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It was in my buddies 2002 4.3L. He decided to put in a new camshaft to wake his 4.3L up a bit. Well the task acording to my memory took about 5-6 hours by myself working on my truck (3.4L). Ha ha were we ever wrong.
I'll just make a lits of complaints about the engine compared to mine. And it ALL has to do with design (60* vs 90*) and some stupid things by GM.
1. Spark plugs are freaking near imposible to reach on all cylinders. This is because the cylinder heads make so the pugs are virtually horizontal off the engine. Every single one is harder than getting to the back bank on a FWD car. On the driver side you even have to remove the steering shaft to properly access one. This also made it difficult to get the compressed air hose installed while changing the springs. In my truck the plugs point right at your face and can be reached on all 6 spots with an extension and a socket.
2. The new way the clutch fan mounts is so stupid. You have to get a large wrench around the hub and hold the pulley stationary. Luckily I had a chain wrench that made pretty quick work of it. However I much prefer mine where it is just 4 bolts holding the fan and pully. But now I have an E-Fan and its not an issue.
3. The timing cover is suposed to be a 1 time use only. But at $150 and his truck being brand new we decided to reuse it. But the dumb thing is that the cover has a lip at the bottom that needs to fit over the oil pan gasket. This thing was the biggest bitch to get back in. What ever happened to the good old metal cover that just bolted to the front. Was that too easy to replace? Why must an oil pan gasket become one with the timing cover. Now on my engine the timing cover and oil pan meet. However mine is all aluminum, reusable and there is no lip. It can be reinstalle with no problems and not worry about leaks.
4. The water pump blows. You have to hold this thing up (its cast iron) and dangle a tiny gaskets on the bolts that you are trying to feed into the holes in the block. The simple way this could have been solved is with studs in the block. Then I would have no complaint at all. But I guess that would require thinking ahead on GM's part. On my pump it is a light weight aluminum piece with one gasket that is easily mounted without hastle.
5. Because of the wide motor the back 2 springs on the driver side and the very back spring on the passenger side could not be removed with my valve spring tool. The turn handle on the top of the tool is too big. It hits the booster and heater box. So we had to stop for the night and wait till the next morning in order to borrow a low profile tool from Canadian Tire. On my engine the heads are miles away from any obstruction. So my tool worked perfect.
6. The cam change was pretty much the same between his and my truck. Except I had to line up marks on these silly gears that turned this funny shaped cast iron shaft at the top of the engine. I think in some strange land they call this a balance shaft. For some reason a 90* V6 has an inherant vibration problem unlike our wonderfully designed engines.
All through the task I kept pointing out the differences and the reasons we were being held up. He agreed with me on all aspects and after looking at my engine and how in fits in the bay of my truck he could see himself.
I'll just make a lits of complaints about the engine compared to mine. And it ALL has to do with design (60* vs 90*) and some stupid things by GM.
1. Spark plugs are freaking near imposible to reach on all cylinders. This is because the cylinder heads make so the pugs are virtually horizontal off the engine. Every single one is harder than getting to the back bank on a FWD car. On the driver side you even have to remove the steering shaft to properly access one. This also made it difficult to get the compressed air hose installed while changing the springs. In my truck the plugs point right at your face and can be reached on all 6 spots with an extension and a socket.
2. The new way the clutch fan mounts is so stupid. You have to get a large wrench around the hub and hold the pulley stationary. Luckily I had a chain wrench that made pretty quick work of it. However I much prefer mine where it is just 4 bolts holding the fan and pully. But now I have an E-Fan and its not an issue.
3. The timing cover is suposed to be a 1 time use only. But at $150 and his truck being brand new we decided to reuse it. But the dumb thing is that the cover has a lip at the bottom that needs to fit over the oil pan gasket. This thing was the biggest bitch to get back in. What ever happened to the good old metal cover that just bolted to the front. Was that too easy to replace? Why must an oil pan gasket become one with the timing cover. Now on my engine the timing cover and oil pan meet. However mine is all aluminum, reusable and there is no lip. It can be reinstalle with no problems and not worry about leaks.
4. The water pump blows. You have to hold this thing up (its cast iron) and dangle a tiny gaskets on the bolts that you are trying to feed into the holes in the block. The simple way this could have been solved is with studs in the block. Then I would have no complaint at all. But I guess that would require thinking ahead on GM's part. On my pump it is a light weight aluminum piece with one gasket that is easily mounted without hastle.
5. Because of the wide motor the back 2 springs on the driver side and the very back spring on the passenger side could not be removed with my valve spring tool. The turn handle on the top of the tool is too big. It hits the booster and heater box. So we had to stop for the night and wait till the next morning in order to borrow a low profile tool from Canadian Tire. On my engine the heads are miles away from any obstruction. So my tool worked perfect.
6. The cam change was pretty much the same between his and my truck. Except I had to line up marks on these silly gears that turned this funny shaped cast iron shaft at the top of the engine. I think in some strange land they call this a balance shaft. For some reason a 90* V6 has an inherant vibration problem unlike our wonderfully designed engines.
All through the task I kept pointing out the differences and the reasons we were being held up. He agreed with me on all aspects and after looking at my engine and how in fits in the bay of my truck he could see himself.
What I was saying, was that the new style fans are much easier. You just have that one giant threaded shaft, then for replacement of the w/p you only have to do the 4 bolts, not swap studs. I dont know I just find the new style fans much nicer, maybe because I have the tool for them. I know they'd be a bitch without it.
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