I am going to look at an engine tomorrow I will keep you guys up to date once I find out what kind of motor and so and and thank you all for your help so far
1990 or 1991 to 1995 the 4.3 was fitted with a balance shaft to reduce vibration. These engines are denoted by their VIN number having a "B" at the eighth digit, in lieu of a "Z". Of note here, "B" engines are rated at 200 HP where the "Z" engines were rated at 165 HP.
All of the '95 engines had a balance shaft and the strut bosses, but the flange around the timing gear was changed to accommodate the new plastic front cover. The overall shape stayed the same, but the flange was noticeably wider with big bulges around six of the bolt holes.
There was a mid-year change that can cause problems, too. The early engines used a "first design" tin front cover with 10 bolt holes. The later ones had the "second design" plastic cover that had only six bolts, so the flange can have either six or 10 holes drilled in it. That means that the tin cover won't work on a block that was drilled for a plastic cover, so the blocks aren't always interchangeable.
Things can get confusing in '95, because the 10227196 and 10235359 castings that were used in '95 came with the narrow flange in '94 and were converted to the wide flange in '95. All of the 10227196 castings had the strut bosses, but some of the earlier 10235359 castings didn't.
You can use either one of these blocks in '95 as long as it has the strut bosses and the wide flange with either six or 10 holes drilled for the front cover. But, you must be sure that the corresponding first or second design front cover is installed on the block.
Given the possible confusion over which cover the 95 you have and which block you really needs, it's probably better to make sure all the blocks have 10 bolt holes so they will work with either front cover. Do not use an earlier block with the narrow flange with a plastic front cover under any circumstances because it will leak oil.
There a lot more information if needed, just let me know and I'll see if i can get more time to post on the 4.3 liter v6. Here is some piston information that you may want to know.
There have been five different pistons used in the 262 along with two versions of the lightweight piston:
1. The original, heavy piston used in the 262 was the same as the one that was used in the 350 V8 except that the pin boss was opened up slightly for the offset rod. It weighed about 745 grams with the pin and had a 9.1:1 compression ratio. It was used in all of the light duty engines without the balance shaft from '85 through '94 and in the VIN "Z" balance shaft motors from '93 through part of '95.
The parts catalog identifies the '95 VIN "Z" engines with this heavy piston as the "second design" version even though they were built during the first part of the year. They will have one of the following engine codes: ALH, ALA, ALB, ALC, ALD, ALF, ALH, ALJ, ALL, ALP, ALS, AJS, AJT, AJW, and AJU
2. The lightweight piston weighs about 675 grams with a pin. It was used in all the high output, balance shaft engines (VIN "W") from '92 through '98 and in all the VIN "X" engines from '96 through '98. It was also used in the "first design" VIN "Z" engines that were built during the latter part of model year '95, including those with the following engine codes: AAB, AAC, AAF, AAJ, AAK, AAL, AAP, AAS, AAW, AFC, AFD, AHC, and AHD
The lightweight piston was originally a Mahle, full-round design (p/n 2753), but GM switched to its own "RPM" (Revised Permanent Mold) design with a short slipper skirt and a narrower pin boss in '95. Both of these pistons have very short skirts, so the clearance must be right or they tend to make noise at startup.
Anyone want to supercharge or add a turbo to there 4.3 liter engine?? Hint pay attention to this information.
3. There was a heavy duty engine offered for trucks and vans with over 8500 GVW from '89 through '95. It used a heavy duty, Zollner piston that had an 8.3:1 compression ratio and weighed the same as the regular heavy piston.
4. There was also a high output, VIN "B" (LU2) engine offered in the Astro van in '90 and '91. It used a special, hypereutectic, strutless piston that is available from GM under p/n 10181389 in standard, or from Zollner as a H-8269-D. It weighs about 745 grams, just like the rest of the heavy pistons.
