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My full size truck has this motor but i dont know if it has a balance shaft. I've seen stuff for the Z motor 4.3 and sometimes they reference with or without a balance shaft.
Is there a way to distinguish one motor design from the other.

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Previous setup: 4.1 Buick V-6/TH 350
Current setup: 400 Small Block Chevy V-8/TH 350
9" ford rear end/short bed/blue
What do Water, Electricity and Humans have in common... They all travel the path of least resistance.

the year of it . and the timing chain cover. is 2 ways to tell.



this 1 has the shaft in it.

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4.3l V6. 5 speed MT 2.55 in the back.

Thank you!! That's exactly the info i was looking for. I got the conventional looking timing chain cover so now im sure that i dont have a balanceshaft.
I've ran across stuff for the 93 year motor and it calls out a Z motor and i've seen stuff for both with or without a shaft.
Either motor has a roller cam (which cost as much as a short block kit) so now im in a better position to replace the cam.

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Previous setup: 4.1 Buick V-6/TH 350
Current setup: 400 Small Block Chevy V-8/TH 350
9" ford rear end/short bed/blue
What do Water, Electricity and Humans have in common... They all travel the path of least resistance.

your welcome

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4.3l V6. 5 speed MT 2.55 in the back.

This is kinda funny. Yesterday i started removing the intake from the 4.3 because it had a water leak. I've lived with the problem for a good while but it was time to do something about it. I elected to put off getting a new cam for it because im going to work soon (lifter tick). As i removed connectors and vacuum lines and fittings, some stuff broke or crumbled from age (common stuff). I didn't finish that day but i got the intake bolted back into place at least. This morning i went to the parts store to get all the little jazz that broke. I picked up a new cap and rotor with a new coil wire because the coil wire desintigrated at the cap when i removed it.
With everything back in place and the radiator topped off, i tried to start the engine. I forgot to plug in the connector that ties the computer to the distributor (my bad, but i figured it out quickly). The motor fired up and it ran sweet with no SES light and no leaks at all.
Now get this... The lifter tick was GONE!!! It turns out that the coil wire was arcing to the distributor cap. It was arcing inside the boot. It was clipped to the lead but the wire had a bad crimp so it was arcing from the wire to the terminal. That was the so-called lifter tick.
I almost spent a ton of money to fit a 5 dollar problem. I wont call myself a dumb ass over this, but i will call me a lucky S.O.B.
Hell, i feel so good that i might spring for a throttle body spacer plate to get a little bit more "umph" out of the motor. This motor has 170,000 miles on it and now i can entertain the concept of topping 200,000.

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Previous setup: 4.1 Buick V-6/TH 350
Current setup: 400 Small Block Chevy V-8/TH 350
9" ford rear end/short bed/blue
What do Water, Electricity and Humans have in common... They all travel the path of least resistance.

Good to hear that you "fixed" a problem that didn't exist.

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77 2wd - Back on the road
05 Ford Five Hundred

"Love endures all things, Love never fails." - 1 Cor. 13:7,8.

You bet'cha!!!

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Previous setup: 4.1 Buick V-6/TH 350
Current setup: 400 Small Block Chevy V-8/TH 350
9" ford rear end/short bed/blue
What do Water, Electricity and Humans have in common... They all travel the path of least resistance.

my friends truck did the same thing! the wire coil was arcing to it bracket, making that "lifter tick" sound, and the truck had a stutter, like a flat lobe. he got new wires, and the problem went away. it was also a 4.3 fullsize.

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"but its that gut feeling of you're drawn to what feels right for yourself and what you're passionate about..."

I guess with so many years of being around jet engines (and hot rods and Heavy Metal concerts), my hearing isn't to sharp anymore. My 3rd Buick V-6 motor (built from the ground up) developed a ticking noise a few months into it and i assumed it was something i did wrong with the build. A buddy of mine was looking around the engine and pointed out that i had a few exhaust manifold bolts loose. Tightened them down again and the ticking disappeared.
I usually think of the worst when it comes to my stuff. With other peoples stuff, i see the simple fixes easy.
Did i mention that the 4.3 is running great! I haven't mentioned it for a few hours so i thought i'd remind you all.
This is such a relief!! The C1500 brings in a paycheck. I may need to travel 2000 miles to the next jobsite so reliability is crucial. I was even looking at long block prices just to get an idea of what my options are.
Also before, there was an issue with the motor at startup. It would belch out a cloud of smoke. This was always a valve guide seal problem to me. Now that belching smoke problem is gone too. That intake gasket was leaking more than water. It was sucking oil from the crankcase into the intake.
I wish i could spend more time isolating problems on the full size truck, but i cant afford the downtime. This truck always has to go,go,go!

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Previous setup: 4.1 Buick V-6/TH 350
Current setup: 400 Small Block Chevy V-8/TH 350
9" ford rear end/short bed/blue
What do Water, Electricity and Humans have in common... They all travel the path of least resistance.

I'm used to looking for the big stuff 'cause it usually is. Glad yours turned out OK.

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If you think no one cares, try missing a couple of payments...



FIAA!

SFPP!

I took a long road trip today and on the return route going home, the SES light came on. I thought"Ain't this a B$^@#*". I pulled off the road and took a look under the hood and found nothing out of the ordinary. Luckily i had the code scanner behind the seat and i ran the codes. It came back as a code 32 (EGR). This pissed me off because i just fixed that same thing 9 months ago!
I pulled the EGR, checked the passages and vacuum lines. Everything looked good.
I was ready to go buy a new EGR solenoid because i was thinking that i must have messed it up when i removed the intake.
I started to remove the vacuum lines to it and i found that i connected the EGR vacuum line to the solenoid vent and not the port for the EGR.

So the way it stands right now, Im a Dork and the truck runs fantastic!!

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Previous setup: 4.1 Buick V-6/TH 350
Current setup: 400 Small Block Chevy V-8/TH 350
9" ford rear end/short bed/blue
What do Water, Electricity and Humans have in common... They all travel the path of least resistance.