Topic: good or bad

[motoracer]

how is a 4.3 engine? i got one a few weeks ago but now im worried about doing the swap. im friends keep telling me to v8 my truck not to use a 4.3 they are no good. they have lots of problems and i want be happy with the engine .a  4.3 got to be better then my 22r its got no power . so to the guys running 4.3 with stock fuel injection what do you say about this topic

[Muddytazz]

The 4.3's are a good engine, just 2 cylinders shy of a V8.  My wife's vortec 4.3 has just over 300k on no rebuild and is still going strong.

[Nimyad]

i know a few people that have that swap and love it

[Rocksurfer]

Good, almost as good as the Small block V8. Sometimes I wonder if they didn't just slice off the rear 2 cyls. It gets a little tough on the frontend with a V8 a friend picked one up once and it was real squirlly on the road, he was scared to try it on the trail and re-sold it.

[Oddmar]

We Americans always have to have the 'biggest and baddest'. So guys always say, "Hey duuude, ya gotta go with a 350 V8".

The 350 is a bit much for a Toyota. To do it right requires new springs to support the heavier weight, a bigger radiator to cool the bigger motor, firewall mods to clear the distributor, etc.

I always suggest a 4.3, either keeping the auto tranny and adapting to the Toyota transfer case, or (my preference) adapter plate to the Toyota 5-speed. It's the best domestic engine choice for more power and ease of parts sourcing.

If you had the opportunity, a 2.4L 2RZ or a 2.7L 3RZ Toyota 4 cylinder engine would get better fuel economy, but if you can get the 4.3 cheap it might be the better choice. Strip the wiring harness and computer from the donor vehicle if going for cheap fuel injection, or just the computer and buy a wiring harness from Howell or Painless if you want it to be easier and you have the $400.00

The 350 is fine for the older FJ Cruisers though, as it is double the horsepower and 200 lbs lighter than the inline 6.

[motoracer [OP]]

thanks i thought i was on the right track.  what about the crank my buddy said they break, how i dont know how unless you try to build the crap out of thee engine.

[H8PVMNT]

I'm sure if you not throwing boost and/or nitrous at it you'll be fine.  I'm a Toyota all the way guy for engines on my rides but the 4.3 is a good motor for a swap and they last a really long time.  I know a guy who did alot of highway that had 300K on one before rebuilding it.

[yotarunner85]

We Americans always have to have the 'biggest and baddest'. So guys always say, "Hey duuude, ya gotta go with a 350 V8".

The 350 is a bit much for a Toyota. To do it right requires new springs to support the heavier weight, a bigger radiator to cool the bigger motor, firewall mods to clear the distributor, etc.

I always suggest a 4.3, either keeping the auto tranny and adapting to the Toyota transfer case, or (my preference) adapter plate to the Toyota 5-speed. It's the best domestic engine choice for more power and ease of parts sourcing.

If you had the opportunity, a 2.4L 2RZ or a 2.7L 3RZ Toyota 4 cylinder engine would get better fuel economy, but if you can get the 4.3 cheap it might be the better choice. Strip the wiring harness and computer from the donor vehicle if going for cheap fuel injection, or just the computer and buy a wiring harness from Howell or Painless if you want it to be easier and you have the $400.00

The 350 is fine for the older FJ Cruisers though, as it is double the horsepower and 200 lbs lighter than the inline 6.

X2

[yotarunner85]

thanks i thought i was on the right track.  what about the crank my buddy said they break, how i dont know how unless you try to build the crap out of thee engine.

Never heard that about the 4.3. I have seen a diesel crank break before but that doesn't mean they all do. I'd do some research to see if that happens on a certain year. If that does happen it's probable very rare or there was a reason why, like nitrous or blower.

[clifford91]

my father-in-law has a gmc sonoma 4.3 with around 250,000 miles on it. He's been through a couple rear axles, because he does scrap metal recycling and is always overloading trailers. But he's put 10-12,000 pounds behind it and pulled it no problem. The engine runs good, even with alot of rough miles on it. It's a good engine. Maintenance, Maintenance, Maintenance.

[79yota4x]

i hear its a good swap i would like to do it someday if i got the money

[kneedownnate]

thanks i thought i was on the right track.  what about the crank my buddy said they break, how i dont know how unless you try to build the crap out of thee engine.

You're buddy is thinking of the older 2.8 v6, which is a completely different animal.

[GNasty 82]

The 4.3's are a good engine, just 2 cylinders shy of a V8.  My wife's vortec 4.3 has just over 300k on no rebuild and is still going strong.

Good, almost as good as the Small block V8. Sometimes I wonder if they didn't just slice off the rear 2 cyls. It gets a little tough on the frontend with a V8 a friend picked one up once and it was real squirlly on the road, he was scared to try it on the trail and re-sold it.

I have a 97 S10 with the 4.3 Vortec that I rebuilt the top end on (changed cam mainly) and can tell you from that experience the the 4.3L Vortec v6 is EXACTLY the same as the vortec 350 v8, only minus 2 cylinders.  The piston, rods, valves, rockers, etc.. are interchangeable between the two engines (same part numbers).  Also, a little known fact:  the vortec 4.3's were deliberately underpowered by GM because they were originally producing more power than the 305, which was the upgrade in the 1500 series gm trucks.  This means it's really easy to get a lot of power out of them for relatively cheap.  My s10 dyno'd at 149HP and 208lbs torque at the rear wheels when it was stock.  Headers, cam, a little head work, and full exhaust change and the same dyno reported back nearly 270HP and 305lbs torque at the rear wheels.  Note: 5speed tranny.  Also, still get 19mpg city and 24-25mpg highway on the stock gears (3.08 I believe).

So, I guess you can see, I'm rather fond of the Vortec 4.3 so I say go for it.

[motoracer [OP]]

my 4.3 is out of a 90 s-10 . i was hoping on getting about 190hp and 230lbs out of it> what sugestions would you give on getting this out of this engine?

[GNasty 82]

The main difference in the '97 4.3 that I have and '90 4.3 is the vortec heads and the balance shaft, at least I don't think the '90 had a balance shaft.  Well, the intake is different, but then, that differs across the vortec models too.

I could go on for days about the different possible ways to increase from that engine's ~160 HP to 190 HP.  Also, I thought that engine put out ~230-240 lbs of torque stock.

I would say the best thing to do when doing  the swap is to just keep the intake as free flowing as possible and do headers with a decent cat-back system.  I would also stay away from doing full dual exhaust all the way back.  These 4.3's don't like it. 

[motoracer [OP]]

what would be a good header for it? was  thinking  about leaving stock and just bumping up compression to 10.1

[GNasty 82]

That's gonna be hard one to answer since you're swapping into a toy.  I've never done said swap and don't know which header is going to fit better between the engine/bellhousing and the frame.  For my s10, I used an Edlebrock header, but still had to modify the y-pipe to get it to fit.  As far as which one will perform better

[4Runner_guy]

That's hard to say to, which kinda makes the decision harder ^. Decisions, decisions....

[motoracer [OP]]

 

[motoracer [OP]]

well is keith black a good piston for this engine?