Please enlighten me on the 5th gen Mazda B2200 LE Trucks

So I promise I will not ask you guys every week about some random vehicle. I am liking this little truck a lot, and whatever I get will be my daily driver. OK, here she is:

What I know:
1993 Mazda B2200 LE-5

Asking $2900.00

Original short block and cylinder head was replaced with "new style" engine due to a cracked head. Original motor was known for having this issue. When the current owner bought the truck the head was cracked. "New" engine has approx 46,XXX miles on it, unknown miles on transmission, (I hope to find out more tomorrow. )

New wheels and tires.

New "front end parts" with fresh alignment. I am making an assumption that this means c/v joints and maybe tie rods.

New brake pads all around and new calipers on the front.

NC inspection done this month - passed.

Current owner works as a mechanic at a local dealership, not that that means anything but he sounds nice on the phone.

I did a web search for recalls and more info but I couldn't find much of anything. Two service bulletins about a/c dye and maintenance free batteries, which I am going to assume are non-issues at this point.

I can't find any info on what the LE package includes, I know this one does not have power windows.

Any advice on known issues or concerns you would have if you were looking at this truck?
Thanks in advance guys!

needs moar rotardness and escalade wheels.

I have nothing else to add besides the above modifications, which I would do if it was mine.

Go ahead. Those are good little trucks, and the 2.2 is better than the 2.6, in my humble opinion. Way less rustprone than Toyota or Nissan, so that means they just rust out normal-fast, instead of immediately.

Had one through high school in Maine winters and wow I miss that thing so much!

Only major issue for me was the valve seats started to die to the point it needed 1/2qt every week and bumpers rusted out quite quick. Aside from that tough as nails, sold it before I went in to the army with 245k.

Damn I miss it!

WANT!

If you wanna get crazy, the motor in my mx6 famous for making obscene power is an easy swap in that.

There's a surprising amount of mechanical parts that cross or can be mixed up with sources like the RX-7 and 1st gen Ford Probe, etc. I honestly don't think there's a trouble spot on these things although it seems like the ones I see all have screwed up steering or suspension bits, with drivers holding the steering wheel at bizarre angles to keep them going straight down the street. If that stuff has been taken care of and the truck tracks well, it should be a great vehicle. Price seems a little high but I haven't looked it up, and at this point they're old enough that a values book won't be that helpful. If it's got a manual trans, I think they get mid-30 MPG on the highway if speeds are kept under 70mph.

I had a 93 for about 4 years. It was reliable, good on gas, made real good power for a small truck, and towed great (from Ontario to Gainesville and Maxton twice). It also was the worst driving vehicle I've ever owned, and eventually a blew head gasket at 400+ km. It was such a good little truck, that I hated it the whole time I owned it, and still kept it. If you buy that one, I'll send you an almost new Haynes manual.

pres589 wrote: I honestly don't think there's a trouble spot on these things

They are known for head gaskets, and the Mazda shake. They can develop a vibration at highways speeds that is impossible to get rid of.

Zomby Woof wrote:

pres589 wrote: I honestly don't think there's a trouble spot on these things

They can develop a vibration at highways speeds that is impossible to get rid of.

Is that OEM or does it come with wear and tear? I ask because I am wondering if that is the reason for the new "front end parts" mentioned above. Also, I said c/v joints, but I meant ball joints as this is a 2wd.

Thank you all for the replies so far, very good input! This one has a 5-speed manual transmission.

Swank Force One wrote: WANT! If you wanna get crazy, the motor in my mx6 famous for making obscene power is an easy swap in that.

What do you mean if I wanna get crazy?

Good solid little trucks, typical 80's Japanese interior (lots of vinyl). Yeah, I know it's a '93 but it was designed in the '80's and carried over till the Fazdas came out. The much earlier carbed ones will be hard to get parts for, that one should be FI and if so cruise on!

Back then, the 'packages' didn't really have a lot of meaning other than stripes, maybe a tachometer and factory A/C etc.

I heard about but never experienced the shake. I'd think that wheel offsets could have a lot to do with it, and those are not factory wheels, they look like the steel aftermarkets that were readily available back then.

EastCoastMojo wrote: Is that OEM or does it come with wear and tear?

Maybe both. It's a rear end vibration that feels like out of balance tires. There used to be a B2200 forum in the day, and amongst the members it was well known. I tried everything and never cured mine, although factory alloy rims minimized it. Drive it at highways speeds, and see. I drove two others after mine was gone, and both had it. I've also heard that Miata's are not immune to the same thing.

