Great engines. Even the best years can use improvements. My 21 year old drives a 2000 blazer. We bought it used. Had an issue with the spider injectors at 150k. Then issues with the mechanic not getting the intake sealed correctly. I finally tore it down and replaced all the seals on the intake. It is some sort of plastic material. The throttle body sits on top. The injection spider in the middle. It has multiple ignition coils. The 5.7 V8 had similar setup and issues in the final years.
These components age and lead to failures at 150 to 200k miles. Mechanics cost $. Blazers and S10 trucks are parted out in huge numbers because of this. 200 bucks in parts and they are as good as new. The fuel pumps fail around the same mileage mark. I would not hesitate to buy one under 200k miles not running. Knowing the fixes are not rocket science.
Get the computer, harness and all the goodies with it.
If you are fortunate enough to pull it yourself, get it running in the donor and follow a simple series of steps outlined on youtube to eliminate the Vehicle Anti Theft System (VATS) before pulling it. Then you can run it as is in the new rig until you can afford a reflash.
Just by horsepower and torque specs I think 1999 to 2004ish are the favored ones. They are going to equal the power of a 283, 327, 305 small block that has not been tweaked or came from the factory as a power beast. A typical 327 from an Impala was 210hp at the flywheel, no accesories etc. A 4.3 injected is right there too.
Ours runs absolutely magical again. Would put one in a wagon in a heartbeat. The power band is great. I think a reasonable driver with stock axles could drive one into the ground with no issues.
The blazer weight is similar to a wagon. We store our summer toys in the Fresno area and drag them up the hill to Bass Lake to play. The Blazer gets the 21 foot Bayliner on it's hitch. 3000 pounds best guess. It goes right up that hill no sweat. A wagon with a 4.3 will be great towing a small trailer.
The pollution controls work great. Ours has zero fuel stink when running.
People toss the injection and go to carbs etc. There is a little learning curve on the EFI. But the effort is so worth the driveability.
The downside is that we have never been impressed with the fuel economy. I drove same year suburban with a 5.3. On the highway there was only a 2 to 3 mpg gap. Considering the 2k weight difference from Blazer to burb, I expected better.
A huge plus for the 4.3 is it's size. It fits in the engine bay of a wagon or pickup perfectly.
FYI I should be putting one in my wagon instead of an LS, but I is not the sharpest tool in the shed.
Duane
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