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i have dropped the gas tank in my driveway 4 times looking for problems.Could i have hooked up the pump wrong?Where is the underhood fusebox/relay?
Help ME please.I was hurt at work and can not afford to go to a mechanic.I need to sell this van badly.Thanks
Also, check with Discount Tires, they keep some in their warehouse system.. new they were $500+ used you could get around $200.
It does have factory power locks (and windows-surprise on a cargo van), and I was curious how re-program the fob with out going to the dealer and paying them $80 bucks to perform what I am sure is a 2 minute job. Is there anyone out there that knows how to do this? I know on my Impala I just scroll through the settings on the radio, but this can still has the old 90's style Delco AM/FM only stereo. If I can get the fob to work that would be great, but if not, it's no big loss since I have never had a fob on my work vehicles before, but it would be nice to have it working...
Is there a way to tell what gearing I have - whether it's 3.42 or 3.73??? The van seems to have really good get-up-and-go - even more so than my 4.3 powered S-10. It also has pretty good power on the highway. I'll look down and realize I am way over the limit. I haven't tried passing anybody yet and I actually haven't had it above 60 MPH yet, but the power around town has been more than adequate.
Step 1: Get in the vehicle and close all the doors.
Step 2: Hold the unlock switch in the vehicle to the "unlock" position.
Step 3: Turn the ignition ON, then OFF, then ON and then OFF
Step 4: Release the unlock switch - the vehicle should lock and unlock the doors. This is to let you know the vehicle is in "program mode" and that you are ready to program.
Step 5: Press and hold both the unlock and lock buttons on the key fob at the same time. After several seconds the vehicle should respond by locking and unlocking the doors. The key fob is now programed. Repeat this step with all the fobs (generally up to 4) that you wish to program.
Step 6: Turn the ignition on and then off to exit program mode.
If you have more than one fob you wish to program, you must program them all at the same time. These steps I found were actually for a Silverado, but I also found them for an Envoy too and so I tried them on my Astro and it worked. You must also make sure that the fob you are programing is meant for your vehicle. Meaning that even though a lot of GM fobs look exactly alike they have different codes. a fob from a Silverado may not work for an Astro... And then also make sure that your vehicle is actually equipped with a keyless entry system.
So there you have it... I know I answered my own question, but I thought I would post it anyway since it might be of good use...
You can go the full size SUV route with the Tahoe/Expedition/Sequoia. Not as much cargo and seating as a minivan, but full sized towing capabilities. Gas mileage is much lower than a minivan, but it does tow well and Edmunds just finished a Tahoe longterm and were quite pleased with... when it was used as intended. You can go even larger with the Suburban/Expedition EL, but again you sacrifice fuel economy.
Honestly, I think your best bet might be GM's new Lamda crossovers. The GMC Acadia, Saturn Outlook and Buick Enclave. They have as much cargo and passenger capacity as a minivan, but also the ability to tow. They are front drivers, but AWD is optional. But they are not a "van" and do not have sliding doors. PLus they don't carry the stigma of being a "mini-van" If you care about that. But they can cost well north of 30k. You might also look at the Mazda CX-9. Edmunds has just added both an Enclave and a CX-9 to thier fleet. The Mazda is smalller, which might be better, and the Enclave is cushier... With both vehicles in the fleet, you will be able to do some good comparing and see if either of these vehicles will fit your needs.
Does anyone know how to change this, or get to it? I took off the cover panel (its a cargo van so it doesn't have a plastic trim, just a metal plate secured by several screws), and I was able to partially see the actuator and feel the lock rod coming towards the lock, but it seems to be tucked back behind the locking mechanism for the latch. Almost seems impossible to access.
One other thing I noticed is that the rear door handle seems very stiff. Like it needs to be adjusted. It shuts fine, but the handle takes quite a bit of force to open. The lock too seems to be stiff. But this lock does seem stiff. The key hole looks like it may have been jimmied at one time and could be to blame. The key still works in it, but if it's not too hard I would like to replace it. I WD-40'd it all and it works better. The locking mechanism doesn't seem so stiff, but the door latch still takes the same amount of force to open. It does however work most of the time with the power door locks, although it takes a couple of pushes of the actuator sometimes to get it to open. I haven't noticed whether the WD-40 I sprayed helps this at all since I just did it today and haven't had a real chance to test it out.
