GM 4.3 Liter Vortec - I am so disappointed with the quality of this engine I will never buy another General Motors Product again

GM 4.3 Liter Vortec - I am so disappointed with the quality of this engine I will never buy another General Motors Product again

GM 4.3 Liter Vortec Is a piece of JUNK!

I am a 15 year ASC, and state of Michigan Master tech. I have been teaching dealer tech's for the last 8 of those 10 years.

I have been driving S Series Pick ups's and Blazers sense I received my drivers license back in 1983. I recently bought my first non TBI or carburetor equipped 4.3 equipped vehicle. It is a 2003 Chevy S-10 4 door pickup. You know, the latest, greatest Vin W Vortec pushrod engine. I am so disappointed with the quality of this engine I will never buy another General Motors Product again. Far less because of the inherent design flaws right out of the box that have been able to stay with a design that is near 10 years, but because of how stupid General Motors thinks it's costumers really are!

My engine has the same problems that 80% of V6 and V8 Vortec engines have. Its noisy and idles terribly! GM has been promising a fix for years with no resolution. Carboned pistons causing clacking, improperly metered lifters are noisy and to top it all off, a balance shaft torsion problem that completes the engine noise cycle and vibration throughout ALL operating ranges and engine speeds and conditions.

With as many millions of these ticking time bombs on the road, with no resolution in sight, GM just shrugs its shoulders and says: "Hey, its a pushrod motor, its supposed to be noisy." $27,000 for a vehicle with an engine that sounds like it has 150,000 miles on it at 15,000 miles and on. I guess they think that them telling us Vortec owners that "it poses no longevity or performance issue" should appease our sense of concern. Problem is IT DOESN'T! Of 5 dealerships, none could give me the time of day, and GM costumer service? Lets just say, banging my head against the wall would have been a more productive use of my time.

I pulled the motor out of my NEW TRUCK myself and found:

6 of 12 lifters defective. Improper valve preload on all 6 resulting in a noisy valve train. Checked bleed down rate of all lifters, none of which met GM's own Minimum Bleed down rate specification for this application.

8 valve guides with at least .005" of movement.

7 valve springs out of square and ALL 12 with less than 50 lbs of installed seat pressure.

Valve stem heights in variance of over .020" on a non adjustable valve train.

.023" back lash on the balance shaft gears. OH MY GOD! No wonder it's so noisy! After trying to match 16 sets of new shafts and gears, best I could do was .008" and had to lap them in as well. Lucky for me ONE local GM dealer let me strip old gears and shafts from old warranty engines. They had exploded carcasses on hand. Where did those all come from?

Left bank of the engine had a minimum of .006" piston to wall clearance and 2 collapsed piston skirts, right bank had 1 collapsed skirt with .005" on one cylinder. THATS 3 collapsed piston skirts total in a 6 cylinder engine.

If I didn't know it was an almost new engine, I'd swear it had at least 100,000 miles on it!

After an investment of $675.00 and a week and a half with the engine on a stand, my engine sounds like it should after 16,000 miles. Its QUIET!

Question is, why couldn't GM do this in production? How many years have they been having this problem? For as long as a balance shaft has been inside the Vortec! What is the moral of the story?

GM has no regard for costumer care, or satisfaction. GM has no regard for the faithful costumer and Joe lunchpail who is paying a note on a truck that sounds like a piece of junk! I just wanted to share my engine autopsy with your readers.

Any one want to join me in a class action law suit?

Victor G

Dearborn Michigan (home of Henry Ford and the Mustang)

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I have a 94 s-10 tbi 189900 never any major probs ALWAYS changed oil @ 3000 w/feul filter top end tune up once a year w/02 sensor truck burns no oil and still runs very strong added cold air intake and 2 1/4 exhaust hi flow cat and muffler parts are cheap to keep maintence up.......cons......3rd water pump 3rd clutch valve cover gaskets once just changed oil pan gasket same timing chain will replace next year.no part last forever still no truck payment i guess i just got lucky with this motor

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your retarded you did that much work because of a little lifter noise. i got a 99 silverado 4x4 with the 4.3 and it is 23 degrees out of time because the previous owner ran it without oil and screwed the cam gear up. but it still runs and it will pull fords out of the mud all day long to. the 4.3 is near bullet proof.

