Thread: Chevy 4.3 V6 oil pan question

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Howdy-
I have a Vortec V-6 4.3 in my Model T hot rod. I can't see the serial # as it's about 1/2 inch from the firewall, but I do know it's the roller lifter model. It has an aluminum oil pan on it, that is VERY close (within 4 inches) of the pavement...what I am wondering is, is there a steel replacement pan and pickup I can use? I see them from Dorman, Jeg's, Summit, etc, but nobody is able to tell me if it will fit on my (I assume) 1996 and later block...I'd like to find with with either a thicker front and more shallow sump, but would be okay with one that has the "wings" a la dirt track car, off the side of the sump. I just need something that, if I hit a rock, might dent rather than crack, or need an arc or acetylene welder, instead of a MIG...
If you have any ideas, please let me know, either here or at
kaferdave@charter.net

Thanks !!!

Hi I am an old GM mechanic (retired). I have not put an older steel 4.3L oil pan on a newer 4.3L (for an new aluminum one).
The only suggestion I can make is go to your closest pick a part and get a steel one for cheap (you might even get a dented one for almost nothing).
Try a 1990's Astro or Safari van. You can then try it. Sometimes the impossible works out.

a EZ way to tell what year pan will fit this is to look at the oil pan gasket for your year engine and see how far back it go,s .i have a oil pan book see what i can find in steel

I have 4-4.3's right now, a '90 2x4, '93 4x4, '96 4x4, '00 2x4. a '00 2x4 out, a '93 ready to pull, one 4x4 in the '96 to be swithed out for the 2000 2x4 . They switched to a aluminum pan in '95, you could get either one that year. It sounds like you got a 4x4 oil pan, they sit deeper and the sump is farther back to clear the front axle.

Pat

here is what engine quest shows part op262c one hump 4X4 86 to 95. then they show a double hump pan op262b 86to 96 and op262m marine pan double hump 95to 99 all steel pans

How do you like that v-6 as far as power and gas mileage ?

I have considered this for a small bucket/track t.

Any feedback would be a help!

First of all, thank you, everyone, for the tips and suggestions, and I apologize for the size of the photos, I re-size them down to postage stamp size, and they still come out enormous... I dunno..
Shawn Lee, I likme the V-6, in a lightweight car it has enough power for me, I can't melt the rear tires at a rolling 30 mph or anything, but I've slowed down a little in my "golden years" anyway. It's a stock V-6 with the exception of the Edelbrock aluminum manifold, and #1406 carb.

Another question- I have tried to figure out what year the engine is, and have tried the search, to no avail. I have found, on the driver's side, the following, on the back of the block-
F126
and
GM 4.3 16
On the other (passenger) side, I found the following:
1409909, with *maybe* another zero on the end, or it may just be a casting bump, it's really hard to tell.
Anyone out there that can tell me what year V6 I have, and what it might have been installed in originally?
Thanks in advance for any help...

Dave

It was a little hard to read this thread because I had to keep moving my screen back and forth to read it due to the big pictures, so if this was already discussed, forgive me for not seeing it. Anyway, as I recall the 4 x 4's and maybe vans had that aluminum pan, but the cars and boats had a metal one. The aluminum one is deeper as I recall.

Years ago I rebuilt a 4 x 4 4.3 engine for a boat I had and it came with the alumimum pan. It was too deep to clear the bottom of the boat, so I had to buy a new metal pan from Volvo Marine. There are also several generations of that 4.3. Basically, there are early engines that have no balance shaft inside, and later ones that do. Parts from the early ones sometimes do not fit the later blocks (like intake manifolds) and I think oil pans also can be different.

When I did the marine engine I was going nuts because my old boat motor was a 95 and the motor I built for it was a 97.........Chevy made a change in 96, so lots of my old boat parts would not fit........the oil pan being one of them. I finally had to bite the bullet and pay something like $ 250 for the proper 97 marine pan, and associated oil pump pickup tube.

I think the suggestion the guys have of hitting the junkyard is a good one, but be careful because the gasket configuration varies from year to year, so you have to have your old gasket with you or your old pan to see if the one you find at the junkyard is the same shape.

Don

Don, yeah, I apologize for the humongous size of the photos, this is the only website I have trouble with, I put them on as literally postage stamp size, and they come out King Kong size...
Thanks for the help, If I can figure out what year my engine is, and what it originally came out of, maybe I can at least have a starting point. I'd have no problem spending 250 bucks, to gain added clearance for the oil pan... it's either that, or raise the engine up ( at this point, almost impossible to do, it barely fits under the hood now) or just say some prayers every time I go over a bump...

The 4.3 oil pan from a 4x2 steel oem shallow pan comes on a:

1987-1995 S-10/Blazer 4x2
1987-1995 S-15/Jimmy 4x2


You can buy a new oem type on Ebay for as little as $43.00

You will need get the oil pickup also for what ever pan you get.


The oem 4x2 shallow aluminum pan comes on:

BLAZER S10/JIMMY S15 05 (6-262, 4.3L), 4x2, exc. ZR2
BLAZER S10/JIMMY S15 96-04 (6-262, 4.3L), 4x2
ISUZU HOMBRE 97-00 6-262 (4.3L), 4x2
S10/S15/SONOMA 96-03 6-262 (4.3L), 4x2

The 4x4's use a deeper pan with the sump moved back.

Used cost $40.00 on Ebay


Some other 4x2 trucks and vans 1986-2005 4.3's come with deeper pans


Pat

I can't seem to find out if the 1998 and older steel oil pans interchange with my 1997 unit....nobody seems to know,and our local Chevy dealer was less than no help at all...
I'll keep plugging away, thanks for all the help so far, gentlemen...

My recollection is that 95 down is the same (to a certain year, anyway) and that 96 up is the same. Don't hold me to that, but when I was building that boat motor the original was a 95 engine and the replacement was a 97, so some stuff, like the pan, didn't fit. When I was researching it I learned in 96 Chevy went to the balance shaft motor and lots of parts were different.

But I am doing that from 12 year old memory, and I can't even remember what I had for dinner last night.

Don

Dave,
Do you need to go to a steel pan? If so you can put pan from a '86-'93 on a '96-'2005 by just drilling a couple of holes. You can't use a '85 pan because it used a 2 piece rear seal.
Do you need a steel pan, cause a shallow aluminum pan from a '96-2005 4x2 Blazer/Jimmy or S-10/S-15 will work also, and be less work (drilling) you don't need to use the braces to the tranny for your setup.

Sent you a pm also.

Pat

Don and Pat, THANK YOU for the responses. It sounds as though the path of least resistance would be to find the 4x2 Blazer/Jimmy/S-10 /S-15 pan and pickup, as it sounds as though it's pretty much a bolt-on operation.
I managed to get an oil pan off a 1991 4.3, and I can see right off the bat it isn't going to fit.