Anyone know if the swaps work for 2wds? before I even look into it I figure I should at least see if anyone's swapped one into a 2wd. If it doesn't fit I'm not gonna bother... just a thought since my truck is DYING for more power and I want something I know, but not a V8. For me a 350 would be serious overkill and would break the rear end and trans quick. At least I can baby the V6 and get away with the stockers until they snap... which they will with either... just not as easrly with a V6.
v8's are no where near overkill,stock yota rears are said to hold 500hp or so per lc engineering,they offer chromoly axles also,ask ryan(cajun taco) his 350 swap has stock yota rear and stock 4 cylinder 5 speed,pretty sure its holding up good,4.3 is basically same as a 350,minus 2 cylinders,I'm thinking the motor mounts are even the same,but not sure.can't beat a small block in a minitruck,lol
i had the 4.3 in my reg cab s10. doesnt have as much power as you think. if it were me considering the time and money investing in a swap, id go v8 brotha
I know, a 350 is easier to find, etc. I've had both, depends on what year 4.3 you get, the newer ones are much better motors and will put out 200+ hp with a decent cam and headers. Basically a 350 will be that much harder to keep cool, use that much more fuel, etc. Basically I am fishing because I don't want to slap a 20R / 22R in there and still be let down by the power level. I need to be able to tow and haul without and drama, which means keeping it cool too. Plus the 350's that much heavier. I've found frame mounts and a bellhousing swap. but only one says it's for 2wd and 4wd (Trans-Dapt). The Bellhousing is from Advanced Adapters. Just to fit the motor it's gonna be $600 for parts, so I wanna make sure the thing fits first, and Northwest Offroad doesn't exactly help with info, they don't even have an email address!!! I can find a decent '95 and newer 4.3 on CL here, probably score all the pieces for $500 (including intake and carb) doa rebuild, and have the exhaust made, but at the end of it will be $2500 poorer. I just wanna make sure before I start to collect the parts that it all fits a 2wd!!! Otherwise I'll find a parts 20/22R, rebuild it, and call it good. Kinda thinking Hybrid if I do... but I dunno. I figure I have a while before the motor grenades since I don't drive it much now, so I could slowly accumulate the parts as I go along, will be less of a strain that way. I dunno, it's a tough one since it's not a clear subject online, no one seems to have the info out there.
go drive a manual s10 with a 4.3 in it... you can tow light things with it but its not really impressive. if you are worried about cooling do a 289 then, they run cooler then a 350. The parts are just as easy to get and there are kits already made to make on fit in a yota. The stock yota rear ends hold up if you drive it normal, and if you swap to a w58 trans you should be able to handle the torque fine. The w55 can handle the torque as well but im always one for overkill on the trans cause i like to drive my trucks hard. IF i had another truck laying around so i had time to work on my 73 i would definitly do the v8 swap over a v6, and I would probably do a 289 over the 350 as well. Just my 2 cents
I've had both and every 302 I've ever had has overheated. I haven't had a 350 overheat once, and I've had 3, and one 307. Maybe it's because I've had older 302's with the fretting issue, clogs up the radiator. If the 350 will fit in a 2wd, then the 4.3 will, it's the same mounting spot on both and the same bellhousing pattern. Hell even starters and water pumps interchange. Dunno, you guys all seem dead set on a V8, that's a deal breaker for me. I could for a couple hundred drop in a used 22R and drive it for a few years like that, so money really dictates (as always). Of course if I had the money I'd find a '66 Mustang Fastback like i've always wanted and go the 5.0 / T56 rout... I loved my old '66. Hard to carry around gear in one though....
Set on a v-8 myself.. but yeah 4.3 and 350 are all but identical. I'd rather pay the fuel cost for the power otherwise I'd already have a 305 under the hood (freebie that I turned down for the scrap yard) 4.3 will be just fine if your not a hp junkie... but with you talking cams and whatnot already id say go for the v8
V8 would get 16-17mpg (based on new trucks) My 22R gets 23 average (2wd Fed and Canada 3.07 FD) drive bout 11000 mi annually (based on insurance divide that by 23 mpg = 470 gal X price of fuel per gallon divide it by 17 = 650 gal X price of fuel per gallon So roughly around 38% more fuel NOt INCLUDING PRICE GAS INFLATION. In a perfect world you'd drive less, but I enjoy driving my liil pickup no matter what engines pushing it. What I would love to see is a High compression 20/22R hybrid build for PROPANE derp!
as far as the cooling goes you can get high flow water pumps,big cfm electric fans and 3 row all aluminum radiators,really help keeping a v8 in a small truck cool,esp. compared to stock cooling componets,as for fuel the 5.0 in my toyota has a 2:75 gear in the 9in. rearend,but the c6 auto trans is only a 3 speed with no overdrive,should get close to 20mpg around 70mph-ish,foot off the throttle of course.good mpg+450hp
Your not going to get any better gas mileage from a 4.3 over a 5.7 4.3's are pigs. There off balance, drink gas and dont like the rpms. I mean come on man, why would EVERY s10 boy want to swap out a 4.3 for a 350. A chevy v6 and a v8 will fit in the truck. Exhaust is tight and have to run a small cap distributor A ford 5.0 is the better choice because its shorter than a 350. (a tad longer than a 4.3) and the 5.0 is narrower. Use the fox oil pan and your set. And your axle is gunna break with any power. Tony busted his F code with nothing more than a hybrid and drag radials. The open diff is weak. And about the transmissions. If you do run a chevy v6 or v8 with the AA adapter, eventually you will loosen it up till its gone. Ive done it twice with my 4 banger. Im just 4.3 hatin right now...
I think the 4.3's are good motors^but they are pigs,I had a 91 blazer back in high school with the 4.3,good motor,never had 1 problem out of it,but my old burb with a 350 done just as good fuel and reliable wise,with more power.the designs are so close.the 5.0 is also 100lbs. lighter than a 350.and the 5.0's sound badass.the 350s and the 302 are great motors,parts are plentiful,but for $,any swap done right is gonna cost. the rest of the drive train needs to hold up to the abuse put out by the engine.most toyota's have 4:11 gears making the mpg at hwy speed next to non existant.the chevy 10 and 14 bolt axles and the ford 9's have lots of gears avaliable,and if it we're me,I would rather have the v8 transmissions too.I mean we're talking a tans tunnel and a trans cross member vs. a $5-600 adapter.plus the v8 transmissions can be had for $150-250 most everywhere.
See my truck is going to be the race project.... drift and autocross.... it may drive to events... and will undoubtedly rescue somebody from the side of the highway and move somebody eventually otherwise I have a DD th350 trans rebuilt only cost me 100 should hold up to almost anything.
You guys have pretty much talked me into a 22R! LOL!! I can't really spend too much on this and honestly with how much just the adapters cost I could have spent as much as I already have on my truck... so yea. 22R / Weber / same header. Easier. I'll definately step up to a REAL Weber when the time comes. Thanks for the opinions guys, honestly a V8 would be nice but I was trying to find a happy medium, which would have cost about the same or more than the V8 with roughly the same MPG results... never mind!