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I have the 4.3 in a chev pickup. same noisy engine and it leaks oil into the coolant. 87,000 miles on mine: That's about all they're good for I hear.

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I have a 1994 GMC C/1500 with a 4.3. The truck has 184000 miles. It runs great. The only problems I have had is the EGR valve, the cat, and the fuel hose in gas tank. I bought it with 177000 miles on it in January 2007. I drove it 7 hours to Nashville in June 2009 with no problem.

I use Royal Purple 10w30 and a K&N oil filter, K&N air filter, heavily modified SBC air cleaner, throtle body spacer, injector spacer, dual exhuast, dual Thunder Bolt cats, dual Flowmaster 40s, Jegs ram air tube, Hypertech power charger, B&M Trickshift transmission fluid, Redline Heavy Shookproof gear oil, and BFG ATs. When I am carefull I get between 18-24 mpg. If the gas is E10 it gets 16-18. The truck seems to have plenty of power and throtle response.

Are you sure you were the first guy to tear into the motor? Just because one motor was manufactured poorly dosn't mean I wouldn't buy GM vehicles. I have seen a 350 with camshaft centerline and the drilled oil galleries off by about a 3/8 inch. I still like GM. I use a 305 in my race truck. It dosn't matter who makes it, it will have some sort of problem.

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ok. I hav a 94 s10 blazer with a 4.3 vortec in it. the only thing that has ben done to it since my granpa bought it in 1994 was the average maintnence.. i recently put hypereatic pistons in bored .30" over with a new hydrolic cam. New heads. dual turbos. new dual port intake manifold with dual nitrous ports. im putting out a lil over 400 hp before NOS. i hav never had a motor run as hard as it does without it scewing up. ill put my 4.3 up to any other v6 and most v8s any day.

I give 4.3 vortecs three thumbs up!!!!

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Hahahaha you are such a fuckin' idiot! I have been a licensed automotive mechanic for 20 years and have mechanic experience before that, the 4.3 litre has been the most bullet proof engine GM has ever built. Tough as nails, never had such a dissapointed owner. Like the last comment, you are most likely not the "God of all mechanics" like you said you are! Good luck with your next purchase of a ford of Dodge or toyota... Let me know how THAT goes!! haha

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The 4.3 is a great engine and is a 5.7 minus two cylinders just like someone else commented. This is the most widely produced and respected engine in the world-even more respected than many high tech engines that cost twice as much. But GM has the same issues as Ford and Chrysler- the UAW. Many of the problems noted are worker attitude issues such as the missing pan bolts, excessive clearances,wrong settings, etc.

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Of course this thread is a little old, but I seen the comment and I had to reply. I would first like to state that I have seen comments like this before. A gentleman once told me that his GM made vehicle was a piece of junk. So I asked him what kind of maintenance he had done to his piece of junk. He was quick to mention that his service only involved the local quick lube. Now the last time I checked, the local quick lube only does a fairly minor inspection of the vehicle. I guess you could call filling up the windshield wiper res. normal maintenance. That should fix all of your problems. However, as I recall there are a host of items that need to be attended to, transmission, coolant...the list is so long where should I start. I always find it funny when people don't properly service an automobile and then suddenly it's now a clunker.

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4.3 290k no major repairs

get a life

we have 5 astros 94-97 in service none with under 200k no Major repairs on engine all 4.3

gm hates all thats why there best rated fleet and hd trucks

go back to masterbatein over hondas

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Maybe you are not as good a mechanic as you fantasize yourself to be. My 4.3 Vortec screams.

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I know how you feel. I have a 98 sonoma with 4.3 vortec. It has 155000 miles on it. I've had to replace the o2s and catalic convertor every two years because it runs to rich and will not pass smog. I have put two fuel pumps, going on the third motor and three transmissions.

