Ken’s 2000 AWD Astro Tiger GT

[Ken2.7]

I should have started a Build thread earlier but I’ll begin now and break it into segments that may make sense. My tent was getting smaller and the ground was getting harder so I looked at vehicles that allowed me to camp in the backcountry and still be small enough to drive and park in a city. The Astro Tiger GT could fit in my garage (I live a hail prone area), had an onboard bathroom/shower, at 16’ could fit easily on a city street even with two bikes hanging on the back, and having owned two larger Chevy vans I had done a lot of GM maintenance.
The Tiger I found had 44K miles and I knew little of its history so fluid change was first order of business. The Dexcool went out and Prestone green went in after long and repeated flushing. The brake system was bled until it ran clean. Oil was drained and Mobil 1 synthetic went in with a Wix oil filter. The front differential fluid was drained and replaced. The transfer case had red fluid (?!!) so blue AutoTrak II was put in and the Tiger driven in figure 8’s followed by drain and repeat twice. Transmission fluid looked good but was 13 years old so it had to go. I had a shop do a flush and replace the filter and yes I realize a flush is controversial. When I got it home I added a Tru Cool 4590 transmission cooler using ABA fuel injection clamps on the hoses.
The brake pads looked decent but I swapped them out for AC Delco Advantage front ceramic pads. I haven’t been impressed and although they don’t show too much wear I may change them.
At 50K miles the dreaded ABS light came on and thanks to this forum I was able to pull the module and do the repair. All solder joints looked good but I reheated them to a point where the solder just began to flow and when I put it back together it was fixed.
Recently I replaced all coolant hoses using all AC Delco and was surprised there wasn’t an internal spring on the lower hose. I learned the springs were only used to prevent hose collapse during air evacuation and rapid coolant installation during assembly and not only are not necessary but the springs deteriorate with time and can damage water pumps. Looking at the old spring I could definitely see the potential problem.
I’ve put on 30K miles with multiple trips to Canada and both coast and lots of back country Colorado exploring and the Tiger runs strong.

[Ken2.7]

To start the suspension build I installed HD Bilstein shocks front and back. The rear springs were sagging so I decided Firestone Ride Rite air bags would raise the rear and allow me to adjust either side separately to level the ride or to level it out when camping. I found space behind the fresh water tank just large enough for a Viair 74p air compressor and ran the hose, a rocker switch, a pressure gauge, and both air bag valves into the battery box. It functions like I hoped but unless I have 75 to 80 psi I get a wallowing ride. Fortunately with the 2” pucks I used up front to raise the body it sits level at that air pressure. The portable air compressor raises the rear rapidly and is much stronger than I anticipated.
There are times with strong winds on the highway that I feel some sway. The air bags rest on the axle and appear to be in the way of any rear anti-sway bar I could buy. So I took a narrow sway bar off a 2001 Blazer with same diameter axle and attached the end links to a solid length U channel that I bolted to the “frame rails” and that brought some improvement.
I put new poly Mevotech bushings and end links on the front sway bar. One year later the poly bushings were shredded. I have no idea why they didn’t last longer, the 14 year old rubber ones survived better. So this time I took out the old sway bar and put in a larger solid Dorman sway bar (927-103) and it is an improvement.
I get some buffeting from cross winds so in retrospect I think new heavy duty leaf springs might have been the better choice over the air bags.

[AstroWill]

Subscribed!

[Ken2.7]

The Tiger weighs 5,850 pounds wet with two passengers and the old LT tires weren’t adequate. I did a lot of searching to find a “D” rated tire in 15” OEM size. I like the extra rock clearance I could get with a taller tire but I spend much more time trying to maintain highway speed crossing the mountain passes on I-70 to get to the rocks. A larger diameter tire would reduce my torque so I bought Kumho Road Venture AT51 LT tires size 215/75-R15’s D/106 rated to carry 2095 pounds at 65psi. They are incredibly quiet even though they have a nice aggressive tread and after 16,500 miles they could pass for new.
If I ever wear them out I will go with the same tire but a little larger; 235/75-R15 XL rated 109 and 2271 pounds at 50 psi. The diameter is 1.2” larger which wouldn’t be much different.
I’ve looked at aftermarket wheels but twice was advised that 65psi might not be good and I should stick with steel wheels. I emailed one aftermarket supplier for recommendations for the weight and psi that I carry and I got no answer even though they said they would find out and get back to me. But the wheels I have look okay. The pictures show the tires as new, after 16.5K miles, and a shot of the sidewall.

