Chevy 4.3L V6 Lifespan

[Jay Kopycinski]

In article <4053do$m...@homer.alpha.net>, gal...@inxpress.net (Brent Foss)
wrote:

> What is the realistic life expectancy for the Chevy 4.3L V6 (1991 model)?
> I've got an S-10 Pickup and I do regular maintenance on the engine (oil,
> filters, etc) I treat it reasonably well, but don't know how well it
> was treated by the previous owner (first 50K miles). The old 2.8L V6's
> really could only be expected to last about 75-80K. Does anybody know how
> the larger engines fare in the long run?

I bought mine out of a junk yard with 28K on it. It now has about 80K on it
in my 1985 Toy truck. I change oil about every 3K or so and it still seems
to run very well and burns no oil. It does though blow a puff of oil smoke
on morning startup. I suspect I have a little oil seepage down the guides
when it sits overnight. I think this is common on aging Chevy engines.

Jay Kopycinski '85 Toylet
Chandler, AZ

[Erick Houli]

Well, I have a '93 Chevy S-Blazer, I change oil every 5,000 Kms,
because we're in a dusty place here, but, the engine doesn't have the
first 20000 Miles and it's losing power, why? I don't know recently I
changed de Spark Plugs and it didn't change a lot. But by now where
it used to run at about 60 mph in an inclined highway now is hard to
reach 45-50 mph.

I will thank any comment on it.

Erick.

[Jeff Wilson]

In article <00001ec8...@msn.com>, Erick...@msn.com says...

Just a little expierience I had with one in our shop van. It was an 88 and,
I'm not sure of the exact milage when I discovered it while changing the oil,
but the oil had coolant in it. The symptoms prompting me to check it was
using oil and loss of power. Might want to check yours just in case. I'm not
sure if it was a blown head gasket or something cracked, but we sold it and
got someting else.

Jeff Wilson 1987 Ford Bronco II
jwi...@shore.intercom.net

[Steve]

I've got a 93 Blazer with the 4.3 Vortech. It's got 75000 miles and it
runs as good as the day I bought it. It's a great engine-a big
improvement over the old 2.8
########################################################################
#####
***************steve a. porter
spo...@traveller.com*************************
########################################################################
#####

[Brent Foss]

[Bill L. Kotarski]

I got a 1989 S-10 pickup 4X4 with 4.3 and 170,000 miles on it. I bought
it new at 8 miles and I drove 50 miles to work and 50 miles from work at
75 to 80 mph . I have changed the oil and filter 5 times since I bought it.
changed spark plugs 2 times. Changed Cap and rotor 1 time, And it uses 1
qt of oil every 20,000 miles.
This truck is used in my business and this is what I have taken off for
TAX RECORDS, and if I had changed it more often , I would have had more
BUSINESS DEDUCTIONS on my SCHEDULE C tax returns

--
ai...@detroit.freenet.org-------------------- bkot...@genesee.freenet.org
sfu...@frog.thpl.lib.fl.us------------------bkotarsk@freenet.grfn.org
bill.k...@cmail.com And Whatever Else You People Call Me
N8JOS--- General Class since 1968 EX-WB8DKR and WN8DKR

[JC]

In article <4053do$m...@homer.alpha.net>,
on 7 Aug 1995 13:11:20 GMT,

Brent Foss <gal...@inxpress.net> writes:
>What is the realistic life expectancy for the Chevy 4.3L V6 (1991 model)?
>I've got an S-10 Pickup and I do regular maintenance on the engine (oil,
>filters, etc) I treat it reasonably well, but don't know how well it
>was treated by the previous owner (first 50K miles). The old 2.8L V6's
>really could only be expected to last about 75-80K. Does anybody know how
>the larger engines fare in the long run?

I had an 88 GMC S-10 Jimmy with a little over 100,000 miles with no engine
troubles. The only reason we got rid of it was we needed something bigger.
With a baby on the way and 4 dogs, we definitely needed something BIGGER.