The GMC Acadia, Saturn Outlook, Buick Enclave. But with all of them costing near 30K and up, unless you really need one or want to spend that much, I say your Astro will have as much more utility and will ultimately cost you less (even with less MPG) than one of these will. With only 94K on your van, it should go easily to 200K with no major issues. If you are thinking to get something more fuel efficient, remember that the new vehicle will cost upwards of 30K. You probably won't recoupe that in gas savings. Even in repairs to keep the Astro on the road won't cost as much as the new vehicle.
But if you do want to replace the Astro, the only thing I think that comes close to the both the utility, people hauling, towing, fuel economy, cargo space is the Lamda platform. I think the Acadia is the best, the Buick the cushiest and the Saturn is in between the two. The Acadia can haul more than a Tahoe (although not tow as much), get better fuel economy, and carry the same amount of people in better comfort. The dis-advantage to the Lamda is that it's tow rating isn't as much as the larger Tahoe or even the Astro. But it does have a respectable tow rating and if you don't tow frequently then the tow rating will be sufficient to meet your needs.
How many miles are on the vehicle and what do you use it for? If you use it regularly and for it's intended purpose- hauling people around, for work as a contractor (is it a cargo van?), towing and such it would be best to fix it and keep it depending on the reliability of the rest of the vehicle's parts. The cost of fixing it may indeed be less than a different vehilce and provide many thousand more miles of service. But if it has so many miles that only rigorous maintenance is keeping it on the road and is now equaling a car payment a month, then you might be better replacing it with something more reliable. Don't just fix it a keep it for sentimtal reasons ("...I've replaced a bunch of things over the years...") The vehicle is not a sick child and not worth pouring more money into it if it would better spent elsewhere. When it all comes down to it, the vehicle is just an appliance and when it has lived it's useful life, junk it and get something else.
anyways, not sure if I can help on the starter issue and it's a bummer that you have such a lemoned vehicle... I just bought my Astro. It's the 4th vehicle with the 4.3 V6 drivetrain, 2nd Astro and all of them I have been very happy with.
A few years ago I had a '95 S-10 with the 4.3 that started exhibiting intermittent starting problems. It wouldn't click, but it would grind. It wasn't the starter hitting the flywheel grind it was inside the starter somehwere. It would do just what your van is doing. It would be fine for a few starts and then it would have issues for a bit and then it would be fine. I traced everything, checked all my wires, made sure all the corrosion was cleaned if I found any and replaced a couple of cables too I think just to make sure the corrosion hadn't gotten inside the cables.
Nothing helped and finally the starter just quit working. I had to push start the vehicle everytime I wanted to start it. I decided I best just replace the starter. After I did that I had no problems getting the vehicle started. After anylisis of the problem, I determined that there was a broken tooth or a worn gear inside the starter. When that particular tooth lined up properly, it wouldn't enage the rest of the starter and grind. Or so I determined. What might be happening to you is there might be a bad connection in the solenoid that sometimes works, then the connection is broken and then it won't work unitl the connection is made again. There could be enough of a connection that it will work, but the connection is so fragile that it doesn't take much to break, or make it. It could be inside the solenoid and be non-servicable. So if you have done everything except replace the starter - like making sure the cable are good, that there is no corrosion at the batter, the battery is indeed good, the connections at the starter are good and there is no corrosion there either, then the next step is to replace the starter.
I am looking to see how or if there is a way to program how my vehicle locks/unlocks the doors when it is placed in drive or park, how the lights flash when I hit the lock button on my fob remote and also how the horn sounds when the lock or unlock button is hit.
My vehicle is a 2004 Chevy Astro Cargo Van with a keyless entry system. I have figured out how to program new remotes, but I also wonder if there is a way to manage the other settings. I know that on my Impala I just use the radio to set all these settings, but my Astro has the old style (90's style) AM FM head unit. I'm almost postive there is a way to personalize these settings, but I'm not sure how to do it beyond programng the key fobs to work with the vehicle. Anyone out there know how to do this?
Would this type of problem be fixed by the procedure you just descibed?? I haven't been throwing codes, nor do I seem at a lack of power, but these two vehicles provide my livelihood and I want to make sure they run well into the 100K.... I would like to make sure they make it to 200K.
So my question is, do the later model year Astros have a larger turning radius than the earlier years???
Oh well. It is what it is and I just have to plan my turns accordingly.
I would go to the junk yard and try there. I am sure that there are a plethora of vans (especially the older ones) that would have a rear door lock actuator. I am also pretty sure that pretty much any year would work since these vans didn't change a whole lot (at least in door function) from when they were built to when they were retired. I actually woudn't be surprised if a door actuator from an '04 fit and worked on an '88...
Every man has his tools and what works for him, so let's just leave it at that?