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I just bought a 2001 s-10 4x4 with 209,503 miles on it. It still runs(a bit rough and needs some TLC), the truck just needs a new fuel pressure regulator and some poppets re-worked and I am good to go. I think I will get another 50-100k out of it for sure. This engine runs strong as heck being over fueled and running rich for its current problem. Not bad for $1000.00. The Body is good and the 4 wheel drive works with a like new interior. I think I found a winner for my budget and it's a sweet winter project.

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Your a fucking idiot. Im driving a 15 year old gmc sonoma with a 4.3 liter v6. Saying that the 4.3 is junk is the same as saying a 350sbc is junk. ITS THE SAME DAMN THING. only two cylinders cut off. Just because you got one defect out of how many trucks built?? doesnt mean act like a dick and say you will never buy a gm product again. Go buy a ranger or something similar and at about 150000 miles talk to me and tell me how its running......like shit. the 5.7L v8 and the 4.3L v6 are in my opinion some of the best motors and investments that GM has ever made. my truck has 180000 miles on it and still runs perfectly fine. Havent had a single problem out of it at all. 50,000 of those miles have been ran very very hard as well. I predict another 70,000 miles out of it before i see a sign of any kind of motor swap. I do notice how you use all this wonderful lingo and i know your a certified tech and what not but hey you should also know that it is mechanical things will go wrong. There are going to be some bad apples in the pot there bud. I must have got the best and ripest one of the bunch cause after 15 years and 180000 miles shes still kicking and tearing little civics up around town in races. Sorry your truck sucks but buy a ford and your going downhill from there

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My '96 Astro AWD 4.3 Vortec has now 273k on it. Bought it used five years ago, at 190k. I have all the service records on the car since it was new, it has been serviced very well. Only major overhaul has been transmission, at 230k. Engine has been working flawlessly except an intake manifold gasket leak. Lately I have exprienced some lifter noise on cold startups.

My Astro has been in quite heavy use; towing 5300 lbs wakeboat + trailer, making long skiing trips with seven people + gear on board, sometimes in reasonably cold climate. I guess I've got a 'cherry', and probably the good service has also helped, with regular oil changes.

This lifter noise problem is a bit mysterious, wonder if anyone else had similar experiences, or knows the cause. It started out last wintertime, one lifter made a ticking noise for 5 to 120 secs when cold starting the engine. Oil change usually helps, and during summertime the problem does not excist. The oil pressure gauge needle vibrates 'in sync' with the ticking noise. Somehow I get the feeling that oil drains back for some reason and when starting the engine (after it has been sitting for at least 6 hours) one or two of the lifters tick until they are filled with oil. Oil pressure reading is very good, 45-80 psi on cold engine, depending on oil viscosity and rpm. Have tried chemicals to clean up the oiling system, they helped only for some time. Since replacing the lifters is quite a job on these cars I wonder if anyone had an easier cure for this ?

Simo P, Helsinki, Finland

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I 've owed two 4.3 liter engines, an 89 and 1 2004 Blazer. I purchased approx 27 cars and trucks in my life and my experience with 4.3s was excellent. My 89 Blazer was the best vehicles I've owed with the possible exception of a 69 Mercury Montego with 302 cu.in. That car had 335,000 miles with no (0) , nada one problem and the air conditioner and auto trans was smooth at 335 k as they were at 1000 miles. The 4.3 blazer was as good as I accumalated about 197,000 miles with again no problems! I bought it at 67,000 for 1,000 dollars and sold it for the same 5 years later in 2007. It's November 2008 now and I found out it's still on the road now with 265,000 miles.

My current 2004 blazer ZR-2 has 84,000 miles on it and runs like a sewing machine. Plenty of power, smooth , quiet and powerful. I agree with others in the posting that changing the oil regularly and or using a synthetic oil ( I prefer Redline which is a polyoil ester lubricant)en. Anyway, the 4.3 is a great engine! .

