95 Jimmy Motor Shot, Will a 94 4.3 vortec fit?

I had a nice 95 Jimmy until last Tuesday morning. oil line up near the filter blew, broke, or otherwise becase disconnected. Next thing I see is a check gauges light. No Oil pressure. Motor slows down before I could get to a safe area to pull over. Blue smoke, lots of blue smoke behind me. engine stops. No more go. Starter clicks but that is it. Tow truck and ride home. Now I need a replacement motor. I am not a mechanic. , but brother in-law and I would like to give it a go. What specific years will cross over into the 1995. 4.3 vortec? I see that there is a "W" in my vin if that is where you check for the W. I have a line on a 1994 4.3 ltr and a 01. I am not sure what will work and what will not. I don't want to stick a small fortune into this, but if I can get it running I would be happy. Any ideas on what motor I should be looking for. OR should I rebuild the thing? I don't have an idea about that either, so the motor sounds like the best alternative. HELP:banghead:

Best Bet is to rebuild your existing motor.
There are many subtle, but important differences from year to year. The 94 will not have crankshaft position sensor. The 94 crankshaft may or may not be machined for the reluctor wheel- it's a crapshoot. If you can get the complete wire harness and ECM from the 94 it would work. Same with the 'o1- you would need the complete wiring,ECM and fuel system from the 01. You didn't say how many miles on it- if the heads are still good you will only have to rebuild the shortblock.

I had a nice 95 Jimmy until last Tuesday morning. oil line up near the filter blew, broke, or otherwise becase disconnected. Next thing I see is a check gauges light. No Oil pressure. Motor slows down before I could get to a safe area to pull over. Blue smoke, lots of blue smoke behind me. engine stops. No more go. Starter clicks but that is it. Tow truck and ride home. Now I need a replacement motor. I am not a mechanic. , but brother in-law and I would like to give it a go. What specific years will cross over into the 1995. 4.3 vortec? I see that there is a "W" in my vin if that is where you check for the W. I have a line on a 1994 4.3 ltr and a 01. I am not sure what will work and what will not. I don't want to stick a small fortune into this, but if I can get it running I would be happy. Any ideas on what motor I should be looking for. OR should I rebuild the thing? I don't have an idea about that either, so the motor sounds like the best alternative. HELP:banghead:
EXACT same happened to me, but mine engine threw 3 rods & was junk. Complete rebuild (including new smallblock) = a little over $5K. I priced used engines, but these things are pricey. "Best" deal I found on a used engine (93K miles on it!) was over $3K. If I'm gonna go broke replacing the engine, I sure as hell ain't gonna spend $3K for a used engine. You might have gotten to it in time to just have it overhauled/rebuilt HOPEFULLY. BTW, I replaced that line with 1,000 PSI type line used in dragsters, etc and put 4 clamps on it - that sucker isn't gonna fall off ever again! I wonder if G.M. ever issued a recall on that friggin line???

Speaking as someone who has dove head-long into big projects like that many times, I give you this advice. Organize, organize, organize, its the the key to a smooth job. Label everything. Get some masking tape and a felt-tip pen to label wiring and sensors and get some small ziplock bags with the label strips. They are invalueble for nuts, bolts and screws. Last but not least, get a good shop manual. Good luck.