I'm looking at a new Silverado or Siera, 4.3 V6, both are Auto, my question is how reliable are they?

 

i have a 93 with 102000 on it, only had 2 replace the alternator on it. that was at 95000. my trans is the 4l60e btw. no problems with that either.

 

Yeah, the 4.3L is a pretty reliable motor. Just keep up on the maintenance and it should go 100K+ with no problem.

Same thing goes for the 4L60E. Keep up on the maintenance and don't overheat it. It should last a long time also if you take care of it.

 

Only thing is the gas milage. You really won't be saving any. I would at least go for the 4.8. But that 4.3 is a good little 6 banger.

 

Gregs right about the gas mileage. I'd say the 4.8 and 5.3L might get BETTER gas mileage than the 4.3L. It all depends on how you drive/use it.

 

I need some thing to drive every day, I dont want to spend a lot of money. A lot of the dealers have the 4.3 Trucks for like 10-11K with an auto. Thats all I want and need. Witha V8, my dad doesnt want to buy a used truck and thats the only way I could afford a 4.8 or 5.3 truck.

 

You should be satisfied with it if you just don't try and mod it and expect to get major gains then, or you will end up with buyers remorse. Sure, they can be modded, but why?

 

Yeah, just get the 4.3L then. It won't be a scorcher but, will make a decent daily driver.

Never expect to get much out of it though performance wise.

 

Well I am buying an S10 with a 4.3 liter, it is modded and I am gonna mod it some more. The reason why I want it is because the engine weighs less than a v8 and it wouldn't make the S10 as nose heavy. It's runs mid 14s with just the few mods it has and I could get it into low 13s or 12s with the right setup.

 

FYI, the 4.3L 90* V6 is nothing more than a previous generation SBC V8 with two cylinders lobbed off.

Valve guide seals, starters, fuel pumps (that's all Chevy trucks though), and alternators are the biggies off the top of my head that commonly go south on them. But the later two are common throughout the truck line, so it's not a 4.3 related issue.

I've owned 6 or 7 4.3L S-series trucks, all have been stone cold reliable.