I am recently obsessed with getting an ASTRO AWD for a winter beater, tow vehicle, Lowe's runs, etc. They all seem to have over 130,000 miles on them. If I can find a southern car with no rust, how reliable is the V6? If I did a partial rebuild to freshen it up, could I expect lots of carefree miles? Do the transmissions drop out at some point? Any experience with these little vans?
http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/saturn-vs-astro-input/28322/page1/
Here is some recent and informative banter about Astros
most of them for sale around here have over 200k.
my 95 has 187k and is on untouched engine/trans, i retired it because the fuel pump is dying and the thing has just been so beat over its life as a work truck that i do not feel like fixing it.
my 96, made 168k before PO took it to quick lube place, then afterward the oil was way low and it spun a rod bearing. it is getting the v8/4wd conversion now, i sold the original trans to a guy who put it into his 96 that has 210k+
my 98 has 155k now and has been a work van its entire life.
the 4.3 will treat you well, the transmissions have always been good to me, and the awd stuff is pretty easy. you can even convert it to part time shiftable 4 wheel drive with an s10 transfer case and a front axle actuator or something. it seems like most people that complain about the 4l60-e have either had a cop car, towed without a trans cooler, or did not know that the trans filter ever needed changed.
turning radius is nice, towing and hauling capacity kills any other "minivan" because the astro is pretty much a 3/4 or 7/8 scale G series van, and the 95+ bodystyle still looks like they could (and should) be cranking them off the assembly line and doesnt appear dated.
the vortec V6 is known for fuel pressure regulators going out, and since they were kind enough to put it inside the intake plenum, it can hydrolock the engine when it goes out. but it's a cheap and relatively easy fix if you catch it before it gets too bad. also known for carbon chunks hanging the egr valve open and causing it to either idle rough or die when you let off the gas. Fel Pro has a $3 gasket with a screen in it to prevent this.
I live in Memphis and you do see rust-free Astros every now and then, but they either have high miles or look like demo derby REJECTS. I actually saw one this past weekend that had been a former taxicab and had had it's signs "rattlecan" painted over. Windstars/Freestars are plentiful here, but don't buy one, with Toyota vans another strong favorite. I actually saw a 1st gen. (engine next to the driver) Toyota minivan this morning in near showroom condition and you wouldn't believe all the Previas in this area....tho none appear to be AWD or AWD/SC models.
I love my '96 Astro. It's got 250K on it and I'll be looking to replace it the day after it finally dies. It's a Canadian vehicle so the odo actually reads 400K. The game now, is to get to 500K ! As an aside, does ayone have experience with removing the hinge pins on the rear doors of one?
the v6 is super reliable. I had a 4.3 vortec in a G20 van. 176k miles on it and never consumed a drop of oil between oil changes.
I too was considering an astro awd....but for me its sort of a case of been there done that with a chevy van, I am leaning towards a 97-98 4wd mazda mpv...even though i know the astro is better in many ways.
The Astro AWD is basically an S10 with the AWD transfer case.
Widely available parts (some cheap, some expensive) and a pretty reliable drivetrain.
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