Anyway, as far as having the right tool, I sure could have used one today. My van has recently started making the most horrendous grating sound as well as shuddering horribly while braking. Time for new brakes! I had recently stuck my hand through the wheel and noticed that the rotors were also going to have to be replaced (before any one jumps on me for not paying attention or jumps to conclusions, let me get to the end of the post first ). I had just bought the van and I have only put about 5K on it since I got it. When I was test driving it, I didn't notice anything in particular, at least not to the level I was experiencing, wrong with the brakes.
Then several weeks ago, it started making these sounds and shudder when the brakes were forcibly used. They didn't seem so bad with easy stops. Panic stops however were not fun to experience. That's when I stopped and checked the pads and the rotors out. The pads appeared fine, but the rotors didn't look so hot. They weren't overly grooved out, but they were pitted and the outer edges were pretty rusty. I knew I would have to replaced them along with the pads. But there was nothing dire (I was afraid I was metal on metal) about the situation so I have just been living with the van's poor stopping abilities the past few weeks.
I finally stopped by the auto parts store today to get new rotors and pads to rectify my problem. As a side note, somewhere along the way, I also noticed that the van also has rear disc brakes instead of drum. They are next on the list, but I really haven't taken a close look at them. But since the van is on jacks right now, I might as well. Anyway, I get home and proceed to jack up the van and take the tire off. Now I am facing a caliper setup I have never seen. (My experience portfolio isn't very large, but large enough that I feel comfortable doing these sorts of jobs) After calling a friend and poking around the caliper setup, I realize that instead of the standard Chevy front end setup that I am used to from my S-10 and the full size van and the full size truck and the previous S-10 which utilized a wheel/hub all in one rotor and a caliper over the top, this has a bracket mounted to the spindle with a front wheel drive like rotor under it and the caliper mounted to the bracket, with the pads being mounted in the bracket.
I also realized that the allen key I have gotten out will be no good as I now need an 18 MM socket and a T55 Torx head. Groan. Back to the tool box. Now I proceed to TRY and take off the bolts. First the caliper bolts. They won't budge. I HATE torx heads. HATE THEM. I hate them even more than allen keys. They always seem to strip. Maybe I just don't know how to use them, but they always seem to strip, or slip out of the bolt you are trying to remove. Anyway, the caliper bolts will not budge, It doesn't help that I can't get any leverage underneath the wheel well. I crank the wheel so that the bolts are atleast facing towards the outer edge as much as possible. Still not much clearance, but better. I still can't get them to budge. I beat the socket wrench with a hammer. No go. I grab a larger box wrench to create a cheater bar. Still no go. I WD-40 them. Still no go. I switch to the 18MM bolts holding the bracket and can't even get them to budge. This is getting ridiculous. I knew the bolts would be tight, that's to be expected but this is unreal! A simple 30 minute job is turning into an hour now. I get mad and call my buddy back up. He has a couple of tools I don't have including an impact wrench.
I spray the bolts down with WD-40 again to let them sit and penetrate while I go get the impact wrench. I come back and go back at it. The impact wrench pulls off the 18MM bolts. I take off the caliper assembly and realize that I am going to have to get the caliper apart from the bracket in order to change the pads. So I put the caliper assembly back on the spindle and bolt it down so I can try and get the caliper bolts out. I hit the top torx head with the impact wrench and it slowly comes off. YEA!! Only one more bolt to go. By this time I am feeling pretty good. I go to take off the bottom bolt and WHAM! It won't budge. My air compresor comes on to keep the gun going. It still won't budge. I stop. Glare at the bolt. Get my cheater bar set up and try and break it free. It keeps wanting to slip and I can just feel the pain of a SNAP and a CRACK. So I stop trying with my rigged cheater bar setup. I call my buddy back up and he's surprised that the bolt won't budge. He has a longer cheater bar that I can come and get. (He's laid up with a busted foot, otherwise he'd come help). Before headed over, I hit the bolt one more time with the impact. It shears the torx head socket in half. (It wasn't designed for use with impact wrenches. Good thing I've got another, although still not designed for use with an impact)
I go an pick up the larger cheater and show my buddy my old rotor. He's mystified by the pitted look. I tell him the pads "look" almost new - meaning that they look like they had just been changed. But something was causing my shudder (warped rotor-like shudder). He agrees that the rotors are indeed shot. I get back home with my last option with this longer cheater bar. I apply imense amount of leverage to try and break the bolt free. (also all this time I have been applying liberal amounts of WD-40.) The wrench slips and I crack myself on the head with my fist (at least it wasn't the cheater bar). I get mad, grab my hammer and beat on the bottom the caliper. Then I give up and go inside.
