Chevy Colorado-GMC Canyon

I just wish I could buy any of the above. I drive a 97 S-10 Blazer with the Vortec V-6 High Output and it started a year ago disintegrating on me. Bad hub bearing in the front. fixed. Bad something or other arm in the front next. Electronic issues going haywire, so a new catalytic converter and lots of replaced sensors. Something was out of tune at that time tha caused it to burn through the new catalytic, so the shop warrantied it, did an expensive tune-up, replaced more sensors.

Now it's throwing error codes again for the same problem. I hate working on my vehicle more than paying someone else to. I'd probably kill for a Toyota if it would give me half the problems.

My truck has been more than capable off road as well. Even more so, since I installed some sway bar quick disconnects, and a 2" lift. The G80 locker has worked very well on the trail.

I've always liked my friend's Toyota's, just not enough to pay the premium that they did. The extra money could be better spent on other toys, in my opinion. Drive both, if you haven't already, and go with whichever one you like better.

I have been on the lookout for a compact crew cab myself since I am in need of a new hunting/play rig that will fit a dog box. so far I have looked at these

tacoma
frontier
colorado/canyon

I am planning a solid axle swap for the front and have found that there is more aftermarket support for the taco than any other. I have test driven all of them (used) and gone through all of them with a fine tooth comb. I can honestly say I am going to wait it out for a good deal on a used taco.

The nissan is pure crap and I have sold the project frontier I built. the chevy was just not as nice fit and finish as the taco. the drivetrain and chassis was half the quality as the toyota. this was my major factor in choosing the taco.

I can find 4 door tacos here on craigslist from 9k to 14k in decent shape.

the only problem I have found with the taco is they dont make a 6 foot bed with a manual tranny, I am going to need to build a flat bed to manage the dog box and gear for hunting.

^

Do you need a four door?

Were the T100's larger than the Tacoma's?

I kind of always wanted a T100 with a SAS....

stevew said:

^

Do you need a four door?

Were the T100's larger than the Tacoma's?

I kind of always wanted a T100 with a SAS....

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yep, need a 4 door for guiding customers during winter cat hunts. The T-100 is substantially wider and longer (wheel base and body) than the taco.

Reason for size issue: The roads I hunt on here are fairly narrow but during the winter the trees (windfall/snow downs) need to be cut in order to make passage. us locals all run small rigs and cut the downfalls accordingly to vehicle size. the idots from out of town all use fullsize crewcab pickups and never carry chainsaws wich prevent them from gaining access through the narrow choke points and narrow roads and tight turns. thus nobody messes with our trap lines and managed animal populations.

Not to mention the wahw wahw wahw sound of the tires.
My uncle has that model and it's a bench rear seat right that will fold up out of the way? How do your kids fit back there? I want to get a full size crew instead of a mid-size after riding in Demo Dave's Mega Cab Dodge. But all the full size crew cabs are very new, hence very expensive.

bizutch said:

I just wish I could buy any of the above. I drive a 97 S-10 Blazer with the Vortec V-6 High Output and it started a year ago disintegrating on me. Bad hub bearing in the front. fixed. Bad something or other arm in the front next. Electronic issues going haywire, so a new catalytic converter and lots of replaced sensors. Something was out of tune at that time tha caused it to burn through the new catalytic, so the shop warrantied it, did an expensive tune-up, replaced more sensors.

Now it's throwing error codes again for the same problem. I hate working on my vehicle more than paying someone else to. I'd probably kill for a Toyota if it would give me half the problems.

Click to expand...

You should find the bad ground wire/location that the sensors they have been replacing all share........






Back to the conversation on teh colorado.

Kanter, glad to se eyou did not go with teh colorado, while I am a Chevy fan, the Colorado is a hunk of electrical problems, injector problems transmission problems, engine problems, and front end problems... Even with the new updates, new specs, these trucks are just a ton of trouble, I have them in the shop for repair all the time. Brakes on the front are a royal effing pain, charge is an hour a side to remove each rotor for basic servicing, rears are beyond finiky for noise issues, axle bearings going out, abs sensors that cant handle any moisture at all, pisspoor electrical weatherproofing....The list goes on.


Good news for me, is that it keeps me busy and making money, better news is taht it is pattern failures.... they all seem to be having the same day problems.......

DirtyMike said:

You should find the bad ground wire/location that the sensors they have been replacing all share........



.......

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actually narrowed down 2 seperate events thanks to Blazer Forums. One was that my grandfather, when he owned it, had ran an old school wiring job for trailer lights. He apparently didn't know newer trucks had the harness stashed under the bumper. Pulled the plug on all that mess and ran the factory wiring hit to my trailer to get rid of the electrical issue.

Now narrowed the code on the misfire cyclinder 1 down to a possible sticking valve. My exact issue was on the forums, so now I gotta take and have a leakdown test done. Yayyy! Now...if only you could lift mine to the elevation of the ZR2 S-10s so I could get some ground clearance and space for a hair wider/taller tires.

