by "4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30" (4muddyfeet)
Published 06/01/2017 at 07:10
by "4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30" (4muddyfeet)
Published 06/01/2017 at 07:10
Tags: Chevy astro
STARS: 0
1995 Chevy Astro day van, 2008 Japanese import, recently refitted, mechanic owned since import (for whatever that’s worth), regularly serviced, 70k on the clock, body and subframes supposedly immaculate, the rest ‘very good’, £3,800 with drive-away awning included.
This is 3 hours away from me and I’m very tempted, but what should I be on the lookout for? It’s flown through it’s MOTs which would suggest the mechanic owner has kept it just right, but a 20+ year old vehicle should now be showing signs of regular wear and tear. I don’t want to drive 3 hours up into Scotland to go and view a pup, can help me out with what to look for/request from the owner?
"jimz" (jimz)
06/01/2017 at 07:17, STARS: 2
they had a small 7.5" rear gear which was relatively weak; tendency to break the spider gears.
"The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock" (jukesjukesjukes)
06/01/2017 at 07:20, STARS: 0
Fantastic vans. My dad had an AWD GMC Safari work van back in late 90's/early 2000's. One winter he thought the headlights burnt out at night, it was not. Snow was piling up over the front from going into uncleaned driveways. They are great.
"Cé hé sin" (michael-m-mouse)
06/01/2017 at 07:28, STARS: 0
Well, it’s different!
Wouldn’t take it free myself but that’s me.
"4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30" (4muddyfeet)
06/01/2017 at 07:29, STARS: 0
Why so?
"Ssfancyfresh" (scotttt)
06/01/2017 at 07:29, STARS: 0
1994 was the only year you could get the high output 4.3 without a speed governor (95 mph).
Takes a looong time to slow these down from 115.
"Cé hé sin" (michael-m-mouse)
06/01/2017 at 07:33, STARS: 0
Lhd, huge petrol engine, no resale value unless you’re lucky, lhd, parts..
Did I mention lhd?
"4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30" (4muddyfeet)
06/01/2017 at 07:38, STARS: 0
Bottle cap brake discs? Or super-heaty drums?
"Logansteno: Bought a VW?" (logansteno)
06/01/2017 at 07:39, STARS: 3
As much as I loathed the 94 Safari I drove, the thing was a damn tank. My parents owned it for 18 years and they never replaced anything more major than a couple fuel pumps. That being said, the 4L60 is going to he the weakest point of the whole van. Even should that break they’re dirt cheap to repair.
"4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30" (4muddyfeet)
06/01/2017 at 07:39, STARS: 0
I don’t mind LHD or petrol, although parts may become an issue. As for resale, unless I want a car as an investment I don’t really care if I enjoy it. A gamble, sometimes!
"Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell." (oppisitelock)
06/01/2017 at 07:43, STARS: 0
LHD doesn’t always kill value, especially if the vehicle is unavailable in RHD and appeals to enthusiasts.
"Rico" (ricorich)
06/01/2017 at 07:47, STARS: 0
My dad had a 1998 for about 10 years and I hated it from the day he got it to the day the junkers came and towed it away. The only good thing about it was me getting surprise fellatio in the 3rd row, other than that I would have gladly set fire to it.
"4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30" (4muddyfeet)
06/01/2017 at 07:52, STARS: 1
Ah ok. Rather than you telling me about your dogging adventures in an Astro, what did you hate about it?
"4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30" (4muddyfeet)
06/01/2017 at 07:52, STARS: 0
What did you hate about it?
"RacinBob" (racinbob)
06/01/2017 at 07:56, STARS: 1
Those that have owned them swear by them as the most durable, indestructible vans ever. A favorite among carpenters and mechanics around here. These are pretty reliable so if it sounds good, and drives good, it’s probably worth a try knowing if there is a hidden problem it’s not of the terminal sort.
"Rustholes-Are-Weight-Reduction" (rustholes-are-weight-reduction)
06/01/2017 at 07:56, STARS: 1
So you ARE going for the recovering drug dealer look!