I'm hungry, grumpy, tired and beyond frustrated. What should have been a 30 minute job has now turned into 3 hrs. Whoever put these brakes together last seemed to think that tighter must always be better. As I thought about it, the tire was also very difficult to remove. I was mystified why the pads look so new and the rotor aside from the rusted outer edges and inside on the back side, appeared to be in okay shape. It was very pitted however. So I am thinking that the brakes were the last time the tire was off and instead of new rotors and pads, they just did pads. Then over-tightened every thing and then put the wheel back on and over tightened that as well warping the rotor. I probably applied in the upper end of the 100's (like 150-170) ft lbs or torque to remove the wheels. I don't really know because I didn't have a gauge, but I have removed a lot of wheels in my lifetime that have been properly torqued and this wheel, was definately WAY over torqued.
continues next post...
After about 45 minutes or so, I go back out side to get the truck ready to sit over night and cleanup a little so I can tackle it again tomorrow. Just for the heck of it, I hit the bolt one more time with the impact. The bolt STARTS TO TURN and then COMES OFF!! YEA! FREAKIN YEA!!! Hallaluja. The WD-40 finally penetrated enough for it to do it's job. I pull the caliper assembly apart and pop out the old pads and pop in the new pads and put everything back together. Well almost. I left the other side for tomorrow and I need to replace the once stuck caliper bolt. The head is pretty thrashed and halfway stripped. I don't want to put it back in and have it strip completely the next time I have to replace the brakes. So thats tomorrow's job. But first I'll jack up the other side and spray the snot out the bolts on the passenger side, because I'll bet they are just as tight. Then let them sit for a while. Maybe then they won't be such a bear to remove. Also I am going to find the doofus who screwed them on so tight and screw a bunch of bolts into his head really tight. ...
So there's my very long saga.... ENJOY!!
Now if only it went this well last night.
Ya - the dirty hands suck. I still have grime encrusted at the tips of my fingers. I do sometimes wish I could find a "trusted" auto shop, but since moving I haven't found one to replace the one I used to have.
I am having a problem with my 2001 Safari Van. I keep getting the p0300 engine code. I can feel the engine is missing but this is only evident once I get to about 55mph or faster and I maintain a constant speed. Once I feel the engine missing, I can accellerate and the miss disappears. I have replaced the distributor, distributor cap, ignition wires, spark plugs, fuel filter, and applied an injector cleaner in my gas. Still it misses. When it starts missing at say 55mph, the service engine light will begin flashing. If I gently accelerate up to say 70mph, the missing stops during the acceleration and as I approach 70 mph the car is sort of "fooled" into thinking that the missing problem is gone and the service engine light stops blinking and goes out, but when I immediately decelerate to 55mph and maintain that speed, it will begin to flash again. Has anyone out there experienced this missing problem (p0300) and if so, what action did you take to resolve it? Please help. Thank you.
regards,
Doug
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
The fuel pump died at 120,000 miles had it replaced months ago and it ran fine
for a couple of months, then out of nowhere, the van would stall while idling in a parking lot, and have to sit for a while before it would restart. Most recently it would drive fine for 60-70 miles and then suddenly during a wide open pass the car would bog down and shake from loss of power until you let off the gas to at least half a pedal, as if it was out of gas, no popping, spitting just a loss of power. The car was tuned up air filter,cap, rotor,wires at 108,000 (before any problems happened) the fuel filter, fuel pump have both been replaced no engine codes come up on scan tool. Does not do this all the time, only intermittantly but when it does you get stuck were you are. Maybe a fuel regulator ???
Any body else run into this ???
Thanks,
Joe
Piston slap is when an undersized piston is installed. Over time or in cold weather, the piston vibrates up/down the cylinder walls. Thus, "slapping" sounds. Especially under "First Start" conditions (when little oil lubrication) or when under colder engine climate conditions.
Another form of ticking is stuck lifters, stuck valves and other stuck internal engine parts. Sometimes, Oil additives (like Mystery Oil) can loosen those parts. And over time, the stuck part Magically starts working properly again. For more details of MMO, surf entire post and bottom comments of: http://classiccars.about.com/b/2007/12/28/marvel-mystery-oil-for-your-classic-ca- - r.htm#gB3
As a suggestion, keep using MMO in your engine. If MMO makes the engine ticking sound go away, then it must be a good thing to use. Sounds like some small amounts of MMO can be used in the gas tank as well. As my doctor often says, "if it works - keeping doing it".
Hope this helps as well...
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