5. There was one more piston used in the 262. It's a low compression (8.6:1), strutless, hypereutectic piston with a deeper dish that was used in the turbocharged Syclones and Typhoons from '91 through '93. The OEM standard piston is p/n 12508702 and the Zollner number is a H-8269-E.
All of these pistons are specific to the application, so they should not be interchanged. Building an engine with pistons that have the wrong weight or compression ratio will guarantee a comeback, so it's better to play by the book and match the parts you need to make the HP your looking for.
Crank information:
GM has used several different cranks in the 262. They came with one- or two-piece rear seals and in both light and heavy versions that were specific to each engine plant.
1988-'98: The Tonawanda cranks were all 10105865 castings that came in both light and heavy versions.
1988-'98: The Romulus cranks were all 10055480 castings that came in light or heavy versions.
All of the engines with the one-piece seal were externally balanced with specific flywheels and dampers, but the cranks were also balanced according to the weight of the pistons and rods that were installed in the engine; it's important to use the right combination of parts. Unfortunately, there's no sure way to tell a light crank from a heavy one short of knowing where it came from and marking it at teardown or spinning it on a balancer. There are a couple of clues that can help, though:
All of the 14088640 castings are heavy cranks that can be used in either the '87 to '94 non-balancer engines or in the '93 to '95 VIN "Z" balance shaft motors with the heavy pistons.
If a 10105865 Tonawanda casting came without a hole in the first rod pin, it's definitely a heavy crank. If there's a hole in the first rod pin, it's probably a lightweight crank. However, there were a few early 10109865 cranks that had the hole drilled in the rod pin to correct the production process, so having the hole drilled doesn't always guarantee a lightweight crank.
The 10055480 Romulus crank came both ways, too. If it has a hole in the first rod pin, it's the lightweight version and if it doesn't, it's always a heavy crank.
The heavy cranks were used in all of the engines without a balance shaft and in all the VIN "Z" balance shaft motors with the heavy pistons, including the '95 "second design" versions. The lightweight cranks were used with the lightweight pistons in the '92-'98 VIN "W", the '95 VIN "Z", "first design" engines, and in the '96-'98 VIN "X" engines. Using the right crank in the right engine will help prevent balance problems out in the field.
However, you should also be aware that all of these engines are externally balanced with various combinations of flywheels/flexplates and dampers for balance, and that they are "trimmed" at the factory after the hot-run test by pounding balance weights into the holes that are already drilled in the damper. So, if you build them right and still have a shaker, the customer will have to add or subtract weight from the damper and/or flywheel/flexplate in order to get it right.
There is one other subtle difference in the cranks, too. Any of the engines that were installed in '96 or later and all of the '95 "S" and "T" trucks with OBD II, including all of the Olds Bravadas, any Blazer with California emissions, and about 10% of the Blazers with federal emissions, had a reluctor wheel installed in front of the crank gear for a crank position sensor that was a part of OBD II. The raised, machined area on the snout is about .100" longer on these cranks than it was on the earlier ones so the reluctor wheel has a slight press fit. Be sure to sort out the 10105865 and 10055480 cranks with this longer, machined step and save them for the engines that have the crank position sensor.
One last thing about the Block be for i go to sleep:
There is one other subtle difference in the blocks. The cam bearing sets are different, depending on whether the block was made in Romulus or Tonawanda. The Tonawanda blocks use two larger diameter cam bearings, one in front and one in back, instead of only one large one in the front. Both bearing sets are available in the after market.
There are three characteristics of each block which will tell you where it was manufactured:
If it's a Tonwanda engine, it will have a "T" stamped on the machined surface on the block just in front of the right cylinder head. The engine ID will be number stamped on the pad, and the chamfer on the cylinders will be quite shallow.
If it's a Romulus engine, it will have an "R" stamped on the machined surface on the block. The ID number will be made up of a series of dots, and the cylinders will have a deep chamfer on them.
Some of the blocks are drilled for a knock sensor and some aren't. It's almost impossible to know which applications came with and without the sensor hole, so most rebuilders drill and tap every block so the hole is there when it's needed.