Kanter said:

The BFG ATs are as quiet as stock tires. They are super quiet.
The back seat is huge. Adults can ride back there no problem. I had a F150 4 door a few years ago and the back seat in the Chevy is almost the same size.

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I've got TA KO's on my Blazer, but they're the smallest size they make, a 235/75/15. But the knobs are the same depth as they would be on a set of 33's!!! So when I first bought them, the tire knobs are super skinny, crazy tall and going down the road, I could wiggle my steering wheel back and forth and the truck stay straight.

It was like having Minion knobs on a 20". I know my "tire" guy real well and asked if I could take them back and get something else. He smiled at me and said "You're going to learn to like those tires." I asked why and he smiled and said "Cause you're gonna have 'em for a long, long time."

Kanter said:

The BFG ATs are as quiet as stock tires. They are super quiet.
The back seat is huge. Adults can ride back there no problem. I had a F150 4 door a few years ago and the back seat in the Chevy is almost the same size.

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I don't think the back is all that big. I still drive my 2001 Silverado and with the drivers seat all the way back it's VERY cramped for my kids. When we are driving a few people in the back I have my wife drive so there is more room behind the driver.

bizutch said:

actually narrowed down 2 seperate events thanks to Blazer Forums. One was that my grandfather, when he owned it, had ran an old school wiring job for trailer lights. He apparently didn't know newer trucks had the harness stashed under the bumper. Pulled the plug on all that mess and ran the factory wiring hit to my trailer to get rid of the electrical issue.

Now narrowed the code on the misfire cyclinder 1 down to a possible sticking valve. My exact issue was on the forums, so now I gotta take and have a leakdown test done. Yayyy! Now...if only you could lift mine to the elevation of the ZR2 S-10s so I could get some ground clearance and space for a hair wider/taller tires.

Click to expand...

Ah, the good ole customer worked on it first story!!!!! Well good to know you got that part covered. HAte to break it to ya though, a leak down test wont tell you anything about a sticking valve, just a leaky valve. The only way you can find for sure a sticking valve is to pull the head, now you may get lucky and catch it on a standard dompression test, but its not too common to catch it as cranking speed, Ive seen guys run a running compression test to try and find it before, but not many guys know how to do that properly.

So Im going to aska few obvious questions

1, new plugs?
2, new wires?
3, new cap and rotor?
4, new coil?
Im sure the answers to those are yes, but what about injectors? Have you replaced? Possibly run an injector leak down test? Checked for a leaky intake gasket at the cylender thats missfiring<more common than the sticking valve, and easier to fix>?

Shoot me some answers, maybe narrow it down more before pulling the head off

looks like no more Canyon/Colorado
http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2010/02/gms-small-trucks-could-follow-ranger-and-dakota-exits.html

IH8Rice said:

looks like no more Canyon/Colorado
http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2010/02/gms-small-trucks-could-follow-ranger-and-dakota-exits.html

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That's a bummer. Fullsize trucks are great but they are $$$. The Tacoma obviously owns the smaller truck world.

I drive 55 miles one way, my car sucks ont he weekends, but is awesome for my commute. There's no reason a smaller truck can't get good mileage, the sad part is they don't get much better than a fullsize and can't do nearly the hauling/work of a fullsize.

Leaves someone like me, who would consider a good mileage small truck as an only vehicle, with out a good practical vehicle that could fit into my lifestyle.

Makes me wish my 92 toyota wasn't a **** box and that I still had it.

kickstand said:

I drive 55 miles one way, my car sucks ont he weekends, but is awesome for my commute. There's no reason a smaller truck can't get good mileage, the sad part is they don't get much better than a fullsize and can't do nearly the hauling/work of a fullsize.

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yep,even with engines significantly smaller than a full size, they still kinda suck at mileage. Dodge is discontinuing the Dakota, GM is discoing the Canyon/Colorado but Ford will be releasing a new Ranger shortly. that basically leaves the Frontier, Tacoma,new Ranger and the new Mahindra on the market for mid-size pickups. when the Dakota finally gets redesigned, hopefully it wont be hideous like it currently is.
i was in the market for a 2010 Tacoma, but i just cant see myself buying a Toyota right now due to the way they are handling their recall

yeah I went from an 07 silverado that averaged about 19-20 on my commute to a grand prix that is averaging about 28-30 mpg.

If I could find a 25 mpg pickup that could also tow 4,000 lbs I could own one car instead of needing to buy a beater to tow my boat this summer.

Truth is though a midsize or small pickup costs almost as much as you can get a fullsize for as well, so with the same fuel mileage why bother?

For comparison I paid 27k out the door for a 4wd 4 door loaded Silverado Z71 that was only really missing leather.

yep, a mid priced 4-door Tacoma w/ the off road package cost $28k and gets 20mpg if you are lucky. i loved everything about the Taco except for the price and gas mileage. like you said a full size gets just as good if not better mileage from a V8
Nissan is running a deal right now for the Frontier for $199/month lease w/ $3000 down though.