Anyone had any success with the 2200 found in the *-10s and Sonomas? My father-in-law is going to be selling his 2002 Sonoma real soon for a great price. The only downfall is that it has the 2200. The thing is a dog, but it gets great gas mileage. He currently has 116,000 on it. Automatic. I know the older 2.2s in the Cavaliers and Sunflowers had head gasket issues (owned a few problematic ones myself) but I don't think that issue carried over to the little trucks with the 2200.

This would replace our aging, rusting, and gas guzzling '97 C1500.

Keep the cooling system up to par (IE replace the water pump just to be safe), put a good thermostat in, and you will have zero head gasket issues. My Dad'* 91 Cavalier with the 2.2 TBI had zero problems, and was rolling along everyday at 220k. Factory head gasket too. It was originally my aunt'* car, she bought it new. The 2200 acts just like a 60* V6, you overheat it, it either warps the head or blows the head gasket.

Wow the C1500 is a pretty solid truck. My dad has a C2500 for pushing snow and its a great work horse. I would not buy a pickup with such a small engine unless it was for a rock bottom steal of a price.

We have a 97 with 150000 miles on it and they only thing we have ever done to it was replace the head gasket. Just a few hundred miles ago. Other than that, the only thing is rust!!!! When it starts, it goes fast. Is it the extended cab or regular? Either way keep it clean during the winter. But yes, they are very good on gas and even more reliable.

Well, we pretty much sealed the deal just a few minutes ago. Still not certain on price but I'm more than sure the price will be very reasonable.

Our 97 C1500 is nothing short of a POS. It'* been a problem from day 1. You name it, I've replaced it. Guaranteed. Not to mention gas prices are sky rocketing and it'* rusting away as it sits. This "upgrade" would be for the better.

I'll be sure to really take care of that 2200. My father in law has owned it since 2004 when he bought it with only 8,000 miles. He changes the oil every 2,400 miles religiously. Not to mention the truck has probably never seen more than 65 MPH. It'* just how he is.

BTW, this is an automatic. I know it'* a dog. It doesn't really matter though since I drive our 97 delicately anyway to conserve on fuel. Not much will change from the aspect.

As far as the head gasket issues go, I don't think it was a big deal in the 2200. The 2200 is different than the 2.2. I owned three 2.2s and they all had head gasket issues.

Think of the 2200 and 2.2 similarly to the 3.1 vs 3100. The 3100 is not the same engnine as the 3.1

It'* a regular cab, btw.

I'll keep a very close eye on the coolant. I know he'* never had any cooling issues with it. With my luck they'll start the week after I buy it!