[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Trashed my engine. (Page 1 of 3)
Posted: 5/30/2009 1:36:20 PM EDT
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2002 Chevy Blazer ZR2 - V6 AT 4WD 2 Door. Engine seemed to randomly overheat, checked the coolant reservoir the day before it was full. waited for it to cool, checked the reservoir proper, it was bone fucking dry. refilled it, went on my merry way. overheated and turned off (seemed to be some sort of fail safe.) Well, nursed it to pep boys, and they told me 6700 dollars - blown head gasket and possible cracked block. 6700 dollars to rebuild my engine. KBB pre-trashed engine was $6,140 I owed just over 9,000 left on the loan. I bought this in DEC06 at CarMax in Tucson. Their service department is not open til monday. I'm pretty much fucked. No savings, I got a baby on the way in January, I get out of the Army 10 days before the Due Date.... I assume I am gonna have to pay off the loan even if I have to junk it. Buy a 1.5k beater I guess?  |
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A bad water pump caused it to fail.
The 4.3 came in Chevy/GM trucks, vans and SUV's from 1987 or so and up. Go to your local junkyard, find a 4.3L out of a 1996-2000 S10, S10 Blazer/Jimmy, or Silverado 1500 2wd reg cab, and swap it in––It'd be a direct swap, and would probably only take 7-8 hours or so. $6700 for a 4.3L is robbery, plain and simple. |
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Do you always give up so easy?
Take it to a Mechanic and let them diagnose the problem. Could be as simple as a sticking thermostate or as bad as a blown head. Best case 100 bucks for diagnostic and repair Worst 1200 for pulling heads and repair. pep boys are hacks. Go to a real mechanic. Still cheaper than another car. |
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A bad water pump caused it to fail. The 4.3 came in Chevy/GM trucks, vans and SUV's from 1987 or so and up. Go to your local junkyard, find a 4.3L out of a 1996-2000 S10, S10 Blazer/Jimmy, or Silverado 1500 2wd reg cab, and swap it in––It'd be a direct swap, and would probably only take 7-8 hours or so. $6700 for a 4.3L is robbery, plain and simple. Absofuckinglutely. I can't imagine a backyard mechanic can't do a swap for more than 2K |
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I think you could get a GM reman installed at a GM dealership for less than what PEP BOYS quoted!! I bet so too! As said above, don't take anything major to Pepboys. I've used them ONCE, on a Sunday they fixed a flat for me, but beyond that I'll never use them for service. Why don't you talk to a few of your mil buddies (surely some are mechanics of some sort, or have backyard wrenching experience) and get a weekend swap in order. Again, a chilton manual, and a junkyard 4.3 shouldn't run too much. Even a complete intake to pan setup. Check ebay motors and such for engines as well. You're bound to find a deal on those v6s. |
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Head over to ZR2USA
There is a member in our forum that did a V8 upgrade. He has a 2002 4.3 Engine wih 58k miles he will probably sell. Link is here: http://www.zr2usa.com/mboard/index.php?showtopic=37106 |
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+87 on all of the other comments... don't trust Pep Boys for a job like this. An independent local shop can do it MUCH better, MUCH faster, and MUCH cheaper. Something else to add while we're at it... if you have to have the engine replaced, why piss away your time with another 4.3? For a few dollars more, you could easily fit a smallblock in there. |
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2002 Chevy Blazer ZR2 - V6 AT 4WD 2 Door. Engine seemed to randomly overheat, checked the coolant reservoir the day before it was full. waited for it to cool, checked the reservoir proper, it was bone fucking dry. refilled it, went on my merry way. overheated and turned off (seemed to be some sort of fail safe.) Well, nursed it to pep boys, and they told me 6700 dollars - blown head gasket and possible cracked block. 6700 dollars to rebuild my engine. KBB pre-trashed engine was $6,140 I owed just over 9,000 left on the loan. I bought this in DEC06 at CarMax in Tucson. Their service department is not open til monday. I'm pretty much fucked. No savings, I got a baby on the way in January, I get out of the Army 10 days before the Due Date.... I assume I am gonna have to pay off the loan even if I have to junk it. Buy a 1.5k beater I guess?
