2002 Astro LS. We can rebuild it.

[zombie{[six]}]

Found this gem on CL for $750 and talked the guy down to $675. He mentioned it had an issue with the distributor and I figured it was just the normal gear issue.


So I drove out with a flat hauler and picked her up.


The outside is dentless, and I think with a little polish and elbow grease it will shine up real nice. The interior definitely shows that it hauled kids around and lived in a ranch area (gooey candy in all the pockets/carpet, dirt/grease/humansludge on everything. Took some scrubbing bubbles to the dash and it cleaned up and looked like new, so Ill be going to Costco to buy a bulk pack and soak the interior before taking the upholstery cleaner to it.

Pulled the distributor yesterday and found I was correct about the distributor, so I ordered a Skip White unit and should HOPEFULLY be able to fire this pig up in the coming weekend.


Plans are to scrub it down and get it all clean, replace the valve cover gaskets and oil pan gasket, replace the power steering pump and reservoir hose, bleed out the brakes, flush the cooling system, recharge the AC, add a tow hitch, add a 4" lift and 235/75r15 AT tires, and some lighting upgrades.

Super stoked to be back in an Astro!

[Abe Froman]

Nice score , looks like a good deal.

[tequilasunset]

Great read, glad it found a new and better home!

[WoodButcher]

[zombie{[six]}]

Its on the road! Need to run it through emissions, replace some bushings/mounts, get some new tires, lift it a bit, powerwash the interior, replace the windsheild, replace the wipers, replace the shocks, upgrade the headlights, install a lightbar and prerunner bar, install a tow hitch and harness, flush all the fluids, and move my family across the country!

After I replaced the distributor, spark plugs, and wires I found that the lower intake manifold gasket was shot so I had a shop do the job for me (totally worth it)

[The Drummer]

Nice van ! .

[Leeann_93]

Ooohhh...lazy. Then again, I don't wanna touch metal in AZ either.

To where are you moving?

[zombie{[six]}]

To where are you moving?

Northern Virginia!

[Leeann_93]

To where are you moving?

Northern Virginia!

Much closer to me

[zombie{[six]}]

Looks like Ill be staying in AZ for atleast 2 more years. Lost my job and got a new one since I last posted, and havent done much with the van until today.
My Scion is 300 miles from the warranty ending and its got some issues I want the dealer to address before that happens, so ive started driving the van to work so I dont burn through those miles.
Todays commute felt very weird and when I checked my tires, the driver side was at 24psi and the passenger side was disintegrating internally! So I stopped by my favorite tire shop on the way home and had some Westlake SL369 tires fitted in LT235/75r15...HUGE improvement in comfort, traction, and driveability! While dickin' around with mounting the spare on the front to get to the tire shop, I found a load of slop in my idler arms, so I went ahead and replaced those tonight...and of course that ended up with me trimming my bumper for fun. Anywho...PICTURES!!!!

[Surfin Safari]

Does cutting out the openings improve anything or is it just for looks?

[WoodButcher]

SS, most astro safari have rub in certain situations when you run 235/75 tires.

[astroracer]

Does cutting out the openings improve anything or is it just for looks?

Nothing down there to "improve" but it would be a good spot for an add on trans or oil cooler.
Mark

[zombie{[six]}]

Does cutting out the openings improve anything or is it just for looks?

I noticed that the factory oil cooler is behind there, and it didn't look like it gets much airflow so I decided to open up the recessed pockets and make them functional

[Leeann_93]

That's the factory power steering cooler. Factory oil cooler's the driver's side of the radiator.

[zombie{[six]}]

That's the factory power steering cooler. Factory oil cooler's the driver's side of the radiator.

AHHH! Thanks for the correction Leeann!

[zombie{[six]}]

[WoodButcher]

LOL, I didn't look at the pics, yeah I can't imagine that air dam creates enough down force to keep us on the track

Might as well open them for some cooling. I wonder if it would be worth while to create a scoop under them,,,

[chevymaher]

Does cutting out the openings improve anything or is it just for looks?

The year I have had it as a option. There are major amounts of baffling pulling air up into the radiator on mine. Yes if set up correctly it cools much better with it.

[MI_Ghost]

As it sounds like you will be doing a lift. This is more just a personal observation.
I noticed that you trimmed the bottom lip of the bumper off also. I would have left the lip intact to provide more strength to the bottom of the bumper. With the openings cut out there is nothing keeping the bottom of the bumper from flexing/flapping. This can be easily fixed with a couple braces like the ones used at the outer ends of the bumper.