An89Chevy

hines182already has 4.88 or 5.12 gears in it because gm istalled high range gears with the 4.3 engine.my 89 silverado "had" a 4.3 in it and it had 5.12 gears in the rear end. and i dont think he wants anything more then that, so if he puts in a 350 then hes going to have one hell of a bogger.

MalibuMaxxSS

True you need a balance, but the 4.3 vortech are pretty torquy engines, with 4.10 and say running 35s, should be fine, if you need more like I said you have low range, I dont know its your truck, but engine swaps never seem to stop sucking $$$....if you hvae lots of extra $$ give er...dont know about the US but crate engine here for a 350 my cost is just over 3500 bucks, then you haveto buy the carb, headers, dist, wires, yada yada, more $$$, weld motor mounts, wiring, computer, set the carb, match the right jets for HP...$$$$ or go EFI...even more $$$ and more complicated wiring and computer ****.....now you have to mate the trans, either yours, ora new one...either way a new trans of overhaul is required...more $$$....now you have to get custom drive shafts....more $$$, the added hp and torque means you are bound to break something, unless you upgrade axles and all at once, BIG $$$$....

me before I spent a crap load on rebuilding your S10, go buy a nice older blazer, jeep, short box chev, or the like with a V8 or bigger 6, and wheel it and keep your S10...cost you about hte same.....actually be cheaper prolly to buy a second rig. got my Jeep for 1200 bucks and so far have sumped around 5-6000, on off road goodies...its not a cheap sport, if you go even just weekends you are going to break stuff, as you do it you replace it with bigge and better.....**** good off road tires will run you over a grand...and then you need bigger wheels to mount them on cause any factory is only 6-7.5 inches wide....not wide enough for a 10' wide tire, or like mine 14.5'

S10 dont make great wheelers anyhow, like I said buy a jeep on the cheap, and go, they are VERY wheelable right out of the box.....and stuff is well not cheaper, but parts are everywhere, and anything can be mated to them.....**** doing a spring over on mine now and going to full width axles from an old full size blazer....

Fun sprot but can be expensive......

jcbst12

Aftermarket maybe $1500, Complete $2500
GM Performance $2000 and up
Boneyards - You can sometimes get them for next to nothing!

hines182

Oh no. It will still be my daily driver. I'm starting to think MalibuMaxxSS might be right, at least for now. I could do a gear reduction, 6 in" lift and some minor bolt-ons for the 4.3 and I'm sure I could handle 35"s ok and i'd have something unique.Eventually I think i'll swap to the v8 and put in a solid front axle and probably a beefier rear end. I'm not sure what my gear ratios are now, but i know i can do like 75 in 5th gear at about 2500 RPMs which is really not bad. I would be willing to sacrifice up to 500 RPMs at highway speed (i know i'd sacrifice more in mpg).

hines182

LOL and it's a silverado dammit! not an S10! haha.. If it was an S10 I'd be fine with the v6 but it's fullsize and I need a fullsize pickup so I won't get rid of it.

But I'm just thinking how hard can it be if i find a totalled out body and maybe even frame attached to a '98 silverado with a 5.7 or something of the like? I mean all the parts would be there and if they put 5.7's in k1500's from the factory then it doesn't seem like it would be REALLY hard to swap on out of a donor truck. Does that seem feaseable or is there something way bigger to consider here?

lol I think I really just need to get a build sheet for my truck.

I'm also wondering how well the rear and front end components will hold up in that 1500 with 35"s?

MalibuMaxxSS

GM never used anything steeper then a 4.10, so if your S10 had 5.12, someone put them in.......

if your thinking this then go with a 200ish then you get the 5.3 or even a 4.8 I would take over a 5.7......5.7 is hard on has and dont have the turque.....BUT by the time you do allllll this, dude you could BUY a rig already done for around 5000ish bucks.....its gonna cost you that to swap engines, trannies and hte like.......


build sheet....PM me your VIN i can provide that

and your rear end and front will hold up to 35s fine....your wink link will be your ujoints and axle shafts......if it is a Silverado and a 4.3 it prolly has 4.10s in it.......its your truck...

Me I would swap hte gears for 4.88, REMEMBER YOU HAVE LOW RANGE FOR ANYTHING...and I dont care WHAT HP you have low range will crawl your *** out of anything that needs be.....I have a posi lok system in mine which allows me to go LOW RANGE 2WD, and that is how I wheel, soon as I hit dirt it goes low range, just easier...dont have to ride the clutch as much and worry about hopping around.......from there a 6' lift some 35, wheels, and go......

Also remember the factory rear and front are not built for big tires and big power, os going bigger then 35, everyone knows everyting has to be upgraded after that...axles, rear ends, steering boxes, blah blah blah.....

REally consider what you are trying to accomplish here, if htis is a daily driver and sometime dirt trails, is big power warranted....

An89Chevy

MalibuMaxxSS

GM never used anything steeper then a 4.10, so if your S10 had 5.12, someone put them in.......

they had to of, this truck was owned by my father before and he dident do a thing to it. and i doubt gm only did it to this truck. ill dig in my garge and get the exact gear ratio but it was 5.??.

MalibuMaxxSS

with a 5.12 ratio you would be revving like crazy driving at highway speeds, top speed most guys get with 5.12 or 4.88 is around 100kmh, say 55-65 MPH and thats revving around 3500 RPMs, I cant remember taht far back to 89, but this woud be a weird if it did, does not make sense

hines182

Ok... so my list goes like this now..

-6" lift and 35" tires (and no taller tires until i do a solid front axle swap and everything that entails)
-4.88 or slightly higher gears to compensate
-Beefier axleshafts and driveshaft components

I still think it wouldnt' hurt to build on the 4.3 a little bit when i can afford it, though. I tow a boat in the summer (whether or not u think i oughta is a whole nother controversial subject) and it's nice to be able to hitch up the car trailer and rescue my little sis when her car breaks down (AGAIN!). You know, I'm starting to think the Silverado shoulda been offered with a straight-six for a little more torque.. But anyway.. i think then i'd have a nice rig to pick up a date in and still be able to go tear it up on weekends. Or.... when I'm lucky, do both at the same time! Thanks for the help fellas, the 4.3 stays! .......for now.. haha

hines182

ahh and the VIN for the truck is..
1GCEK19W6WE169366