Might do something

"Hooker" (Hooker) 11/25/2019 at 11:25 • Filed to: None

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2009 Silverado 2WD with V6 4.3. 139K miles but incredibly well maintained. Does anyone have long term experience with this vehicle with that engine. We almost never see them in the shop here at the Chevrolet store, however, that doesn’t necessarily mean anything.

Mainly going to be using it as a DD and to haul my kayaks places. Not much else. No towing. 

What say you, Oppo?

Censored > Hooker 11/25/2019 at 11:34

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Have a co-worker who just gave one to his kid as a first car. It had 450k miles with nothing more than oil changes and a fuel pump. Bed rust will be your biggest concern.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > Hooker 11/25/2019 at 11:41

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“We almost never see them in the shop here at the Chevrolet store,”

You might interpret that as them being fairly trouble free... no news is good news!

I’ve never owned a vehicle with that engine, but I’ve heard from other people/ sources that it’s basically a reliable/durable engine.

The power, fuel economy and the way it sounds won’t be anything great though, but it’s fine for a daily driver. 

shop-teacher > Hooker 11/25/2019 at 11:41

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That’s the old Vortec V6 that year, right? It’ll be dog- shit slow, but it’ll last forever.

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > Hooker 11/25/2019 at 11:45

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The 4.3 is pretty durable, if not particularly powerful. It was in production forever, as GM  was still making blocks for marine use up until only the last few years.

Shift24 > Hooker 11/25/2019 at 11:50

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I always prefer 4x4 but not bad if your not paying v8 4x4 price.

Only have experience with 90s and early 00s that have pushed 200k with no problem. The 90s had issues with spider injectors but 03 saw an update to mpfi.

And I have only ever seen fuel supply issues (fuel pump mainly) than engine or trans issues.

Shift24 > shop-teacher 11/25/2019 at 11:52

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The "LT" 4.3l v6 didn't start until 2014 model year.

Grindintosecond > Hooker 11/25/2019 at 11:58

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4.3 vortec in my 97 s-10 was fine. You'll actually get -1 mpg in that truck vs the small v8 cause it's working harder to get moving. The intake manifold gasket was a problem as it routes water up in there for only the dumbest reasons ever. So hopefully they fixed that shit by '09.

adamftw > shop-teacher 11/25/2019 at 12:03

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Yup

Hooker > shop-teacher 11/25/2019 at 12:10

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I like this. You are correct, it is dog-shit slow. But I don’t mind that. The older I get, the less in a hurry I get. 

Hooker > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly 11/25/2019 at 12:11

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And that’s what I need.  A steady daily driver. At this point,  I just need my boss to tell me if he will sell it to me for what I offered. I don’t care if it’s a “No” I just need to know. But that’s a whole other story for another time!

Hooker > Shift24 11/25/2019 at 12:12

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Fuel pump isn’t so bad. I agree with that. Worst case is my Dad can do most of the work. Hell, he just swapped a new motor into his Tahoe for fun.

Hooker > Grindintosecond 11/25/2019 at 12:13

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Here’s hoping they did fix it! I currently have an 09 Malibu that is eating oil and I would prefer not get into another vehicle that is self destructing. 

Hooker > Censored 11/25/2019 at 12:14

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That’s comforting! I don’t know that rust will be a problem  here in NC. But I will sure keep an eye on it! Thank you!

Hooker > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com 11/25/2019 at 12:15

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This all sounds good. Thank you! I just need a truck that moves. I don’t even care if the air works (it does) as long as the heat works! I would prefer no power windows but this one has them. 

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > Hooker 11/25/2019 at 12:25

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I don’t remember if the 4.3 is subject to leaking intake manifold gaskets in the same way the 5.7 that it is based on is, but that might be the only thing to expect at some point.

Shift24 > Hooker 11/25/2019 at 12:31

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Then you won’t have a problem with these. The 4.3l v6 is based on the 350sbc v8 but GM literally cut 2 cylinders off and kept what the could the same. They even have the same motor mounts.

Which theoretically means you could drop in a 350 pretty easily, trans and other stuff might be an issue though lol

And GM is notorious for weak fuel pumps, so it’s more across the board thing than just this motor issue.

The only thing that’s different for these years though with the 4.3l is the how the ignition/spark is controlled. Gm moved it to an LS v8 style coil pack in 2007. A 2006 and older uses a distributor. Not an issue but just more of an FYI

Hooker > Shift24 11/25/2019 at 12:47

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Makes me happy for the coil vs the distributor. Though, isn’t the coil more complicated? Forgive my ignorance. 

shop-teacher > Shift24 11/25/2019 at 12:47

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That’s what I thought, but I have so many things in my head-movies these days, I didn’t want to say definitively. 

Hooker > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com 11/25/2019 at 12:47

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Doesn’t kill a motor though, right? 

shop-teacher > Hooker 11/25/2019 at 12:48

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Me too.  I have the 4.8 V8, which I describe the same way.  It’s a little quicker to get moving than the 4.3, but it ain’t quick by any means.  It just gets the job done and keeps chugging.

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > Hooker 11/25/2019 at 12:52

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No. You’ll notice a coolant leak that isn't the water pump.

Shift24 > Hooker 11/25/2019 at 13:34

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In terms of replacement? No, stupid easy. Easier than replacing a spark plug if one ever goes bad

In terms of engineering yes. They are used almost exclusively now a days due to their ability to be modified on the fly to advance and retard timing through the ecu.

In terms of reliability, they are equal with the distributor being cheaper to fully replace. But you are talking maybe $ 50 difference

Hooker > shop-teacher 11/25/2019 at 13:51

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That is what I need! Now I need my boss to get me an answer! Not like I'm asking him to sell it to me for nothing! I offered him 2500 profit and I'll pay all shop fees as long as it passes inspection. Been a few days. No answer yet. I told him he didn't even have to clean it. 

Hooker > Shift24 11/25/2019 at 13:52

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That isn't bad. I replaced a couple coil packs on my Sunfire back in the day. 200 bucks per every time it ate one. It liked to eat them about every 10k miles. Which blew my mind. 

Hooker > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com 11/25/2019 at 13:53

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Just don't want anything mixing with the oil. The current ride is being cantankerous in that manner. 

shop-teacher > Hooker 11/25/2019 at 13:54

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Good luck!

Shift24 > Hooker 11/25/2019 at 14:23

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Ye ah those on the sunfires weren’t exactly designed the best. Those were fully integrated so all 4 coils were attached together through one common rail and were hot garbage. I remember replacing multiple on a 96 buick skylark. Not many   use that type of coil system anymore

But these have one coil pack with spark plug wires running to the individual sparks. And it cheaper than I thought, the coil pack is $50 on rockauto.

Hooker > shop-teacher 11/25/2019 at 15:06

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Thank you! I feel I am going to need it! 

Hooker > Shift24 11/25/2019 at 15:08

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Exactly! Haha. Hot garbage is right. It wasn’t long after the 4th? Or 5th one I replaced that the engine ate a head gasket after overheating (bad water pump). Sold it for 300 bucks with 199k on it. I was just a few hundred miles from 200k and wanted to see it roll over. Would not go any further!