Hey Scotty!
I was thinking of buy a 2000's Chevy Astro/Safari, with the 4.3 litre v6.
Is this a reliable van? Is the engine and tranny reliable?
Thanks!
Schoolbus
Yes. They can go for hundreds of thousands of miles. They do eat intake gaskets (the original one).
That being said, it's a 20 year old vehicle. Everything around the engine and tranny will be rotting away.
I wouldn't pay much more than $1,000
I worked at two companies for years and we had all years of the Astro Vans. They have their weaknesses but they are durable in a fleet operation. 4.3 engine is very well easily maintained as well as the trans as well.
Initial problems were the intake manifolds were leakers but they probably have been taken care of unless the van has low mileage
Fuel pumps are a regular item that seems to need replacement but now they are cheaper. The original equipment ones were $450 before.
Front idler arms get worn or lose
Door handles break
Door stops get metal fatigue as well as door hinges.
Easy to change sparkplugs - just take off front wheels - use long extension
Heheh yup . I'm a former owner and can confirm broken handles, worn hinges, and chewing through idler arms. My original pump and plugs lasted the lifetime of the vehicle though. Maybe I was lucky. Intake gasket went at around 150,000 mi. Distributors were another weakness.
150,000 on the intake gaskets? Hmmmm...I think your van is the one the factory is still looking for when it dissapeared from the GM secret development dept !!
How long did yours usually last?
As a fleet operation the companies got rid of any vehicles in the 60K range. That insures the maximum resale value when they go to auction. They used to drive them into the ground but they derive nothing in resale if they do that. Bean counters at work you know...
Sorry, I should have specified ... how long did the intake gaskets last?
Yeah...Well it varies as the Vans were assigned to different garages so who know which ones mechanics jumped it right away and then which ones were in for prolonged...repair LOL! I would guesstimate that most of them started to be detected and were changed out within 30K-40K miles. First company I worked for had some 25 Astros and the 2nd one had like 50 of them. As long as the users were filling up the coolant bottles no one really paid attention ! But it was during the summer (In CA) that they starting to overheat and some engines blew up causing Supervisors to question our maintenance dept effciency..LOL! Well thats when the hammer fell and we had a campaign of bringing in one by one each Astro Van for intake manifold leaks. We did them all even if they were done as this was Overtime pay! Most got the New Style solenoid spyders for good measure and total tune up. You can do these things when money is no object...
ohh that soon. Well in that case maybe I wasn't the first to change the intake gasket. I bought the van with 100,000mi.
Regarding rot, I would buy a Florida or Arizona car, that would avoid the problem?
Schoolbus
Arizona/Nevada cars will have less rust.
But time, heat and UV are not kind to plastic and rubber. And parts will get scarce.
I'm just trying to set your expectations, not dissuade you from getting one.
Buy as new as possible. A 2005 with low miles in good shape for a couple thousand would be a good deal.
Don't get a 2000 because in 2003 they upgraded the chassis with bigger axles, bigger brakes, bigger wheels and better suspension (to match the 1/2t pickups).
Good to know about the upgrades!
So its 2003 -2005 then.
ok see what you can find. And please post back if you buy one. I would be curious.