Alrighty.....i gotta come clean...i have a chance to get a late 90s chevy blazer 2 dr ZR2... for cheap....about 400. The owner says that it has a bad engine but still runs. I have yet to look at this ride but it is the right price and i do need a new daily driver becuase my honda is getting old and my F-250 is very thirsty. I haven't seen this blazer recently but it was in good condition when i last saw it.Okay heres the question because the guys at the chevy forums aren't helping me...its got the 4.3 vortec...if it does have a blown engine..what years of the 4.3 can i drop in to it or any other engines.....any V-8s?

I'm still a Ford fan but this might be a deal i cannot pass up....maybe fix the blazer and sell it for a ranger??????
Thanks guys

 

Boooooo !

 

i deserve that

 

Fix it up and trade it in on a Ford. First things first though. Use a couple of sticks of dynamite on the ricer.

 

If you know exactly what year the vehicle is, Salvage Yards have an interchange book that will tell you what will fit. I think the 4.3 is the only engine what will fit this vehicle. I also think you will be terribly disappointed with the fuel mileage. A friend of mine has a late model Blazer for a company vehicle and he says it uses as much gas as his 350 4X4 Suburban. Another friend sold hers because she was getting 12 MPH with her in town driving.

 

My mother-in-law has one of those late nineties blazers and has had nothing but problems. She also only gets about 12-13 mpg. The 4.3 Vortech is a rough running engine that makes lots of noise, even when new. The original design was so bad that Chevy had to add what they called a balance shaft to it after the first couple of years of production. By the time you pay 400 for the truck and who knows how much for an engine, you could have paid for a Ford that will most likely give you alot more trouble free motoring than a Blazer. They really aren't very good vehicles.

 

I gotta concur. Don't walk away from that vehicle - RUN!! For what you're going to end up dumping into that thing, you'd be better off finding another Honda.

 

The 4.3 is an overbored 200ci V6. It was a joke at best. The bad thing is that those motors got BETTER mileage in full size trucks than the S trucks.

 

A buddy of mine had a '93 Blazer, and while the chassis seemed to be built okay, the whole thing felt pretty cheap. Really, though, I think it was on par with the Ranger / Explorer of the time, but Ford did have one up on the powertrain.

Just like any brand of vehicle, you have to assess it and think really hard on how much money you are willing to put in to it.

 

I think you'll find that the 4.3 is actually a 5.7 (350) with two cylinders removed. The bore and stroke are the same. Chevrolet did that with several of their V6 engines. The 200 V6 is a sawed off 267 and the 229 V6 was a sawed off 305. Check the parts numbers for replacement parts that are common to both.

 

262 is refered to as "baby 350".needs some dynamite to fix it.better stick with ford.

 

Correct!

As for buying the truck for $400, I'd check into Advance Adapters and see what engines will/will not go in there (have adapters for).
You might be able to swap in a small V8 and get better mileage than the V6.
(I've seen S-10s with the SB Chev engines in them.)

 

I had an 86 K-10 4x4 with a 4 speed and a 4.3 V-6 in it. That truck was the biggest pile of poo on the road. It travelled at half the speed of smell on a good day and it only got 13 mpg's at best when I first got it. That truck and the Blazer I bought a couple of years later are the reason I drive Fords now. Run like a crazy ape from that Blazer!!

 

Forgive me I have sinned....i was tempted by the dark side...what was i thinking?
I'm still playing around on getting this blazer just beacause i like working on cars and if i do fix it i call sell it and make some $$$ for a Ranger and a posi rear end for the f-250. These blazers are being sold for about 3-5 grand...so that will be a little money in my pocket.

Will i have to disguise myself when working on the blazer to keep my identity hidden from you guys?

 

Always think in terms of dollars thats what makes the world go round.Get that daily driver and preserve that ford save gas buy mods for the ford,just dont get rid of the FORD or we won't be your friend anymore!!!appreciate ya!