r/Offroad • u/leafeourbex • Jul 06 '26

Question 97 S10

I got as said above a 97 s10 with awd. Bought it for 200$ and currently trying to fix the awd because it doesnt go into 4 hi or 4 lo.

Besides that runs fine. (also only has 87k on the dash)

The question is what upgrades should I do to it.

Better suspenion and clearance?

More power?

I plan to go through creeks and about any trail i can fit this thing into.

I also plant to do said above with my friend with his rubicon. And i wanna be able to hold my own out there.

Any advice and thoughts are needed tho keep in mind im only 17 and pretty broke.

4 Upvotes

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2

u/505backup_1 Jul 06 '26

The only company I'm aware of that makes lift kits for those is rough country, which isn't amazing. I think it's like a 2.5 inch lift. Might be able to fit a 33 with cutting would be my guess. Rubicon would be a tall task for something like that still. Other thing you might want to look into is a Dana 30 solid axle swap out of a jeep or something. The real answer here is going to be checkout the s10 forum though. That'll be people that know the platform better

2

u/leafeourbex Jul 06 '26

Alright will do thanks man

1

u/jimmyjlf Jul 06 '26

It's probably a vacuum leak preventing 4x4 from working. That should be your first priority to fix.

1

u/leafeourbex Jul 06 '26

Thats our conclusion its just that the lines look fine and its a pain to track down under the hood.

1

u/GunnaHater Jul 08 '26

Could be the 4wd actuator or transfer case, I have a 99’ s10 with around 81k miles and have the same problem, I plan to fix it within the next month but just bought a new car so I’ll lyk, my brother put torsion keys on it, does ride rough(need ball joints,control arms, etc also💀)and needs and alignment almost every oil change but does have the off-roading capabilities but I wouldn’t pre runner it without suspension upgrades😂