The GMC Sonoma and The Chevy S10 Have the Same Engine Genes
The GMC Sonoma pickup and its twin the Chevy S10 were both born from the 1972 Luv mini-pickup. The Sonoma and the S10 had a long life in truck terms. They were in production from 1982 to 2004. During that time the engines got a complete make-over in terms of power and efficiency. GMC Sonoma Crate Engines are sitting here ready to ship.
The most efficient as well as the most popular engine is the Vortec 4300 4.3-litre V6. Earlier Sonoma models (1982-1985) were powered by an Isuzu 1.9 Litre, 84 hp inline 4-cylinder engine with 101 ft-lbs of torque. The old Chevy Luv was renamed Isuzu, and was sold in North America by General Motors under that name. GM originally called the Sonoma the S15 and sold it under that name until 1990 when a new “Iron Duke” 2.5 litre engine with introduced, but the engine never could shake its reputation for being a 110 horsepower weakling that made a lot of noise.
In 1993 the Sonoma was equipped with the first Vortec 4300 4.3 litre V6 engine. The company also introduced another engine and named the Vortec 2200. The Vortec 2200 is a 2.2 litre inline four cylinder. Both engines had an improved balance shaft, which reduced vibration and noise. The Sonoma finally offered consumers a quieter ride and more power. The Vortec 4300 was nicknamed the “three-quarters 350” since it had the 350 cubic inch Chevy small block, but only six cylinder. The fuel injected Vortec 4300 was a 350 with six instead of eight cylinders. This compact dynamo produced 175 horsepower, and the Vortec 2200 engine produced 120 horsepower.
Road Performance is a Key Ingredient in Truck Engine Success
Over the years the Sonoma stripped itself of all its engine miscues and was finally able to brag about its road performance. The manual transmission Vortec 4300 has a rating of 17 mpg city, and 23 mpg highway and the Vortec 2200 engine has a rating of 23 mpg around town and 29 mpg on the road.
The automatics transmission models don’t get that kind of fuel efficiency, but it’s not the worst on the rating list by any means. The Vortec 2200 gets 19 mpg in the city and 26 mpg on the highway. Check out our Vortec engine choices and read more about the efficiency of our engines on our website: www.crateengines.co. We have a large selection and some valuable information.
