4.3 ice?

[nick_vw]

Re: 4.3 ice?

You got nothing to lose patching the block. I'd try that 1st.
But like Bondo said the 4.3 has had many changes through the years.
Who knows, maybe you get lucky or maybe you need another engine. But if someone paid for winterization I would be speaking to whoever did it.

the marina that did the work, as far as I can tell...has changed owners as of last fall. Its also not open until may. Tried calling but I got a family member who explained the situation.

I got a lead on a 4.3 out of a 89 GMC safari, that has 50K miles on it...for free, I just need to drop it out. It runs good. I also have a friend with a mercruiser 3.0L complete. Not too keen on stepping down to a 4 cylinder but my question here is what would be involved with a swap from a v6 to a 4 cylinder, of similar vintage? would it drop in? or is it not worth the effort?

 

[thumpar]

Re: 4.3 ice?

You would need new motor mounts and a new drive ratio.

 

[Maclin]

Re: 4.3 ice?

Going from V6 to I4, need to drop in everything really from pulleys to prop to quote many sage boatwrights before me. The exhaust tube is different, and the ratio is also way different as has been mentioned. I recommend staying with the V6 drivetrain, it will be less work and better for the boat value to fix/replace the V6.

 

[ricohman]

Re: 4.3 ice?

the marina that did the work, as far as I can tell...has changed owners as of last fall. Its also not open until may. Tried calling but I got a family member who explained the situation.

I got a lead on a 4.3 out of a 89 GMC safari, that has 50K miles on it...for free, I just need to drop it out. It runs good. I also have a friend with a mercruiser 3.0L complete. Not too keen on stepping down to a 4 cylinder but my question here is what would be involved with a swap from a v6 to a 4 cylinder, of similar vintage? would it drop in? or is it not worth the effort?

All you are going to be able to use is the block and heads. And even then you need to change all the welch plugs to brass.
I would look for a newer 4.3 with vortec heads (96 and up). But I'm not sure if the intake will match as GM widened these intakes for different injectors.

 

[Starcraft5834]

Re: 4.3 ice?

the marina that did the work, as far as I can tell...has changed owners as of last fall. Its also not open until may. Tried calling but I got a family member who explained the situation.

I got a lead on a 4.3 out of a 89 GMC safari, that has 50K miles on it...for free, I just need to drop it out. It runs good. I also have a friend with a mercruiser 3.0L complete. Not too keen on stepping down to a 4 cylinder but my question here is what would be involved with a swap from a v6 to a 4 cylinder, of similar vintage? would it drop in? or is it not worth the effort?

Did you speak to the Marina "owners", how did that go? you wanting to move forward and replace the engine is completely understandable, however, if you do so, you may damage your position should you get into ligitation process.. If the Marina is a "stand up crew", they should repair/replace the damage they have likely caused..

 

[ricohman]

Re: 4.3 ice?

Did you speak to the Marina "owners", how did that go? you wanting to move forward and replace the engine is completely understandable, however, if you do so, you may damage your position should you get into ligitation process.. If the Marina is a "stand up crew", they should repair/replace the damage they have likely caused..

Yup. Just because the owner has changed doesn't mean the staff have. I would be there with my receipts and the boat.

 

[Starcraft5834]

Re: 4.3 ice?

The new owner inherits the work done my his staff......if the owner of the ice boat takes out the motor or touches it at all, he might as well bag it and not bother trying to get marina to fix it... this is a sad story...... another reason why dry storage is the best way to go

 

[nick_vw]

Re: 4.3 ice?

The new owner inherits the work done my his staff......if the owner of the ice boat takes out the motor or touches it at all, he might as well bag it and not bother trying to get marina to fix it... this is a sad story...... another reason why dry storage is the best way to go

Thats how i have always done it...marina's screw up, quite often around here. All I plan on doing is seeing if in fact it will run and not get water in the oil. If that's the case, then I may not even attempt getting the marina to come good for their improper winterization..for all I know the pervious owners of the boat took it for a run or started it late in the year...this was december I got it, not inconceivable that they tried starting it for someone in the previous weeks/months not realizing it was full of antifreeze for the winter.

Ok, i am definately not going to swap the 3.0L because of the work involved.

as for the v6 swap, is changing the core plugs nessecary for freshwater boats? Also, would the cam from a gmc safari van be similar to a marine cam? I know the safari van's were basically trucks.

 

[thumpar]

Re: 4.3 ice?

I would change the core plugs no matter which water you boat in. The safari engine is the same as they put in the trucks. Truck cams are very very close to marine cams so no need to change it. If you can swing it get a Vortec motor. You will have to change that intake if you go that route though. It gives you a good excuse to upgrade to a 4 barrel carb at the same time.

 

[Starcraft5834]

Re: 4.3 ice?

Thats how i have always done it...marina's screw up, quite often around here. All I plan on doing is seeing if in fact it will run and not get water in the oil. If that's the case, then I may not even attempt getting the marina to come good for their improper winterization..for all I know the pervious owners of the boat took it for a run or started it late in the year...this was december I got it, not inconceivable that they tried starting it for someone in the previous weeks/months not realizing it was full of antifreeze for the winter.

Ok, i am definately not going to swap the 3.0L because of the work involved.

as for the v6 swap, is changing the core plugs nessecary for freshwater boats? Also, would the cam from a gmc safari van be similar to a marine cam? I know the safari van's were basically trucks.

true, maybe previious owners took it out late......that's a possible out for the marina. good luck, hope it works out for you

 

[nick_vw]

Re: 4.3 ice?

