With 92k on my never-been-tuned-up V6 4.3L half ton, i'm thinking of replacing the cap, rotor, plugs, wires.

The posts in the cap are somewhat oxidized, uniformly. The metal tongue on the rotor has some erosion and discoloration. The one plug I pulled looks remarkably good in terms of color and erosion for having 92k on it.

Mileage is 19mpg on the highway at a steady 65mph without cruise control.

Any suggestions of brands or online stores? I found a site called OEHQ.com that has a good price on both the blower-motor-resistor-block and the cabin-air-filters that I need as well, but I have been unable to find any feedback (positive or negative) about OEHQ.com.

Specific advice on brands of ignition wire sets would also be very welcome.

What follows below is the rest of my story.

Thanks in advance,
Mike

Starts great. Runs smooth. Except as of Feb., when it started to run really rough if the engine was cold and if it is wet or raining or very humid outside. This rough running occurred particularly while driving, but not too much while at idle. The engine would continue to run rough in the wet weather, even when the engine has warmed up a good bit. On 4 or 5 of these occasions the "Service engine soon" light came on after 5 or 10 minutes of rough running (e.g. on the way to work). This warning light went off after the engine had been running smooth for a short while.

The work around has been to warm up the engine to, say, 120 or 150, then turn off the engine and let it sit for 10-20 minutes. It then runs smooth. For example, if it is raining in morning, then I start the engine 30 minutes before I need to leave for work, then turn it off after 10-15 minutes at idle, then leave for work 15 minutes later. The truck stays on the driveway, it is not normally garaged.

I'm thinking that the heat from the engine block helps dry out an electrical component that is nearby, but not close enough to be dried out when the radiator fan or road wind is blowing wet air around the engine compartment.

 

A/C Delco ..

you just typed that they look great with 90+ thousand,what else ya want?

 

I'd like to fix the wet weather problem.

EDIT: I should have mentioned that I picked up a set of ACDelco plugs back in Feb when the wet weather problem began, but I have not replaced them yet. Anyway, the decision on spark plug brand has been made. The biggest savings on parts could come from the choice of brands for the ignition wire set. For example ACDelco is $71 and Bosch is $29 at rockauto.com

 

It sounds like you may be getting moisture in the dist. cap. Maybe condesataion from the water getting on your motor and steaming

 

water under the cap makes some sense. i drove through quite a bit of slushy snow for a couple days back in Feb (in Nebraska), and it seems to be getting better. Maybe there was water up around the cap/distributor joint that was sucked in when the hot air under the cap cooled. And then maybe the repeated air exchanges caused by the thermal cycling has gradually dried out the air inside -- the problem seems to be lessening. The cap and rotor do need to be replaced.

 

Delco is better..yes,they bump 80 bucks...

odds are ,they are probably ok though...I'd do a cap-rotor-coil wire and see what ya get.
this is a post 99 truck?..there were recalls to get a cap/rotor for corrosion,and to remove the filter screeen inside the dist

 

1999 model year silverado, ext cab, V6 4.3L, 5spd manual, with three doors.

on the nhtsa site, i didn't find any recalls related to ignition. maybe I was looking in the wrong place. i did find a parking brake recall for my truck. my chevy's parking brakes are not holding very well.

 

Give me your vin,and I'll look it up..

the park brake recall was on standard trans only.

 

thanks! i've emailed the VIN privately.

 

Thanks Argon, I guess I'm on my own with the dist/rotor.

code definitions at http://4x4.straydogs.ca/gmrpo.html

to extract a vehicles codes from the 20946 possibilities:
12C - TRIM COMBINATION CLOTH, GRAPHITE (C) (96)
12I - INTERIOR TRIM GRAPHITE (96) 12I - INTERIOR TRIM GRAPHITE II (99) 12I - INTERIOR TRIM EBONY (99) HOLDENS
1SA - PACKAGE OPTION 01
1SZ - DISCOUNT OPTION PACKAGE
39U - PRIMARY COLOR EXTERIOR ...........
6MS - COMPONENT FRT LH COMPUTER SEL SUSP (6MS)
7MS - COMPONENT FRT RH COMPUTER SEL SUSP (7MS)
AE7 - SEAT FRT SPLIT, DRIVER, PASS EASY ENTRY
AM7 - SEAT RR FOLDING
B30 - COVERING FLOOR CARPET
B32 - COVERING FRT FLOOR MATS, AUX
B33 - COVERING REAR FLOOR MATS, AUX
B85 - ORNAMENTATION, EXTR MLDG BELT REVEAL B85 - MOLDING B/S EXTERIOR, BRIGHT
C60 - HVAC SYSTEM AIR CONDITIONER FRT, MAN CONTROLS
DE2 - MIRROR O/S LH & RH, MANUAL CONTROL, FOLDING, COLOR
E63 - BODY EQUIPMENT FLEETSIDE PICK-UP BOX
EVA - TEST DVT, EVAP EMISSION REQUIREMENT
GU6 - AXLE REAR 3.42 RATIO
JC5 - BRAKE VAC POWER, 4 WHL DISC, 7,200 LBS
K68 - GENERATOR 105 AMP
L35 - ENGINE GAS, 6 CYL, 4.3L, CPI, V6, 90 DEG, HO
MG5 - TRANSMISSION MAN 5 SPD, GETRAG, 84MM, 4.00 1ST, O/D
NB6 - EMISSION SYSTEM CALIFORNIA, TIER 1
OSG - PLANT CODE OSHAWA, ONT, CANADA (TRK)
P03 - COVER, WHEEL VAR 3
PY2 - WHEEL 16 X 6.5, CHROME APPEARANCE
Q4B - GVW RATING 6,200 LBS
QNF - TIRE ALL P235/75R16-106S BW R/PE ST TL ALS
R9D - CONTROL SALES ITEM NO. 79
R9E - CONTROL SALES ITEM NO. 80
SLM - SALES PROCESSING STOCK ORDERS
UM6 - RADIO AM/FM STEREO, SEEK/SCAN, AUTO REV CASS, CLOCK, ETR
UQ5 - SPEAKER SYSTEM 4, DUAL FRT DR MTD, DUAL EXTD RGE QTR MNTD
V22 - GRILL RADIATOR, CHROME
V73 - ANTENNA, FIXED V73 - VEHICLE STATEMENT USA/CANADA
VB3 - BUMPER RR STEP, CHROME, IMPACT STRIP
VG3 - BUMPER FRT IMPACT STRIP
VG8 - VEHICLE LABEL, NOTICE TO BUYER
VP6 - NOISE CONTROL
VXS - VEHICLE COMPLETE
X88 - MARKET BRAND CHEVROLET
XNF - TIRE FRONT P235/75R16-106S BW R/PE ST TL ALS
YA7 - TEST EMISSION, CALIFORNIA ASSEMBLY LINE
YD3 - AXLE (BASE EQUIP) FOR SCHEDULING GVW PLATE
YD6 - SPRING RR, BASE EQUIPMENT
YF5 - CERTIFICATION EMISSION, CALIFORNIA
YNF - TIRE REAR P235/75R16-106S BW R/PE ST TL ALS
Z83 - CHASSIS PACKAGE SOLID SMOOTH RIDE
ZNF - TIRE SPARE P235/75R16-106S BW R/PE ST TL ALS
ZY1 - COLOR COMBINATION SOLID