This one does appear to have a tach in the photos and I know it does have working A/C.

It's no Ford Courier, but it has style points (to me).

EastCoastMojo wrote: So I promise I will not ask you guys every week about some random vehicle. I am liking this little truck a lot, and whatever I get will be my daily driver. OK, here she is: What I know: 1993 Mazda B2200 LE-5 Asking $2900.00 Original short block and cylinder head was replaced with "new style" engine due to a cracked head. Original motor was known for having this issue. When the current owner bought the truck the head was cracked. "New" engine has approx 46,XXX miles on it, unknown miles on transmission, (I hope to find out more tomorrow. ) New wheels and tires. New "front end parts" with fresh alignment. I am making an assumption that this means c/v joints and maybe tie rods. New brake pads all around and new calipers on the front. NC inspection done this month - passed. Current owner works as a mechanic at a local dealership, not that that means anything but he sounds nice on the phone. I did a web search for recalls and more info but I couldn't find much of anything. Two service bulletins about a/c dye and maintenance free batteries, which I am going to assume are non-issues at this point. I can't find any info on what the LE package includes, I know this one does not have power windows. Any advice on known issues or concerns you would have if you were looking at this truck? Thanks in advance guys!

Bombproof truck. A friend of mine had one of these in college and it had a ridiculous amount of miles and gave very little trouble. When I was building my spec miata, I looked for one of these and I bought one about 5 years ago for $750 (it was WAY worse than this one.) It had been totaled and had a salvage title. It had a mismatched fender, rust, bad exhaust, and the worst tires I have ever driven on, but they had good tread.

The slave cylinder will probably die. I have a long story about carpooling with a friend of mine in 100 degree heat and high humidity in Ohio in this thing when the slave finally gave up the ghost in traffic around Columbus, OH. We made it home with no clutch, wearing our dress shirts, ties and sweating our balls off. Cost me $14 at advanced autoparts for a replacement. Some other time..

I owned the truck for 2 years. I did one oil change and a plug replacement when I got it. It leaked oil so I just kept adding it and didn't change it again. The starter was going south but I could always get it to start on the 3rd attempt so I was not in a hurry to replace it. Insurance was dirt cheap. The interior was definitely "plastic fantastic" but it was fine for commuting. The seats in mine were a 1 piece bench and my bench was definitely beat to hell, but mine came with an old blanket to insulate me from the metal seat frame so I was not in a hurry to fix that either. If I remember correctly this is an F2 engine which is related (or identical?) to the F2T in the first gen probe. The steering is recirculating ball just like an early RX-7 so there is minimal steering "feel" but it is a truck.

This one looks to be in nice shape. The price may still be a little high so I would offer less. I wish I had the room to get this one as I would love to have another for the impending zombie apocalypse.

Awesome truck! I had an '86 b2000 extra cab. I would like to get another one someday with the fuel injection and swap f2t parts or go with a turbo rotary.

Say hello to my little truck!

She ain't a lightnin' bolt, and the brakes do require me to be a little psychic about when I m going to need to slow down, but she is all in all a great little truck. I used to have a bigger truck named "Big Red", so this one is named, appropriately "Little Red".

I am in the market for a rear bumper, if anyone has one please let me know. I will be looking locally as well but it never hurts to cast the net among friends. Also, she is the carb'd model, so if anyone has spare parts they are looking to part with, I may be interested in them also.

Congratulations! On the carb: it's one of those things where if it's working don't futz with it. I don't think my spare Jensen bumpers will work on Lil' Red, though.

OBTW: I had a Courier almost exactly like the green one, only mine was yellow and sorta beat up. But man I liked that little truck! Its only drawback: it had NO legroom.

The Courier is very cool in my book. Great thing for me is I have very short legs! No legroom, No PROBLEM! I don't even need that much head room, 'cause I'm a shorty.

Zomby Woof wrote: ... ... It was such a good little truck, that I hated it the whole time I owned it, and still kept it. If you buy that one, I'll send you an almost new Haynes manual.

PM sent. I am interested in the manual if your offer still stands.

In reply to EastCoastMojo:

Absolutely. I attempted to change me email address here with no luck. I'll send you one back.

Thanks Zomby! E-mail replied.

Cool truck; looks good! My uncle has the slightly-later Ford Courier version of this, and he reckons it's pretty damn indestructible.

I have already performed my first two minor repairs to Lil' Red. I applied some racing (electrical) tape to the steering wheel to hold the cover together and I cleaned the battery terminals and introduced a shim on the negative cable to make for a tighter connection after she did not want to start this am.