at her the day I bought her, and thought she looked like a Izzy.