GeoTracker...wife is mad...I just don't know.

[BrwBier]

You can always tell a guy who drives a Ford, you just can't tell him much

[Nitetimes]

You can always tell a guy who drives a Ford, you just can't tell him much

That's cause he's smart enough not to drive anything else so what's to hear.

Hey, I've got a BMW too, it just won't do everything I need it to do, trunk's too small.
I do pay enough attention to know which vehicles to avoid tho.

[Joseph]

You can always tell a guy who drives a Ford, you just can't tell him much

I was driving along the road in my Ford Ranger one morning and saw a Dodge truck broken down beside the road. I was slowing to pull over and see if he needed help when I read his bumper sticker -

REAL COWBOYS WOULD RATHER PUSH A DODGE THAN DRIVE A FORD.

I just tipped my hat, said, "Careful what you wish for, Cowboy," and drove on.

Joseph

[madjack]

You can always tell a guy who drives a Ford, you just can't tell him much

I was driving along the road in my Ford Ranger one morning and saw a Dodge truck broken down beside the road. I was slowing to pull over and see if he needed help when I read his bumper sticker -

REAL COWBOYS WOULD RATHER PUSH A DODGE THAN DRIVE A FORD.

I just tipped my hat, said, "Careful what you wish for, Cowboy," and drove on.

Joseph

...now that's funny, I don't care who ya are(or what ya drive).....................

[asianflava]

You can always tell a guy who drives a Ford, you just can't tell him much

I was driving along the road in my Ford Ranger one morning and saw a Dodge truck broken down beside the road. I was slowing to pull over and see if he needed help when I read his bumper sticker -

REAL COWBOYS WOULD RATHER PUSH A DODGE THAN DRIVE A FORD.

I just tipped my hat, said, "Careful what you wish for, Cowboy," and drove on.

Joseph

...now that's funny, I don't care who ya are(or what ya drive).....................

Yeah, I can find something to like in just about anything that has a motor.

[caseydog]

As the resident car magazine guy, I'll jump in with my $.02 worth.

The Geo Tracker is a relatively dangerous vehicle, but that can be somwhat mitigated by the driver.

They don't do well in crash tests, so you have to be extra vigilant as a defensive driver. I have owned two Miatas, and when you drive a Miata, you learn to be extra carefull, because a Suburban will squash you like a bug. Same goes for Geo Trackers.

They also have a propensity to suddenly oversteer -- or do a 360, as you already sorta noticed. Drive in the rain with that on your mind.

And, they roll over easily if you do certain things. One, would be sliding sideways and hitting something that grabs the wheels, such as a curb or even dirt, if you slide off the road. You really want to put extra effort into keeping a vehicle like this from sliding sideways.

The other is if you make a sudden turn in one direction, followed by a turn in the other direction -- such as swerving to miss a dog, and then swerving back before the weight shift has a chance to settle. Imagine you have a giant spring on each side of the Tracker. When you make that first sudden input, you are compressing one spring. When you make the second one, you are releasing that spring with enough force to overpower the other spring, and over you go. So, try not to make abrupt steering inputs.

All vehicles of this type do this kind of thing, and the Tracker does it more than others. To be safe, you have to know what to do, and most importantly, what not to do when driving one.

And, I agree that you may want to consider trailer brakes if you plan to tow with this thing. In a quick stop, especially in the rain, I'd be worried about the trailer pushing the back end of the Tracker around. And, don't let the small size fool you -- leave yourself plenty of room ahead so you can safely stop if you have to.

CD

[Cliffmeister2000]

I bought a 1991 Geo Tracker about 2 years ago. Impulse buy, paid too much. The guy told me it was towed most of its life, and only had about 20k miles on the actual drive train (57k showing). I wanted to believe him, so I bought it. Of course, the ashtray was missing, and he told me that his uncle (who owned it) didn't smoke so he took the ashtray out. In the first cleaning, I found the back seat ashtray was packed with cigarette butts. Who can you trust these days? It doesn't help that once I decide to buy something, he could have told me it was 257k miles, and I would have probably bought it anyway.

This thing has had a few problems, mostly sun damage. I had to replace all 4 tires because they were rotten, had to replace the top, right window regulator, overflow bottle on the radiator, etc. But, it is SOOOO fun!



