Chevy Techs???????

[payne5757]

I know this isnt exactly the right place to ask this, but we have such an expansive wealth of knowledge and experience on here so I figured theres gotta be someone who can help so..........

My grandfather has a 1996 chevy 1500 with the vortech 4.3L v6 which he has had since new. Every since it only had maybe 30-50,000 miles on it it has had problems with cutting out and running bad. No need to tell me its a chevy cuz Ive already told him that so what other common problems with these motors exist? Hes tried all the routine stuff like a tune up and has even gutted the cat which was clogged(btw, where can u buy o2 sims for that truck? He now needs one) Any help would be greatly appreciated cuz hes an old school shade tree mechanic who only knows carbs and I live in PA while hes in TX so I cant troubleshoot on the truck. Thanks in advance.

[bigcountrysg]

Remove crappy v-6 install better v-8 preferabilly the 350 vortech.

[payne5757]

Im not a chevy guy but Ill have to say that the 4.3L is one of chevys better motors and it is a 350 minus 2 cylinders.........literally no joke. Also, this is my grandfathers rig so I dont think hes up for a swap. He just wants his truck to run right

[bigcountrysg]

Originally Posted by payne5757

Im not a chevy guy but Ill have to say that the 4.3L is one of chevys better motors and it is a 350 minus 2 cylinders.........literally no joke. Also, this is my grandfathers rig so I dont think hes up for a swap. He just wants his truck to run right

I understand that, but the thing is the 350 is a drop in swap. You use the same trans, same wiring harness, all you have to do is get the pcm from the junkyard or whoever you get the engine from for the install. It is that simple. I even think that you can use the stock Y-pipe for the exhaust. I know that the 4.3L v-6 is a 350 missing 2 cylinders. That is what makes this swap so easy. But I bet the reason it runs like it is running is from the gutted cat and misread from the O2 sensor.

[MrJohnWayne]

The easiest way to determine what is wong is for him to go to autozone etc.. and have them pull the codes. They will do it for free. If he has already gutted the cat then i'm sad to say it will need to be replaced. They do not make an o2 sim for those trucks like they do on the mustangs. He can go back with a high flow cat to kinda help out but he still needs a cat. It sounds like it might of been an 02 sensor from the get go and gutting the cat aint gonna help it.

[payne5757]

Well, the cat wasnt the problem. The problem started like I said back around 50k and the truck now has 160k and the cat was only gutted recently. Ive ran gutted cats before and they throw a code without sims but they dont make the vehicle cutout and miss. I just figured Id find out if I could get him a sim to get rid of the code. I told him long ago to have the codes pulled and it doesnt diagnose the problem. Before replacing the o2 sensor after a recent code, the truck never threw codes....I swear its one of those phantom bugs.....did I mention Im glad I drive blue oval. If its chevy and newer than the eighties, I dont like it.

[bigcountrysg]

Originally Posted by payne5757

Well, the cat wasnt the problem. The problem started like I said back around 50k and the truck now has 160k and the cat was only gutted recently. Ive ran gutted cats before and they throw a code without sims but they dont make the vehicle cutout and miss. I just figured Id find out if I could get him a sim to get rid of the code. I told him long ago to have the codes pulled and it doesnt diagnose the problem. Before replacing the o2 sensor after a recent code, the truck never threw codes....I swear its one of those phantom bugs.....did I mention Im glad I drive blue oval. If its chevy and newer than the eighties, I dont like it.

You know if it was a 7.3L the correct answer to repair this problem would be the CPS

[chev502]

Is the SES light on?
If so see what codes are there (autozone)
The most common problems are 1. Fuel pumps! must have 55-60 psi. Make sure the connections are good they like to loosten up and melt the terminals at the pump connector causing intermint problems. Check the ground for pump clean and tight.2. Check fuel filter (see if you can blow through it) 3.Fuel pressur regulators (under the upper intake) probebly not causing your problem but they do leak causing it to run rich. If you suspect the o2 sensors you can disconect them and drive it to see it it corrects problem. (They will go to default value) so it they were reading wrong you schould find a change.
Hope this helps

[MrJohnWayne]

haha I hear ya. If they replaced the 02 sensor might look into a cam sensor. It is in the distributor.

[rednek01]

what about cleaning the mass air meter and checking the voltage on the TPS sensor ( throttle position sensor) I know on my mustang it started cutting out and had bad idle and acceleration problems and so I cleand the mass air meter and it helped I also realized the TPS was not getting the correct voltage and was acting up causing similar problems.