It looks like folks around here have a fair bit of experience. Assuming you bought your mini truck through a reputable dealer, how many miles and/or years could you expect to drive without significant breakdowns or repairs given reasonable driving and use? Thanks
About 2 months if you don't do all the preventive maintenance it will need for a 25 year old vehicle. Dealers usually only change the oil and filters for oil and air box.
Forever with proper maintenance, care and fixes! All parts can be replaced my truck has 150000 kilometers on it. 1991 s83p, it had a rough life before me
Thanks. I'm not much of a mechanic. I can keep the fluids and filters up to date, change brakes and replace belts, or obvious bolt on/off items, but I'm not great at diagnosing electrical and sensor issues or stripping down engines (with much hope of no extra parts left over). The fear factor keeps me from tackling more complex issues. Would I be likely to become a mechanic's best friend as I tried to keep a kei truck running for the rest of my life? (the date is approaching though it hasn't been set yet). ...or could my wife expect to use it as a hearse five to ten years from now?
I never had an interest in turning wrenches unless I had to until I got mini. Older ones are easier to work on and finding parts it the hardest part half the time. Internet is big help for mechanical basics and we are here for Jdm help. I helped a customer at work because of mini. She bought a suzuki escudo and it broke down days later. No one could figure out parts but I could because of having to find my parts. Partsfan.com gave me the breakdown and parts numbers. Her 86 escudo has the same engine as a 99-04 vitara. Boom made the shop capable of doing the 1000$ job. Hahaha ha you will not make a mechanic your friend with it I can promise you that! The mechanic I put on the escudo wasn't happy but I work on it with him. So he didn't stay upset with me. You can do the work trust me
@Saltwater If you replace all the rubber (hoses/belts/bushings) and put on new shocks and make sure the brakes are in good shape then you should be good until something does wear out like a fuel pump or master cylinder. Things that you would expect. Not many mechanics out there that can work on carbed engines these days. EFI doesn't start getting imported here in the states until 2025 for the most part. Yeah theres a few models that have EFI before that but in 2000 all the kei vehicles became EFI I think.
Saltwater, please go into your profile page, and add the information on your truck to the signature. Helps us if we know which flavor your talking about. I got mine with 25,000 klicks. I think 6-years ago now. Now in the 65,000 kick range. Did a complete tune up five years ago, and got the timing right, installed new cam belt and water pump. Have replaced the CV boots, one was cracked, bought a full set, and replaced them all, checked for wear, and repacked everything while in there. These older truck with carbs, and distributors are lots easier to work on, than the newer ones. Younger mechanics may not have the tools needed to work on them. I ran a 77, Toyota Hilux for 285,000 miles before it wouldn’t pass smog, and I passed it off to a brother who lived where smog checks weren’t required. He ran it to about 325,000, before passing to his son, who had 350,000 on it when he gave it to his cousin, who drove it a little and passed it to his dad, wo is still driving it with over 400,000 on it. Change the oil when it gets dirty, and tune it every 1000k, and it should last forever, unless it rusts out. Differentials and tranny every 20,000k, and keep an eye on the cam drive/timing belt. If it snaps the engine will most likely be doen for. Most of these trucks have interference engines, and if hte engine spins with the cam not spinning you will mess up at least half of the valves and guides.
So cool man I got a pickup that's kinda had the same life of giving. Original buy was a water plant construction company, when the plant finished they gave it to my best friends dad as his bonus, he then gave it to his son, who then gave it to my dad, then to me, next comes my son.
Mine has been nothing but trouble, but I still love it. I am a "I can do basic maintenance but that's about it" kinda guy. The key is to find a mechanic that's even willing to work on it. The first four places I tried locally took one look at it and said they wouldn't touch it. Finally got a recommendation to try a classics and hot rod shop, and that's worked out great, they've done quite a bit of engine and suspension repair for me. It was also important for me to be willing to do the legwork to source the parts. A truck in good shape should last a long time, they are simple vehicles. But if you're not a mechanic yourself, you may want to make sure you have a guy willing to work on it before you drop a big chunk of cash. Ask yourself, if I buy one, and the passenger side CV axle explodes in a week, do I have the contacts/resources to get it fixed? ((Note that if you do need to get parts, it can take awhile for them to get to you. I do not recommend this vehicle as anyones sole means of transportation).
AS to folks who might work on your mini: Locally the snowmobile shop will work on mine if I toss the manual on the passenger seat, so they know what things should be set to. Local suspension and tire shop will work on it, now that the Dad, who is retiring, helped the kids dig out the old turntables and gauges, and taught them how to use them. There wiz-bang super computerized laser system, only works on things in the database, and they have no way to add things. The Dad, knew exactly where the old stuff they used before the laser system was stored, and got it out and showed the kids how to use it. They now have it in a cabinet, so they can work on classic vehicles, that predate the nifty laser machine. Dad also found the hydraulic bender for the old Ford Twin I-Beam suspensions. They now do ten or so a year, because another local has a business restoring the Bump Side (67 to 72) Ford pickups. And shops for a couple of hundred miles around are referring people to them.
Oh yeah, a couple places I checked with basically said "No OBD2 port? We don't work on it.". And I had the exact same experience as Jigs with an alignment, except the computerized laser set up was at the local chain tire shop, and they refused once they found out the truck wasn't in their database. Took it to a local shop, and they handled it without a hitch....except that the space between the wheels is so narrow they almost dumped it into their pit.
