As the title says, I am at the moment considering purchasing a "new" 2005+ Express van, most likely it will be a cargo van as I don't have any reason to have a family hauler, and would primary keep stuff in it (more like storage and tools for fixing cars I guess) anyways that is another point, I currently have my Jeep wrangler which is taking care of the 4x4 aspect for when it gets crappy weather wise here in the New England area, but at the moment I have a 1999 F250 (that I love having and have put some time into mod wise, and general work wise) however the body on it sadly is showing signs of severe noncorrectible cancer (rust) and while the motor I know could go easy another 500,000+ on it I can say with some certainty the body will not.....(i've already had a few pieces fall off in nice rust piles in my drive way) and my parents are also kid of urging me to look for something that is not as much of a "money hungry pit" now I could go brand new with a 2020 something or other but yea not my style.....I like to work on my stuff when I need to so new is not my cup of tea.....

anyways I am looking at a 2005 Express, cargo van with the V8 in it, and when it comes to working on cars I have absolutely no issue working on my own vehicles and getting dirty with the rest of them, I do how ever have issues when the previous owners of vehicles I buy turn the wireing into a rats nest (and thankfully while that was done on my truck, it was quick and easy to sort out, as it was a fleet truck) so I would consider the same for the Express, get one from a fleet or similar type, as bare basic as I can get (yes I would get manual crank windows if I can find one with them......)



anyways, enough of me prattling on, what are some (common?) issues I should be aware of or be looking out for if I decide to look at and test drive some express vans? are there common things that generally break that need replacing at a certain mileage (like some chevy vehicles I know have had issues with water pumps going bad and nearly causing an engine to go **** up because the pump nearly took other parts with it type issues). anything I should stay away from or signs that I should look for that would tell me to just hop in my truck and run away in fear?


if anyone is interested I have linked below one of the Vans that I am considering looking at

https://www.curmsonsauto.com/vdp/136...-York-NY-11377

I have decided to repost this here as this is more specific to the van type its self and perhaps get more info as I try to decide on a van or a Jeep Cherokee, so yea, thanks for any help you guys can provide to help me on deciding on what I should do.

 

Don't forget it's not exactly a fuel sipper. I would look up the fuel economy and do some quick back-of-the-envelope math to see what you'll spend monthly on fuel, and if you can live with that.
https://www.fueleconomy.gov/

 

Thanks for the heads up, I know its not a gas sipper, but honestly if I wanted something to be a gas sipper and all that I would be looking into a Prius or something similar to that, I buy based on my needs, as for the truck sadly the need for it is no longer present so I don't need to keep it (it avraged about 20 miles to each gallon with a 50 gallon tank), I figure the van will get similar mileage, and this will NOT be a daily, as it will split the duty between this and my Jeep (the truck right now acts as my back up vehicle to the jeep, so the van would be taking over the same role if you will....)

 

Then you'll be in for a surprise. The EPA claims 11-15mpg for a V8. A van has the aerodynamics of the side of a barn.

 

ouch! well im not too concerned for the fuel mileage (this will share daily duties with my Jeep which is about roughly 12-15L per 100Km (about an average of 16 ish MPG) so yea, as for looking at the van I know the 4.8s are the gutless wonders (easy fix with a regear in the axle) are there any items I should take a long hard look at when/if I go (the vans I am looking at are a little over an hour away from where I live so I plan to be sure it will be worth the trip before going) or any thing that if I see I should run away, rust being obvious, but perhaps specific areas I should look at? I know trucks tend to be slightly different and have had trucks most of my life (growing up to) so this would be my very first van that I would own my self, my parents had a Ford Aerostar, and three dodge vans (Plymouth town and country, Chrysler voyager and dodge grand caravan, all three were the same body platform) so aside from those I don't really have much experience looking at vans of this type for "known issues"


aside from the things to look for, what are some mods that I could do to improve the van? I know the sealed beam halo lamps would be coming out for LED truck lite replacements (my Jeep has similar and I love how bright they are) but if I got the Express are there other things I could do with it?, yes radio I know is one and would be going in almost immediately.

 

I have a 2001 GMC Savana van.
Issues:
Water pump
Injection module
Lower intake gasket
Transmissions(3)
Distributor cap/rotor corrosion
Cam sensor wiring corroding.
Rear roof weather stripping leaking
Clear coat peeling on hood/front fenders
Fuel pump failing
Rockers rusting under both sides, under doors
Side, swinging cargo doors-hinges bind
Blower motor resistor failing
Brake lines rusted through.

I've had the van it's entire life.
Still have it.

 

as far as some of these I don't think I will have too much issue (though some of them look to be a two person type job or at least an extra pair of hands would be a good to have situation) for me, I have replaced blower motors and resisters before, however the only thing I haven't really messed with is the intake gaskets, but I would suspect they are easy enough? same for water pumps, how bad are those and are there any signs I can use to see if the pump is beginning to fail on the van I am considering?


as for the hinges, this van has a rear sliding door and the normal barn doors in the back.

 

U-joints and upper control arm bushings are a common replacement. I agree with trans, had mine remanned with the upgraded parts. No issues since. Paint will likely be an issue with it being a cargo style van. The other owners here would have better info on newer motors (mine's 93 and still strong). MPG is pretty good for a mobile barn.

 

what "upgrade parts" are typically put in the transmissions? is there a way to tell (aside from service records) if the transmission was upgraded at all? I am assuming that IF I go for this van that nothing has ever been done to it and no records exist for it....

 

You're looking at something around '05, right? Don't think you'll be looking at the same transmission (4L60E), so any upgrades during a reman would probably be slightly different. The planetary gear and the clutches are the major parts they change out with the older models. If a service record exists with the current owner you may be able to track down the service shop and inquire there. I would expect a service record with a fleet vehicle, at the very least some sort of PM schedule.