GMC/Chevy 4.3l owners (S10 and blazers) Talk to me..

[Andocommando 10+ year member]

they were no Xtremes in 1998.

It is also spelled Vortec.

Vortech builds superchargers

the 4.3 is a good motor. good amound of torque. i have a 1998 v6 auto X-cab, and on the freeway have gotten 27mpg, and arround town/mixed 21. it mostly depends on how you drive and what types of gears your have out back.

 

[oxygen65]

i got a 95 blazer with a 4.3 vortec in it and it is about 400 miles away from breakin the 200k mark

as far as gas goes, there are better things out there, but for an suv its about average

 

[n2audio 5,000+ posts]

The 4.3 motors are standard in a LOT of boats because of their low end torque. They make good towing motors and still get decent mileage.

Pulling the boat on the road shouldn't be a problem. Accel and decel will obviously be affected, but on the ramp -- unless it's a 4wd - traction could be an issue.

Get a 4.3 in a 4wd blazer and you've got a great, relatively economical tow vehicle.

 

[sqhertz 5,000+ posts]

i get around 20 mpg. just got the blazer last week so im not too sure.

but as Db mentioned, braking will be an issue when towing something that big, though it CAN do it. its rated at 5000lbs towing capacity, iirc.