guys i have a 4.3 with serpentine setup and can get the A.C. delete pulley but need the P.S. delete setup, does anyone make such a creature?
Chevy made a 4.3L LT1 V8 and a 4.3L V6 and there were variations on the V6 depending on year (I think). Which do you have?
Those 4.3's were used in a ton of boats over the years with conversions by Mercruiser, Volvo, and OMC. Some boats do have power steering but some did not, so you could possibly score the parts you need by visiting a boat salvage yard or a Volvo or Mercruiser dealer and looking through his parts book or at his computer screen. There were several incarnations of the 4.3 over the years and not all parts from one year fit another year, so you will have to narrow it down to early Vortec and later Vortec motors because boat motors are not necessarily the same yearwise as their car counterparts. Don
If you are junkyarding for the PS delete, don't overlook anything from the late 80's early 90's GM. They put the 4.3/305/350 in so many vehicles. Don't overlook the low option vehicles like delivery vans/fleet vehicles. BTW what year 4.3 are you working with? If it is an early model some/few of the later parts are bolt over and provide decent gains. I just grabbed a set of L-35 heads to go on my Typhoon (yeah it's OT, but I am trying to spread generic info I have learned about the 4.3), which came with LB4 heads. This is reported to be a 15-30 HP gain, as they flow about 20 CFM better with no port work. Totally bolt over too.
I assume your talking about the 4.3 v8 that was in caprices in the 90s. Couldn't you just remove everything you dont need, measure and find a belt that works by talking to the knowledgable ol timer at your local parts house? I'm assuming since your deleting the ps and ac you really aren't using anything but the alternator correct?
If all you're using is the alternator contact www.agcbracket.com and buy his mid mount setup for $45 and use a single belt. It tucks the alternator in tight above the water pump suction and bolts to the two tapped holes on the pump and one bolt hole in the head.
I think he wants to use the serpentine belt. I don't know if the bracket you are talking about uses the serpentine setup. I would probably wimp out and go to a V belt setup.
The problem is that the LT1/LT4/L99 motors used a completely different front cover with a cam-driven reverse-flow water pump (in thru the heads, out thru the block) and you'd have to swap a bunch of parts to revert to an old-style smallblock V-belt drive with a belt-drive water pump. The AGC setup mentioned above looks to be simple and solid if it'll fit the original poster's need. Uses a short (poly-vee/serpentine-type) belt off the crank pulley and a manually-tensioned alt bracket.
There were two possibilities for what the "baby 5.7 chevy, 4.3" was....I guessed wrong, then. The 4.3 V6 is 3/4 of a 5.7. The V8 4.3 is the other one. The Grove setup does look like a good way to go, if there's enough room for the alternator there. Definitely keeps it simple.
think he has the V8 4.3=4.3 in metrican translates into 265 Cu Inches Americanos....its enough motor for a lot of cars ,and has been since 1955..... My 2006 Silverado has the V-6 4.3, and it has done quite a bit of tow work for me and it is actually quite capable...my truck weighs in at 4790 lbs empty so=.... as an example,my pickup will get 23 MPG at 70MPH with the air on[that 's empty ] and on a haul from Brush Colorado to Missouri I got 17MPG towing a Buick Lesabre.....
My wife's 08 silverado has the V6 baby engine, it doesn't tow worth a crap...but we do have mountains around here.
if it uses a normal serpentine setup, the water pump runs backwards, and the water pump pulley does not have any grooves in it, it runs on the back side of the belt. That complicates things. Also the alternator is mounted solidly, so there is no adjustment, it requires a spring loaded idler.
Probably can rework the tensioner/roller setup and use a shorter flat belt if it is the V8 model...... Hey Squirrel, the 08 also was knocked back about3MPG for some unknown reason and even the 2013 is showing less MPG on their 4.3 V6
The version of the 4.3 V8 that he is talking about here sounds like the one commonly used in Caprice Classics of the 90s. Never saw one without AC or power steering, but the engine is externally the same as the 'LT-1' and 'LT-4' 5.7 litre engines used in the Impala SS and the F-body cars of the time. LOTS of those engines found their way into rods, so there has to be a belt solution. I would mount the accessories you plan to run, then map out a routing pattern and use string to determine the needed length, then hit the local auto parts store to find a belt that length.
I will eventually have A.C & P.S. but right now i need to make it roadworthy enough to drive it home 1250 miles! Made my mind up it's time for a road trip again and to challenge my roadside "fix it" skills. guess kinda like a mid life crisis without spending a shit load of money or getting married to a stripper 30 years younger than me!
so..is it a V6 or a V8 engine? Does it have a normal water pump, or the reverse rotation stuff like on the LT-1?
so what are we doing here-drivin a donor car home or what? OR are ya puttin it in an old car and driving that home? Im of the school that all things are possible BUT- i USUALLY KNOW WHAT THE THING IS i'M PONDERING DOIN'.....
Look in trucks or vans since p/s was optional in them unlike the cars which came with it if you wanted it or not.
Just go down to Napa and get a belt for whatever vehicle the 4.3L came from, and say it has A/C and no power steering, as both were optional. A regular 5.7L TBI belt with no A/C and power steering should work too, unless your 4.3L has an Astro van setup.
I have a 4.3 Vortec V-6 in my T Sedan....made my own alternator brackets, and used early, non serpentine SBC pulleys. Hope this is what you are asking about, I am a little confused.... (Yes, I know there are 4 header pipes, I am not trying to fool anybody, it just looked weird with only 3 pipes per side on the lake pipes...)
V belt the thing by putting 1969 and up SBC waterpump pulleys and be done with it. The rest of the options will be easier later.
gonna drive the 38' from my home in the So Cal. desert, La Quinta to Tacoma WA. Should be fun! sounds v belt is the way to go. On the serpentine belt choice they don't make them like v-belts or this question would not of ever been asked. thanks everyone.
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