Chevy Venture

boga228

connect a fuel line hose or any type of hose to the funnel. Thats what i did.

boga228

any leaks at the intake gasket? also how's the oil? See any leaks around the engine?

rarrieta72

hey there,
It seems like I'm now having the same problem except when the van is driven for a long time (60 miles or more)it stinks like eggs. Does this have anything to do with the battery being bad? It will jump start but will not hold restart after a few hours. Do you have any suggestions?

beth78

OK it all started about 3 weeks ago when our 2002 venture overheated really bad! We got it in the shop and they said the head gaskets were done!!! So we had them replaced and we have had it back for 3 days now but the temp guage still seems to be running warmer than it should be. We also have a lot of movement on the temp guage. Most of the time it is at the middle mark or just over. Is this normal? Also the shop said they flushed out the radiator and we also got a new radiator but in the resevoir it still looks nasty and gritty. Is this supposed to be like that?

thanks for all the help!!
beth

greg43

my gas gauge will move from almost empty to full if my tank gets below 1/4 of a tank. It has done this for some time now, but seems to be getting worse. Now it is starting to fluctuate when its around 1/2 tank. help!

greg43

I think your van stinking like eggs could be your catalytic converter. It could be clogged up. Sometimes using gas that does not burn hot enough will cause the converter to get clogged up. You can try to bang on your converter with a hammer, but place a board on the converter first then strike the board with the hammer sometimes this will unclog them. Good luck!

greg43

I have not noticed the fans running for long periods of time. Would they still be running after I turn the van off?

snowman89

I have an 01 and at 80000 the gas guage on mine went crazy...diagnosed as a fuel level sending unit with thanks to GM's engineering turns out to be part of the fuel pump. So $400 later I had a new fuel pump and viola! The gas guage works great. I would have tolerated the inaccurate reading, but not the mrs. Good luck.

candymoreno

I have a 98 chevy venture and our van is having the same problem. We just changed the thermostat and had the radiator flushed. But it has not changed much. We bleed air out of the cooling system and we will get our hot air back. But we are still overheating, or at least that is what are temp gauge is showing. Then we will get the low coolant light on occasionally. Does anyone have a clue?

candymoreno

well, I think I fixed the problem. I stuck Bars Leak with pellets in it to stop leaking in the manifold, radiator ect. so far I have not overheating.

pattipaige

To repair the outside air temp guage, it's called Ambient Air. The part is located just in front of your radiator, it's about 2" long. look under the hood and you'll see it. Remove the part and take it to the car parts store, just plugs in, simple to fix. Cost about $20.

jpf

That may be a temporary fix, but you need to get to the root cause of the problem. Sounds like a leaking intake manifold gasket, a common problem with GM's 3.4 V6. Although you may have stopped the external leak, be careful that your coolant and oil are not mixing together internally. If the oil is a milky cream color then you need to fix the internal leak. Good luck.

candymoreno

My son had got my van in a small wreck, it tore my front bumper away from the driver side but remained intaked. My husband tore something black away from that area, is this the same thing we are talking about? We did not have problems until that nite.

candymoreno

I have a new yorker that stopped running in the middle of the street. We had just changed the alternator. We replaced the crankshaft senor but no luck. Does anyone have a clue?

candymoreno

I called around and people are saying that this part is not available for my make. Does this exist for my vehicle or do I have to go to a dealer to get the part?

Claires

Hi, candymoreno,

Since this is a minivan topic, you're probably not going to get many answers about your sedan. You might try the ClassicCars discussion to see if the folks there have some advice.

greg43

I have a remote that quit working on my 2000 Venture. I hope that it just needs to be reprogrammed. does anyone know how to reprogram the remote?

greg43

this is my second post with my problem. If I do not drive my Venture everyday the battery goes dead!. I have replaced the battery several times, so I am pretty sure thats not the problem. I had someone check the elec. drain from the fuse box and they said there was a pretty large drain coming from the radio fuse, so I installed a bypass switch to shut my radio off when I am not going to drive my van everyday and it did not really seem to help! has anyone had this same problem? HELP!!!!!

