I have 78 two wheel drive with a 250 inline and heard my 3 speed stick bell housing and tranny will bolt to a 3.8 from an 80's S-10 blazer. The 3.8 is a freebee so I hope I can use it. Will it work. The truck is just used on the farm so it is a peice of shit but it is hard to let her go. Jerry
If you mean a 2.8 (no 3.8 used in any S Blazer from the factory) NO the bell housing is NOT the same. The 2.8 uses a front wheel drive bolt pattern that is nothong like the pattern you have.
If you mean the 4.3 from a late 80's S Blazer, Yes it will fit BUT you will be needing a LOT of parts to make it work. Different fuel system if it's TBI, computer and harness for the engine regardless of induction system, mounts, radiator shroud, power steering pulley, just for a start.
And for what? The 4.3 is a 262 CI engine which produces less usable torque than the 250 you have.
Free but a LOT of work and parts to make it work. Much less money and time to repair the 250, OR find a used 250/292 to drop in. Or even a small block from that vintage. Much less work and virtually a bolt in job.
Thanks, Steve That was a 4.3 ,I came across a 250 tonight. Dropped my tranny out to get ready to pull motor and found half of the clutch springs laying in the bell housing, I couldn't figure out why this thing still had good oil pressure with a spun bearing. Now I know what all the noise was. Jerry
I had a 71 Barracuda many years ago, and the 4 speed was just slowly going crazy. Noisy, hard to shift, jumping out of gear, clutch chatter, the works. I put it off as long as I could, but finally worked up the energy to go through it.
Got the car up on all four jack stands and was ready to go to work, and the first thing I noticed was a half inch gap between the transmission and the bell housing. Although I wasn't sure it made much difference, I decided to torque it back up and go for a test drive before pulling the trans. To my complete surprise, it drove like a brand new care. Drove it hard for many more miles, and passed at the track, before trading it in good condition. Never another peep out of the 4 speed.
Remimds me of a 51 Willys truck I put a 318 & auto in. I put one of these rubber freeze plugs on the back of the block behind the torque converter. About two years later I kept hearing a jingling sound when I would go around a corner,thought the starter was hitting the gear.Turned out to be the big washer from that freeze plug. And it didn't leak a drop. I drove that truck 18 years until the floor of the cab fell through. I should of fixed it but I bought one of those Chevy " Love " trucks , what a piece of shit that thing was .I miss that old Willys. Jerry
I have bought three or four old beater cars where the previous owner told me the automatic transmission was going bad, and all I did to fix it was change the fluid and put in a new filter.
But today it's a good idea to check the parts store and see what kind of transmission filer the car or truck uses. Many today just use a screen, and if their trans is slipping, your done. If it's the micron filter, change it before you give up for sure.
Yeah, same for the filter trick too. If you have a bad trans, you have a bad trans.
I learned something new along this same line of discussion, the other day too. I asked a friend in the transmission business if I should drop the pan and change my fluid and filter, or have the fast lube shop flush it at the next oil change. His answer was related to the screen vs. filter issue, but he also mentioned than a lot of people report transmission failures after a flush or fluid change. Seems some people wait until they are experiencing some slippage until they do the change or flush, and often the fiber in their fluid is all they have left. So when you change the fluid, the trans get worse or fails completely. So a fluid and filter change can sometimes be as savior, but it other times it might be the kiss of death.
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