I am looking at purchasing a 1991 Silverado work truck. It has the 4.3 engine and automatic tranny, 4 wheel drive, 85k actual miles. It is throttle body injection. The 4wd uses a shift lever, not the push button. Are there any known problem areas with these engine/drive trains?
91 Silverado, 4.3; known problems?
- Thread starter otis24
- Start date
- Status
Make sure it burns no oil. If it does, it needs rebuilt cylinder heads, a difficult and expensive process.
Originally Posted By: artificialist
Make sure it burns no oil. If it does, it needs rebuilt cylinder heads, a difficult and expensive process.
Eh? Difficult and expensive? This is one of the easiest and cheapest engines to do heads on especially in a truck body.
Its not even a days work and about $350 inc heads and gaskets..
Make sure it burns no oil. If it does, it needs rebuilt cylinder heads, a difficult and expensive process.
Eh? Difficult and expensive? This is one of the easiest and cheapest engines to do heads on especially in a truck body.
Its not even a days work and about $350 inc heads and gaskets..
Rust is your biggest enemy lol
replacing the valve stem seals is an easy process, the heads do not even need removed. Not difficult, not expensive.
The 4.3 is a good engine, with proper maintenance it is not uncommon to see them with 200K miles. My 4.3 had 220K on it when the van was destroyed by tornado while parked. Burned no oil
Rod
The 4.3 is a good engine, with proper maintenance it is not uncommon to see them with 200K miles. My 4.3 had 220K on it when the van was destroyed by tornado while parked. Burned no oil
Rod
Test the 4WD system thoroughly.
solid vehicles can last a long long time even with abuse. I'd look for general condition, rusted bolts and ease of performing maintenance to come. Some argue that this was one of the best periods for GM V8's. Transmission will be a toss-up, and unique to what you see, based on its history.
Last edited:
This vehicle was owned by the school that I work for. They purchased it used when it was two or three years old. It would have been low miles and most of the miles would have been put on locally. They sold the vehicle last year and it was owned for a short while by a gentleman here in town that I know. He traded in to a local used car dealer. So, it has a known history. The school probably has the maintenance records on it. Oil used was probably Mobil conventional (bulk).
FWIW I wouldn't let lack of maintenance records deter you. I have never bought a used car that came with any records. Some have been really good, but a couple have been junk. A long test drive is the best thing you can do, then let a mechanic look it over if you feel the need.
Originally Posted By: Trav
Originally Posted By: artificialist
Make sure it burns no oil. If it does, it needs rebuilt cylinder heads, a difficult and expensive process.
Eh? Difficult and expensive? This is one of the easiest and cheapest engines to do heads on especially in a truck body.
Its not even a days work and about $350 inc heads and gaskets..
Sure, but the the OP is a DIY-er, he may not be ready for such a task. Also, just because it is a simple process, does not mean he will not pay much if he needs a mechanic to do the job.
Originally Posted By: artificialist
Make sure it burns no oil. If it does, it needs rebuilt cylinder heads, a difficult and expensive process.
Eh? Difficult and expensive? This is one of the easiest and cheapest engines to do heads on especially in a truck body.
Its not even a days work and about $350 inc heads and gaskets..
Sure, but the the OP is a DIY-er, he may not be ready for such a task. Also, just because it is a simple process, does not mean he will not pay much if he needs a mechanic to do the job.
I would say if the motor is that badly worn out it needs head work, the junkyard is full of low mileage 4.3s.
Pretty good truck.There are no horror stories with that make, year, model. If the general maintenance of that vehicle was 1/2 way responsible, you should have many miles left in it. Aside from obvious rust issue's and the ocassional transmission failure, they are pretty much bullet proof.
ls1mike
$50 Site Donor 2024
I had a 1991 S-10 Blazer with the same drivetrain. 270,000 miles.
Water pump, intake gasket, valve cover gaskets and an oil pressure sending unit. One of the best vehicles I have ever owned.
Water pump, intake gasket, valve cover gaskets and an oil pressure sending unit. One of the best vehicles I have ever owned.
Oil would have been changed every 3k or 4k for sure. It was owned by the school I work for and they are pretty religious about maintenance. I will be trading for the vehicle tomorrow. The plan is to do some general maintenance. I will do an oil change right away with PYB 10w/30. I will add Auto-Rx as soon as I receive it in the mail. PVC and spark plugs will be changed and I will run some TCW3 through the fuel. I had planned to do a tranny flush when I could afford it, but I will probably just suck out as much fluid as I can with an extractor and top off. After a couple of thousand miles, I will repeat the process.
I just obtained the service records on this vehicle. It looks like the school purchased this vehicle in 1995 with about 58k miles. Oil fhanges were done every 6 to 8 months using Amoco 10w/30 and Napa Gold filter. Average OCI was 1500-1800 miles with some OCIs as low as 1000 miles.
Originally Posted By: ragtoplvr
My 4.3 had 220K on it when the van was destroyed by tornado while parked. Burned no oil
Rod
Those darn tornados. Scurge of 4.3L owners everywhere!
My 4.3 had 220K on it when the van was destroyed by tornado while parked. Burned no oil
Rod
Those darn tornados. Scurge of 4.3L owners everywhere!
- Status
