I would first like to thank the administrators of this site and the users who replied to my posts.
Link to photos Pictures by Chevy33pics - Photobucket

98 4x4 4.3
I bought this truck for $1,000 and put 700 in parts. 196,000 miles
The motor was knocking and the coolant was in the oil. It was just an lower intake gasket thing. I wanted to start fresh.

Things went pretty well. I dropped in the distributor while the motor was still on the engine stand. After putting the engine back in the truck and wiring it up, it started right up. I did not have to adjust anything.

Mistakes along the way:
Mixing up the rod position and getting the caps mixed up.
Trying to install the harmonic balancer further than it was suppose to go. I broke the installer tool. Good thing it was not bottomed out.
There were a couple minor setbacks towards the end with the transmission pan leaking and the coolant temp sensor on the wrong side.

New parts:
Rings
Gaskets & seals
Bearings
Oil & water pumps
Oil lines
Plugs
Misc. & Machine work

Some tips I would like to share with anyone planning on a rebuild:
Number your rods and caps
Take as many pictures as you can The pictures saved me.
Make sure you order the correct parts. (98 and 99 parts are different) My title says 99 but the door says 98
Check your vin # @ Comprehensive Chevrolet, Saturn, GMC, Hummer, Cadillac, Buick, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Geo, Dodge, Plymouth, Jeep, Chrysler, Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Mazda Truck, Mercedes VIN Decoder
Use the hair dryer to warm up the neutral safety switch connectors before you attempt to separate them.
Allow for more time than you think it will take.
Note: The cam/crank timing marks in the pictures are not correct. The marks are always lined up.

 

nice build with the pics and every thing

 

Great photo's.

 

quick question

is it easier to rebuild a motor while still mounted in the engine bay then disconecting it from the tranny??

also how labor intensive is it to redo head/lower intake/upper intake gaskets with 0 knoledge of the engine?

i would like to learn but want to know what to look for while the engine is open

also what tools would i need? specifics?

 

The upper intake is very easy. Somewhere on this site there are step by step instructions. The lower requires removing more parts.
I work at an automotive shop and having tools at my disposal made the job much easier. Mine being a 4x4 required taking out the transfer case and an additional drive shaft. I removed the transfer case and transmission while the truck was on jack stands. That was much harder than the install with a lift and a trans jack. I pulled and installed the motor myself but an extra set of hands would have made things easier. As for tools: Ring compressor, inner and outer torx bits, torque wrench, feeler gage. You can get the harmonic puller installer from the parts store for free use if you return it. A set of swivel sockets are really good to have. This was a good deal for me GearWrench KD 80550 Promo 57 Pc SAE & Metric Socket Set with FREE KD 80565 3/8" Drive Swivel Socket Set The guys at the parts yards use an old tire to land the transmission to the ground. If you do this take your time there are ways to get the job done easier if you know some things. All the transmission bolts are easier to get to if you let the transmission hang down at the tail. Ground wires are hard to get to but remove them prior to attempting to pull the motor. Let me know what year and if it is 4x4 and I'll give you some tips I learned on my build.