I don't believe it. First my vettes windshield, now the new truck has ailments. When it rains it pours.

Does anyone know if the 4.3L V6 in the new trucks have a problem or defect that causes a ticking noise. I'm just looking for a little insight before I ship it off to the dealer.

It sounds like a lifter tick or even like a spark plug wire arcing. The engine even seems a little rougher than normal. And tonight I noticed the exhaust has a lovely rotten egg smell. We followed the "break in" procedure. It now has only 1040 miles on it. The '94 Jimmy 4.3L with 105,000 miles ran smoother. I don't get it.
Sarge

Sarge,

I too have an '03 S-10 that does the same thing only I don't have the rotten egg smell. I assume you have the 190 horse vortec engine. Mine did it the night I took it for a test drive so I had the Service Manager drive it also. As it turned out, a service bulletin had just come out from General motors because other people were experiencing the same problem. The bulletin says it is because of a balanced crankshaft that this noise occurs. I was assured that although there is nothing that can be done about it, there is also nothing to worry about. That is not a lot of consolation, but another guy in my area bought one and his does the same thing. It is frustrating but does not appear to affect the truck's performance. Check with your dealer for a copy of the service bulletin. Bill, '73 REDVETTE

I bought an Expedition a few years ago and complained about several noises and other anomolies. The dealer said "they all do it". My reply was "I don't care if they all do it. A car is not supposed to make that noise and I want it fixed." I threatened a lemon law complaint and they jumped right in and fixed everything.

If it is making a noise that it was not designed to make - get the dealer to fix it.

Brent

Thanks for the input Bill and Brent.

Bill- It's the 190 HP version. Sounds like we'll have are hands full with the service people. The only thing I may have in our advantage, is the exhaust is still stinking like an old rotten egg. Hopefully those problems will be linked together.

Brent- I like the way you do business. I will keep the lemon law threat in the back of my mind. Like the old saying...the squeaky wheel gets the most oil.

I will have a follow up on this in a couple days.

Thanks again, Sarge

Well, I changed the oil the other day, 2900 miles 1st O/C. And to my surprize the tick has left and the fuel economy has increased back to 18 mpg. I don't get it.
The other dealer that was going to look at it the next day was puzzled by the results. Maybe they had a batch of crappy oil on the assembly line?!? Who knows, I gave up trying to figure it out. But all is well now. Yeah!!!!
Sarge

Sarge,

Glad to hear you were able to resolve the noise in the engine with only an oil change. I had mine changed at 3000 miles and it didn't help. The service bulletin still refers to it as an Engine/Balance Shaft "Rattle" Noise for which there appears to be no solution. I have been assured it will cause no harm but being the skeptic I am, I contacted a GM Zone Manager and after explaining the problem and how unhappy I was about it, he assured me that GM would make good on any repairs beyond 3/36 and sent me an engine warranty good for 5/75 which made me a lot happier. I hope I don't need to use it but you never know. Bill, REDVETTE

Just my $.02 for you guys. After working in a dealer for almost 7 years now heres my thoughts on this. First of all be nice to your service manager. HE AND THE DEALER did not build your car, GM did. Secondly, your service mgr will be your friend when at 44000 miles your ABS module goes bad and you didnt get the GMPP ext warranty. Thirdly, as a dealer, the LEMON LAW does not cost us anything at all, it COSTS the manufacturer of the vehicle. WE as a dealer want you to be happy with your vehicle. Remember that a car has 15000 parts from different suppliers and manufacturers that are assembled in a central location and things may go or be wrong. But your service guys are there to HELP you. Oh yeah, IM NOT a service guy either..Good luck with your S10. The other thing is that go to your service guy at your dealer and just have him note your complaints in the computer, therefore if at 60,000 miles you have lifters shot you have something to go back on. Thanks guys......Have a good one....

REDVETTE, that is great that they gave you an extended warranty.
These service managers crack me up with that bulletin for "Balance Shaft Rattle." The rattling occurs at 2000/2500 RPM's as stated. In my case it was the "ticking" from idle to 5000 rpm's. But they go by that damn bulletin.
BTW, during my trip to Bowling Green,I stopped at a rest stop. And my other new S-10 (Crew Cab ZR5) was clanking and banging from the engine. I figured "oh no" not another problem engine here. Well... my motto is "run it til it blows." The next rest/fuel stop...it was quiet as a mouse. .
I was getting ready to pull a copy of "the bulletin" out and resite it verbatum, then tell myself "it's ok, don't worry about it"

waterboy1976- I was nice to my service mgr., just expressed my concern that it took 3 wks to get in and no fix was done. And let them know that I understand that they don't build them, they just sell and fix 'em. I do have a new service mgr. at the other dealer that I just purchased Truck #2 at. Awesome service! The Crew Cab had a leaky rear shock (400 miles), they took care of next day.And they said they were booked. Amazing!
Realize this though. We aren't all wealthy here, especially myself. And when you just commit yourself to $49,000 in vehicles and they aren't right or service is greatly lackluster, you to would become a little frustrated towards the people who sold them to you. Dealers are the frontline for the manufactures. Don't get me wrong, I do hear where you are coming from and respect your .02 cents. It's merely a common occurance that has no acceptable resolve on both ends.
Take Care Fella's!
Sarge

I have the 4.3L V-6 in my '93 K1500 with 185,000+ on the clock and it runs quiet as a church mouse (except for the blare out the back from the 3" exhaust system! ). A puff of blue every morning but it runs like a champ. Out on the highway running at 70/75 mph I can still get over 450 miles on a tank of gas (a BIG tank!). It's a good engine in my book.