I had a miss in the 2000 LS 4X4 4.3 and was told to pay $500 for the tune up. I opted out and bought the plugs (bosch PLatinum 2) wires (Napa Premium), rotor, cap, and airfilter. After changing all this, I can barely keep it running and it backfires. Any suggestions? Also, can someone give me the cylinder number location, just to make sure Im getting that right?

THanks for the help.

Chris

 

Driver's side of the engine starts with cylinder 1 out front and has all the odd #'d cylinders. Passenger side starts with cyl. 2 out front and has the even #'d cylinders (just as the cap states).

So the engine goes:
6--\-/--5
4--\-/--3
2--\-/--1
-FRONT-

And the distributor goes (where C is the coil wire):
C--\
6--/-\--5
4-|---|-1
2--\-/--3
-FRONT-

The Bosch plugs are nothing but a gimic. Over time, the plug will resort to using only one of the electrodes. Plus, the orientation of the spark is not as the factory intended and may not deliver as complete a burn as a conventional plug. The best plugs for the 4.3L are pretty much any Double platinum plug just like what was installed from the factory. My views come from experience with the Bosch +N (2 & 4) plugs in other engines as well as reading reviews on other sites from people that have used them in the GM 4.3L motor.

Napa premium wires are decent, but I'm partial to the Belden Premium wires that Napa sells for a little more. They are lifetime warrantied, but i haven't had to collect on a single warranty claim with them on the 4 different vehicles I have installed them on.

On the miss, it is possible that the wires have slipped off the distributor cap. If air gets trapped in the boot when you push it onto the terminal, it could literally push it off the terminal and disconnect the wire. Another thing to do would be to pull off the cap and take a look at the terminals underneith. Also look for a flattened center button in the cap. If there is buildup on any of the outer terminals or the center terminal is flat, go buy another cap and rotor and replace them as well.

Good luck and keep us posted!

 

I am going to check it out today. That drivers side is a bear to work on, as far as spark plugs go.

Thanks,
Chris

 

Ain't that the truth.

 

Any tips besides wear long shirt and block off about 4 hours.

 

I had trouble with the Boschs on my Blazer and Impala. Ran good out of the box then a few thousand miles later, I ended up installing AC Delcos and Autolites in them.

Slide the boot down on the steering shaft. It'll give you a little moreprecious working room. I have a few diffesnt size spark plug sockets and stuffed a craftman box end flex gearhead ratchet. whew! I then bought 9 ft of flex loom. I placed it over the exposed sparkplug wires. I was alot of trial and error cutting. I did this beccause I broke some of the wire holders. Also the old wires on there showed signs of chaffage from rubbing together in certain spots.