"P5guy now GTIguy" (p5guy)
06/01/2017 at 07:57, STARS: 1
I don’t think anyone in America will have nice things to say about it. It might be appealing to you because of it is rare over there. I’ll also just leave this here
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"Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell." (oppisitelock)
06/01/2017 at 08:04, STARS: 2
The man owns two old Land Rovers and a rusted out Felicia, this would become his second safest vehicle if he bought it XD
"kanadanmajava1" (kanadanmajava1)
06/01/2017 at 08:06, STARS: 0
My colleague has also a Japanase import Astro. To make things weirder it’s an AWD model and it has sporty looking Stillen body kit. I haven’t seen anything similar even in pictures.
"4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30" (4muddyfeet)
06/01/2017 at 08:13, STARS: 0
Yep that’s pretty awful. I would be driving sensibly because I’ll just be using it as a camper, but an accident is an accident and other people can’t be relied upon.
"KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs" (kusabisensei)
06/01/2017 at 08:16, STARS: 0
The only real weak point that exists on the early models are the transmission and the brakes.
The transmission is a GM 4L60E. Darn good. A rebuild kit is less than US$200, and a remanufactured unit is about US$1000 (neither includes fitting labor). If you have transmission issues, one rebuild and you should be set for another 200K miles or so.
The brakes? They are merely adequate. Front disc rear drums. 1990s GM really didn’t believe in good brakes. It passes the government regulation and that’s about it.
For the body, that will depend on the quality of the initial conversion. GM didn’t (to my knowledge) offer these as in house conversions. So if there is any questionability of this particular unit, it will be with the pieces that were touched by the conversion.
Also did the seller mention if it is rear drive or all wheel drive?
"Rico" (ricorich)
06/01/2017 at 08:20, STARS: 1
Where do I start? It ate 3 fuel pumps, suspension parts had to constantly be replaced, peeling and cracking paint (not clear coat), terrible on gas in the city, terrible to drive it’s only redeeming thing was it was RWD.
"Logansteno: Bought a VW?" (logansteno)
06/01/2017 at 08:21, STARS: 2
I was a 16 year old driving a minivan with gold pinstripes. That should explain it all.
"RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht" (ramblininexile)
06/01/2017 at 08:22, STARS: 1
My younger brother had one he’s absolutely beat ragged and keeps going. Comfortable for him (he’s 6'5"), and his is the AWD version so remains capable even in snow. A bit thirsty with its weight (quite advanced) and the 4.2 V8 + AWD combo. He likes it because he can haul anything he needs to, though I think the bloom is off the rose a bit until he can find whatever’s been leaking water into the carpet.
At any rate, they’re sturdy, comfortable, capable- and heavy, likely to kill you in a crash, and so on.
"Takuro Spirit" (takurospirit)
06/01/2017 at 08:29, STARS: 1
They’re very reliable, rust and worn suspension/steering components are the only thing to worry about. And the added aftermarket bits inside due to the conversion.
As P5guy said they’re not the safest thing, but what 1990's van is?
"JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t" (jawzx2)
06/01/2017 at 08:31, STARS: 0
I worked for a home electronics, A/V and automation company that had AWD Astro/Safari Vans as the company vehicles... The nicest things I can say about them are: They were generally quite reliable, and they more closely behaved like a full-size van than a mini-van. They had awful ride quality (ours were windowless cargo variants, so maybe the suspension was tuned differently on the passenger versions...) terrible brakes, vague and wander-y steering wwith no feedback, clunky and abrupt transmissions, and loads of wind, driveline and road noise. I suppose I may have spent some time drifting them around the back roads in winter... That was pretty entertaining... Plenty of torque, light back-ends, icy/snowy roads and AWD = sideways around every corner....
"JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t" (jawzx2)
06/01/2017 at 08:36, STARS: 2
small discs with weak calipers and poor cooling. The brakes on the ones I drove were all pretty crummy. I’ve driven things with worse brakes, but the Astro’s were bad enough to be notable.
"KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs" (kusabisensei)
06/01/2017 at 08:38, STARS: 1
You mean 4.3L V6. GM never stuffed a V8 in at the factory.
