4.3 Vortec swap?

[dream on mcss]

You have no idea what you are talking about. I don't car of the Blazer adaptation does burnouts or not. If probably used more oil doing the burnout that it did gas.

But hey bud, you want a 4.3 in your car? Have at it .

I have no idea what im talking about? Ok whatever pal. Im just saying i have NEVER seen or heard of a 4.3 burning oil AT ALL. They're just as reliable as any small block chevy out there as long as there treated fairly and well maintained, atleast the true vortecs are. Im not gonna argue with you, im just going off what i know about these motors. Take it easy man.

 

[oldmansmonte]

You have no idea what you are talking about. I don't car of the Blazer adaptation does burnouts or not. If probably used more oil doing the burnout that it did gas.

But hey bud, you want a 4.3 in your car? Have at it .

I have no idea what im talking about? Ok whatever pal. Im just saying i have NEVER seen or heard of a 4.3 burning oil AT ALL. They're just as reliable as any small block chevy out there as long as there treated fairly and well maintained, atleast the true vortecs are. Im not gonna argue with you, im just going off what i know about these motors. Take it easy man.

"i have NEVER seen or heard of a 4.3 burning oil AT ALL."

"They're just as reliable as any small block chevy out there"

*facepalm*

 

[Dragonist]

I'm with dream on mcss the vortec 262 is a damn good reliable motor, and I say that with personal experince. My old Gmc Jimmy was a great lil ole truck, I've pulled plenty of cars,trucks and parts with it and it gave no fuss, olny thing I changed on that motor was the water pump. due to different versions or looks of the motor this is the version I had listed below(not my image).

motor specs below

Power output of the new LU3/LG3 engines is 200 hp (149 kW) to 215 hp (160 kW) and 250 lb·ft (339 N·m) to 265 lb·ft (359 N·m

references:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GM_Vortec_engine#4300

 

[clean8485]

To be fair, the 4.3 did have some problems, but no more so than most other GM engines of the period. The valve guide seals would wear, and the engine would puff a bit of blue smoke on a cold start, but the small block Chev had the same issue, and it was a relatively easy fix with better valve seals. The CPI engines had a tendency to have carbon buildup in the EGR ports, which would cause a rough running condition, and a trouble code in the PCM, but once again, clean out the port, and everything was fine. The basic engine design was sound, because it was based from the small block, which was (and still is) a great engine. The later versions incorporated a balance shaft, which made them run more smoothly than the earlier versions. As dream on mc ss has said, as long as they're properly maintained, they are a good engine, otherwise they wouldn't have been around for 20 years. They could be difficult to work on, depending on the type of vehicle that they were installed in (i.e. Astro/Safari vans), but overall, they are a pretty good engine. Ask me how I know-I was a GM dealer tech through the '90s, and into the early 2000s.

 

[anthonychacon80]

my dad's 91 gmc safari had the pre-vortec 4.3 V6 in it. That thing was a BEAST. Lots of power and torque. I can not imagine how much faster it would have been had it had vortec heads. As a I recall it got good gas milage on cross country trips. In fact I remember this one time we did not even top off the engine and the electronic fuel gauge was one tick from being "full". About 20 miles later the top "tick" lit up and we joked that the Safari MADE its own gas. We could tow anything behind that van with a van full of people and pets. I think we sold it in 2000 with over 200,000 miles on it and it was still running strong as the day we bought it. It didn't burn oil and it got an oil change regardless every 3000 miles, new plugs about once a year etc. It even had the extra AC compressor in it for the rear AC.

If you can have at a pre-vortec era V6 with the Throttle body that MIGHT be an easier swap. You would need to pressurize your fuel system and get the computer and harness. Besides that it is just like putting any other SBC in and should, in theory use the same mounts as a sec v8 AND uses the same serpentine belt system as later v8s

 

[DRIVEN]

In theory a 4.3 swap is sound. I'm not going to get in to whether it's a good engine or not. The cost is what I'm going to focus on. You gave no specs on your "355" so I don't know what you're running. A carbed 350 can get 20mpg in a Gbody with proper gearing. I doubt you'll get much better with a Vortec 4.3. Just for the sake of argument, let's say you can get 22mpg. Let's also figure $1500 to do the swap (I think I'm being conservative here too). How many miles will it take to recover your $1500 expenses? Will it be fun to drive anymore? Will it sound good anymore? Just something to think about.

 

[miller92]

So far this isnt sounding to bad, I know it wont have the power it does with the 355 and I dont really want to sell the car. My dad bought the car back in 93 completely stock with the 3.8 and then he started moding it. The engine now is a 350 bored .30" over with flat tops 480 lift cam roller rocker headers aluminum intake and so on I couldnt say what all it has. The reason I dont want to sell it and would like to find a more efficent way to drive it is basicly because I grew up with the car, learned most I know by working on it with him. Thats where the idea of a decent v6 swap came in so that I can still hang on to the car instead of it sitting around rotting and I could still have some fun with it just by cruising around, dont need tons of power to have fun.

The engine I was thinking would be the 96 and newer vortec, I guess they had the true vortec heads from what im seeing. My problem is, what all would I need from the donor vehicle to do the swap? Just the engine, the wiring harness and the computer? I know one of you mentioned the early 4.3 which would be easier to do and I would possibly do it if it came down to me not being able to figure out how to do the wiring issues of the newer vortec.

 

[dream on mcss]

well for more simplicity you could use the vortec longblock and throw the pre vortec tbi and manifold on and run it like that. with a few mods you could have 250hp EASY

 

[DRIVEN]

I'd still stick with the 350. If you know someone with a 2wd S10 that has a 4.3 in it, that's who you should be talking to. Go drive one around for a while and see what it feels like. Ask them what their REAL mpg is. You'll probably find that it's not much better (if any) than what you have now. What transmission and rear gears do you have in your car now? It might be worth it to focus your time and money on those areas first. You could also detune your 350 for better mpg too. Anything you can do to add low-end and mid-range torque will help. Swapping in a smaller cam (or even just smaller ratio rockers), smaller carb, and a torque oriented intake will all help. The 350 in my El Camino got consistently better than 20 with a best of 23mpg. Nothing special at all: stock bottom end, S/R heads, Performer cam and intake, Q-jet and HEI, overdrive transmission and 3.08 gears. It is possible. The 400 (built for towing torque) in it now still gets close to 20. It's all in the package.
It sound like you've kind of already made up your mind to do the 4.3 swap but to me it's a step backwards.

 

[clean8485]

Some G bodies (1986 & 1987 Monte Carlo and Grand Prix I believe) were available with the 4.3 TBI engine. If you wanted to go with something like that, and could find a donor car, then you'd be pretty much all set. If you decide to go with a 4.3 swap, please keep us updated, as I for one, would be interested to see how it works out.