Dude if I owed that much on that vehicle I would pray someone would come steal it and burn it to the ground. What were you thinking? |
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NEVER TAKE ANYTHING TO PEP BOYS FOR REPAIR!! Those guys are idiots, and shysters when it comes to auto repair. +1 I remember about 10yrs ago, I had a pretty nice 84 Camaro. The starter was grinding like hell and it had been raining the last week. I had no garage and didn't want to crawl in the mud to swap out the starter or solenoid. So, I figure it was safe taking it down to PEP Boys and let them slap one in real quick. I wound up watching from the waiting room, my Camaro go up and down the full car hydraulic lift 3 times before I finally had to say something. They stated they must have gotten a bad batch of starters because three of them wouldn't work.  After watching it go up and down 2 more times, I had enough. I went into the work bay, looked aroung and said " Hey genius, why are these shims for the starter sitting on the ground next to my car?" He states " What are those for?". I go get the shop manager and asked him why he had an idiot working on my car.
What should have only taken an hour at most, wound up being a 5hr ordeal. They didn't offer to cut me any kind of deal on the starter after I told them how to fix it and was even told I was lucky I didn't get charged for the extra time spent on my vehicle. After paying and getting my keys to my car. I told the manager what a jackass he was and that his employees were stupid to the point of being dangerous. 2 of the 5 people in the waiting room saw what was going on and got their keys back and left before any work was done on their cars. I thought it might have been an isolated incident. But over the years I have heard time and time again, what crooks they are and how most of their employees have no idea what they are doing. I'll repeat again what was stated above, NEVER TAKE ANYTHING TO PEP BOYS FOR REPAIR!! |
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+87 on all of the other comments... don't trust Pep Boys for a job like this. An independent local shop can do it MUCH better, MUCH faster, and MUCH cheaper. Something else to add while we're at it... if you have to have the engine replaced, why piss away your time with another 4.3? For a few dollars more, you could easily fit a smallblock in there. Why stop there? Stroke that 350 to 383, now we're cookin'. 
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Most of the connections are plug type. It would be an easy an easy swap. Changing a Vortec 4.3 in a 4wd S10 isn't exactly a walk in the park. It's not THAT bad. Figure 5 hours with beer pit stops from wrecker to drive out. Take off the transfer case. Pull motor and tranny at the same time. Take tranny off engine. Bolt tranny up to new engine. Install engine. bolt transfer case up. Wiring hoses etc. I've never done one. but I have done 3 or 4 other cars and trucks and jeeps. I know the s-10/blazers are alittle tight considering the 4.3 is just a small block with two cylinders cut off, its still the same width as a V8. |
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Most of the connections are plug type. It would be an easy an easy swap. Changing a Vortec 4.3 in a 4wd S10 isn't exactly a walk in the park. It's not THAT bad. Figure 5 hours with beer pit stops from wrecker to drive out. Take off the transfer case. Pull motor and tranny at the same time. Take tranny off engine. Bolt tranny up to new engine. Install engine. bolt transfer case up. Wiring hoses etc. I've never done one. but I have done 3 or 4 other cars and trucks and jeeps. I know the s-10/blazers are alittle tight considering the 4.3 is just a small block with two cylinders cut off, its still the same width as a V8. Won't come out like that. He will most likely have to remove the whole front clip. |
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Most of the connections are plug type. It would be an easy an easy swap. Changing a Vortec 4.3 in a 4wd S10 isn't exactly a walk in the park. It's not THAT bad. Figure 5 hours with beer pit stops from wrecker to drive out. Take off the transfer case. Pull motor and tranny at the same time. Take tranny off engine. Bolt tranny up to new engine. Install engine. bolt transfer case up. Wiring hoses etc. I've never done one. but I have done 3 or 4 other cars and trucks and jeeps. I know the s-10/blazers are alittle tight considering the 4.3 is just a small block with two cylinders cut off, its still the same width as a V8. Won't come out like that. He will most likely have to remove the whole front clip. Ugh that would suck. Ive always hated the s-10/blazer trucks. They are fuckin tiny on the inside and they get the same milage as the full size blazers and trucks. They are pointless. |
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Most of the connections are plug type. It would be an easy an easy swap. Changing a Vortec 4.3 in a 4wd S10 isn't exactly a walk in the park. It's not THAT bad. Figure 5 hours with beer pit stops from wrecker to drive out. Take off the transfer case. Pull motor and tranny at the same time. Take tranny off engine. Bolt tranny up to new engine. Install engine. bolt transfer case up. Wiring hoses etc. I've never done one. but I have done 3 or 4 other cars and trucks and jeeps. I know the s-10/blazers are alittle tight considering the 4.3 is just a small block with two cylinders cut off, its still the same width as a V8. Won't come out like that. He will most likely have to remove the whole front clip. Unless the newer Blazers are seriously cramped––and the ones I've worked on don't look to be (every hood that's open, I contemplate how big of an engine I can fit in there) I doubt would be too hard to do with the front clip on. But in any case, the Blazer's face isn't on too tight anyway. |
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I went to Pep Boys about 10 years ago to see if they could order me a cheap catback exhaust for my formula. The guy looked at me like I was stupid and said that an after market catback wouldn't work because it would "screw up the electronics". Haven't been back since. |
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I pulled the tranny on mine to do a rear main seal. I have a lift, and all my professional tools. I did the job at work. Its a fucking pain in the ass.
