Super Newb 2.8L S10 ?s

[mikey chalupa]

I have a 93 2.8L TBI with T5 5 speed tranny. I got the truck with 345,xxx miles on it. The engine is running fine now but I would like to have a little more power. It takes a while to get it up to highway speeds. I have been reading about the 3.4L crate swap and it sounds like a good idea. I don't have the money for the crate right now, so what else could I do until I save up enough for it. I was thinking of getting my 3.4L from a camaro and rebuilding it instead of the crate for cost purposes.

Any thoughts would help. I don't know much about these engines. I have only had Nissans and this is my first American car.

[robertisaar]

honestly i would grab EVERYTHING from a f-body if you're going to do it that way. tranny and probably rear gears if they are different as well. reason being, that TBI system is pretty restrictive, so you might as well use the whole setup from the camaro, you'll gain so much more that way.

[923.4v6]

don't bother getting the f-body 5 speed the shifter sits sideways and futher back. It would only be good for parts. The s-10 5 speeds are also cheaper or at least around here.

[geoffinbc]

When it is all said and done in the end the price difference between the crate and a rebuild is a wash. Plus if you have never rebuilt an engine you don't have to worry about bearing clearances. Also the Crate engine has a pretty stout cam and valve springs and a great oil pump. All stuff you would want to buy for a rebuild.

The TBI system is honestly not a bottle neck for the engine as long as you upgrade to a 4.3L body. A multi port system may gain you a bit in mileage but I don't believe you will see a power gain. Plus a TBI system will bolt on a run, look and feel just like your truck does now only much faster.

Beware there are several people on this site that will try and convince you to drop all this iron head foolishness and go with Gen III heads and intake. Now this is all great fun but in reality it is much more expensive, time consuming and not for a first time engine swapper who is just after a bit more power and a good learning experience. In a couple years down the road if your after more power than the 3.4L block will accept the gen III heads nicely.

[923.4v6]

A buddy of mine had a tbi 3.4 s-10 with roller tip rockers, 272 cam, "which I have now" and a 4.3 tb and ran a best of 15.07 in the 1/4. He didn't even have his intake port matched to the tb.

[mikey chalupa]

Thanks for all the great responses. I really appreciate not being blasted for not knowing things because I'm new.

I am going to use my S10 tranny with the 3.4L from the camaro. I was going to get a motor from a local salvage yard and rebuild it with parts that would come on the HT crate engine. I was also planning to do the 4.3L throttle body comversion as well even through I'm 50/50 on the mpfi swap though.

I'm not looking to drag or to race anyone. I just really want more performance when I want it as well as get decent gas mileage.

[Superdave]

watch out for people that tell you to stay with the iron heads..


Just toss in the Camaro 3.4 with your stock stuff on it. you'll gain a little torque and maybe a few HP. Add in a Comp 260 cam with a quick gasket match and some 1.6 rockers then you'll probably notice a difference.

[no_doz]

if you're gonna do a swap you might as well go get a 3100 or 3400 and put it in, youd be a LOT better off in the long run, although there is going to be a good deal of changing things around (gotta relocate the starter, fab up some engine mounts & wire up the ecu, get a new FP, & misc stuff like hoses & wiring). with all of that & a decent rearend you should be able to hang with most stock v8 camaros & turbo eclipses, and easily beat most trucks u come across as well.

[mikey chalupa]

no doz,

I really don't want to put a 3100 0r a 3400 block in my truck. First, because the S-10 is RWD and I don't want to much if any fab work. The 3.4L F-body is a straight swap in the s-series truck. As far as the heads go, I will probably think about doing the heads from the 3400. I'm not looking for to race anyone. I'm really not into that at all. I just want something that is going to give me a little extra HP and good gas mileage.

I would just keep my 2.8L and rebuild it, but I'm at 350K miles now. It's a great little engine but I just want to get a little bit more either from it or by upgrading.

[jwvess00]

Hi there!

A GenIII top end on the 3.4 block would be great, no doubt about it. However it's not strictly necessary for it to be a big upgrade from a stock 2.8V6 with over a quarter-million miles on it. There is something to be said for swapping an engine over a weekend. You won't necessarily do that if you also have to swap to a GenIII top end and port injection. It's not difficult but it will take more time and money than keeping the iron top end.

I swapped the blown 2.8V6 in my '84 S-10 Blazer for a stock 3.4V6 from a Camaro. Just swapping the stock 2.8 for a stock 3.4 made a big difference in the Blazer. The Camaro engine's cam isn't quite as hot as the crate cam, so dropping in a 3.4 crate, or at least using the crate cam, would be an even bigger improvement.

[ezrollin]

Take betterthanyou's advice and go with a ironheaded 3.4 if you want an easy swap,the crate engine is the best bargain unless you find a low mileage f-body 3.4.I went with the 3.4 crate after estimating the purchase/rebuild cost of worn out 3.4 but did find a low mileage 3.4 just recently for a different project.The cam in the 3.4's are the same except for the lsa which just moves your power to a dfferent rpm,either will work fine,I've had both.Of course the 4.3 tbi and improved exhaust[catback] will give you a power boost.

[60dgrzbelow0]

Even though the site linked below deals with the 2.8L to 3.4L conversion on a Jeep XJ... the site has a lot of images, links and good information on the process that could add to knowing more about how to do this right.

'betterthanyou' is prominently mentioned at the top of the list of links to authors of articles on this swap.

http://www.lunghd.com/Tech_Articles/Project_XJ/Project_XJ.htm