JC <G...@VNET.IBM.COM>

[Rich Jacobs]

My dad had one in his '87 Astro van. He got 120-130K out of it before it
started blowing radiator hoses. He figured that it was just old hoses, so
he replaced all of them. It then blew the manifold gasket, and then some
other gaskets. He promptly sold it to a wholesaler. We never really did
find out what had happened. He has two in his Searay boat, (27'
Amberjack), they probably have 250-300 hours on them without any (real)
problems. I am contemplating buying a new Blazer with one, and I am
contemplating putting one in my '85 Toyota 4Runner someday. If you can't
tell, we like the motor. Good power, reasonable fuel efficiency, decent
longevity. Good luck.

In article <4053do$m...@homer.alpha.net>, gal...@inxpress.net (Brent Foss) wrote:

[Forrest Hoffman]

In article <00001ec8...@msn.com>, Erick...@msn.com says...
>
>Well, I have a '93 Chevy S-Blazer, I change oil every 5,000 Kms,
>because we're in a dusty place here, but, the engine doesn't have the
>first 20000 Miles and it's losing power, why? I don't know recently I
>changed de Spark Plugs and it didn't change a lot. But by now where
>it used to run at about 60 mph in an inclined highway now is hard to
>reach 45-50 mph.
>
>I will thank any comment on it.
>
>Erick.

You say you live in a dusty place and change oil often. Did you check you
air filter? Replace the fuel filter as well, they're cheap. I'd also check
to make sure that the pre-heat door on the intake snorkle opens when engine
warms up.
Forrest

[Ron G. Andrus]

I have a 92 S Blazer with the 4.3 (W) engine. It has 50,000miles
and runs fine. I've changed plugs/wires once. I do change oil quarterly
and air/gas filters about every year. I liked it so well (well my wife did)
that she is driving it for her car and I bout a 93 s-Jimmy with the same
engine. Both of these have much power and get reasonable mileage. So I think Forrest
is correct, change the filters and maybe look for vacumn leaks
Ron

[Erick Houli]

Ron & Forrest:

Thanks for your comments, I changed the Air Filter and that solved
the problem, about the fuel filter, well, here in Venezuela the GM
factory doesn't install the fuel filter, except the screen filter
that is located in the fuel tank, why? that's easy, the fuel here is
worse than old oil!!!.

Thanks again,

Erick.

[ralphb...@gmail.com]

On Monday, August 7, 1995 at 2:00:00 AM UTC-5, Jay Kopycinski wrote:
> In article <4053do$m...@homer.alpha.net>, gal...@inxpress.net (Brent Foss)
> wrote:
>
> > What is the realistic life expectancy for the Chevy 4.3L V6 (1991 model)?
> > I've got an S-10 Pickup and I do regular maintenance on the engine (oil,
> > filters, etc) I treat it reasonably well, but don't know how well it
> > was treated by the previous owner (first 50K miles). The old 2.8L V6's
> > really could only be expected to last about 75-80K. Does anybody know how
> > the larger engines fare in the long run?
>

> I bought mine out of a junk yard with 28K on it. It now has about 80K on it
> in my 1985 Toy truck. I change oil about every 3K or so and it still seems
> to run very well and burns no oil. It does though blow a puff of oil smoke
> on morning startup. I suspect I have a little oil seepage down the guides
> when it sits overnight. I think this is common on aging Chevy engines.
>
> Jay Kopycinski '85 Toylet
> Chandler, AZ

Why Say, I bought a 1975 2 Wheel Drive Blazer with a 2.8 V6 engine. It was a little under powered, but a real good performer. I got 329 thousand mile out of the engine. And it failed because someone cut me off in traffic and I had to stand the Blazer on its nose to keep from hitting them. After that oil pressure went to pot. Changing the oil pump made no difference and it turned out that the cam has slide out of position just a little bit. The body was also rusted out and so it was time to get another truck. 1996 Jimmy with 4.3 engine. Its got 239 thousand and leaks a small amount of oil at the rear seal, not even enough to equal a quart between oil changes. I have always used a oil for high mileage engines with an oil treatment of some kind and of course a new filter. I would recommend the 4.3 engine anytime. It is in a lot of boats as a Mercury Inboard Engine and I have seen it in a lot of fork trucks too. You could call it a universal engine.