towing with a 4.3/auto?

[Creepy]

My Dad went out and bought himself an 09 Chevy pickup for tooling around in. they had some wack deal where they were $17K and it was right time/right price.

which leaves him with the dilemma of selling his old truck to freaks. he hates the calls, doesn't do internet. He says the engine acts up under load on hills doing over 100. So he didn't want to sell it, and have someone all pissy that it had a bad motor if something happened later.

"may i be of assistance?"

So he gave it to me, I'm pretty damn stoked. Needed a truck around the shop, and i hope to tow with it.

Its a 98 Chev - 1/2 ton, reg.cab, 2wd, 4.3, auto. stocker.

I simply can't afford to be running a big 1ton on a 60km commute to work, let alone make payments. No thanks! Credit is the devil.

This was free, and appears to get better milage than my 4.0 ZJ on 33's. It certainly runs down the highway tighter.

A pretty popular truck, loads of them around. This rig is in pretty good shape, never towed, barely hauled anything. well maintained. c'ept for this undiagnosed engine rattle.

Mic had it into a shop that gave him an AllData on bad valve guides that the 4.3's are known for (?) that cause the rattle under load. I ran the rig up from Cape Breton the other day, and it was fine. You gotta hammer it up a hill at 120 to get it to breakdown some. It's like a pinging and then loss of power. ease off the gas, slow it down to 100, its ok under moderate load.

Any thoughts on that?

Anybody got any experience towing a car trailer and a Jeep or buggy with the 4.3/auto combo?

What are suggested upgrades? I figure a brake controller and trailer brakes will be mandatory. What about trans cooler?

Any stories?

I'm really hoping i can make do towing with the 1/2 ton V6 for the Jam or a few valley trips.....what do you guys think?

I'm not going to be taking it to Moab or anything.

Will it work? (assuming a healthy engine)

[cjeff]

My Grandpa has almost the same truck, 1998 gmc 4x4 sonoma (I think) with the 4.3. It works great towing, but the gas mileage is terrible. He used to tow a good size boat with an inboard v6 motor to porters lake and back every weekend without trouble. It is also the truck I used to drag my grand wagoneer home with from windsor, I didn't even notice it on the back until I had to use the brakes, electric brakes would have been nice. He did have some trouble with the valves recently, one bent and distroyed the piston and push rod, but was not too big of a deal to fix.

[Creepy]

mine is a full size. the sonoma is smaller. but i appreciate the 4.3 comments.

I've never heard bad about them, but I've never paid attention. This is my first GM product.

Mopar or no car, baby. unless its free. ;D

[cjeff]

Well if yours is bigger you should have no problem towing. We have had over 4 tons of scrap on it and a small utility trailer more than once, with no problems. You can almost watch the gas gage drop. The 4.3 motors are a dime a dozen.

Mopar or no car. LOL ;D

[Creepy]

yeah, even if the motor is pooched, I'm not worried about replacing it. I'll get the heads done, or drop in a healthy one.

[chefted]

Another thing to watch out for in the 4.3. While back a friend of mine had his driveplate crack around the crank, sounded like rod bearings?

[Hawkes]

You're going to die if you don't have at least an F350 and a diesel!!!!!

Edited in the Pirate tow rig opening statement. ;D


My Jeepster came home from Yarmouth behind a GMC Safari, on a dolly. Kept it 80-90 km/h, and took the scenic route for the most part. The thing had 36's on it.

Next trip was Fredericton to pick up the '00 TJ. Same van, different dolly. Drove 90-100 km/h, was a little slow on hills.

Trailers tow better than dollies, less sway if they're set up right. Of course the trailer weighs more.

Your 4.3 has more ponies than this van had. HP doesn't mean as much as gearing either, my V6 Grand has 210 HP but 3.07's. Think about the 70's V8's that had under 200 HP but had 3.73's, or 4.11's.

Your going to do fine. Trans cooler would help save the trans, and electric brakes pretty much guarantee you're not going to go sliding down the highway.

Brake controllers are on sale at PA sometimes, or get the same one for twice as much anywhere else. They come in different brand names but are identical. I have two of the cheapies and they work for me.

As for gas mileage, you get little better than half of normal. No big deal to guys who tow a few times a year.

[blacksheepxj]

Jan you say you are getting a pinging or knocking under heavy load. Could it be spark knock? I know my dad's truck (V8) does that under heavy load (Tows a 32ft 5th wheel). He just put in a higher grade fuel when he is towing. Problem is gone.

Rob

[tothewall]

Thats what I do too. I put in the high test when towing and no pinging.

[Repete]

I don't think you'll have a problem with a 4.3 if you're talking about towing the CJ5. However your older Cherokee J platform would be a different story. Try and find out what gears you have in it... if it's set up for economy (e.g. 3.07s) you could always throw in some 3.73s and still get good mileage when not towing. Given that you're 2wd, the expense would be lower.

I have a buddy of mine coming next weekend from Ottawa for a visit. He's an ex-GM mechanic - swing by and tell him the problem.

I also have a Holley high volume TBI in the garage for the 4.3 - could try that - was supposed to add hp but I never used it.

[Creepy]

not the FSJ! lol CJ5 or a Toy.

thx for offer Kevin, i will prob take you up on it.

as for the high-test stuff, the problem appears when the truck is unloaded. never tried to tow yet. something to try tho.

thx guys!

[Creepy]

Mar 21, 2009 14:34:27 GMT -4 blacksheepxj said:

Jan you say you are getting a pinging or knocking under heavy load. Could it be spark knock? I know my dad's truck (V8) does that under heavy load (Tows a 32ft 5th wheel). He just put in a higher grade fuel when he is towing. Problem is gone.

Rob

i will try it, but i don't think that's it. easy enough to try.

[tothewall]

Let me know when you want to try a tow jan and I will gear you up.

[Creepy]

gonna check out that bumper trailer ball, see what the load rating is. And bumper mounts.

See if i have a hitch, i might.

look for a wiring harness, I'm expecting there to be something there.

4runna has a cab i should go get in B-water. would be a good test. pretty light. not too far. I'm off next 5 days.

I'll see how far i get with some chores first.

[tchase]

First off Jan, congrats on the freebie.

I don't have much first hand knowledge but I can offer a little insight. Kim's boss is a chev guy and has run a few different 4.3's. He actually ran the same truck as yours for a plow truck for a while. When he tried swapping out the 245/75R15's it came with for a set of 265's the truck was practically undriveable. Seems to be very important to keep the motor in it's powerband, a gear swap may defineately be your friend. He tows a lot of boats as well and he'll tell you not to even let that transmission see a trailer while it's in overdrive. I'll get Kim to ask him if he's got any more pointers for you.