Late 90's early 00's Chevy Astro Vans - What do you know about them? (Page 1/2) Synthesis OCT 02, 12:35 PM Looking at some AWD models for a replacement for the Chevy Blazer which we believe fractured a piston at the Shipman show this year. What do you know about them, any major issues to beware of, and what are your general thoughts? OKflyboy OCT 02, 01:48 PM I have a '02 2WD Astro. General Impressions: Decent driver, relatively smooth ride for such a large vehicle. Seats 8 with no problems though we frequently leave the 3rd row out to give us more cargo space. Horrible mileage (average about 16mpg with most of that highway). They're Hydro-boost braking, so power steering leaks will affect your braking and since its a van everything is hidden under a tiny little hood making the simplest of maintenance a PITA. (I have a slow P/S leak that remains unfixed for two years now because I refuse to take the whole front end off just to get to the hoses) I know I'm not painting the best picture. I don't hate mine, but I don't think I would buy another one unless it was an AWD in immaculate condition with impeccable maintenance records. They have a decent following. Check out astrosafarivans.org Great forum, I'm a member though I haven't been active over there in quite some time. 2.5 OCT 03, 02:57 PM My fam had an 87 and a 92 that were quite bullet proof, even with kids in high school driving them. These had the 4.3 in them. I dont know much about the later ones though. Synthesis OCT 09, 10:18 AM Our 126,000 mile 2002 GMC Safari AWD is being delivered to my workplace today. The drivers left an hour ago, so another two hours before it gets here. Excited! Raydar OCT 09, 09:46 PM As I understand it, the AWD system is the same hardware as the S10 Blazer. The 4.3 engines in S10s seem to be afflicted with intake gasket leaks. I have to believe that the 4.3 in the Astro/Safari would be similar. (Seem to be late 90s - early 2000s.) Fortunately, they tend to leak towards the outside (from what I've heard) instead of into the engine. If you feel so inclined, a V8 swap is supposed to be stupidly simple. There is an engine/suspension cradle that unbolts and drops out, similar to the Fiero and other FWD GM cars. OKflyboy OCT 13, 02:50 PM Well, add something new to my list of problems with my Astro. It seems to eat ignition coils. This morning I installed the third coil of the year, Tstang429 OCT 16, 03:05 PM my uncles astro van cracked the frame twice. supposedly not to uncommon. the Idler arm mounts on the frame. it has two idlers and with the hydro assit it never felt it had gotten tight. Well it had frozen and worked the frame till it actually snapped the frame. Just something to look into. carnut122 OCT 18, 10:16 AM quote Originally posted by Synthesis: Our 126,000 mile 2002 GMC Safari AWD is being delivered to my workplace today. The drivers left an hour ago, so another two hours before it gets here. Excited! So. what's the verdict? rogergarrison OCT 29, 04:30 PM I had an Explorer conversion, 98, 4.3, 140K. It had only a couple of issues the 3 years I had it. One was front brake rotors (originals) rusted almost completely into pieces. Other was the fuel injection lines inside the intake under the throttle body cracked. I bought it from the original owner. It didnt do bad on gas...if I remember about 16+ on reg, and it was a loaded, hi top conversion. Synthesis NOV 01, 04:30 PM quote Originally posted by carnut122: So. what's the verdict? Love it!