Cliff

[Ira]

What's a right window regulator?

[MOKI SEAKER]

Ira, I think it makes sure the window doesn't go up to far, or something like that...jim G

[Ira]

Ira, I think it makes sure the window doesn't go up to far, or something like that...jim G

With crank windows, I don't have that problem!!!

And since we're still talking about my new toy, the Tracker has a weird stereo--it's like square. Mine has no CD. Also, it's old and it stinks, and the speakers are all dried out.

The speakers I can handle replacing, but in order to replace the stereo, do I like have to go to an auto sound guy? Do they have thse "plates" or something where you can fit in a "conventional" unit and still make the dash look normal?

[Creamcracker]

Ira, I think it makes sure the window doesn't go up to far, or something like that...jim G

With crank windows, I don't have that problem!!!

And since we're still talking about my new toy, the Tracker has a weird stereo--it's like square. Mine has no CD. Also, it's old and it stinks, and the speakers are all dried out.

The speakers I can handle replacing, but in order to replace the stereo, do I like have to go to an auto sound guy? Do they have thse "plates" or something where you can fit in a "conventional" unit and still make the dash look normal?

Hi IRA --- I believe the window regulator is the whole crank assembly -- same as I have on mine. I've replaced a couple on my MGB over the years.
As regards the stereo -- You probably have the same one that I DID with a cassette player. I went to a local car junk yard and there was a wrecked Tracker (about 2000 model year) with a CD player -- I popped it out and paid $25 for it -- the HAYNES manual for the Tracker shows you how to take out the existing radio and then the replacement radio with CD player pops right in the slot and uses the same connections. I recently replaced the speakers with some from RadioShack. It sounds/works well. I believe the radio/CD player is termed as being a "double DIN"

[Ira]

I'm gonna profess my ignorance, but what else is new? What's a Hayne's manual?

Don't make jokes--I grew up in Brooklyn and we didn't learn about this stuff while working on tractors.

I did an ebay search and didn't find anything, but aren't there web sites where you can find parts from junkyards? Maybe that's my best bet--just getting the same unit with the CD.

Funny thing is, maybe when I replace the speakers, it'll sound okay. But I'd still like that CD in there.

[Cliffmeister2000]

Ira says:

What's a right window regulator?

The window regulator is a triangle looking affair, made up of 2 cables and a vertical bar with a slide mechanism in it. The two cables attach to a pulley that is the window crank. As you roll the window up, the cable at the bottom of the vertical bar is lengthened, the cable at the top is shortened, the slide mechanism moves up, and the window closes. Crank the window in the other direction, and the window opens. On my old regulator, one of the cables had come off the crank pulley. Window stuck closed.

The speakers I can handle replacing, but in order to replace the stereo, do I like have to go to an auto sound guy? Do they have thse "plates" or something where you can fit in a "conventional" unit and still make the dash look normal?

I had BestBuy install my sterio, but they sell kits. The installer said my '91 Tracker didn't need one, but the newer Trackers have GM radios which are twice as tall as normal, so a kit would be required.

As far as safety is concerned, I purchased my Tracker for off-road use, and that is pretty much all I use it for. Even off-road there is danger of tipping it over, as with all high center 4x4s, but I love to take pictures, and in the desert sometimes the best shots aren't on the beaten path.

I toy with the idea of making a very small teardrop for it, just for kicks. If I do, it will probably look like a 2 man pup tent on wheels!

Cliff

[sid]

Hey Ira,

Check with http://www.crutchfield.com/S-DuXalDtiJye/

They sell you everything you need to replace your old stereo with a new one. All the face plates and adapters based on your vehicle.

[caseydog]

I'm gonna profess my ignorance, but what else is new? What's a Hayne's manual?

Don't make jokes--I grew up in Brooklyn and we didn't learn about this stuff while working on tractors.

I did an ebay search and didn't find anything, but aren't there web sites where you can find parts from junkyards? Maybe that's my best bet--just getting the same unit with the CD.

Funny thing is, maybe when I replace the speakers, it'll sound okay. But I'd still like that CD in there.

You can Google "Haynes Manual" at the same time you Google "Bestine."

And, you can get adapter kits for the Tracker's radio, and put whatever stereo you want in the dash. You can get them here ( www.crutchfield.com ), as well as places like Best Buy.