greg43

I replaced my outside ambient temp. probe and I purchased it at a chevy dealership and it only cost my $6.00. I was amazed that something from a dealer only cost $6.00 and it solved my problems.

rgjones21

I have a whirling sound in the area of power steering unit that gets louder when you accelerate. I've replaced the power steering and the serpentine belt and checked all the pullies which has had no effect on the noise. I'm thinking maybe it's timing belt related or a loose timing belt tensioner. Anybody had this problem or knows how to fix? :confuse:

Claires

Hi, folks,

I've moved this group of posts to our Electrical Issues discussion.

tigerbabie

:confuse: I was wondering if someone could forward the instructions for programming the remotes for a 2005 chevy venture. My children lost one of my remotes and since it only has one key hold, on the driver's door, I thought it was a good idea to get a 2nd one. I've ordered one on ebay, obviously before I found this site, but it doesn't come with instructions. I found some for a 2003 venture. Are they the same?

cameramatt

After several years of putting up with a deafening vibration, I found the cause to be the roof rack cross bars vibrating in the wind while driving at highway speeds due to being too loose. Unfortunately, I had to remove the whole rack system from the roof of my Venture to remove the cross bars. I was unable to tighten the cross bars to its brackets anymore, so I re-installed the luggage rails without the cross bars.

I didn't need the cross bars anyway because I have a SUV for travel/family purpose.

Without the cross bars, the annoying, vibrating, deafening noise is gone. Should have thought of this fix years ago.
To bad Chevy hadn't figured out how to have cross bars removed without taking the the rails off the van. :mad: :mad: :mad:

kayfuslee

I have a 2000 Venture value van(60k). Does anyone know if there is a fuel sensor (and where) that can be accessed and replaced relatively easily by the do it yourselfer? The low coolant sensor recently went also(was directed where that is).
Is this trend of sensors starting to fail the norm with this car? I cannot recall having these types of failures with any car I've ever owned. One never knows what lurks around the corner, but thus far over all I've been pretty pleased with this van. Makes reading all the negative postings a little scary.

snowman89

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but if your 2000 is like my 2001, then the fuel gauge sensor and the fuel pump are one single unit located inside the fuel tank. My fuel guage started acting goofy last year, around 75000 miles, and my favorite local fix it shop (they are great) replaced it, along with the fuel filter, for a total of $373. They used a new a/c delco fuel pump; I could have saved a few $ with others but my mechanic didn't recommend it. Overall, my 01 (which now has 88000 miles) has been a great vehicle, I can't complain about reliability or durability at this point but like you I worry about "what's around the corner".
Good luck.

kayfuslee

Thanks Snowman. Doesn't sound too much like an easy do it yourselfer job. I'll take a looksy when it gets warmer. For now, I think the trip meter will remain being my fuel guage.

sharkeym

I have a 99' venture that I received as a gift from my sister. I have owned it only 8 short months. The "coolant light" stays on all the time and it is leaking oil, water & it is overheating. Comes to find out, the back oil pan gaskets need replacing. You might want to really look it over with a fine tooth comb, before purchasing one. My sister did'nt and now she is stuck paying on a van that has no warranty; & I am stuck having to pay for costly repairs.

albert11

I am looking into buying a 2002/3 Venture but am getting cold feet due to the huge number of complaints on failed transmissions (due to some solinoid??)amd failed engines due to some intake manifold gaskets......
Did GM ever fix these problems? What year can I buy that doesnt have these problems? Or can I swap out the bad 3.4 engine with a better design engine/tranny combo from somewhere?
Thx
Al from Canada

snowman89

I have an 01 Venture LT with 84000 on it. I've been following this forum for several years and feel pretty fortunate as I have had nothing unusual happen (yet!).
We really like our Venture. It drive nicely (better, in my opinion, than my mother in laws 06 Dodge Grand Caravan), gets nice fuel economy (consistently near 25mpg highway) and seems to be holding up well. I am aware of the manifold gasket problem, but my mechanic told me if you kept proper maintenance on the cooling system and DID NOT go 5yr/100000 on the stupid dexcool junk, he felt I would be ok, and so far, so good.
Good luck.

