Re: Daily Driver Help-Sy/Ty/SGT
I agree that a stock truck can be fairly reliable. I bought 1456 with 77k, completely stock (paper air filter and one of the original headlights even). I did a few minor mods to it, like heater hose IC lines and a boost gauge. I tweaked the stock chip a bit (disabled EGR, lowered some temps a bit to match the lower thermostat), but I never changed the fueling or timing. I was averaging over 30k a year for a few years. I took it to the strip a couple times and enjoyed the acceleration (so it wasn't completely babied), but a lot of it was simply highway cruising miles.
At 120k the transmission went. I wasn't doing anything other than "regular driving" when it happened. The odometer died around 180k, but I figure it was over 200k when the engine blew (again, just cruising home from a friend's house). I also had the front diff go - not sure exactly what happened, but the right axle was able to come out a bit, which led to losing the oil in the diff). I also had all the standard S-truck accessories that DaveP mentioned fail on me at one time or another. Also the fuel pump and starter, as seems to be fairly common on these. A big pothole ate both front wheels.
Compared to the horror stories I had heard here, I considered it to be pretty reliable. However, I had never owned a new car, and my '93 S-10 was the newest thing I had owned when I picked up the Sy in '01. It was almost the newest, and I believe it was the lowest mileage, vehicle I had ever owned. Now that I've been driving a Cobalt (purchased brand new) for 4.5 years, I realize just how much work it was. I've changed the tires, oil, air filter, and wipers on the Cobalt. The shocks will need to be replaced soon (apparently they're now considered a 50k maintenance item) and the shifter lost a bolt connecting to the linkage (covered under warranty), but I've done literally nothing else to it. Granted I'm driving a lot less (only at 66k after 4.5 years), but I'd consider it to be 100% reliable and hassle-free.
I spent a fair amount of time doing maintenance and small repairs on the Sy. I was never really worried to take it anywhere, but it also didn't really surprise me when it had problems. Especially for a fairly short commute, it could be doable as a DD. However, I spent a lot of money and used up a lot of 1456's life just cruising back and forth on the highway. I think I would've been happier with a cheap DD (like I have now) and using the Sy only for fun driving. I wouldn't have had as many late Sunday night repair sessions because I needed it to get to work Monday morning. I wouldn't have spent nearly as much on consumable parts and gas. At least I spent a lot of time driving 1456 (which a lot of people can't say about their trucks), but I feel a lot of those miles were "wasted" rather than "enjoyed".
0187 needs some little finishing touches before I'll consider it as reliable as 1456 was. I've been away from SyTy wrenching for so long and the Ninja is so much easier and cheaper to work on, that I'm still on the tank of gas that I put in 0187 the day it was dropped off here in March. I missed the SyTy driving experience, but I definitely didn't miss all the time spent under it.
