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.
Don't know if this will help but if your belt is slipping and your power steering pump is not turning at the required speed which is causing the wheel to turn hard. The rest sounds like it's from getting coated in antifreeze.
and make sure the belt and pulleys are clean and with the belt on make sure the belt tensioner has enough tension on the belt them can make the squeal and also make your steering feel tighter if its slipping
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
makes it sound like an accessory is freezing up, and the motor is straining turning the belt against it. The a/c compressor is a pretty common culprit here.
I've gotta be honest I thought I was going to get alot of ...
Dude you burnt a valve, or blew a head gasket, or cracked the block....
Are we leaning toward belts, and power steering pumps, water pumps, etc? Because I can live with that.....In response to previous post, after I take the belt off and try to move them freely, if they don't move freely what does that tell me?
Thanks as always.
UPDATE: I went outside and pulled the van into the garage. The belt seems like it has decent tension on it but when I move to the driver side and grab the belt I can pretty easily turn it to inspect the other side...I would assume that this is loose...Again, your dealing with a nooob.
I think ASTRO355 says diagnose don't swap parts...how do I diagnose what is wrong? This is obviously going to be my project tomorrow because I don't feel comfortable driving it.
And, what is the procedure for cleaning pulleys. I'll replace the belt...Should I go with a Gatorback or something else?
Has anybody else noticed that the search function doesn't work?
It tells you something is freezing up, and dragging the motor down, therefore needing replacement. If it's just a loose belt, then you probably need a tensioner. However, the fact that you say the motor seems to be sluggish, and when you try to accelerate it you get squeal, that there's drag on the belt at some point. It's a free way to check things before you start spending hard earned cash.
I think ASTRO355 says diagnose don't swap parts...how do I diagnose what is wrong? This is obviously going to be my project tomorrow because I don't feel comfortable driving it.
out of order here.... you SHOULDN'T drive it until you figure this out, and I'm trying to explain to you how to find out the problem. If you rule out all of the potentially seized or seizing bearings in the belt's path,you have a good start. Don't go spend money on a new belt until you know it's not going to get toasted too.
Thanks for the advice...I'll get crackin' on it tomorrow and update accordingly. Be sure to check back tomorrow....I'll probably have 100 more questions.
Yeah, it's idling rough in park...instead of the typical wub,wub, wubwub, of the engine I hear thup , thup, thup. Also when it's moving if I take my foot off the gas everything seems to calm down.
sounds like the belt to me too. If it is the ac compressor, and you don't wanna spend the cash on a new compressor, pull out the old belt, buy the non ac idler pulley and belt, and bypass the compressor. does it make a rattling or pinging noise at all?
sounds like the belt to me too. If it is the ac compressor, and you don't wanna spend the cash on a new compressor, pull out the old belt, buy the non ac idler pulley and belt, and bypass the compressor. does it make a rattling or pinging noise at all?
Nope no rattling that I've heard, but then again the majority of the van rattles in some form or fashion. LOL :screaming: After I get finished with my pot of coffee I'm going to get my wrenches.
If the rough running started after the lower rad hose broke, I would think it might be from wet plug wires arcing out. especially if they are old wires with loose seals etc. The belt and all pulleys have anti-freeze all over them too now.
Check your plug wires. Maybe try to run the engine in pitch dark and look for possible arcing from the plug wires????? That's worked for me in the past.
Ok. so I've got the belt off. all of the pulleys seem to move very freely except for this one. (pic). I believe this is the AC compressor.? Since my AC doesn't work anyway I may just purchase the bypass (what are your thoughts?) It's not hard to turn by hand but it doesn't give a full rotation when you spin it with your hand. I read in a previous post to start the car momentarily after the belt is removed...No squeeking, when belt is removed.
With what do I clean the pulleys?
If we determine that I'm going to go without A/C do I need to remove the compressor? Looks like a pita. If so, Hayness book says it's under high pressure? Do I need to discharge it, if so how? Keep in mind my A/C hasn't worked since I purchased the vehicle.
when you started it without the belt, did it still idle like it was straining? if the a/c doesn't work, it probably has no refrigerant, which would mean it's not under pressure, however , don't take that for granted....check it before you go removing a/c hoses.
Well, I can't get the bypass pulley for 2 days....nobody has them in stock....so I'm headed down to the u pick for a new compressor..Here's where I'm at so far.
Changed the tensioner and belt.. no more squeek.
Still runs bad.
I hate to use this term because I'm afraid that I'll use it incorrectly, but the engine feels like it's missing. Still slow sluggish, steering still bad.
Moving on to the spark plugs, wires, disty and rotor.
Sluggish, backfiring, or idling like crap are a couple symtoms of misfiring.
Sounds like you got antifreeze/water on something it shouldn't be on. You could try spraying WD-40 on your coil, plugs wires and around your dizzy cap.
I would hold off and the AC compressor until your for sure know its not missing.
So before I just continue to throw new parts at the van, I took it up to a shop by my house. Guy comes out and says, I'd start with chnaging the plugs and wires, I say let's go ahead and do it..He wants $225.0 0!!!!!!!!!
SO herre I am back in the garage.
ok got 3 of the 6 sparkplugs changed...Guess what side of the van? I'll work on the drivers side in a little while..I changed the distributor cap and rotor....I notice something else.
It was doing this previously before I changed the disty. Since I have the doghouse off, I can really hear the engine and noise... I notice a ticking sound, put my ear near the disty and it's coming from there. If I grab the cap while the engine is running the tick, tick, tick (with speed of the engine) goes away. It does the same thing with the new cap as well. Grab it, and it disappears.
So far I have changed the tensioner, belt, 3 spark plugs, rotor, and disty...no change in performance. it still sucks.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Chevy Astro and GMC Safari Forum
438.3K posts
23.1K members
Since 2008
A forum community dedicated to Chevy Astro and GMC Safari owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about performance, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, maintenance, and more!