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Ways to extend the life of the 4.3L Vortec V6

Old Jun 13, 2012 | 09:11 AM
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Talking Ways to extend the life of the 4.3L Vortec V6

98 blazer has 184k miles on it and its running great. But out of severe curiosity... what mods can you make (or recommend) to extend the life of the engine?
 
Old Jun 13, 2012 | 09:27 AM
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Regular oil changes, tuneups, and drive it like you care and it will last you a really long time. Chances are you will need to do head gaskets at some point but other than that they are great engines. I kow there are a couple guys on here that have around 300k and I think a few have more than that on them.
 
Old Jun 13, 2012 | 05:00 PM
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  1. Follow the maintenance intervals in the owner's manual.
  2. When trouble appears, fix it immediately and buy quality parts.
  3. Store your truck in a garage.
  4. Don't pull anything with it.
  5. Drive like my grandma, except make contact with fewer curbs, walls, guard rails, houses, and other vehicles.
That's worked pretty well for me, 205k miles on the 'ol '96 Sonoma.
 
Old Jun 13, 2012 | 06:02 PM
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Mine has 235k and I still drive it like I stole it half the time.
 
Old Jun 13, 2012 | 06:32 PM
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Originally Posted by aa21830
  1. Follow the maintenance intervals in the owner's manual.
  2. When trouble appears, fix it immediately and buy quality parts.
  3. Store your truck in a garage.
  4. Don't pull anything with it.
  5. Drive like my grandma, except make contact with fewer curbs, walls, guard rails, houses, and other vehicles.
That's worked pretty well for me, 205k miles on the 'ol '96 Sonoma.
Lol, I pull some heavy trailers with mine on 31's for the past 3 years and used to offroad the hell out of it and never had a problem. Preventive maintenance is a big thing. Tune ups and oil changes and quality parts like what was said makes everything
 
Old Jun 13, 2012 | 07:50 PM
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I thought intake gaskets were an issue not head gaskets
 
Old Jun 14, 2012 | 10:52 AM
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HAHA the list with Grandma in it is about the absolute best smartass comment. lol I still want to have fun it in obviously lol.
 
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