Perhaps my mileage has been the key then. I put about 150 miles per week on it. Sometimes a bit less. Almost none of it highway mileage. I only track my mileage by filling up the tank twice right after I swap it in or out. Is there a difference between the coupler on the 91s and the 97s?
AWD to 2WD conversion
Hey all, I'm new.
I don't have an astro, but I'm asking the question for a friend that just picked up a 96' AWD auto astro for 300 bucks 2 weeks ago.
this is what we've done already:
Power steering pump
new serp. belt
new belt tensioner
cragar V-5 black steelies
new tires
new rotors and pads
removed clutch fan / shrowd and installed electric fan. (you can see the front of the engine now!!) :whack:
Cone filter intake
so next step... he and I decided to convert it from AWD (it doesn't snow here, and he doesn't want to take it off road) to RWD... I was under there and thought, damn, this could be really easy! all i gotta do is pull the front drive axles and diff, the front driveshaft, and yank the transfer case. then in it's place just get a 2wd tailshaft and connect it to the rear driveshaft and drive! :swerve:
my question: is it really that easy? what year astro's shared the same tranny that's in this one? what year tailshaft should i look for to put in there to make it 2wd? is there anything ELSE i have to do to complete the conversion?
thanks everyone
- Lash
I don't have an astro, but I'm asking the question for a friend that just picked up a 96' AWD auto astro for 300 bucks 2 weeks ago.
this is what we've done already:
Power steering pump
new serp. belt
new belt tensioner
cragar V-5 black steelies
new tires
new rotors and pads
removed clutch fan / shrowd and installed electric fan. (you can see the front of the engine now!!) :whack:
Cone filter intake
so next step... he and I decided to convert it from AWD (it doesn't snow here, and he doesn't want to take it off road) to RWD... I was under there and thought, damn, this could be really easy! all i gotta do is pull the front drive axles and diff, the front driveshaft, and yank the transfer case. then in it's place just get a 2wd tailshaft and connect it to the rear driveshaft and drive! :swerve:
my question: is it really that easy? what year astro's shared the same tranny that's in this one? what year tailshaft should i look for to put in there to make it 2wd? is there anything ELSE i have to do to complete the conversion?
thanks everyone
- Lash
21 - 24 of 24 Posts
Might be that the lower speeds that you keep it at don't heat up the clutch much. Grumpy sees quite a bit of highway time.
If you don't log every tank it's hard to tell how the mileage really is. I fill every time and use http://www.fuelly.com to log my fills.
Looking at my logs you can see the winter blend mileage drop.
http://www.fuelly.com/driver/ihatemybike/
All AWDs 1998 and older use the BW4472.
Having owned several Astros and knowing how little resistance and weight that one shaft contributes, I don't think any benefit of removing/installing is worth it. Not to mention how much those E-Torx bolt heads suck, which is why I replace them with hex cap heads.
If you don't log every tank it's hard to tell how the mileage really is. I fill every time and use http://www.fuelly.com to log my fills.
Looking at my logs you can see the winter blend mileage drop.
http://www.fuelly.com/driver/ihatemybike/
All AWDs 1998 and older use the BW4472.
Having owned several Astros and knowing how little resistance and weight that one shaft contributes, I don't think any benefit of removing/installing is worth it. Not to mention how much those E-Torx bolt heads suck, which is why I replace them with hex cap heads.
How do you keep the van from rolling when you disable the front drive?
Mine rolls if I don't set the parking brake.
Mine rolls if I don't set the parking brake.
21 - 24 of 24 Posts
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