Although in the 80s you could have gotten it with an Iron Duke. *Shudder*
"JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t" (jawzx2)
06/01/2017 at 08:41, STARS: 0
it’s true that they suffer abuse well, seem remarkably immune to body rust (frame and suspension are another thing...) have strong cargo floors and don’t brake down often, and even when they do, being a GM product, parts are dirt-cheap.
"RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht" (ramblininexile)
06/01/2017 at 08:41, STARS: 0
Yes, I meant 4.3V6. Stupid hands always typing what I’m thinking about instead of what I mean.
"UnderSTeerEnthusiast - Triumph Fanboy" (smithtaylorm)
06/01/2017 at 08:42, STARS: 0
Parents had one from new in ‘01 until 2013. Its demise was pulling a trailer too heavy for it to handle(my dad was an idiot). Window motors were trash, replaced multiple times. Was reliable as hell. The only gm product my parents have bought that I liked. The rear suspension was starting to go out and the rear diff was clunky and making noises. Those things probably could’ve been avoided with better care my dad did not provide. Overall, I thought it was quite reliable and a good truck.
"You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much" (youcantellafinn)
06/01/2017 at 08:44, STARS: 0
The engines are damn near bulletproof on those assuming it is the 4.3L V6. I’m not sure if any other engines were available, and even if there were most would have been had with the 4.3L.
The actual vehicle is basically a collection of rattles and loose parts. GM build quality of that era is... suspect. Assuming it is rust free and you can live with a lot of wind noise and rattles it should live forever. Like others have mentioned, braking performance is horrible and the steering is vague at best.
"Slant6" (slant-6)
06/01/2017 at 08:56, STARS: 1
I’ve driven one for work, they’re used interchangeably with Rangers here, pretty reliable. They’re in our spare fleet since they’re so old now, but I’ve never heard of one giving anyone any trouble.
Id say go for it. It’s rare by you and starting to get old. Even though 90s cars don’t really feel like old cars yet they’re only going to get cooler with age.
As mentioned any parts that do break are cheap and easy to replace. Only thing I’d be worried about are the coach built parts, you’d have to fix those yourself or get a specialist to do it.
You also know plenty of Americans on here that would help ship parts to you if you couldn’t order them otherwise.
"If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent" (essextee)
06/01/2017 at 08:58, STARS: 0
I’ve never driven one but they have a reputation for being pretty damn durable. It’s not uncommon to see 20 year old examples still being driven as daily work vehicles. I think their biggest killer was rust.
"shop-teacher" (shop-teacher)
06/01/2017 at 09:17, STARS: 0
They’re very reliable, and the 4.3 V6 is virtually unkillable. The front end steering/suspension parts are a very common wear items, but replacements are cheap. I drove a window van version of an ‘04ish Astro on an 800 mile road trip back in grad school. We got it out of the school’s motor pool, and those vehicles are beat on hard. That van was a flawless cruising machine. I drove virtually the entire 800 miles with three fingers on the steering wheel and the cruise control on. The drive could not have been easier. They’re also really maneuverable in tight parking lots.
"Ssfancyfresh" (scotttt)
06/01/2017 at 09:50, STARS: 0
Ours was teal with gold stripes.
"Ssfancyfresh" (scotttt)
06/01/2017 at 09:53, STARS: 0
1995 was the first year of the refreshed exterior. The updated interior didn’t happen until 1996.
I don’t think they offered the digital dash with the refreshed interior.
"duurtlang" (duurtlang)
06/01/2017 at 10:00, STARS: 0
He’s in Europe though. I doubt parts will be overly easy to get or cheap.
"wiffleballtony" (wiffleballtony)
06/01/2017 at 10:08, STARS: 1
Sounds like Jalop boner material
"4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30" (4muddyfeet)
06/01/2017 at 13:24, STARS: 0
He actually didn’t, which would make me assume that it’s RWD. I’m getting more pictures tonight so I’ll soon know.
"KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs" (kusabisensei)
06/01/2017 at 18:52, STARS: 0
The shipping on the rebuild kit shouldn’t be too terrible from the US, I would think.
I also don’t know off the top of my head if there are any interchangeable rebuild parts between the 4L30E (which got put in a fair amout of auto transmission BMWs and Opels in the early 1990s) and the 4L60E.