Cheap 4.3l Mercruiser Replacement?

[brsox88]

Does anyone know the cheapest place to get a replacement 4.3l block with heads? I found one on ebay for $1550 + 250 for shipping. I read on here people saying it shouldn't cost more than $1000, but where are they getting their 4.3 replacement from then?

 

[H20Rat]

Does anyone know the cheapest place to get a replacement 4.3l block with heads? I found one on ebay for $1550 + 250 for shipping. I read on here people saying it shouldn't cost more than $1000, but where are they getting their 4.3 replacement from then?

pick-and-pull junk yards... Not going to find one online for much cheaper. I'd personally not put a non-reman engine into a boat, ever. If I'm going through the work of swapping, I'm certainly going to put a refreshed reman in there. (as well as replacing any parts that are much easier to do with the engine out...) You have no idea what kind of abuse a junk yard engine may have had in its life before your boat.

 

[Scott Danforth]

for a 4.3, you spend $200 at a u-pull-it yard and take your motor to a machine shop, pay $300 for bore and hone, and install new pistons, rings, bearings and your bill is now $1200 add $200 for head work

or if your lucky, you find a low mileage (under 80k) S-10 and pull the motor and use the block and heads. you have to swap the core plugs for brass and the head gaskets for marine

your motor is a 2002 based on some of your prior threads, so any post 2000 S-10 would be fine. heck, I bet there is one on craigslist near you that is running, and you can yank the motor out of and sell the rest of the truck as parts to get a near free motor. I used to buy running S-10's for their motors, transmissions, fromt suspension and tilt columns when I was building old 40's vintage chevy trucks and would sell the sheet metal and other parts, then haul the frames to the scrap yard. most of the time, I made money

here is an example of what you want to look for https://sarasota.craigslist.org/pts/6188397432.html

 

[brsox88]

So ebay at $1500 is my best bet then? What's the difference between the short and long blocks? I noticed the short blocks are much cheaper, would one of those work in this case?

 

[G_Hipster]

So ebay at $1500 is my best bet then? What's the difference between the short and long blocks? I noticed the short blocks are much cheaper, would one of those work in this case?

Short blocks don't come with heads or tins.

 

[achris]

Just remember, in this life, you get what you pay for. You shouldn't be looking for the cheapest anything, you should be looking for the best value for money. And that's usually NOT the cheapest.

Just saying. .....

Chris. .

 

[Rick Stephens]

Some of the difficulties in answering this is what condition or problem is there with your original motor?
What parts are good?
What year and model is your 4.3?


Knowing those things makes it easier to make a educated and pointed answer on how to accomplish the most for the least.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Digging through the op's other threads, the year is 2002.

For $2,500 you can get a fresh reman with warranty