I have a 1999 Blazer LT. It spun the #4 rod bearing, so she's gonna come out. On the hunt for a suitable replacement motor.

Just wondering if anyone has looked into swapping a 2012 4.3 VIN X out of a Silverado or Express Van. I know that they are distributor less ignition. And I know that the intake are different, so swapping them would be a must. I also know that the timing cover's are different. But in some of the preliminary research that I have done, most of the major hard parts are the same ( crankshaft, balance shaft, cylinder heads, harmonic balancer). I have access to ALLDATA, and looked up the GM part numbers for these parts and they are the same. With these being the same I was thinking that a guy could pretty easily swap it back to a distributor and use it. I believe that the oil pans could be different depending on donor vehicle.

The only reason that I inquire about this is in my area seems to be a few low mileage (5-30k) motors from wrecking yards for very reasonable prices ($300-600). Even seen some on ebay out of state (45k for $200).

Just tossin it out there to see if anyone has done any research. I see a few out there have done up to 05-06 4.3 swaps. Btw, the 07-12 motors are still using the same VIN code X designation.

Be nice to have a near new motor for significantly less than putting in a rebuilt.

Thanks in advance.

Norm

 

I would think the biggest problem might be if the block can accept a distributor. Other than that you might just be able to swap the necessary parts of the engine you have.

 

Upon further digging, I discovered the timing cover is different .
Which means the cover is different. The blazers have only 6 bolts, and the newer X motor (07-12) have a 8 bolt cover. I am not sure if the 8 bolt cover could be used or not.