I wish the guy my best, but please don't condem all of GM on one vehicle. Poop Happens!

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I have a '99 silverado with the 4.3 L Vortec V6. I bought the truck new in 99 and here we are at the end of 2008 and my truck has 208,000 miles and it is still pulling hard. You ask how does one put 200,000 miles on a truck in 9 years. I basically lived in it for the first 6 using it as a work truck. Now in its later years it is alittle noisy and has a few minor wear and tear issues, but I can go out and start it right now and it will get me to where I am going and back home with no problems. The only thing I can say is remember to maintain your vehicle.

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I have a 1997 Sonoma 4.3 and its a geat little truck. Beats just about anything on the road of its size. I have over 220K on it for thous that use miles its well over 100,000. Pulls a 5000 pound trailer with no problems and when not pulling my travel trailer gets great gas milage. What is all the fuss about its junk. I am getting a Jimmy with the 4.3 and I happy for that.

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Lifter, lifter, lifter!

I have a 2000 Silverado with the 4.3 and I bought it used with 114,000 and did not have any problems for 1 1/2 yrs. and 6000 miles! Well, that came to an end when I started it one night after having Starbucks with my girlfriend and bam-I heard a clacking not clicking! I looked at the oil pressure gauge and it was hovering around 25 lbs. @ idle! I shut the damn thing down and let it sit to check the oil (which had been changed about 700 miles earlier)! Oil was 1/2 quart or so low (it still pretty hot) so topped it off just in case with a 1/2 quart and started it up-no change in pressure or noise. So I decided, f--k it , I will just drive it home and when I was half way home the noise just stopped at a stop light and the pressure leveled out to 40 lbs.-simple right-not! So, the next day I took it to a business friends shop and they could not find anything wrong-so I had him do a complete oil system flush and brought it home with 40-60 lbs. oil pressure and quiet! However, two days later the clicking started during driving with 60 lbs. of oil pressure @1500 rpm but not the clacking but stopped when I got home! So, I took it back immediately and left it with him for an entire week letting him drive and run it as much as he wanted but it never happened for him! Then a week later the clicking started again while driving with good oil pressure but it stopped by the time I got to his shop across town! Well, now it has been 1000 miles later from first time taking it to him and the clicking comes and goes but tonight it started at the store and all the way home and did not change with repeated restarts in my driveway so I am hoping it stays that way in the morning and I am again taking it to his shop! Simply, I know it is a combination of a faulty lifter or lifters on the right bank and an oil pump issue but I need to know which is causing which as I do not have much money right now,live in an apt. and no shop to do my own work (though I have my own tools) plus it is my only truck right now!! So, there is my spew and whine and cry but it is really frustrating and I am waiting for it to blow up sometime if it cannot be diagnosed pretty soon!!

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I have a 94 S-10 SS pickup with this engine at 170K miles now. Pulls hard and is a good work horse engine. It's a peppy little engine in this small pickup but I've noticed the Blazer with the same engine acts rather sluggish with it's added weight. The only problem I'm having with it is keeping the fuel injectors clean and this is from taking too many short trips. Th S-10 has nice lines and is a great rig to customize the exterior.

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Hello, have you filed this law suit yet? I own a 2002 s-10 ZR2 "off road" package. The day i bought it it had 34,000 miles on it and noticed a small miss at idle. I took it back and they replaced the intake gasket but that never rid the idle problem, then i was told "its the nature of the beast" well i have installed a k&n air filter, plugs, wires, trottle body spacer, and a flow master muffler the problem i have is trottle responce its sluggish. Its like the RPM's are high but the truck kinda boggs down then if you let off the gas itll pick up. This truck should perform better than this i talked to other people with a 4.3 vortec and they say its a great engine. I think i might had got the "LEMON" off the line. I am ready to take it have it dyno tested to see whats going on with it. I did notice alittle difference in performance when i added the flow master muffler but not much. I think my truck weighs around 4200 not sure but this engine should move this truck down the road with no problem. I drove a 3.8 in a pontiac and had hell of alot more power than the 4.3. Im with you on this 17,000 for a truck thats going to need engine replacement or rebuild? Plus it only get 14 mpg thats sad.

