Info on B2500?

[algae]

Hi all,
My daughter is thinking of buying a '97 B2500 truck. Visually it is very clean with one owner. I'm having it mechanically inspected today but I'm wondering if you guys would know of any particular quirks to look for in this model?
Btw this is the 4 cyl. model.
Thanks much for any info.
Gary

 

[the tortoise]

Are you sure it's a '97? If I recall, they upgraded the ranger/B-Series in '98 and at that time increased the engine size to 2.5 L.

I had a B2500 before my P5. It had 16,000 km when I got it and I drove it for 100,000 km (mostly highway).

It never left me stranded but there were some issues:

1) I replaced 3 upper control arms in the first 120,000 km. Apparently they are known to go.
2) I set of Low ball joints after 75,000 km
3) The coolant temperature sensor had to be replaced
4) I had to replace the blower motor resistor.
5) Head Gasket around 70,000 km.

At least the parts were cheap.

All in all it was an ok truck. It drove decently, though it was slow. My Protege5 is definitely quicker.

The gas mileage was decent at less than 10L/100km on the highway.

Despite people griping about it, I liked the interior. It was quite comfortable and functional, for me. How tall is your daughter? I'm 5'10" and the truck fit me great. But my girlfriend is about 5'2" and she didn't fit at all. My model didn't have a tilt steering wheel so keep that in mind before you buy it.

While they aren't the best trucks, their depreciation makes them pretty good used buys.

 

[algae]

Thanks for your valuable information. I just had the mechanical inspection done and unfortunately it flunked badly. Althought it looked very clean it appears as though the previous owner had done nothing much else but keep it clean. It needed approx. $2000 CDN to get it up to snuff but aside from that there was a lot of rust underneath it which is a deal breaker for me.
So I'm going to pass on this one but I'll keep an eye out.
Thanks again for your response.
Gary

Are you sure it's a '97? If I recall, they upgraded the ranger/B-Series in '98 and at that time increased the engine size to 2.5 L.

I had a B2500 before my P5. It had 16,000 km when I got it and I drove it for 100,000 km (mostly highway).

It never left me stranded but there were some issues:

1) I replaced 3 upper control arms in the first 120,000 km. Apparently they are known to go.
2) I set of Low ball joints after 75,000 km
3) The coolant temperature sensor had to be replaced
4) I had to replace the blower motor resistor.
5) Head Gasket around 70,000 km.

At least the parts were cheap.

All in all it was an ok truck. It drove decently, though it was slow. My Protege5 is definitely quicker.

The gas mileage was decent at less than 10L/100km on the highway.

Despite people griping about it, I liked the interior. It was quite comfortable and functional, for me. How tall is your daughter? I'm 5'10" and the truck fit me great. But my girlfriend is about 5'2" and she didn't fit at all. My model didn't have a tilt steering wheel so keep that in mind before you buy it.

While they aren't the best trucks, their depreciation makes them pretty good used buys.

 

[the tortoise]

Yeah, mine was rusting out when I sold it. I swear if I listened hard enough I could hear it dissolving.

Good luck with the hunt.