Need a new cat :0

[ghsnu]

Finally found what was causing the rattling on my truck today.

Turns out something's broken inside the cat - what it is, we don't know, but it sounds rather large. My dad tried prodding at the wire mesh in the front of the cat, but it seems like it goes all the way through.

Where is a place to buy a new/used cat that is trustworthy, yet cheap(er)? I tried Magnaflow - $500 for their cheapest one. Jeggs had one for $190.


May as well ask this too: Since my truck is a 4cyl. ('98 S10 - base model), I was considering buying headers, a new exhaust, stiffer front coils and rear shocks, and throw some all-terrain tires (stock ones are a small 205/75/R15) on it too. What places/sites should I try?

 

[Bopop4]

I don't know about where to get one but I know a guy who has an S10 and he supercharged it. He gets 150RWHP now and so you could try that option if you want more power instead of buying a punch of small power-increase parts.

 

[Joey D]

A cat for a 98 S-10? A junkyard, it should be less then $30. A new one will run you probably $200-ish.

As for doing anything to a 4 cylinder S-10, it'll sound ridiculous with an exhaust on it, pretty much like a beat up Honda with an eBay "performance" muffler. Stiffer front coils means lowering parts, Beltech or DJM pretty much has you covered on that. Stiffer rear shocks means lowering shocks too.

If you want all-terrains though you need to look at lift components though, which probably aren't as stiff are you're looking for.

If you have questions or helping figuring anything else out I'll be happy to help, I had an S-10 Blazer for a number of years.

For parts I always used www.stylinconcepts.com, they seem to have the most amount of stuff.

 

[ghsnu]

I don't know about where to get one but I know a guy who has an S10 and he supercharged it. He gets 150RWHP now and so you could try that option if you want more power instead of buying a punch of small power-increase parts.

That's what I was thinking of doing, though the only supercharger I found was ~$2300. I would like to get some more sound out of the exhaust, but not a ricy fart can sound. Is it even possible to get a V6/V8ish growl out of a 4cyl? Would switching to a cat back dual get aid in this?

A cat for a 98 S-10? A junkyard, it should be less then $30. A new one will run you probably $200-ish.

As for doing anything to a 4 cylinder S-10, it'll sound ridiculous with an exhaust on it, pretty much like a beat up Honda with an eBay "performance" muffler. Stiffer front coils means lowering parts, Beltech or DJM pretty much has you covered on that. Stiffer rear shocks means lowering shocks too.

If you want all-terrains though you need to look at lift components though, which probably aren't as stiff are you're looking for.

If you have questions or helping figuring anything else out I'll be happy to help, I had an S-10 Blazer for a number of years.

For parts I always used www.stylinconcepts.com, they seem to have the most amount of stuff.

I live out in the desert with very few road tracks (come to think of it, very few public tracks you can enter) nearby. We have plenty of dirt roads and trails nearby though (just have to get out of the :censored:ty city). I was thinking of rasing it about an inch or two, but my auto instructor at school (a very respectable one) told me having coil overs up front and axle-over-leaf springs in the rear would be difficult to lift without having to move some stuff around.

As I said, I'd like to upgrade my exhaust, but I want to stay as far away as possible from the riceball fart cans. I'd do a V8 swap, but Arizona is pretty strict on emissions for cars older than 1967. '96 and new use an OBD test to compare it with what it should be, and it's pretty hard to disguise a V8 under the hood when they go look.

As for the cat: I'm not sure if I'd want one from a salvage yard, but if it's far cheaper, I guess it's the best way to go.


I'm only 17, so money is an issue, sadly.

 

[Joey D]

Lifting the rear of an S-10 isn't hard, you just put a lift block on them, that front is something I really don't know enough about. You could always do a body lift though which is really easy and can be done for about $200. If you want the complete kit though, I'd look for a junked ZR2 S-10 and yank the suspension off it. Although if you go with bigger tires you're going to run into the issue of weight and decreased performance.

And yes if your state requires emissions V8 swaps can be tricky since you can't just put in a carbed 350 and call it a day. You can do LS1 swaps but you need to bring a lot of money to do that.

Most guys I knew with the 2.2L S-10's typically lowered them a bit and put some gripper tires on them. You don't need to slam it, but a 1-2" drop would be decent. All it requires is drop spindles, some lowering blocks and a half of day in the garage.

 

[ghsnu]

Lifting the rear of an S-10 isn't hard, you just put a lift block on them, that front is something I really don't know enough about. You could always do a body lift though which is really easy and can be done for about $200. If you want the complete kit though, I'd look for a junked ZR2 S-10 and yank the suspension off it. Although if you go with bigger tires you're going to run into the issue of weight and decreased performance.

And yes if your state requires emissions V8 swaps can be tricky since you can't just put in a carbed 350 and call it a day. You can do LS1 swaps but you need to bring a lot of money to do that.

Most guys I knew with the 2.2L S-10's typically lowered them a bit and put some gripper tires on them. You don't need to slam it, but a 1-2" drop would be decent. All it requires is drop spindles, some lowering blocks and a half of day in the garage.