Find a used 4.3, and swap it or pay someone to do it. Don't let pep girls do it, they will just fuck it up. I hate making generalizations about specific groups, but pep boys is in business to sell generic tires to cheap asses with ragged ass cars. They don't do engine swaps on a regular basis. They also may have misdiagnosed the car, but based upon your description I'd agree you killed the engine. Replace the intake manifold gaskets on the new engine before it is installed. It is a very, very common problem. Also put a new radiator cap on, and slap in a new thermostat. Check the oil cooler lines and such, along with the motor mounts while the engine is out. You are kinda screwed, because the vehicle is not worth much even if it were running. As is, its worth nothing at all. You might as well get it running and pay it off. This will also serve as a powerful reminder that you should NEVER let the engine overheat. If its running hot, pull over and shut it off. You only made things worse by running it until it quit. |
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OK, if y'all couldn't figure, I don't know shit about cars. This is my first car - I didn't get a car till after I got PCSed stateside after 3 years in Germany/15 months in Baghdad, and I got my drivers license in my recruiter's car. I don't know my options. When I bought it, it KBBed at just less than the price I initially agreed to pay. I am at Fort H. ETA: Also - would my exhaust system be rusted as fuck now? |
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OK, if y'all couldn't figure, I don't know shit about cars. This is my first car - I didn't get a car till after I got PCSed stateside after 3 years in Germany/15 months in Baghdad, and I got my drivers license in my recruiter's car. I don't know my options. When I bought it, it KBBed at just less than the price I initially agreed to pay. I am at Fort H. ETA: Also - would my exhaust system be rusted as fuck now? Your exhaust should be fine. |
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Most of the connections are plug type. It would be an easy an easy swap. Changing a Vortec 4.3 in a 4wd S10 isn't exactly a walk in the park. It's not THAT bad. Figure 5 hours with beer pit stops from wrecker to drive out. Take off the transfer case. Pull motor and tranny at the same time. Take tranny off engine. Bolt tranny up to new engine. Install engine. bolt transfer case up. Wiring hoses etc. I've never done one. but I have done 3 or 4 other cars and trucks and jeeps. I know the s-10/blazers are alittle tight considering the 4.3 is just a small block with two cylinders cut off, its still the same width as a V8. Won't come out like that. He will most likely have to remove the whole front clip. Ugh that would suck. Ive always hated the s-10/blazer trucks. They are fuckin tiny on the inside and they get the same milage as the full size blazers and trucks. They are pointless. I own a ZR2. It's not pointless at all. 4.3 with a 5 speed manual transmisson, Show me a truck of that same year in a 4WD that get's 18-20 MPG. |
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Head over to ZR2USA There is a member in our forum that did a V8 upgrade. He has a 2002 4.3 Engine wih 58k miles he will probably sell. Link is here: http://www.zr2usa.com/mboard/index.php?showtopic=37106 And I'll quote myself in hopes the OP will se the links. |
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Quoted: OK, if y'all couldn't figure, I don't know shit about cars. This is my first car - I didn't get a car till after I got PCSed stateside after 3 years in Germany/15 months in Baghdad, and I got my drivers license in my recruiter's car. I don't know my options. When I bought it, it KBBed at just less than the price I initially agreed to pay. I am at Fort H. ETA: Also - would my exhaust system be rusted as fuck now? The MWR Craft Shop plus some friends and you can have that thing running again for less than $2000. Yes, the bolts on the exhaust will be rusty but the system will be fine. You might need to replace studs on the manifolds but that is simple, even if you need to Helicoil the manifolds. Do this before installing the new engine. Mark and tag EVERYTHING. The Craft Center should have factory manuals. Talk it over with them. This is MUCH cheaper than having to pay Pep Boys. Plus you will learn something. Cannot be as much work as being a Soldier. Best bet? Make friends with some 63s. Bravos preferably. |
