i need help bad please look??????????

[sonoma91]

ok i have a 91 gmc sonoma and i blew the 2.5 4 cyl... i now need to put a new motor in he truck should i go with a v6 or go all out and do a v8 i am not a rich person and also have no alternate vehicle also..... should i do it big the first time or just go with a v6 i have to much into the truck to sell it and just bagged it recently what would you do in my situation and it also needs to pass smog if that makes a difference thanks all advice is good advice thanks anthony

[88 s10 Blazer]

Id deff go with the 2.5, with gas $4 a gallon. And you can throw it in there quicker than a v8.

[1BadElky]

if you want a v8, the best way to do it is order all the parts you will need, have them on hand, go ahead and rebuild the engine or transmissionso all you have to do is swap parts.

since you have no engine right now, you should probably look into a beater while you get the s10 back on the road, unless you have access to another vehicle.

[Golana]

depends on what your long-time goals are...

would you eventually swap to a v8?

personally, id go with the 350. would get a bit less gas milage than the 4.3, but you could make up for that with gearing. also, it would have the power available if you wanted it. plus, parts are more readily available for the 350. any parts store caries 90% of what you will need to rebuild a 350

[MadMikeZ28]

No money or alternate vehicle I would just stick another 2.5 in there. Its the cheapest and fastest. A 4.3 or 350 you will need the engine and transmission and a bunch of other things to go along with it.
If you were to swap, if you go to a V6 that was offered in the 91 then you can go to any smog station to get it checked (California) without having a referee inspecting it first.

[DieselS10]

I went from a 2.5/4 speed to a carberated 350/350. My mileage went from mid 20's to 7 (it was 4wd then to). It was my 1st V8 S10 swap and it broke down alot and broke rear axle shafts alot. When I did the swap, I didn't have another vehicle either, but I ended up getting another one. Keep in mind that I did this in '92, before all of the info that there is now was available. When I switched to a '95 EFI 350 with an overdrive, my mileage went back up to the mid teens (with 35" tires). Where I'm going with this is, If you spend the money to set it up correctly with a modern fuel injected V8 with an overdrive tranny and the a rather high gear ratio, I believe that you could keep your mileage up around 20 mpg. If you stick a carberated V8 with a 350 turbo and leave your (probably) 3.73 gears in it, then you won't be able to afford to drive it.

So if you don't have ALOT of money to sink into all at once, go find another 2.5 to put back in it for now, save your money and buy ALL of the parts that you will need, then do the swap.

[mechanicix]

In your shoes I'd throw a V6 back in it. Just because of gas prices, Since you say you don't have a lot of money.

[phantom_mia]

im getting respectable gas milage with my 4.3 but im also keeping my foot out of it to. running cruise control as much as possible and running 70mph most of the time im getting 23mpg on summer fuel 21 on winter fuel and i hear i could pick up a mpg or 2 with an electric fan. the 4.3 with the stuff ive done to it gives me plenty of wheel spin and blasting take offs. in my humble opinion the 4.3 is the best all round motor to run and it will replace your 2.5 4 banger with little or no trouble just find a wrecked s with a 4.3 in it and swap it out, it will also pass emissions with a little tweeking. another thing to consider is check your local emission laws ive heard theres some places that limit you to engines that were originaly equiped only meaning that since v8's were never offered in s trucks you cant leagaly install them, i wonder what communist came up with that one

well i'll shut up now but thats my 2 cents worth, good luck

[MadMikeZ28]

Quote: Originally Posted by phantom_mia

another thing to consider is check your local emission laws ive heard theres some places that limit you to engines that were originaly equiped only meaning that since v8's were never offered in s trucks you cant leagaly install them, i wonder what communist came up with that one

One may almost think that was a California law since emmision controls are either Califronia or federal. But I can tell you its not that way here in Cali! You can swap to any newer engine with California emission controls. Like a Viper's V10. It would just have to be inspected by a referee and pass the emissions for the date of the engine.

[camaro590]

go with the v6 thats what im ganna do since i got the v8 mighty max.

[ryancook00]

Definitely either 2.5 or 4.3. Only trouble is if you swap to 4.3, you would have to swap tranny's too..from what I've read on here, only a 2.8 will bolt up to a 2.5 tranny. And if you find the right person, you can get a 2.5 fairly cheap. I've seen a few around my area on craigslist.com for 200-300 bucks already pulled. But like a few others said, if you want to eventually go to a 350, just save up for it (if the economy allows you to LOL)

[Golana]

if you can bolt up a 2.8L, you can also bolt up a 3.4L