voiceofstl

I got 120,000 and beginning to creaks and rattles but i still have original shocks and struts and my computer/temptuture DIS in the ceiling console has stopped working and the back doors power locks have stopped working. But pretty good so far. its a 1998.

voiceofstl

That 4 speed that GM has is usually considered one of the better trannys around. But you right about the gasket problem. But the 3.4 is a tough engine you just to keep a eye on it. i read that GM had a tottally redisned gasket starting around the 2003 that fixed the problem. As for as replacing the drive train. I like the 3.8 but that would be a massive job that would cost around 4 to 6000 dollars. get a newer uplander with the 3.9 that would be cheaper.

bradleyed

Hey, sorry to bother you - it looks like you host the forum and know quite a bit about the vans. I recently purchased a seven passenger venture and need it to seat eight. If I purchase a rear seat that sets three people, will that fit into the seat locks in the floor of the van?
I've contacted a few dealers who do not know and I've contacted Chevrolet who says we can't do it - although they never set the different seat won't fit (I'm wondering if they are trying to protect themselves from safety issues.) A junkyard said I can do it, but it was out of state and I needed to buy the seat and have it shipped to me - I'd rather be certain before I buy the seat.
Any help you could give would be appreciated, thanks.

stever

Hi Bradleyed, never a bother - people hang out here to talk cars. I'm not the host in Vans anymore but I still have a van in the stable.

It's hit and miss swapping seats around; sometimes there's no problem and other times the fittings from one trim level to another are different, especially if captains chairs are an option.

The junkyard folks probably are right, but it's a bit of a gamble when the salvage yard isn't local. Just the freight is expensive on something like a seat. If you can find a RV place, preferably one that offers conversion vans, they might be able to help you out. Maybe a body shop too.

Most factory service manuals have a body section - the one I have for my Quest has seat removal instructions and dimensions showing where the fittings are in the floor to bolt or otherwise attach the seats. Maybe you can some diagrams for the Venture like that. Check the Online Repair Manuals Guide for sources.

Any Venture owners have any suggestions?

cameramatt

I'm an original owner of an 98 LS with almost 100,000 miles. The bottom sill below and to the rear of the sliding doors are rusting out very badly. Seems the metal is very thin under and now I have large sections of the sill missing and a large hole in the body near the rear wheelwell. Is anyone else experienced this deteriation. :confuse:

autismmom

My front end is bouncy and squeaky. Any clues on this?

drs4

I'm dissapointed to hear that GM is getting out of the van business. I have a 2000 Warner Bros. Venture that I bought new. It now has 103,000 miles on it and I have been very happy with the way it has held up. It still runs, drives and looks great. It seems like it could go another 100k. I only had two non-maintenance issues with it over the years. The rear wheel cylinders leaked at about 50,000 miles and the lower intake gasket leaked at 94,000 miles. Both of these repairs together cost me less that $100.00 in parts with me providing the labor. (GM agreed to pay half on the intake repair) I would definitely buy another one if they were still around when I wear this one out.

snowman89

How did you get GM to pay 1/2 the intake at 94000 miles? I have an 01, also had rear wheel cylinders leak at about 64000. I have 89000 now and last week I had to have the a/c condensor replaced for $640. Anyone else have a/c problems? I mosly agree with you, though, that my family likes our van alot and I've found it to be relatively trouble free (up to this point!). I've not had to do the intake repair, and am holding my breath on that one.

jiana

Hello - I am wondering if anyone else has had a prob with their 2002 venture' rear differential. Apparently ours is done in and will cost $6500.00CAD to fix - The dealer is willing to give us $7000.00 for the van and we will buy another vehicle but are there other options? Not sure where to turn.

kanexplorer

Our 97 Venture has 102000 miles on it. I have had it since 99, it had 23K at the time. I have not had to do any thing to the engine or trans. Minor things are pass door lock not working in auto, issues with auto sliding door in cold, rear air compressor stopped working. Other than that going strong, guess I got lucky!

kayfuslee

Can anybody tell me if arm rests came standard on any Venture except the value van? I'm thinking about maybe finding one at a junk yard if it installs easily. Why they couldn't put one in for the driver is beyond me.

adventurous

The 2nd row mounts and the 3 row mounts are different, so you cannot use 2nd row seats in 3rd row, and vice versa.