Jeff Gilmore

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I Have a 1994 s10 blazer with a 4.3 that has a 173000 on it thats almost twohunderd k i paid 800 for this blazer 60k ago and it is the best old rust bucket i have owned the only problem i have had is with rust and the abs thats it

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I have a 1998 GMC with a 4.3 L in it and its the best truck i have ever drivin. it has over 125,000 miles on it and has all its origianal parts. i'm not very nice to it either. i push that truck to its limits and i know that if the 4.3 wasn't a good engine it would have craped out on me by now. it runs like its brand new, and i will bet anything it will continue to run like new. if its taken care of it will last a long time. there is nothing wronge with Cehy's 4.3 L engine, so quit whining.

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I have a 99' Silverado 149k miles. At 70k miles I took it in for the lifter tick, they would only warranty the 2 collapsed lifters, I said F-u put it back together and give me my truck back.

So my truck still runs great, I tow cars with it and cruise 70 mph no problem. After 3k miles, the oil is still transparent brown.

Stop yo whining, Ford/Chrysler would treat you the same in a rodents heart beat.

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i totally agree with you, 4.3's suck. have a 2006 1500 W/T w/ 4.3 has 48,000 miles on it 5,000 miles ago i went to change the oil and noticed i was missing 3 oil pan bolts. (all in line driver's side) i thought they might have been stolen. then i thought who in their right mind would have stole them. :-) it's sad gm can't double check this stuff at the factory. also noticed the compresser was under stress when running, and it was over charged 10 psi. All issues came stright from the factory. B/c i bought the truck brand new with 1 mile on it. Since you seem well educated about 4.3's could you tell me what size bolts do i need to get, to replace the one's that were mysterly lost. Love GM and will be with untill the day I die, but no more 4.3's for me. Got to find a motor as good as the 3.8. since all great things must come to a end.

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I have a 1997 sonoma with the 4.3 in it and it is a great truck it just turned over 100,000 and it still runs and idles fine. The motor uses no oil. Probably cause i take care of it. If you just take the time to change your oil every 3000 miles and grease it and check all other fluids, the engine and truck will last far longer than everyone thinks. The 4.3 vortec is a dime a dozen motor that GM has been manufacturing for years. They are a strong motor and they fit perfectly in s-10's and sonomas. They are just the right amount of power for them. and everyone who thinks they are doing good things by sueing GM is wasting there time. They will always have more good things said about the 4.3 than bad.

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It's not just GM, every car company has its junk. What would you rather drive, a Ford Exploder?? Yes, I said Exploder. I mean, what the hell do you want from a dime-a-dozen production motor? If you want a perfect motor, spend a heap of money and go buy a Ferrari, and stop whining.

Steve A

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I ahve a 2001 vortec 4.3 with just shy of 100,000 on it and it purrs like a kitten.. NEVER had a major problem. Its quiet, Sounds like it hads 10 miles on it instad of 100,000. idles silky smooth. It has none of the problems you talked about.. this little sweetheart powers my 2001 ZR2 S10 pick up

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I am not surpised about your problems with this engine and I wholeheartedly disagree with the poster who wrote that all engines are good and none are great. No, some engines are absolute crap while some are indeed great and it doesn't always have to do with how you maintain or use them. There is an old saying, "You can't polish a turd".

Luckliy, I never had to deal with one of these 4.3's but a friend of mine had a 1994 Sonoma with one and had the fuel pump replaced 3 times and at 85k the oil pump quit causing it to seize. One of the times he had the fuel pump replaced at the dealer there was a mechanic there who did nothing but replace defective fuel pumps on Vortecs.

GM cannot seem to part with the pushrod which is a prime reason why they cannot compete with more advanced engine designs. Pushrod engines, while compact, are dated and inherently noisy and sloppy.

