is it possible to put a 4.3 crank and cam in a 3.8 ive got a possible delema with my lower end on my 3.8 nows the time to tearn down swap or whatever my 3.8 i belive my lower end is shot the more i dig into it ill find out when i take the pan off

 

No, two totally different engines. The 4.3 is a 350 V8 with two cylinders lopped off. The 3.8 isn't.

 

k also the noise i can hear is kinda fast a guy that works at the shop said but it seems louder on the bottom of the oil pan and on the rear passsenger side valve cover ? cam bearing lifter ? but it has good oil pressure everybody said the pressure is to good to be lower end also i remember some of the bolts fell out of the manifolds so i bet the gaskets are bad ill check more on that later

 

Good oil pressure only means you have good oil pressure. It does not in any way shape or form mean there is nothing wrong with the bottom end. In fact it is common for oil pressure to rise a little with a spun rod bearing depending on how it spun. Noise heard louder from under the car indicate low end issue.

 

ok im going to pull the pan just to take alook mmm if it is a spun berring can it be fixed in the car?can icheck to see if its a wrist pin if its not a bad berring? and today when i started it i could hear it at like 2200 rpms? also the only 3.8s in the area 4 a wayz have about 150000 for 600 bucks? the body is not to bad i did hit a deer but im digging into the motor 1st before i spend money and effort on the body ! also i can hear the noise just as loud on the passenger side top valve cover ? im kinda a couch king so im all over and i need my car i either need to save it if i can or put lucas in it and sell it also the oil pressure went up like 10 lbs after i got it out of inpound almost two months aGo ?? but it was cold out so? i do have alot of new parts belt tensioner battery alt weel barings tie rod ends i need to figure this out b4 i drive 2000 miles in one trip then break down and loose everything

 

If you head over to the 4th gen V6 section you will find a lot of information. The 3800 is the most common GM engine on the planet. Just about any 96+ 3800 will work. Repairing a damaged high miles motor is almost never worth it. It should be completely rebuilt. Even if you rebuild it yourself the parts and machine shop cost can be a couple of grand or more depending on what is damaged. $600 should get you a 30-50K motor. Below is a link to a detailed thread about the 3800

Click on the link in my Sig "96 Camaro Build thread" to see what you are in for.

https://camaroforums.com/forum/93-02...nt-info-57568/

 

ok mm where can i find my block number and is it easy to get to i have done 5 transplants of the 3.8 3.4 ls1 in the camaro firebirds and its realy not to bad taking it out the bottom 5 hours with the right tools thats not to bad for not being certified im just bad at trouble shooting the problem im just not trying to tear it out if its sumthing stupid like a cam berring or a bad lifter or rocker arm because it is loud on the valve cover ? i hate to tear into it and find a mess of probs i may just run it but from tx to mi is like 1800 miles of being out on the road and a long way from both homes

 

Your block number? I am not sure what you are looking for, why do you need a block number?

Cam bearing do not knock they cause low oil pressure. Replacing Cam bearing without cleaning all the metal out of oil passages is just looking for a redo.

If you think it is a lifter then by all means pull the vavle cover. Remember you the one that said you thought it was a crank. As a general rule the 3800 is pretty bullet proof but when there is a lower end issue most of the time it is a rod bearing. GM's rod bolts tend to vary a lot in strength.

If you at getting noises from the top and the bottom the motor could be ripping itself a part. It will just keep going till it locks up. A motor, some body work and a paint job? I would really need to love that car or have a lot of time on my hands to not just scrap it.

 

ok i still have the origanal moter i pulled out of the 96 camaro it was putting watter in the oil but it still ran and ran good ? i bout the car like that 4 a grand and its still looking pretty good minor body work nice interior any idea about the water in the oil? it had 170000 on it when i pulled it and now the other ones ackting up

 

Any time you get coolant in the oil you risk serious damage to the motor. When antifreeze is exposed to high pressure it becomes a acid that will eat the babbit off the bearings. Unless it is a show car and you trying to save a number matching motor coolant in the oil motors are not worth messing with. The main reason is you have to be 100% sure you got all the metal and acid out of the oil passages. This nomally means the motor has to be torn completely a part and send to a machine shop for the bath treatment they use after they dip them in acid.

Back in the day GM use to make us repair almost all motors while they where under warranty. There was 2 exceptions. A cracked block or coolant in the oil, those got new engines.