I'm just curious as to what is involved in a tune up to the Vortec 4.3 V6. I just found out that it has a distributor which seems pretty outdated I think.

So is it as simple as plugs & wires, or is it plugs, wires, distributor, cap, etc.

Thanks for any info. provided I'm glad to be here on the forum.

 

Yeah, well, it is a 20 year old design, you know. Without knowing how many miles are on your engine, a full tune up would be plugs, wires, distributor cap and rotor, fuel filter, air filter - heck, throw in an oil change and injector cleaner fluid, too.
Oh, and [sm=welcomesign.gif].

 

A distributor is outdated????

What is new and hip and happening to you lol.

Every car I have had has a distributor and so do a lot of the new cars.

As to your tune up question rriddle3 answered that.

 

Well my 2006 Monte Carlo doesn't have a distributor that I can see. Thanks for the info. and the welcome rriddle3! I'm pretty excited to be here.

 

Some vehicles have a distributerless design. Theres no cap or rotor or plug wires. There are individual coils that sit on top of the spark plugs. My dakota is this way, so for me tune up is pretty much plugs.

My dakota also has no fuel filter, it's an integrated part of the fuel pump assembly and not replacable. The timing is also computer controlled and not adjustable.

I use seafoam at every oil change in the oil (reduce and help prevent sludge - especially big with conventional oils), in the gas (clean injectors) and in the air intake - throttle body and pcv (remove buildup/deposits). About $6 a can and can be purchased at auto parts stores.

- Dan M

 

Not to hijack the thread, Dan, but you might want toslow downon the Seafoam engine treatment. Nothing wrong with it, it's good stuff, but I don't feel it's necessary to use it every oil chenge. With modern oils - even dino - the problem appears to be more with the engine design that causes sludge. Some are more prone than others to be sludge monsters. Of course, reasonable oil change intervals are needed (3k-5k) as is a good filter. My point is that anything, even Seafoam, you put into your oil dilutes it so Iwould not use it every time.

 

how many miles on your 2003 Blazer... ?

 

60K

 

I have 83K on my 2003 and it runs good.. ~
only thing i do to it is oil and filter~
good luck with the tune up and welcome to the forum ~

 

Is the distributor something that normally goes bad? I mean my Blazer doesn't miss out or hesitate. Is this something that needs regular service or do they last for quite some time?