Rebuilding The Chevy 262

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Not written by me, but a good article I've seen on the 4.3Ls...

Rebuilding The Chevy 262
By Doug Anderson
In Automotive Rebuilder

Thanks to all of those who have contributed information for this article, including the people at GM Powertrain - Lansing Engine.

Back in the late 1970s when everyone was worried about the "gas crunch," Chevy needed some smaller engines in a hurry, so it created a new family of junior-sized V6s by chopping two cylinders off its existing V8s. This enabled GM to shorten the development process dramatically because it was able to adapt a proven design. But it also allowed it to share a lot of the existing tooling from the V8 production lines so the engines could be on the road sooner.

The original 200 V6 that came out in 1978 was based on the 262 V8, and the 229 V6 that came out in '80 that was based on the 305. By 1985, both were replaced by the 262 V6 that was based on the 350. It was originally installed in both cars and trucks, but since '87 it has been used primarily as a truck engine. It also has been updated several times to make it one of the best in the industry. The engine combines performance and economy in a reliable package for most of GM's pickups, vans and sport utility vehicles.

Although the basic architecture has remained the same, GM has made a lot of changes to the 262 as it has continually upgraded and improved the original design. In the process, it has changed the block to accommodate a one-piece rear seal, added a roller cam and a balance shaft, modified the crank and rods, upgraded the pistons and revised the heads for better performance and emissions.

There are some subtle differences between the engines built in the two different plants, too. For example, the cranks and rods used in a Tonawanda engine are not the same as the ones used in a Romulus engine. There can be problems if they are intermixed. So, let's take a look at how it all began in 1985 and see how the 262 has evolved over the past 13 years, remembering that most of these changes were made to

1) improve power, 2) reduce emissions, 3) increase mileage, and 4) reduce noise, vibration and harshness (NVH).

BLOCKS

1985: The original block in '85 was a 14071177 casting. It had a two-piece rear seal, a flat tappet cam and a fuel pump hole because all of the trucks still had carburetors. Just for the record, there were some '86 blocks shipped with pans for '85 service replacements, so it is possible for a customer to have an '85 car or truck with a one-piece rear seal.

1986: In 1986 the block (c/n 14088553) was modified to accommodate the new one-piece rear main seal. The fuel pump hole was still open, even though it wasn't always needed, because all of the cars and some of the trucks came with throttle body injection.

'94 without balance shaft: In 1987, a roller lifter cam was installed, so the block was changed again. Two bolt bosses were added in the middle of the valley for the lifter retainer that kept the rollers properly located on the cam and perpendicular to it. This same basic block was used through '91 for everything, and in '92 through '94 for all of the engines without balance shafts except for one small difference ñ some of the blocks came with four bolt holes for the tunnel style retainer beginning in '92. There were several different castings used including the 10105867, 10172756, 14099073, 14093683 and 10066011 with the two-bolt retainer, and the 10172756, 14099073 and 10066061 blocks with the four-bolt retainer.

1992 with balance shaft: The L35 balance shaft engine was introduced in '92, so the block was modified to make room for it above the camshaft. The lifter retainer was changed to the tunnel design because of the balance shaft; it had two bolts on each side instead of the two in the middle.

There were two versions of the balance shaft blocks in '92. The "first design" block had a needle bearing on the back of the balance shaft that was lubricated by the oil mist from the valley. The "second design" had a sleeve bearing that was pressure fed through an additional drilled passage in the back of the block.

All of the 1992 "first design" (c/n 10105903) and "second design" (c/n 10224834) blocks were missing the two bolt bosses, one on each side, that were used with the reinforcing struts for the automatic transmission on some of the '93 and later applications, so they can only be used in '92. Be sure to double-check the 10224834 "second design" blocks, though, because some of them came with the strut bosses in the later years so they can be used for the '93s and '94s.

1993-'94 with balance shaft: Things got more confusing with the balance shaft blocks in '93-'94. All of these engines have to have the two extra bolt holes for the strut bosses and 10 bolt holes for the tin front cover. There are five castings that may or may not be right:

* All of the 10224534 and 10224535 blocks have the two strut bosses and 10 holes for the front cover, so they will fit everything in '93 and '94.
* The 10227196 castings have the strut bosses, but they came with either six or 10 holes.
* The 10224834 blocks have 10 bolt holes, but they came with or without the strut bosses.
* The 10235359 blocks were the most confusing because they came with or without the two strut bosses and with either six or 10 holes for the front cover!

Consequently, all of these castings must be checked and sorted by both casting number and features in order to be sure that they will work in everything in '93 and '94.

1995 with balance shaft: 1995 isn't a whole lot better. All of the '95 engines had a balance shaft and the strut bosses, but the flange around the timing gear was changed to accommodate the new plastic front cover. The overall shape stayed the same, but the flange was noticeably wider with big bulges around six of the bolt holes.

There was a mid-year change that can cause problems, too. The early engines used a "first design" tin front cover with 10 bolt holes. The later ones had the "second design" plastic cover that had only six bolts, so the flange can have either six or 10 holes drilled in it. That means that the tin cover won't work on a block that was drilled for a plastic cover, so the blocks aren't always interchangeable.

Things can get confusing in '95, because the 10227196 and 10235359 castings that were used in '95 came with the narrow flange in '94 and were converted to the wide flange in '95. All of the 10227196 castings had the strut bosses, but some of the earlier 10235359 castings didn't.

You can use either one of these blocks in '95 as long as it has the strut bosses and the wide flange with either six or 10 holes drilled for the front cover. But, you must be sure that the corresponding first or second design front cover is installed on the block.

Given the possible confusion over which cover the customer has and which block he really needs, it's probably better to make sure all the blocks have 10 bolt holes so they will work with either front cover. Do not use an earlier block with the narrow flange with a plastic front cover under any circumstances because it will leak oil.

1996-'98: The block was changed again in 1996. Structural reinforcing ribs were added on both sides of the timing cover and both sides of the block were contoured to follow the shape of the cylinders more closely. This one is a 14099090 casting. We believe that this same block is used up through '98, too, but we haven't seen one out of a '97 or '98 yet, so check it over carefully before using it in a later application.