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Most of the connections are plug type. It would be an easy an easy swap. Changing a Vortec 4.3 in a 4wd S10 isn't exactly a walk in the park. It's not THAT bad. Figure 5 hours with beer pit stops from wrecker to drive out. Take off the transfer case. Pull motor and tranny at the same time. Take tranny off engine. Bolt tranny up to new engine. Install engine. bolt transfer case up. Wiring hoses etc. I've never done one. but I have done 3 or 4 other cars and trucks and jeeps. I know the s-10/blazers are alittle tight considering the 4.3 is just a small block with two cylinders cut off, its still the same width as a V8. Won't come out like that. He will most likely have to remove the whole front clip. Ugh that would suck. Ive always hated the s-10/blazer trucks. They are fuckin tiny on the inside and they get the same milage as the full size blazers and trucks. They are pointless. I own a ZR2. It's not pointless at all. 4.3 with a 5 speed manual transmisson, Show me a truck of that same year in a 4WD that get's 18-20 MPG. 2000 Silverado 4x4, tuned 5.3L and a built 4L65e, I get 20-22mpg if I'm doing strictly highway at 80mph on 91oct. 
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Most of the connections are plug type. It would be an easy an easy swap. Changing a Vortec 4.3 in a 4wd S10 isn't exactly a walk in the park. It's not THAT bad. Figure 5 hours with beer pit stops from wrecker to drive out. Take off the transfer case. Pull motor and tranny at the same time. Take tranny off engine. Bolt tranny up to new engine. Install engine. bolt transfer case up. Wiring hoses etc. I've never done one. but I have done 3 or 4 other cars and trucks and jeeps. I know the s-10/blazers are alittle tight considering the 4.3 is just a small block with two cylinders cut off, its still the same width as a V8. Won't come out like that. He will most likely have to remove the whole front clip. Ugh that would suck. Ive always hated the s-10/blazer trucks. They are fuckin tiny on the inside and they get the same milage as the full size blazers and trucks. They are pointless. I own a ZR2. It's not pointless at all. 4.3 with a 5 speed manual transmisson, Show me a truck of that same year in a 4WD that get's 18-20 MPG. Nissan pathfinder, toyota 4 runner, izuzu trooper, jeep cherokee, jeep grand cherokee. You could have got a fullsize blazer thats not cramped as shit with a small block that gets around 16-17mpg. Edit : my full size chevy truck with a 5.3 V8 was rated at 16-19, thats with the tow package and 3:73 gears. That truck had some power. |
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Unless the newer Blazers are seriously cramped––and the ones I've worked on don't look to be (every hood that's open, I contemplate how big of an engine I can fit in there) I doubt would be too hard to do with the front clip on. But in any case, the Blazer's face isn't on too tight anyway. The engine in those is crammed in there. It's very tight getting it out (firewall to core support). There's no way the trans is coming out with it. The engine oil pan sump is deep, and goes behind the front differential. The engine has to come straight up, get twisted 45 degrees and lifted out––without the flywheel, harmonic balancer, water pump etc. I'm not at work but I'd bet that book time (labor) for a long block is at LEAST 16 hours. Then, if you're putting in a used engine, you are swapping all of the cut off and broken shit from the wrecking yard. |
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Here's a motor out of a 2002 chevy truck.
