Recently after discovering the cause of my coolant leak (freeze plug in the front) and about a day of disappointment of think of how much of a pain in the but its going to be to pull the engine. I started thinking... Wait i need to pull the engine! Which means if nothing else I can give my blazer some love if not throw in a few things . So I want to hear about some peoples opinions on what I Should do... My blazer is a 01 4x4 4dr i have just under 190k on the odometer which leaves me swaying back and forth about a total rebuild and upgrade got about `1400 to spend on parts.

1.) Thought about getting another 4.3 with less miles... but the local salvage yards want around 850 for 125k. Not really worth it unless something good pops up.

2.) Get a new crate engine though its a little much for me right now and a 190hp is just Meh

3.) get it rebuilt with performance cam, lifters, pistons Naturally aspirated of around 260hp ( don't want to blow her up.)

4.) do a engine swap for a V8 though from my reading on the various post with cost esp with the 4x4 is up around 3-4k

5.) just pull her and replace the freeze plugs and a couple other things i been procrastinating doing.

From all my research the 4.3 tends to go out around 300k miles i got some lifter noise esp. on start up ( don't even want to look at my pickup screen) and it needs to be pulled so why not have it last another 300k miles! Let me know what you all think. Thanks

 

If I was in your shoes I'd pull the motor from the truck and start taking apart the entire motor. I would look at the condition of every part then work my way up from the oil pan. I'd start buying all new bearings, work my way up the crank, rods, and pistons. Replace what ever looks beyond useable. From there I'd toss the cam out the window and find a decent one that fits your needs. With a new cam, new lifters are suggested. So hey if you can find a good deal on valvetrain gear look into it. From there I'd just get the heads pressure checked and resurfaced. Then if money was left over I'd look into the marine intake swap. But sadly with a new cam and the marine intake a tune would be needed. That is just what I would do. Good luck with your choices and have fun.

 

Thats what I'm Thinking she's also blowing a little blue smoke on start up which in guessing is the valve seals so that would get rid of that problem as well. Everything I read seems to point at the 4.3 is asthmatic by nature though i cant seem to find a intake for late 4.3 with fuel injection. I'm going to search around on here and see if anyone has any post. Thanks Park.

 

If you are referring to the marine intake I mentioned.
4.3L Vortec Marine Intake Conversion Helpfull Hints:

As people have told me there are parts out there for are motors but how much you are willing to spend and time your willing to take to find them is key.

 

Check your motor mounts.

 

The first thing you do is turn it over and check the condition of the bearing and journals. This will give you a good indication of the health of the rest of the engine.

As to the rest of your upgrades, it all depends what's important to you. If economy matters at all then remember, you can have power and you can have economy.. Really hard to get both.
The Factory grind cam is slanted toward economy. Making a turbo {with Marine manifold and stock cam profile} the way to go.

 

Will be replacing them anyways It started leaking oil not even going to chance it for the cost. Also want to tighten up my steering will the engines out. Need to figure out where the gremlin is hiding and take care of it.

I'm not to concerned with MPG, I would imagine after a new build I would see a upgrade in MPG's anyways ( I've been noting a steady decline in MPGS since i got it at 71k from 280 miles per tank to being lucky to get 220) so with a new cam might be right on Par lol) I'm a bit worried though about putting a turbo onto it with that many miles and I'm also trying to make it a dependable daily commuter as well. It has not been well as of last 20k and has been nickle and dimming me like crazy. I won't really know until I take her out and she how she looks though. She's slowly but surely coming out.

Thank you Park for that INFO.