[Ken2.7]

As I mentioned before, the rear springs were sagging so I immediately leveled it out with the pucks and air bags. However it had been driven too long with an improper pinon angle and there was a slight rumble and a vibration at about 60 mph.
I pulled the rear differential cover and pulled the axles and inspected the wheel bearings, the axle shafts, and the gears. All looked normal. I finally decided the piñon bearing was my problem so I put it together and turned it over to a mechanic I trusted to replace the piñon bearing and thrust washer and it has run fine for 30K miles.
Moral of this story is to get that saggy butt up where it belongs before you do damage.
The front axle/steering has slowly developed a little play. I put in new Moog idler arms but saw no change so I loosened the steering box adjustment nut and used an Allen wrench to tighten the screw 1/8 of a turn. That solved the problem and a close friend that is a retired GM dealership mechanic has assured me this adjustment is “normal;” time will tell if that’s true.
I have not drained the power steering pump but instead I annually siphon out a quart of the old fluid and put in a quart of Valvoline PS Fluid to add fresh fluid and pump seal lubricant.
I added two pics of the steering box adjustment screw and one while camping.

[90safari]

Very nice set up. Looks like you've found your ideal camper, and put a lot of thought into getting it the way you wanted it. A little preventative maintenance also keeps break downs from happening.

[Ken2.7]

Everyone likes a picture so I’ll add a few more showing the old sway bar in a shot taken while swapping out the idler arms, the old and new idler arms, the worn out poly bushings after one year on the Tiger, and shots of the weight of the original sway bar at 9.5 lbs and the solid Dorman at 17+ pounds

[fitter]

Never seen a tiger before do you happen to have any picks from the inside. Being awd and almost 5800 lbs what kind of gas mileage do you get?

[Ken2.7]

I’m guessing most readers are more interested in the mechanics so I posted that first. I get consistent 15+ when driving throughout Colorado. BUT my cross country trips are 5 to 6K miles long and for the duration I get from 13.8 to 14.8. On all my trips I figure for the total fuel used and miles covered. I have no idea why the mpg is always better at high elevation. Am I gaining more dropping off the mountains than what it takes to climb? Also my Colorado trips always include some slower National Forest roads. There are times I would like to be able to shift into low side of a 4x4 but my local area friends claim the AWD and its advantage in snow outweigh that. Still...looking at Mmusicman’s swap it gets tempting plus I could put wider tires on the back as long as I kept a similar diameter.
Both pics are before the wife and daughter took over.

[SportsBoy]

Awesome awesome awesome

[konybravo]

Soooooo coooool!!!!

[Ken2.7]

Maintaining and improving “air, fuel, & ignition” on the Tiger has been fun and easy. Shortly after putting in the transmission cooler I added a second air intake because the lines leading to the new cooler went through the main, and only air intake. I have included a pic of the intake showing where I ran my lines and the split rubber tubing around the edges to protect those lines. Using my “seat of the pants” dynometer on the steep incline to Eisenhower Tunnel convinced me it was worth the effort however if you live at lower elevation it probably isn’t worth your trouble. The link describes in more detail the parts I used. My wife said if the Salvage Yard had gift certificates her Christmas shopping would be easy.
https://www.astrosafari.com/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=79185

One of the first things I noticed after getting the Tiger was a sticking throttle so I lubed every connection without seeing change. After disconnecting it all I found the butterfly in the throttle body was sticking. I sprayed some mass airflow cleaner down the throat and solved the problem. I use AC fuel filters and change them at 15K intervals and on the road I keep the fuel tank at least 1/4 full to help keep the fuel pump cool.
At 60K I put in AC iridium spark plugs (41-993) new spark plug wires, and popped out the old distributor and put in a Skip White unit. I was really impressed with the quality and considering the cost was not much more than buying a quality brass contact distributor cap and rotor I couldn’t see how I could pass that up. I included a picture of the Skip White distributor cap with the brass contacts.
Recently I put in new vacuum lines including the check valve (GM 15733271). The line to the vacuum canister fell apart as I removed it. I also change out the PVC valve ocassionally. I used to just use solvent to clean and replace but have since read the check ball gets wear and doesn’t function as well with age. Must be true because a company that makes PCV valves said so. Regardless, they’re cheap.
Now for the bad. When the Tiger sits for a few days I get a very slow drip from the rear main seal. On a trip it never uses oil or leaves a spot even over night. It takes a few days of sitting before it happens. Irritating but probably not worth the effort to fix it. Otherwise the V-6 runs great and I expect to get a lot of miles out of it.