craigslist ad Here's one in tucson another |
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ALLDATA Online Home | Account | Contact ALLDATA | Log Out | Help
INTEGRITY TIRE & AUTO Select Vehicle | New TSBs | Technician's Reference Component Search: Conversion Calculator 2002 Chevy Truck S10/T10 Blazer 4WD V6-4.3L VIN W Vehicle Level Engine, Cooling and Exhaust Engine Cylinder Head Gasket Parts Information Parts Information Part OEM Part Price Cylinder Head Gasket 2 - Head Gasket 12552362 $24.22 Notes Labor Skill Level Mfg. Warranty Standard Cylinder Head Gasket Replace Right Bank With CPI B 5.1 6.6 Notes Includes: Remove Carbon And Make Necessary Adjustments. Left Bank With CPI B 5.2 6.6 Notes Includes: Remove Carbon And Make Necessary Adjustments. Both Banks With CPI B 7.1 9.8 Notes Includes: Remove Carbon And Make Necessary Adjustments. NOTE With AC, Add Right B 0.3 0.4 Notes Left B 0.2 0.4 Notes Both B 0.2 0.5 Notes With Cruise Control, Add B 0.1 0.1 Notes © 2009 ALLDATA LLC. All rights reserved. Terms of Use They said possible cracked block. I am an ASE certified master tech with L1 Certification and I say that its probably OK. After 20 years I can tell you those blocks can take a good bit of abuse. At my shop we would also prepair you for the worst too but would offer to tear it down too a small block and inspect it for half of a head gasket job and go from there. As you can see from above that would be aproximatly 5 hours @ 80.00 per hour or $400 dollars. If the block looks OK then charge you the other 5 hours plus machine shop charges for the heads and a head gaset set plus T-stat and water pump and flush radiator.Im guessing aroun $1600 total if no block issues. |
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Quoted: I thought that post was a joke at first. The OP should do a little more reading about how cars work before spending that much on one. It was bone dry, and you just filled her back up and took off? Seriously? Yes I did. I didn't want to be stuck on I-10 in 100 degree weather with the heater on full with my pregnant girlfriend, her friend, and 1x kid each. And, like I said, I don't know shit about cars. I saw the links, I'll probably make a post over there - I've learned ALOT from this process, and really damn glad not to have to pay 6700 bucks. Ill be making a shitload of phone calls on Monday. |
| good luck to you son ,and good luck in the future,you must learn by your financial mistakes as well as mechanacal ones , you will ...sorry for your mess .take the advise of all the great guys on this site .if a mod could set up a way to send you some coin i am in for$50 i would give more but times as they are, but if we can get 50 arfcomers to paypal a mods account a fifty $2500 should get you a nice used motor and pay the labor to instal with new water pump rocker gaskets ,valve stem seals ect how do u firestorm a thread for our guy in need .ps dont be a fuck up any more ,my best to you and your family X, im in for 50 |
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Most of the connections are plug type. It would be an easy an easy swap. Changing a Vortec 4.3 in a 4wd S10 isn't exactly a walk in the park. It's not THAT bad. Figure 5 hours with beer pit stops from wrecker to drive out. Take off the transfer case. Pull motor and tranny at the same time. Take tranny off engine. Bolt tranny up to new engine. Install engine. bolt transfer case up. Wiring hoses etc. I've never done one. but I have done 3 or 4 other cars and trucks and jeeps. I know the s-10/blazers are alittle tight considering the 4.3 is just a small block with two cylinders cut off, its still the same width as a V8. Won't come out like that. He will most likely have to remove the whole front clip. Ugh that would suck. Ive always hated the s-10/blazer trucks. They are fuckin tiny on the inside and they get the same milage as the full size blazers and trucks. They are pointless. I own a ZR2. It's not pointless at all. 4.3 with a 5 speed manual transmisson, Show me a truck of that same year in a 4WD that get's 18-20 MPG. LOL my last tank of gas netted me 11mpg in my 2000 ZR2 blazer with auto tranny, bone stock. It gets absolutely terrible mileage. Every now and then it will deliver 16 mpg, but never more than that. |
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2002 Chevy Blazer ZR2 - V6 AT 4WD 2 Door. Engine seemed to randomly overheat, checked the coolant reservoir the day before it was full. waited for it to cool, checked the reservoir proper, it was bone fucking dry. refilled it, went on my merry way. overheated and turned off (seemed to be some sort of fail safe.) Well, nursed it to pep boys, and they told me 6700 dollars - blown head gasket and possible cracked block. 6700 dollars to rebuild my engine. KBB pre-trashed engine was $6,140 I owed just over 9,000 left on the loan. I bought this in DEC06 at CarMax in Tucson. Their service department is not open til monday. I'm pretty much fucked. No savings, I got a baby on the way in January, I get out of the Army 10 days before the Due Date.... I assume I am gonna have to pay off the loan even if I have to junk it. Buy a 1.5k beater I guess?
Looks like someone is staying in the Army...why would you get out of something with job security such as the .mil with the market the way it is....well, unless you have something lined up. |