Hello, i have 1998 Chevy Astro Van AWD with the 4.3 Vortec in it. We have had nothing but problems with this rig. The vehicle is actually my moms and i am just trying to get it going again. The van will sit there and idle fine all day, no ups and downs in the rpms that i can tell by listening to itbecause the van did not come with an RPM tach. I can sit there and rev it up and it seems to run fine. But if i ease into the gas slightly it seems to miss around 1300-1800 rpms. If you are driving it around town it seems to shift into second gear really hard but the tranny is not slipping it is just going into some gears hard(it is an automatic trans). But if you stomp it the damn thing gets up and scoots like there is no problem. I am really confused though.I go to school 6 hours away from where i live and i am just trying to fix this thing on the weekends when i go home, and i dont want to put alot of money into it. Any ideas or help would be greatly appreciated. Thank You,
Jordan

 

I dont think so. I havent personally drove it in the rain but we have driven it in the rain and it doesnt do it any worse or any better when it is. I think it has something to do with the distributor. But i'm not really sure. And my last resort is taking it somewhere, but i dont like anybody else working on my stuff.

 

To echo the sentiments of others Ac Delco and Delco only. I have been having this problem on my and changed the cap and rotor to Delco and no problems since. The hiccuping on the highway all gone. I still have my Bosch plugs though. I think the main problem is in the cap and rotor. The AM is just not designed the same if you place them side by side you can see.

 

Where is the best deal on the AC Delco cap, rotor and I was thinking I would do the coil at the same time?

Also same with filter and gasket on tranny when I change the fluid; use Delco parts?

Thanks and I'm new the to the Forum. I'll post a picture of my unique 1999 Astro van and add its details to my signature line soon.

 

www.rockauto.com treats me very good. I can even get you 5% discount code.

 

I went to O'reilly for parts, forget the brand, but they are limited lifetime warranty which means as long as I own the van. Cap and Rotor were about $60 total. AC Delco is like a year, but no more. I got a $19.99 block heater to replace my old one and that was a piece of cake. Dealer wanted $150 to pop out the old one and put in the new one! Apparently they can't figure out how to get them out.

So far I have better pick up/acceleration which makes me happy. MPG with the raised roof with tip computer reset is 16.8 which I think is pretty good. This weekend I'll be putting about 600 miles or so on it, so we'll see how it goes.

 

I didn't think that there were any engines made with a dist cap and rotor since OBDII in 1996 - guess the 4.3 is special?

 

Nope, most of the GM V8s still used them.

 

99 old body style has cap and rotor