98 s10 4.3 to v-8

[slider]

hey folks - first post. have 98 s10, 4,3 broke. have 4.3 from 93 &computer/harness, doesn't look like a good swap to me. the more I look at it, the more I want to go with v-8. Is there a reasonable v-8 swap? by reasonable, i mean everything works when complete.

[Hog]

Dropping a Vortec 305 or 350 inyour truck is a match made in heaven. imean it doesnt get any better as far as compatability.

You can use your 98 V6 PCM, tuned for the V8 or course. Alll your front drive accessories will be used on the Vortec V8. Even the L35 V6 torque converter is a performance enhancer when used behind the V8. I purposely installed a V6 TC like yours in my fullsize truck and am getting 2700rpm of footstall.

Your truck will behave EXACTLY as it does now, except when you hit the skinny peddle, you will be much happier.

here you go
JTR Chevrolet S-10 Truck . Chapter 16, New Body Style

peace
Hog

[poconojoe]

I agree with HOG, it would be the simplest V8 swap. An LSX swap would get you more ponies and mileage, but would be far more complex and costly. Doing an carb swap would lose some of your drivability and you'd still need your PCM to run the tranny. You can find a nice stout 4 bolt main bottom end in the 1 ton vans.

[Hog]

I agree, dont carb this beast.

The 4 bolt main engines are used in the over 8600gvrw vans/trucks/SUV's.
Some 3/4 tons and all 1 tons.

12530283, GM Goodwrench Replacement Engines ENGL31GWN

peace
Hog

[slider]

Thanks alot guys. Sorry it took so long to reply. Now at least I have some good info to work with. If I decide to go v8, I'm sure I'll be back for advice. Once again, thanks.

[s10mods]

check on www.pacificp.com/forum there is somebody doing this swap now and there are the pinouts you will need for the injector wiring. other than that it's stright forward. good luck

[s10studduts01s]

i kno this is almost a month old from the last post and almost two months since slider posted but i just wanted to say that i wouldn't go with anything JTR does and certainly dont buy their book, or the 2.8 motor mounts they recomend, its a waist all together and definatly if you have a second gen s10. check out v8s10.org (i cannt post the actually link since i haven't made 15 posts yet) but there are some pretty good guys on there that are always willing to help out. take a look in the fuel injection forum cause im pretty sure someone has done the swap the others suggested

[ZR2_350]

Coming from someone that as made the swap recently. I would love to say that it will go smoothly. For the most part it does. However... How may miles do you have on your tranny? After the swap, it is most likely that your transmission will not survive 6 months, depending of course on how many miles you have on the odometer.
If you do not have a body lift and have air conditioning, you will not have hood clearance for the A/C compressor. I bought headers from the above mentioned site, and they are good, but on the drivers side, it will hit your ABS lines, You will have to bent them so they don't touch the header tube on the No.3 and 4 cylinder. All relatively easy to fix.
If you plan on using electric fans as pullers,( inside the engine compartment.) you WILL HAVE TO move the radiator forward, and relocate the a/c condensor to the front of the core support, which requires modification of the hood latch support. The stock radiator is too wide to fit inside the core support. You will have to beat it with a hammer. You will also have to cut the top of the support aswell. You could use a smaller radiater i.e one without a oil cooler tank, you should be fine.
You will have to add 2 injector wires to your computer harness. I would suggest you go to a junk yard and find a 5.7L, and get the injector pod from that. This way you can get all the wires all the way to the computer. Pins intact. Alot easier then trying to repin a new pod. While you are there, you can get the Knock sensor and wire to the computer also. The V6 knock sensor is located on the rear of the block, just behind and below the distributor. the V6 has a two wire knock whereas the V8 has a one wire. As stated above, you can use all the accessories, and mounts from the 4.3, You will have to reuse your oil sender, as the v8 switch is a 3 wire, and yours should be a 1-2 wire. Just a bit of FYI, if you need new o2 sensors, you can buy v6 ones as they are the same as the V8. might be cheaper. You can also use your flexplate and torque convertor. If it is a 2wd, you will see a good "off the line" thrill. If you have a 4x4, you might want to get a V8 convertor, as that will give you a better feel when you are offroading. You will also need new bellhousing bolts. You will need shorter bolts. I believe i got 1 1/2 5/8 bolts. You will only need 6, instead of 8. Also when unbolting the flywheel/convertor bolts, you will need to remove the starter, and plate, to gain access to the bolts. PITA! When putting it back together, you can gain access from the bottom.
You don't have too, but they do have a convertor cover you can get. Half of it will be exposed because the v6 utilizes the whole bellhousing, and the 5.7L doesn't.

I think that's about it.. Other then the pain and aggrevation of removing and reinstalling an engine, along with all the botls that will be a PITA to get out, Oh wait speaking of bolts. You will need to cut your existing Y pipe, You will need a new one anyway, and don't forget to soak the exh. manifold bolts prior to trying to remove them from the pipes.
You should be fine. It is really a simple swap, and if all goes well, you should be able to fire the engine as soon as it is completed. provided the computer has been re-programmed. You can start it with the unmodified V6 computer, but you would be missing two cylinders. I would suggest you wait to start it until you have a complete exhaust on it. This way, you can easily hear if there are any problems.


Good Luck, and don't hesitate to ask questions.



Mike.

[97s10355]

i have also done this swap. it was a simple swap for the most part. i had problems with the motor mounts and cooling system. i used the 4.3 mount setup and no good but i had good luck with the 2.8 setup. i used the v6 ecu and had it flashed and the front pulley system. thr wiring needed to be moded but it as easy as added 4 or 5 wires and extending a few and moving the knock sensor.