4.3L Vortec Engine Description And Operation

Engine Block

The cast iron balance shaft is mounted in the crankcase above and in-line with the camshaft. A camshaft gear drives the gear attached to the balance shaft. The front end of the balance shaft is supported by a ball-type bearing. The rear end of the balance shaft uses a sleeve-type bearing. The cast iron engine block has six cylinders arranged in a V shape with three cylinders in each bank. Starting at the front side of the engine block, the cylinders in the left bank are numbered 1-3-5 and cylinders in the right bank are numbered 2-4-6 (when viewed from the rear). The firing order of the cylinders is 1-6-5-4-3-2. The cylinders are encircled by coolant jackets.

Cylinder Head

The cast iron cylinder heads have one intake and one exhaust valve for each cylinder. A spark plug is located between the valves in the side of the cylinder head. The valve guides and seats are integral to the cylinder head. The 4.3L heavy duty applications have pressed in exhaust valve seats. The valve rocker arms are positioned on the valve rocker arm supports and retained by a bolt.

Crankshaft

The cast nodular iron crankshaft is supported by four crankshaft bearings. The number four crankshaft bearing at the rear of the engine is the end thrust bearing. The crankshaft bearings are retained by bearing caps that are machined with the engine block for proper alignment and clearances. The crankshaft position sensor reluctor ring has three lugs used for crankshaft timing and is constructed of powdered metal. The crankshaft position sensor reluctor ring has a slight interference fit onto the crankshaft and an internal keyway for correct positioning.

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Piston and Connecting Rod Assemblies

The cast aluminum pistons use two compression rings and one oil control assembly. The piston is a low friction, lightweight design with a flat top and barrel shaped skirt. The piston pins are offset 0.9 mm (0.0354 in) toward the major thrust side (right side) to reduce piston slap as the connecting rod travels from one side of the piston to the other side after a stroke. The piston pins have a floating fit in the piston and are retained by a press fit in the connecting rod. The connecting rods are forged steel. The connecting rods are machined with the rod cap installed for proper clearances and alignments.

Camshaft

The steel camshaft is supported by four bearings pressed into the engine block. The camshaft timing chain sprocket mounted to the front of the camshaft is driven by the crankshaft sprocket through a camshaft timing chain.

Valve Train

Motion is transmitted from the camshaft through the hydraulic roller valve lifters and the tubular valve pushrods to the roller type valve rocker arms. The roller type valve rocker arm pivots on a needle type bearing in order to open the valve. The valve rocker arms for each bank of cylinders are mounted to a one piece valve rocker arm support. Each valve rocker arm is retained on the valve rocker arm support and the cylinder head by a bolt. The hydraulic valve lifters keep all the parts of the valve train in constant contact. Each hydraulic valve lifter acts as an automatic adjuster and maintains zero lash in the valve train. This eliminates the need for periodic valve adjustment.

Intake Manifold

The intake manifold is a two-piece design. The upper portion is made from a composite material and the lower portion is cast aluminum. The throttle body attaches to the upper manifold. The lower manifold has an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) port cast into the manifold for mixture. The (EGR) valve bolts into the lower intake manifold. The Central Sequential Multiport Fuel Injection system uses multiple fuel injectors to meter and distribute fuel to each engine cylinder. The Central (SFI) is retained by a bracket bolted to the lower intake manifold. The fuel meter body also houses the pressure regulator. Metal inlet and outlet fuel lines and nylon delivery tubes connect to the Central (SFI) unit. The delivery tubes independently distribute fuel to each cylinder through nozzles located at the port entrance of each manifold runner where the fuel is atomized.

Exhaust Manifold

The cast iron exhaust manifolds direct exhaust gases from the combustion chambers to the exhaust system. The left side exhaust manifold has a port for the EGR valve inlet pipe.