Don't know where the salvage yards are here, but I'll probably look around.

I found a set of all terrains that are the same 205/75/R15's I have - the Grabber AT. Whether or not it's a good tire, I don't know (though I need new tires soon).

Obviously can't throw a 350 in it (sadly) without hooking up all the emissions crap some how. I've read about LSx swaps and small block swaps, but having spend $5000+ is just not worth it for me.

I'll have to talk to my dad and see what he says. I want to do some upgrades to my truck, but nothing super serious. My main goal was to turn it into a baja-like truck - roll cage, shocks, tires, fiberglass panels, etc., but keep it road legal until I can afford another car.


Off topic: A friend of my teacher has a '86 (I think) 4WD Blazer with a V6. Said he beat a bunch of guys on a sandy bank hill climb with it. Also said it was a 100% reliable truck, always getting him where he needs to go.

Best little pickup IMO...even if mine is a automatic :/

 

[Joey D]

There should be salvage yards around, make sure you find one where you can pick your own parts, it's significantly cheaper to get something.

So I shot my buddy a text and he told me Rough Country makes a reasonably priced 2" suspension lift for the S-10.

http://www.roughcountry.com/chevy_2wd_s10.html

That included the coils, leafs and shocks for $300 and I'm sure if you search around you can get it cheaper.

For tires, I just ask around different forums. s10forums.com seems to have a lot of info, even if their members are a little on a d-bag side.

And yes S-10's are sound little trucks, my Blazer took everything I threw at it like a champ and I had 96 S-10 for a few years that my dad and I used at a camping/fishing truck.

 

[ghsnu]

There should be salvage yards around, make sure you find one where you can pick your own parts, it's significantly cheaper to get something.

So I shot my buddy a text and he told me Rough Country makes a reasonably priced 2" suspension lift for the S-10.

http://www.roughcountry.com/chevy_2wd_s10.html

That included the coils, leafs and shocks for $300 and I'm sure if you search around you can get it cheaper.

For tires, I just ask around different forums. s10forums.com seems to have a lot of info, even if their members are a little on a d-bag side.

And yes S-10's are sound little trucks, my Blazer took everything I threw at it like a champ and I had 96 S-10 for a few years that my dad and I used at a camping/fishing truck.

Not bad. I just want to avoid the ugly "large tire, small wheel wells" look. 2" is probably the max I'd go.

I've been looking over the S10forums for a couple months now. Haven't read a lot of posts, but there's plenty of topics that cover everything.

 

[Slash]

I'd go with a 3 inch lift but that's just me. 3 inch lifts look great on most trucks.

 

[Joey D]

I'd go with a 3 inch lift but that's just me. 3 inch lifts look great on most trucks.

A 3 inch lift would require some pretty big tires to make it look halfway decent, and with the 2.2L in his truck that would make driving awful. The truck would be so slow and the engine would really struggle. If it was a 4.3 then yes, lift it all you want.

ghsnu, your best bet for a small lift is a body lift. You won't screw with the suspension geometry and you'll end up with less headaches. I mean here is a 2" body lift on an S-10...

Also remember if you are getting different size tires then you'll need to re-calibrate the speedometer and odometer. You can see how much different size tires will affect your read out by looking here...

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

 

[Slash]

Yeah the 2.2L would have a had time cranking over enough power to the wheels to get it moving. Should have thought of that. I'd keep the stock tires for winter time though. We swap between 33's to 235s from summer to winter, but we don't re calibrate every time because the switch is so frequent. I wouldn't recommend doing that though unless you know what you are doing.

 

[Joey D]

Yeah the 2.2L would have a had time cranking over enough power to the wheels to get it moving. Should have thought of that. I'd keep the stock tires for winter time though. We swap between 33's to 235s from summer to winter, but we don't re calibrate every time because the switch is so frequent. I wouldn't recommend doing that though unless you know what you are doing.

He lives in Tucson, the average winter temperature is in the 70's, I think he'll be good.

 

[ghsnu]

He lives in Tucson, the average winter temperature is in the 70's, I think he'll be good.

The lowest it got here was 14*F last year when an "article chill" swept through. Other than that, it's usually 32* at the lowest.


Haven't read up about a body lift. All I know is that it's a pain due to having to keep the radiator, intake, etc. in the same place or redirect it. It's easier, yes, but how would I go about ensuring my truck doesn't die out 5 miles from home?

I know I'd have to adjust the VSS. My dad already has that issue with his truck since the tire shop didn't have the right size tires.

 

[mustangGT90210]

The hardest part of the body lift is installing it under the cab.

It's without a doubt the easiest way to go about lifting non-ZR2 S10s. The blocks under the rear also work great, and are easy. One thing to look into on the front, is coil spacers. A 2" block in the back, 2" coil spacer in the front, and a 2-3" inch body lift and you'll be lookin' good. But you'd have to step up to 31x10.50 tires. I'm pretty sure the 2.2 could handle those pretty easily though