Hey everyone!

My blazer has been doing really good lately of not breaking down but it gets 10mpg still and burns oil and leaks oil.

I just had a bunch of front end parts put in cause most of it was pretty must rusted thru and would of ruined my whole front end if I would of never bumped into the curb at school. My tire came off the rim and I was stuck there till school ended. Put the spare on and got the one fixed. The guys found I had bad ball joints,and all the arms were bad and a bunch of other crap. Just got that done and it drives somewhat better and the steering is way better.

My question is how much would it cost to get a 4.3 rebuilt? I looked at a new 4.3 vortec and it was like over two grand and I really would like a vortec. I put almost $3,000 into it since I bought it in July. I bought it from $2,000 and about $2,000 back into it in less then 2 months. I really would want to get a new motor or rebuilt and then get the body completely redone. Some of you seen my 89 s-10 blazer and the pics make it look good and it wasn't to bad when I got it. Some rust and the back back corner panels are pretty much rotted out and have a big whole in the corner.

I love it to death because of what I have done to it and how it looks but if its to much to get it rebuilt I might just bother waiting to summer and getting co-signed for loan or something.

So if anybody could give me a rough estimate on how much it would be to rebuild my 4.3 I would thank you so much

 

About the only way you'd be able to go with a vortec 4.3 is if your intake could bolt up, and it should. I do believe that all of the rest of your intake & fuel system and you should be all set. I'm not sure how the distributor would work, but I don't think they changed the deck height so you should be able to use your distributor as well. You would have to trail fit ALL of this before trying to run the motor, but if you were to grab a lower mileage engine from a junker, you could do the swap relatively easily.

Do you want to rebuild your motor just to rebuild it or do you have other concerns? Your oil burning problem is mostlikely valve stem seals and can be replaced with the heads on the truck, although not all that easily. It is much easier to replace the seals on a work bench.

As far as rebuilding your current motor, you'd probably want to send the heads off to get them reconditioned at a motor machine shop and you might have to do the same with the short block due to wear in the cylinders that may require boring out. If it needs boring, you'll need larger pistons. A master rebuild kit shouldn't be too much more than $100 (w/o new pistons), but still won't be too costly with oversized slugs.

 

Yeah I was thinking about finding a motor from a junker but wanted to see how much a rebuild is.

I have 154,000 as of yesterday and see is very tired. Gas milage is bad,no power what so ever and just everything that goes along with it being tired. Unless there is some other things to do but I was told its cause its old and she is tired out.

My step uncle is awsome with vehicles and did most of the work on mine. I am gonna call him today and see what he thinks. I am also looking for a new vehicle but not sure when that will be since my moms worked fired everyone that works in the office to hire new people to work for less. So she can't co-sign anything till she gets a job. My step uncle just started going to the car auctions and said he would get me a awsome deal on a truck or something.

See I wanna sell my Blazer before winter gets over because the body is getting really bad. Just these past few weeks its gotten the worst. I would sell it and say its a good winter vehicle because it actually is. Now if I don't get it sold by summer I am just gonna keep it when I do get a newer vehicle so I can use it as a muddin vehicle and all.

So what is your best bet on the motor situation? Will a rebuild fix my problems or should I just go find a low milage motor somewhere?

 

A rebuilt motor will be the same as a new motor when done correctly (so long as your block and heads are good - ie. no cracks). A lower mileage motor would take less time and may cost less, but choose wisely.

 

Alright thanks


I will talk to my step uncle about it. Sure he knows someone or somewhere I could get a lower milage motor. If not I will see about getting it rebuilt.

 

Parts for a rebuilt engine will be about the same as buying a used engine in the salvage yard. If you do the rebuild (or your step uncle) you would be better off with the rebuilt engine.

Not sure I would dump this truck after putting so much money into it already.

Have you tested to se if your O2 sensors are working, and/or hooked up. Faulty O2 sensors will cause the computer to go into a default mode, thie will make the engine run, however your gas mileage will suck big time. About what you claim to be getting now. There may be nothing wrong with the engine, and even if you do rebuild it, and stick in the old sensors, you might still have the same fuel mileage. Before I did a rebuild I would try to find out why the mpg is so low.

As for burning oil, a compression test will let you know if the piston/rings are good or not. Could be the valve stem guides like swart mentioned. I wouldn't scrap that engine just yet. The 4.3L engine is pretty durable and pretty forgiving.

Have you every given it a complete tune up? Air filter, pcv valve, fuel filter, spark plugs, spark plug wires, distriburator cap and rotor, clean up the EGR valve and make sure the O2 sensor is hooked up. That is where I would start. Besidea all of those parts can be used on the new engine.

 

Everything you mentioned at the end has all been repleaced.

O2 sensors are brand new

I will admit the 4.3 is durable and I don't want to get ride of my blazer like you said after putting all the money into it.

I'll look into doing a compression test.

A girl is on her way over for a bit so I am gonna call my step uncle or go to his house after she leaves.

Thanks for the help guys! This forum is pretty great with answering questions .

Will get back with you all soon

 

i just put a new 4.3 in mine. i had the option to by one used. every junk yard i went to had engines with between 50k and 130k on them they all looked ok but i really didnt wanna have troubles down the line. all u need is the new block and you can transfer your intake and all your tins, valves covers,oil pan, a/c, alt, etc and youll have same engine pretty much. but i was fortunate to call around and theres a place just outside cleveland ohio called budget engines and they gave me a brand new remanned 4.3 i had to transfer everything anyway and after taxes and transportation it cost 1450.00. best deal i could find and well worth it cuz now the truck can have another 200k put on it. if you want it for a long time do that if not go w a junkyard motor

 

I would have to say go with a rebuild. You will have a like new motor, if you buy a motor from a junkyard with say 90,000 that may need a rebuild after a couple years. With a fresh rebuild will get over 100,000+ out of it.

 

I wouldn't put an engine in with 90k on the clock, but engines with anywhere from 30-60k near me are only $800 + core. For that price, it is hardly worth it to wait for a rebuild to take place.

One thing I would do no matter the age of the engine is put in the updated rear main seal (dual lip viton/teflon) and a high volume oil pump with the updated, larger pickup tube and screen.