Chevy Astro and GMC Safari Forum banner

Same Van NEW PROBLEM! (Pix)

3K views 41 replies 14 participants last post by  rev_les 
#1 ·
So here we go again. As alot of you guys already know, my van is my daily driver. Engine has about 232k on it. You've seen in the last few weeks that I'm starting to sink a couple of bucks into the van. So here's the story, and then I'll give the mechanical details. I'm on way to a customers house today. As I'm just about to make a left turn, I look in my rear view mirror all I see is white smoke/steam/vapor. I immediately look down at the temp guage and I'm still where I'm always at when my van is warmed up. I complete the left turn and pull off the side of the road. Look under the hood and all I see is antifreeze flowing onto the ground. (At this point look at pictures). Yep, that's my lower radiator hose. Sweet ain't it.



I remain calm, I call my customer and tell her that I'm gonna be a little late. I call my wife and tell her to go to NAPA Auto Parts, and then I call NAPA. My wife delivers the hose, new clamps and a couple of bottles of antifreeze to the side of the road and I have the new hose back on within an hour of the initial issue. At this point I'm feeling awfully proud of myself.

Did I mention this is one of the wealthiest areas in the country? And there I am working on my van on the side of the road. Within 10 minutes a cop showed up, not to ask me if I needed help, but to inquire as to what exactly I thought I was doing. I said, "I'm fixing my van" he just started laughing and said, "Do it as fast as you can, these busy bodies are getting nervous". Yes Sir.

Everythings hooked up. Start it up. No leaks, head home to get cleaned up. Here comes the mechanical.

Van doesn't run right. The idle sounds different feels different, it's sluggish. It's very shaky. Belts are making a significant squeeling when I step on the gas.

Here are the prior symptoms. The last couple of days it seemed like my power steering was "tightening up" the wheel wasn't moving as freely as it normally did, it wasn't hard to turn the steering wheel, but it wasn't normal.
 
See less See more
1
#28 ·
An off topic question, but what U-pull it do you go to? Since we live in the same basic area, I'm wondering if we visit the same one.

On Topic - The shop I go to said they would charge $150 (I believe it was) to do a plug change... I said "WHAT??" he said it's because they are a PITA to get to (as you now know). I figure it can't be any worse than it was on my old Suburban I had shorty headers on so I'll do it myself when the time comes.

What you got going on sounds wierd, if it ran perfect before the hose blew, it would make sense that that had something to do with it or at least contributed to something else going bad. I would think eliminating anything that didn't get wet would be a start.
 
#29 ·
ok, now we've ruled out locked up anything, for free, ....you're on the cap rotor, wire thing; how do the spark plugs look? Also, depending on when in '95 your is made, it may or may not have a crank position sensor, it's nice n low so it might have been soaked too. (lower pass side of the timing cover)... see if it's there and clean the connection if it is.
Also, is the check engine light on? and do you have OBD 1.5,or OBD II? There's a ground on the thermostat housing too, clean it really good, or better yet, solder longer wires on and relocate it to chassis ground.
Many times it's simple things that cause malfunctions,and these vans have a TON of little problems. If that ground point was marginal to begin with, a good soaking might have finished it off,and it grounds the computer, so if it's bad...it'll cause haywire problems. I'm trying to add to the obvious things here, with some of the oddball problems I've seen in the past. Good luck!and keep us informed :D

on that cap and rotor, make sure the rotor is seated all the way down.
 
#30 ·
The shop I go to said they would charge $150 (I believe it was) to do a plug change... I said "WHAT??" he said it's because they are a PITA to get to (as you now know). I figure it can't be any worse than it was on my old Suburban I had shorty headers on so I'll do it myself when the time comes.
I just really don't find it that hard to do the plugs on these vans..it's easier if you take the front tires off, but it's not necessary, you can go over them. The drivers rear one is the most difficult.
 
#31 ·
tommckay said:
An off topic question, but what U-pull it do you go to? Since we live in the same basic area, I'm wondering if we visit the same one. quote]

Ross Towing North of 8 Mile off Telegraph.. Northbound side of Telegraph.

So I'm still at 3 plugs...I had to go to my real job for a couple of hours...But I'm back to being Mr. Badwrench.

I don't think the plugs are going to help anything.
 
#32 ·
rev_les said:
ok, now we've ruled out locked up anything, for free, ....you're on the cap rotor, wire thing; how do the spark plugs look? Also, depending on when in '95 your is made, it may or may not have a crank position sensor, it's nice n low so it might have been soaked too. (lower pass side of the timing cover)... see if it's there and clean the connection if it is.
Also, is the check engine light on? and do you have OBD 1.5,or OBD II? There's a ground on the thermostat housing too, clean it really good, or better yet, solder longer wires on and relocate it to chassis ground.

Many times it's simple things that cause malfunctions,and these vans have a TON of little problems. If that ground point was marginal to begin with, a good soaking might have finished it off,and it grounds the computer, so if it's bad...it'll cause haywire problems. I'm trying to add to the obvious things here, with some of the oddball problems I've seen in the past. Good luck!and keep us informed :D

on that cap and rotor, make sure the rotor is seated all the way down.
What does the Crank position sensor look like?
No the Check Engine light is not on.
I don't know what OBD I have.
 