I have a 2002 S10 with a 2.2 Vortec and have had only a starter problem but it has only 36k miles on it. It is a piss poor excuse for a 4-cyl. engine and pales miserably in comparison to Japanese 4-cylinders.

I have had lots of experience with Toyota and Honda engines which are vastly superior to any crap GM, Ford or Chrysler builds. I religiously maintain them but also run the snot out of them because they can take it.

Toyota's and Honda's use all forged parts in critical areas like crankshafts, rods, pistons, etc. and have beafy bottom ends. I had a 22R in my old Toyota truck that I could take up to 80 mph in third gear all the while turning smoothly with no vibration and at 200k miles on it.

Those of you who have had nothing go wrong with Vortecs are lucky. The 3.0 liter V-6 in my Camry is a superbly smooth and quiet engine because it is designed right with DOHC valve train and because it's a Toyota. It doesn't even sound like a V-6 but almost like a V-8 under hard acceleration with a nice throaty roar. Once I sell my disappointing S10 I will get another Toyota truck.

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Alright who ever gave gm the kudos you are dumd i have owned 3 Gmc trucks all 4.3 and there stupid engunes have grenaded on me i now have a an 07 seirra i have a knocking noise somewhere in my valve train that gm techs say is normal but the truth is there just to goddamn lazy to actually fix it there dumb i will never purchase another GMC gunna take my hand at a ford or maybe even a dodge. i will die before i buy another gm they suck

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its called piston slap

pistonslap.com

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well maybe you should just go buy you a fix or repair daily and stop complaining about your chevy!!! most likely there wasnt anything wrong with the chevy 4.3 expect a lead foot.

if you hot rod any motor of course its gonna give you trouble.too many people complain about there motor being bad when the truth is it wouldnt be bad if it wasnt abused.any motor is like a persons heart..if you dont take care of it..sooner or later its gonna give you trouble. i have a chevy 4.3 with well over 150,000 miles and its a 1991 and i have not had any trouble with it at all. but if i act like its a race car and think i have to do 0-60 is 5 seconds then it will .

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did you ever check the trottle body they do need to be cleaned every now and than

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I own a 2004 2500hd pickup with the 8100 engine with what sounds like a lifter knock,and the engine consumes 1qt. of oil for every 100gal.of gas. The noise is there on a cold start-up and now continues for some time. I bought the truck new and I have had this problem since the first four thousand miles. I have called G.M. many times about this problem. I have had the vehicle in the service garage on several occations for the lifter noise. They say it is within their spc. They also say 1qt of oil per 100 gallons of gas is normal for that engine. The noise is getting worse. There is no oil leak that I can find. If there is anyone that is having similar problems I would like to hear for you.

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I believe all engines are good (not great)just good. It's how they are taken care of by their owners...Some turn out to be great because of their longevity and performance.

Case in point: I bought a USED 1992 GMC Sierra 4x4 short bed in 1994 second owner. the first thing i done was purchased an extended warranty that lasted 4 yrs. from that point on I did all the work myself. I owned that truck for 12 yrs. In that time that engine went over 5 Colorado summits ranging from 10k feet to 14k feet all dirt roads and very steep and rocky in 4 low 4x4. never once did that engine ever give my grief. It ran great stayed cool. Was a very dependable engine. Kudos to GMC

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I totaly agree. i have one problem after another with my s-10 pickup.I payed 13.000 grand for it in 1995 and it has cost me 20.000 just to keep it running. It didnt run right sense the day i pick it up in detroit. And as you know, trying to deal with gm is a dead end. If you need my help to file a lawsuit just let me know. Mike

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I totally agree with what u said about the 4.3 gm disaster. You didn't even go into the defective fuel injection POPPET design, a problem I we have with three 99-00 jimmy/envoy trucks in our lot. I am seriously interested in a class action lawsuit. Two other mechanics that are my good friends also are interested.The huge amount of defects from new are scary!!!!! please email me back mattsrdjak AT yahoo.com