mggarner@gmail.com

Hello,

I am trying to learn all I can about my new van. I am a Honda guy who's had 2 Civics, 2 Accords, and an Odyssey. I know very little about Chevy Express 3500 vans and am brand new to this forum. What's a good place to start my learning journey?

Thanks!

mountainmanjoe

Welcome.
Start by reading the owner's manual cover to cover.

I also recommend a repair manual like Haynes.
Pop open the hood, and just start studying everything. Check all the fluids and filters. Try to identify all the parts, and learn what they do.

Inspect the rest of the vehicle. Make sure the driveline and suspension are all in good shape.

I have made a checklist here of things to check.

If you have any questions, take a photo and ask us here.

GatorHawk24

Welcome to the forum. I think a good start is understanding how you plan to use the van. My family made the jump from a Toyota Sienna (sort of, we added an Express 3500, and we still have the Sienna). We bought the van for the specific purposes of towing a travel trailer and long family road trips. The Express has worked very well for our family for both planned uses. I studied the pros/cons of the different engine options, towing capability, seating arrangements, etc before we purchased our van. It's a bit of a beast to use as a daily driver, but we are happy with it for its intended purpose.

I agree with Joe, if you are unfamiliar with these vans, you'll want to familiarize yourself with the location of things under the hood and how accessible (or inaccessible) are the various components. If you plan to work on it yourself, you'll definitely want to figure out how nimble your hands/arms/fingers need to be to get to everything.

MiragePilot

Welcome! Like you, I am a hardcore Honda guy (7 Accords, 1 Civic, 1 Odyssey and an Acura RDX), and am now on my 2nd Express van. I have been very happy with my Express vans (1996 and 2002). They are quite different from the Hondas, and if you are used to maintaining and swinging wrenches on the Hondas, there will be a difference when you start working on the Chevy. I always use the OEM Factory Service Manuals, and find the Honda FSMs a LOT easier to navigate than the Chevy FSM. The layout and structure of the Chevy FSM is completely different and will take a while to figure out. They are also not as detailed as the Honda FSMs, but still adequate to get the jobs done.
The checklist provided by mountainmanjoe above is excellent and covers all the bases.
Enjoy your new Express and don’t hesitate to ask us if you have any questions.

Peter

SteveROntario

Did you buy new or used? What do you plan to do with it? If you bought used, you need to figure out what its service history was or just assume nothing was done.
These are commercial vehicles so they tend to be pretty trouble free. You will just need to learn not to hammer on the gas pedal like you would on a 4 banger as V8s have an incredible appetite when you do that.

TXLeadfoot

I've lost count of how many Honda/Acura products I have owned. I own an '04 Express 2500 cargo van with 320k miles on the 6.0L that I use for work. One thing that drives me crazy is hunting through sh***ty, cartoony, incomplete GM consumer parts diagrams online. The Honda parts resellers online have great diagrams.

MiragePilot

Oh hell YES, TXLeadfoot!!! That is my biggest complaint with GM.....they go out of there way to prevent owners from seeing a detailed parts list/BOM. 100% opposite of Honda.

mountainmanjoe

Bull****.


My local GM parts department has beautiful diagrams and part catalogs. They've always helped me to find parts I'm looking for, and even print out the diagrams for me.


If you don't want to that, the internet is full of good sites with info, if you're willing to spend a few minutes searching.
https://nemigaparts.com/cat_spares/epc/chevrolet/55g-g/

MiragePilot

Of course the parts guy at the CHEVY Dealer has a fully illustrated parts manual /w part numbers, but I never been able to find it online for myself.
All the illustrated parts manuals I find online are simplified/watered down and incomplete.

Many thanks for the link above, btw, this is the best parts guide I have seen online to date!

Peter