I would change the core plugs no matter which water you boat in. The safari engine is the same as they put in the trucks. Truck cams are very very close to marine cams so no need to change it. If you can swing it get a Vortec motor. You will have to change that intake if you go that route though. It gives you a good excuse to upgrade to a 4 barrel carb at the same time.

I think (although probably wrong) my boat has a 4 barrel on it? Its a 4.3LX w/thunderbolt. Id rather just re-use my intake/carb/manifolds to keep the costs down..my old boat had a 2.5 120HP, so this thing should feel plenty powerful :lol:

 

[thumpar]

Re: 4.3 ice?

Being an LX you probably do have the 4 barrel already.

 

[nick_vw]

Re: 4.3 ice?

Being an LX you probably do have the 4 barrel already.

that's good to know..i found a lot of conflicting info here on the forums...being ~1990 vintage, what kind of power were these rated at? i've read anywhere from 155-205hp

 

[1ruralmailman]

Re: 4.3 ice?

that's good to know..i found a lot of conflicting info here on the forums...being ~1990 vintage, what kind of power were these rated at? i've read anywhere from 155-205hp

as has been stated by bondo.the first thing you need to do if replacing is finding out the serial number of the block.you must keep in the same range,or it wont be a simple plug and play drop it out put it in deal.there is a huge difference in the 4.3 block shapes,flywheel ,couplers,heads and more.is it a two piece main seal or one?all this needs to be known,by finding the serial number range out,before getting all excited about this or that engine fitting in there.sorry to be a downer,but have been there with this motor,and know how frustrating finding the right range of blocks can be.good luck with it.

 

[achris]

Re: 4.3 ice?

that's good to know..i found a lot of conflicting info here on the forums...being ~1990 vintage, what kind of power were these rated at? i've read anywhere from 155-205hp

That's because the way engines are power rated changed from crankshaft to propshaft about then. Also there was a small change to the heads, which also changed the power.

Briefly...

Earlier 4.3 (and Gen II/balance-shaft engines). Up to about 1996.
2bbl carb. 185hp crank/155hp prop
4bbl carb. 205hp crank/175hp prop

Gen + engines.
2bbl carb. 190hp prop
4bbl carb. 205hp prop
EFI. 205hp or 210hp prop (depends on year)
MPI. 220hp prop

HTH.

Chris...

 

[thompson80]

Re: 4.3 ice?

1ruralmailman, and bondo before him, beat me to it: write down your engine's serial no. and everything else you can find on it/about it. Wrecking yards generally have interchange manuals, and might be of help with regards to compatible serial no. ranges, but my first stop would be to the closest Mercruiser dealer/shop to ask what they know about compatible block serial no. ranges. Maybe the marina that did the winterization could help with this, AFTER you're done discussing legal recourse (if you're still speaking with them). At first, don't mention that you are thinking about anything other than what are THEY going to do about the cracked block.

Also, if you do change blocks, go brass for the freeze plugs, both for the possibility that you may sometime go to the saltwater, and also for resale value. When people see anything about an engine that doesn't look 100% stock, they get twitchy about what all else isn't stock (such as what cam is in it, etc.), and the offering price instantly starts dropping. Keep her as stock as possible.

I also second the advice about changing over to the 4 cyl.: DON'T. In addition to all the additional research, additional parts required (more $$$, even if used), and work involved, you're going to want the power of the 4.3, esp. if you ever want to pull skiers, tubers, or plan to take out guests.

 

[nick_vw]

Re: 4.3 ice?

well, i got it going yesterday...fired up first attempt. Let it warm up, the visible crack doesn't leak, its dry. Didn't see any other water leaks. Checked the oil a few times and its not showing any signs of water. Started it again today, ran well no obvious external leaks and no milky oil, however after about 10 minutes on the garden hose, the temperature got to around 200, but it seemed to back off quickly when I throttled up. Seeing as the hose is under pressure, the impeller will be replaced before she hits the lake. there was ice in the water pump as well, so its got me thinking the pump may have some internal damage, i will start with the impeller as it needs done regularly anyway, and see if it keeps cool.

 

[jkust]

Re: 4.3 ice?

As you didn't complete your profile, I'm not sure where you are located so my regional story may not apply.
Where the marina and the winterization are concerned, this year it was cold so early here in MN that they (my marina I use) put in place a no liability rule in that even if they winterize, you signed a waiver that they were not responsible for any cracked blocks. Normally they do that late in the fall after it's been well below 32 but they did it right away last season. Point being you may or may not have some additional headwinds with the marina.

 

[nick_vw]

Re: 4.3 ice?

As you didn't complete your profile, I'm not sure where you are located so my regional story may not apply.
Where the marina and the winterization are concerned, this year it was cold so early here in MN that they (my marina I use) put in place a no liability rule in that even if they winterize, you signed a waiver that they were not responsible for any cracked blocks. Normally they do that late in the fall after it's been well below 32 but they did it right away last season. Point being you may or may not have some additional headwinds with the marina.

I live in southern Ontario, near Georgian bay. It was stupidly cold this winter, and I am getting the impression that there is a much greater number of cracked manifolds and blocks this year than usual (I called around about 4.3 blocks, lots of people looking for them this spring). I am finding even the marina's can half-*** the procedure and not completely drain them or (like mine was) suck up some RV antifreeze and hope for the best. In a few weeks I can get in touch with the new owners of the marina..

 

[1ruralmailman]

Re: 4.3 ice?

when my 4.3 had its cracked block from the previous owner,it would run all day on muffs in the driveway with no hint of a problem.once in the lake it would only take around ten minutes for the milkiness to appear with high dipstick readings.that crack would open up,i presume more presure was put on it under load in the lake than muffs in driveway could produce.most will be internal valley in under the intake plenum.good luck,i hope for your sake she works out alright.