#33 ·
crank pos. sensor will be the only sensor mounted on the timing cover,if it's not there, you'll see a mount that isn't drilled, and a place for a small bolt adjacent to it. I was asking about the OBD type and codes to see if it might possibly lead to a particular cylinder. the early ALDL ( obd1/1.5) is rectangular, the obd II ALDL has angled sides.
any sooty plugs means rich or misfiring, any wet ones would be bad news.
 
#35 ·
Sometimes diagnosing problems with an automobile can be extremely trying. That's why I was trying to help figure out the things that DON'T cost any money, before opening up the checkbook. Don't give up on her yet, have a beer and relax! I spent 2 months figuring out problems on my '95 when I bought it, most of them were from the previous owner trying to fix the small problems it actually had, but all he did was created a downward spiral of more and bigger problems that he couldn't fix, and I spent a lot of time, but not that much money figuring out the horrible puzzle he created.I was about ready to make a submarine out of the damned thing. a hundred on a tuneup was probably due to be done anyway, and you needed a belt and tensioner from the sounds of it, plus the obvious radiator hose and coolant. If it was running fine before the incident, you HAVE to be close to finding the problem. Others feel free to chime in here!
 
#36 ·
rev_les said:
Sometimes diagnosing problems with an automobile can be extremely trying. That's why I was trying to help figure out the things that DON'T cost any money, before opening up the checkbook. Don't give up on her yet, have a beer and relax! I spent 2 months figuring out problems on my '95 when I bought it, most of them were from the previous owner trying to fix the small problems it actually had, but all he did was created a downward spiral of more and bigger problems that he couldn't fix, and I spent a lot of time, but not that much money figuring out the horrible puzzle he created.I was about ready to make a submarine out of the damned thing. a hundred on a tuneup was probably due to be done anyway, and you needed a belt and tensioner from the sounds of it, plus the obvious radiator hose and coolant. If it was running fine before the incident, you HAVE to be close to finding the problem. Others feel free to chime in here!
:goodpost:
 
#38 ·
since we are on the subject of changing plugs and wires and junk did you by chance mix up the order on the cap or at a plug? i have found out recently that the firing order is not the same as on a 90s camaro with the v6. and the van will run surprisingly well but noticeably slower with at least 3 configures of mixed up wires. i couldnt find a picture of the distributor wire order but trial and error will provide results.
 
#39 ·
My van is fixed!!!!!!!!!!

Here's where I went crazy yesterday.... I changed the 3 spark plugs on the passenger side. Went to the right side lifted the van, started to take off the lug nuts..Hey, these don't look like the proper lug nuts. (I've got pix I'll post)

About a month ago, I bought some rims off Craigslist. Across the street from the guys house was a place called Detroit Tire..I stopped, paid tem $65.00 to put the rims on for me. They put the wrong friggin lug nuts on (NO ACORN) and they were litterally chewing through the rims. At that point I lost it, put the center cap back on and today drove it to a National Chain.

I had them do a complete tune up, put a new muffler on and change all of the lug nuts. One of the rim posts broke because Detroit Tire cross threaded it on. Idiots.

Anyway, $400 later Muffler, Tune up, New post, and 20 new lugs and the van runs nice again.

Next up....Tie rods.

Here are the pix...I don't know if you can appreciate it from these pictures but the lug nuts are sunk into the rim about 1/4". They were literally chewing away at the rims.
the second picture was taken at the shop today...this is the broken post.

Thanks to all of the guys especially rev_les who stayed on line with me trying to help figure out the issues.. Unfortunately I was out of beer and patience! :cheers:

 
#40 ·
Detroit Tire "lost" your acorns? That's messed up. I would have been back there and made them eat those lugnuts they put on your van. :banghead: :screaming:

But I'm glad to hear that you got everything worked out. What part of Michigan are you in? Next time, if you're close enough, give me a call and I'll bring some beer. :cheers:
 
#41 ·
astro355 said:
Detroit Tire "lost" your acorns? That's messed up. I would have been back there and made them eat those lugnuts they put on your van. :banghead: :screaming:

But I'm glad to hear that you got everything worked out. What part of Michigan are you in? Next time, if you're close enough, give me a call and I'll bring some beer. :cheers:
Or at least take my receipt from the first visit and from the fix and make them pay....that's ridiculous.
 
#42 ·
Glad ya got it all worked out! Something I learned a long time ago....never trust a tire shop. I had wheels put on mine, and I was going down the highway, and noticed a shake...thought one was out of balance, i pulled over, looked, didn't NOTICE anything obvious, got back on the road, and suddenly the front end dropped, and I seen my wheel go rolling past me. Not much fun stopping a vehicle from 70 mph on 3 wheels and a rotor, lol. I made them fix the bent up fender and replace the chewed up rotor....when I went to do a tire rotation a few thousand miles later, I ended up with like 5 broken studs, due the the bass-turds
cross-threading them. And if anyone's ever in west palm beach , florida.....don't go to Custom Wheel & Tire.They're the great guys that did it. BTW, that's the 5 that broke.... i ended up replacing probably 8 of the 20 .... i was really really happy, lemme tell ya.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top