hey everybody.

I do some towing with the Blazer( 03 LS 2 door 4.3 auto 2wd ) and on uphills , it goes gearhunting, even if there is no trailer attached, just some abundance of cargo in the rear.
I know the engine is crammed already, and seeing how I live in Arkansas, I don't really want to get rid of the A/C etc.
I read alot about engine swaps and such, I am not against swapping my engine out but I have several questions that I couldn't find the answer to in here or google.
If I were to get a donor truck with a vortec 350, how new would it have to be to makethe process as painless as possible?
what are the advantages of the LS over the 350 ? I am extremly good with electronics ( I fix planes for the air force, avionics are a bitch ! ) so I can handle the electronics part as long as I have the diagrams.
can I use my tranny with the LS.
How will gas milegae be in a before and after setting.
does anybody have a pictures or a video of a *latemodel* blazer being swapped over, everything I always find are the older S10 Blazers with those nice ROOMY engine bays..

Thanks

Phil

 

I have not done the swap but I know some people on here have. Information that I have gathered over time on just random post checks confirms that your stock tranny should bolt right up to a 350 if I remember correctly.

The blazer should not really do that much "gear hunting" going up hills if you are not towing stuff. Mine usually stays in OD going up decent grade hills. At the most it will drop down to 3rd for a little bit.

Now when I was towing a couple jet skis for a while (2500 lbs for 3-4 hours), the blazer would do a lot of "gear hunting". I have been told to just drop the tranny into 3rd going up hills if you are towing and that should stop it from doing a lot of unnecessary gear changes into OD going up the hill which will eventually heat up the tranny even more than it already is.

Also a tranny cooler is nothing short of a fantastic idea in these vehicles.