New Astro owner from W. Mass

yaaa those things are freakin hideous! I'm in the process of trying to find some cheap wheels for it right now. Not as easy as I thought it would be since it is a Chevy. I am looking for something that will set those tires outside of the body a bit. Either a good offset or a nice wider rim...or both.

I would really love to lift it since the off road scene was the first thing i was into in high school and I miss it a lot...but, I have to remind myself that I bought this for a winter rig and not another project/toy. After being under the van for the first time today trying to find the power steering leak, I discovered that almost every visable bushing is either so dry rotted that it is not doing much of anything or there isnt even a bushing where one should be. The van needs a decent amount of small work to even make it worth dumping more money into. Even something as simple as the tensioner pully is cracked... :?

but we shall see, i have a hard time leaving any of my vehicles stock... some tires, rims and at least stock ride height would be nice...and to stop the leak haha.

Thanks for the welcoming all!

90lownslow said:

Not to sound like a complete repeat but here it goes. I got mine as a work ride that I work on and not just drive to work. I got mine for 500 also and I had a bad power steering leak also. You should check out the power steering pump for your leak. I got one at the junkyard for 20 bucks and it had the bracket or whatever it mounts to allready off. I think it was easier to change the whole bracket and not just the pump.

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From what I could see it is def leaking from the actual pump. I can only see the bottom of it since these engines are so nestled in there but it seems to be leaking right from the bottom of the housing itself. I cannot see any drip marks that would show it is leaking above that area. I guess my next stop will be a junkyard to see what I can find.

Thanks for the info on this and on the rims Mr_Bowtie!

91astroluv said:

Hi
Im from w.mass as well
Own a Shorty grey looks like it was in a sandstorm
with the paint being sanded of to the primer in a lot
of places. Thats because it came form TEXAS.
This means there is NO RUST anywhere!!!!
This was a huge seling point for me!

Glad to have ya aboard If you need a hand picking stuff up from a j Yard
and I have the time I'd be glad to lend a hand. Just let me know.
Trip

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Where abouts are you from in W. Mass? I'm right next to Springfield. I will probably need some help in the future grabbing some parts because I work everyday they are open so I may take you up on that haha. My paint is all messed up too lol. faded clearcoat in some areas and some rust (not as fortunate as your texan car) so as soon as it gets on the road I will be giving it a fresh black coat out of a rattlecan.

d0n said:

welcome and nice looking van for $500!

I'm just over the border in NY.

I am digging the STI. I've always wanted one but couldn't swing it. We got a new 06 impreza 2.5i instead.

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Thanks and the 2.5 isnt a bad car at all. are you into modding it at all? are you on Nasioc? if you ever need any kind of parts for a subaru def check out Nasioc!

Hopefully $500 wasnt overpaid...we will see if it gets me through the winter without too much trouble...

Mr_Bowtie said:

You don't get a lot for $500 these days. :x

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a very valid point...

I was looking for a turn-key beater for under $600...very very difficuly. atleast in NE since most older vehicles are rusted away or beat to death. This was supposed to be a gas-n-go deal but already the PS pump and belt need to be replaced...and its not even on the road yet. :doh:

hey Trip thanks for the kind words haha. MY power steering leak is gone since I put a new/used pump in I got from another member on here last week. As for the linkage, I will let you know today or tomorrow if that is the right one because I will be attempting the lift this weekend!

I dont have wheels yet but I am working on that. I'll keep ya posted!!