However, you can find on eBay for various prices at various times 3-seat middle row seats that will fit in you rmiddle row to make it an 8 passenger. I've done that w/ mine.

Junk yards also sell the 3 seat middle row seats which you can find and install it in yours. And just fyi, there's also a market on ebay if you want to sell your middle row 2-seat (though shipping each will cost between $30-55+ depending on where you ship it, plus packaging.

Something such as the Chrysler minivans did allow the 3rdd row to be installed in the 2nd row to make it 8 passenger seating. But that was pre stow and go days.

cmdavis1

The blower motor in my 2000 venture will not shut off unless I bull the breaker switch in the fuse box. I need some help if any one has any ideas I would appreciate it.

thanks

hubbie

Need new tires all around. What is the Tire Performance Criteria Specification. Operator's manual suggests that I'll find that information on the side wall of tires that came with new vehicle. Those tires are long gone. Door lable says 215/70/R15's. Any other info I need to know ? "Dealers aren't for me !"

Mike

snowman89

I have a set of Walmart's Douglas touring tires on my 01 Venture. I think they are great...sensible price and value. The are quiet and handle fine (it's a van!) and no complaints with snow or wet road traction. FYI, they are made by Kelly/Springfield.

noellec2

I am looking for the 3-seat middle row for a 2004 Venture. Chevy wouldn't help at all since they don't make the Venture anymore and no one else seems to know what I'm talking about. I tried a local junk yard but they just had bucket seats or the 2 seat bench seat which has the wider middle seat- that's the set up I have now. No one seems to be too familiar with the fact that the Venture has this 8 seater option so I've had trouble getting anyone to even check for me. I understand I may need to buy the whole 3 seat row or at least the middle and the 8th seat. Anyone have any idea how I can get this middle row? My seats are grey but I don't even care if it's a perfect match at this point. Help Please!!!

mczkpoteet

I understand your frustration. I purchased my 2nd Venture last August and it came with the seating configuration you are talking about. It sure is nice that it can seat 8 people. The middle row consists of 3 independent seats so I can easily change the seating configuration as needed. Good luck on your hunt, just wanted you to know this does exist.

sjc1041

Does any one know a trick for changing the spark plugs on the back side of the engine? 1999 Montana/Venture

jingles4

camshaft positioning sensor

drew21

I got a 2003 Venture and it has a cd player in it. It just so happens that there is a steel post/pin just off center where you'd put the cd in. It seems that it is the pin that is there upon delivery/installation. Could anyone confirm this or guide me in the right direction to take the stereo deck out to see for myself? The cabinet surrounding the deck seems to be fastened with something in behind the dash panels. Please Help!!!!

punishergto

Hello. Does anyone know where I can get a wiring schematic for the Chevrolet Venture WB-Edition rear entertainment system with the DVD player(2003)? My DVD acts like it's playing but the screen doesn't activate. I got the screen to activate one time but all it showed was a blue screen & the words "reading...". I assume the DVD player was trying to read the DVD, but never played anything. IF I HAD A WIRING DIAGRAM/SCHEMATIC FOR THIS SYSTEM I COULD MOST LIKELY REPAIR IT. IF I CAN FIGURE OUT THE PROBLEM (I have an electronics engineering degree) I WOULD BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO POST THE REPAIR HERE FOR ANYONE ELSE TO SEE SO THEY COULD REPAIR THIER OWN REAR ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM (NOT THROW THEIR WALLET TO DELPHI TO REPAIR IT.) THANKS.