AstrosRule

Hey guys, new to the forums. We got a Chevrolet Astro van her. Shes a 1998 AWD beast. Lol, anyway guys, this thing has been nothing but a pile of junk. We have replaced every part on it in the past couple of months after we bought it. We replaced the alternator, all the tires, axle, sway bars, water pump, fuel pump, tune up, any way let me get to the point. The van would do this thing where it wouldnt start after running strong all day the day before. The first time we experience a shut down was back in January, we were driving, and the van began to buck at 50+mph, then it shut off. I was able to get it to start in the middle of the snowstorm, and was able to drive it almost home and we had to town it the rest of the way there. We trailered it to a shop later that week, and they said it was just the fuel filter. It ran well for the 3 days, then it wouldnt start again, it was turning over, but no start. So, we brought I went down to trailer it again, and it fired right up after renting a trailer. So we drove it around some more, then later that week it shut down again, so then this time i just hooked a rope up to it and towed to the mechanic down the road, they said the fuel pump was bad, and that seemed to do the trick. We brought the van through a 300mph trip in a winter storm to Logan Airport, and then on the way back 10 miles away from home on a back road in a blizzard, she decides to die again. I could feeling it bucking prior to the shut down at 50+mph. So luckily once gain, I was able to get the thing to start on the side of the road after waiting, and we were able to get home. Then a couple days later again, it wouldnt start again in the driveway, so we towed it back down the road, this time our mechanic replaced a distributor cap and rotor, he said the chevy dealer said that those vans had a recall because the condestation form the AC were a problem. So the van ran again for a few days again, then it was shut down again. So we had our fill, I trailered it back to him again, and this time he knew he only had a matter of time to diagnose the can while it was doing bad, because the thing intermittently will start for him while he is working on it. He is convinced its either the computer needs to be repladed, or the wiring harnesss, which he thinks is alot of money to put into the van on top of the $3,500 we put into it already. What do you guys think this could be, its super annoinbg, we need this van but cant use it because its not reliable.

John86

are u not getting ne kind of codes? i'd thinking about looking at the crankshaft posistion sensor. that can cause an intermittent dying. or maybe another sensor. try giving the pcm the tap test but don't bang on it to hard.

novaracer

I've had 2 new Astro/Safaris (1994 and 1999) and my brother bought a new Astro in 2000. The 94 (SFI fuel injection) developed a hard startthing and before I could get around to "tuning" it up it died. Turned out that it was the fuel pump. The pump was making like 51 lbs of pressure and minimum spec was like 54. you'da thought it would start with 51 but nope. My brothers's 2000 developed a no start problem when he was out of town for business and his wife had it towed. The "mechanics" told her it was a bad fuel pump but it turned out to be a distributer cap problem. It has happened since and it was a dist. cap problem again. The after market cap he bought had a "bulletin" type message that said to drill a hole in the cap to allow for evaporation. Apparently they feel there is a moisture problem (when I replaced the cap in my 99 I noticed the screws holding the rotor were very corroded). I also own a 99 Suburban that had a no start problem. My wife drove it into the garage and the next morning it wouldn't start. I replaced the cap and rotor and fixed the problem. I also had a friend with a 99 or 2000 Chevy truck with the same problem and a new cap and rotor also fixed his problem. The 99 Safari has caused me a great deal of aggravation with a misfire problem over the years. It first started under warranty. At first they didn't believe I had a misfire (assumed I was a dumb crank) but a week later a code set (P0300 if I remember correctly- random intermittant misfire) and after the dealer "worked on it " six times (long story) they gave up. I couldn't get GM to do anything about it and ended up getting in a yelling match with customer service and haven't bought another new car or truck since. I wonder why GM has lost a huge chunk of market share? I think there is some kind of design problem with the "flat cap." I believe the only problem with my Safari was the distributer cap. I bought a better after market cap with BRASS contacts from JEGS. Hopefully that will be a permanent fix.