Alright. guy i talked to today has a s10 with the 4.3 tbi.

He blew the bottom end and replaced the shortblock with a 96 vortec block. He said when they tried to start it, it was having trouble turning over.

My only ideas is timing is way off and or bottom end is bad. I can get this truck fairly cheap. Thoughts?

Also,with it being a bottom end from a vortec,which is roller. Im not sure if they used its cam,and roller lifters but would all that swap over with the tbi heads/setup? I just dont want to dig myself a hole if i decided to buy it.

 

its not an electrical issue, maybe? bad or forgotten ground, bad starter, corroded terminals?

 

notta clue. didnt ask to much about it as i didnt have the money till now. I'm just weighing out my options.

 

Don't think ya can keep the roller with the older heads. They make a carbed intake for the vortec heads, easy to use a plate to turn that to TBI.

If the guy didn't know what he was doing mixing parts it could easily be pushrods binding up or any kind of problems.

 

yea. he couldnt of been over 21. He said he had the vortec heads he can throw in,but chances are like most vortec heads they may be cracked. maybe il offer him like 400-500 bucks for it and then put a 350 in it..

 

i would also say maybe a forgotten ground. if you only ground the battery to the fender and not the block, that little wire will barely have enough power to crank the starter. i did this in my truck when i built it, when that little wire started smoking i figured out the problem

 

I've forgotten a ground strap more times than I would like to admit...

 

If on the rebuilt long block a tanawanda crank was used with romulus rods its going to cause problems.They cant be mixed and matched.The tbi heads will bolt up to the newer vortec blocks just fine.The only difference in the blocks would be the steel pan will not bolt up to that block now will the steel timing chain cover.You can use roller cams or flat tappet cams in the newer blocks also with some conversion.You need push rod guides and longer push rods.

On a side note I rebuilt one of my 4.3`s last year and order standard size.I didnt look at them.I assumed they were correct size.The engine was getting very hard to turn over after installation of each piston.Then I decided to check the bearing size. They were 10 over,so I had to reorder the proper size.After that everything was fine.
Anyway I would say something wrong was done on the rebuild,maybe its worth your time to take it apart and check the clearances or maybe its not if you decide to buy it.
If you can purchase said vehicle for $500 and you cant get this engine to work out swapping it out with a known good one might be the best bet.