91 4.3 engine swap into 93 S-10
 

Still looking for a replacement engine for my 93 s10 Blazer. Will a 91 4.3, TBI, non-balance engine swap into a 93 S10 Blazer, auto, 4x4, CPI without too much trouble? I know the 93 heads will need to be transferred to the 91 block to use the CPI. The 93s didnt yet have a crank position sensor so the difference in the timing covers is a non-issue. Is the knock sensor located in the same position on the two blocks?

Is there any difference in block height on the balance shaft engines compared to the earlier non-balance engines?

I realize the 91 block doesnt have the boss for the strut rods like the 93 but as I understand it no blocks before 92 had the bosses so I would figure that auto equipped Blazers from 92 back didnt have strut rods anyway. Im not going to be off roading or driving the vehicle hard so I dont believe not having them will cause an issue.

Would it be better to pass on the 91 and try to find a better donor? What year engines would work best?

Heads and deck heights should be nearly the same in terms of external dimensions & mounting provisions, but check the Rebuilding the 262 by Doug Anderson for confirmation.

As far as using the older block, my concerns would be in how well the TBI cam would work with a CPI intake & engine management. It'll go together and it will likely run, but it might not be running at "peak" performance (as "peak" as stock can get anyway).

Heads are the same, buddy has a 93 blazer engine in his 89 truck running the tbi. We had to remove the balance shaft cause the intake was hiting it.

X2 on the cam question. Ill add I would worry a non balance engine giving knock codes hooked up to an ecm used to a balance shaft.

The strut rods were added to keep the trans case from cracking. All the 4 and 2.8s had them from at least 86+. Not sure why gm skimped on the early 4.3s

Same problem
 

what did you do to seal the balance shaft so it keeps compression in currently having this problem going from a 91 tbi 4.3 to a 93 4.3 vortec with a balance shaft