[sixsix]

I’m guessing most readers are more interested in the mechanics so I posted that first.

You would probably be "Guessing Wrong".

Seems most are camperizing, offroaders, that have the mechanical chops to take on an older, but modernized van, but lack the plumbing, woodworking and primarily non-automotive stuff.

But, ya' never know...



Mike

[TurnNburn]

Oooo a second gen awd tiger. Me likey. Quite the find there with so few miles on her!

[Ken2.7]

I’ve got the start of a few things camper related with this post on lighting. I tried a variety of LED interior bayonet bulbs and didn’t like any of them until I found some on Amazon that can operate from 10 to 20 volts which is perfect for an RV. They are labeled Bonlux BA 15s LED 3 watt and are 3000K warm lighting. I just checked by putting in the info on Amazon and they are available at $10/pair. A friend ordered some and learned later they didn’t fit his sockets so check that out first. I haven’t had a bulb failure in the two years with them.
I cleaned up my front blinker lens and they looked good but decided to buy some clear ones off eBay. I used my original yellow bulbs by painting the front half with silver paint. They were great until I found one of the lens barely hanging on by one screw. To be fair it was a rough road. One side of each lens has a tab that on mine was too thin to hold the unit securely. I used JB Weld and reinforced both tabs and they have stayed in securely.
My center rear brake light was old, broken, and positioned below my rear window. I bought an LED unit from Lowe’s but have seen the same light at many other big box stores. I removed the rubber covering and screws to pull the back window out enough to slide my wiring around to the top. The LED lights up quicker than the old brake/tail lights below and is now up where the bikes on the back don’t interfere with it.
My side marker lights were also old and cracked and replacements were easy to find on eBay.
Finally, I had a gouged hole on the side near the rear bumper and it had me puzzled on how to repair it. Instead of patching it I covered it with an outside light made for RV’s and snaked the wiring through to hook into the nearest backup light. When backing at night it provides a nice side light.

[Ken2.7]

I noticed the last picture included a shot of the large eye bolt I attached to the bumper. I have a 50’ water hose wound around a hose reel that’s mounted on the back inside area of the spare tire. When I pull it out or wind it up I thread the hose through the eye bolt so it feeds in straight and doesn’t wrap around my legs.
I thought in this post I would mention improvements made in the cab. Both door lock solenoids were broken so I put in new ones. The passenger window would stop sometimes on the way up so I pulled the motor apart and soldered together the weak brass tabs that open when overheated. The drivers window motor may need the same attention this year.
When I got the Tiger I was sure a muffler or exhaust gasket was needed. However when I pulled the doghouse I found the carpet put in by Provan (The Co. that manufactures Tigers) went up and over the lip and the dog house rubber seal was pressing against carpet and not the metal lip. A knife made quick work of the excess carpet and the dog house now seals out the engine noise. This would be an issue only with some Tiger owners.
The overstuffed RV seats were too uncomfortable. I got two middle row buckets out of a 94 Town & Country van. The front of the seats sat down too low when I tried them on the base so I added a spacer made of 1” square tubing. When I finished I put a piece of sheet metal across the front of the drivers seat base which made a great storage area under the seat and now items there can’t slide out when braking.

[lrgebhardt]

Thought I'd add to the discussion. Here's my Tiger GT, 1991, 2" lift, replaced rear leaf springs with Heavy Duty, 2" Pucks in front. Custom rear storage and full size spare with mount extensions on the ladder. etc, etc. Somewhere offroad in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado. Home base-Atlanta,GA

[AstroWill]

This is someones build thread, but it would be great if you would do one for your Tiger(and that box)! https://www.astrosafari.com/posting.php?mode=post&f=127

[lrgebhardt]

Sorry...My first post and I didn't know the protocol. I'm not much of a poster...more lurker but Ken did such a great job in so many respects on his Tiger and gave me so many ideas, I thought I would add some of my own in the interest of adding to the discussion.

[AstroWill]

No prob, we LOVE Tigers around here! Would like to see more details of your build/improvements as well and build threads are a great place to put them!

I have a slight obsession with them, and somehow I have three...