Anyone ever own an AWD Astro van?

Mini Elsinore
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Mini Elsinore 1/12/2017 12:35pm
1/12/2017 12:35pm
Imma man up and raise my hand high.
1993 EXT, white w/ blue crushed-velour seats.
I loved it for family hooning, but my wife (who drove it) hasn't forgiven me yet! Laughing
Starcrossed
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Starcrossed 1/12/2017 12:38pm
1/12/2017 12:38pm
Starcrossed wrote:
That's all I drive is Astrovans. I have four of them, but one isn't registered because I only use it in the Cape Cod Pro Mud...
That's all I drive is Astrovans. I have four of them, but one isn't registered because I only use it in the Cape Cod Pro Mud Bog series (offroad). It's a cranberry killer allright. Got a V-10 Viper motor in it.
jeffro503 wrote:
You serious on this? Can you post some pics?
No, I just wanted you to tell me what a ridiculously asinine post this was...again
bvm111
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bvm111 1/12/2017 12:50pm
1/12/2017 12:50pm
Starcrossed wrote:
That's all I drive is Astrovans. I have four of them, but one isn't registered because I only use it in the Cape Cod Pro Mud...
That's all I drive is Astrovans. I have four of them, but one isn't registered because I only use it in the Cape Cod Pro Mud Bog series (offroad). It's a cranberry killer allright. Got a V-10 Viper motor in it.
jeffro503 wrote:
You serious on this? Can you post some pics?
Starcrossed wrote:
No, I just wanted you to tell me what a ridiculously asinine post this was...again
HAH!!!!

you guys are making me el OH el Tongue
boston_jorj
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boston_jorj 1/12/2017 1:04pm
1/12/2017 1:04pm
My parents had an AWD Astro. Drove it 200,000 miles without an issue. Sold it to a fellow in the area and he still drives it to this day. I can distinguish it by a Renthal sticker on the rear window he never took off.

What about an older Toyota Land Cruiser? That's what I currently am on the hunt for.

The Shop

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slipdog
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slipdog 1/12/2017 1:05pm
1/12/2017 1:05pm
RM Mike wrote:
Pull the dog house and you will notice what a tight fit it is between the engine and the sheet metal. Not easy to work on...
Pull the dog house and you will notice what a tight fit it is between the engine and the sheet metal. Not easy to work on. You will bleed.

Dude.... Don't get me started about the time I blew a head gasket on the way home from the Vegas SX and spent a week in Ridge's driveway while me and that then 2 legged SOB in a wheelchair practically removed the entire front end and motor just to get the right side header off...
MR. X
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MR. X 1/12/2017 1:11pm
1/12/2017 1:11pm
Isn't the AWD set up basically the same thing they used for the cyclone and typhoon ?
put_chug
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put_chug 1/12/2017 1:13pm
1/12/2017 1:13pm
You will shit when you see the fuel mileage of that 4.3l trying to push all that weight down the road. They are god awful on fuel. Worse then your 3/4 ton vans with bigger engines. I have had Chevy blazers with 4.3l that gets great fuel mileage but the AWD Astro sucks it down. Only thing I can figure is that 190hp engine is working it's ass off to move all that weight.
jeffro503
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jeffro503 1/12/2017 1:13pm
1/12/2017 1:13pm
Starcrossed wrote:
That's all I drive is Astrovans. I have four of them, but one isn't registered because I only use it in the Cape Cod Pro Mud...
That's all I drive is Astrovans. I have four of them, but one isn't registered because I only use it in the Cape Cod Pro Mud Bog series (offroad). It's a cranberry killer allright. Got a V-10 Viper motor in it.
jeffro503 wrote:
You serious on this? Can you post some pics?
Starcrossed wrote:
No, I just wanted you to tell me what a ridiculously asinine post this was...again
LMFAO! Laughing

I kinda figured so after you mentioned you had an Astro with a Viper motor in it.
Starcrossed
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Starcrossed 1/12/2017 1:25pm
1/12/2017 1:25pm
jeffro503 wrote:
LMFAO! Laughing

I kinda figured so after you mentioned you had an Astro with a Viper motor in it.
Must be a nice dry, arid climate up there in Portland, OR, for you to be running work vans from the early 90s, hauling sheet rock and tools (which it doesn't sound like you take very good care of). All those vans in New England were crushed in the last decade before this one. Sounds almost as crazy as driving an Astro van on the street, which I would never do. Cranberry Mud Bogging is a different story.
TeamGreen
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TeamGreen 1/12/2017 1:28pm
1/12/2017 1:28pm
MR. X wrote:
Isn't the AWD set up basically the same thing they used for the cyclone and typhoon ?
Yup
davistld01
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davistld01 1/12/2017 1:29pm
1/12/2017 1:29pm
Can you fit a bike and...anything else in an Astro?
AHRMA361
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AHRMA361 1/12/2017 1:39pm
1/12/2017 1:39pm Edited Date/Time 1/12/2017 1:44pm
davistld01 wrote:
Can you fit a bike and...anything else in an Astro?
Hmmm...some assembly required?










DPR250R
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DPR250R 1/12/2017 1:47pm
1/12/2017 1:47pm
TeamGreen wrote:
I've heard NOTHING BUT GOOD THINGS about Astro vans.

Hell, the boss at Pro Circuit has one!
Yeah but you don't say anything bad about anybody.
FCTRY
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FCTRY 1/12/2017 2:03pm
1/12/2017 2:03pm
I had one, and honestly I hated it. Slow, bad mileage, terrible to drive, and the roof was too low for my moto without cinching the fork down with a ratchet strap.
FI2T
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FI2T 1/12/2017 2:07pm
1/12/2017 2:07pm

Good call. These vans are tough. Beat the hell out of an Astro in high school. We couldn't kill that thing. The 4.3 will run forever. With all wheel drive and some air out of the tires we surprised a lot of jeeps in the dunes!
jeffro503
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jeffro503 1/12/2017 2:24pm
1/12/2017 2:24pm
jeffro503 wrote:
LMFAO! Laughing

I kinda figured so after you mentioned you had an Astro with a Viper motor in it.
Starcrossed wrote:
Must be a nice dry, arid climate up there in Portland, OR, for you to be running work vans from the early 90s, hauling sheet rock...
Must be a nice dry, arid climate up there in Portland, OR, for you to be running work vans from the early 90s, hauling sheet rock and tools (which it doesn't sound like you take very good care of). All those vans in New England were crushed in the last decade before this one. Sounds almost as crazy as driving an Astro van on the street, which I would never do. Cranberry Mud Bogging is a different story.
You need help on your casting.
jeffro503
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jeffro503 1/12/2017 2:27pm
1/12/2017 2:27pm
FCTRY wrote:
I had one, and honestly I hated it. Slow, bad mileage, terrible to drive, and the roof was too low for my moto without cinching the...
I had one, and honestly I hated it. Slow, bad mileage, terrible to drive, and the roof was too low for my moto without cinching the fork down with a ratchet strap.
I won't be using it for moto , just work on snow days and maybe a little fun. I got a moto van to haul my bikes , so I got that covered.

Pit Row

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HippieLogger
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HippieLogger 1/12/2017 2:32pm
1/12/2017 2:32pm
I really like mine( AWD gmc safari) I haul my bike on a trailer behind it though. It gets 17-18mpg even hauling two bikes on the trailer and all the gear is in side.
A friend of mine in the trades has to haul his tools and supplies up to job site in Big Sky and says it always gets him there in winter.
jeffro503
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jeffro503 1/12/2017 2:39pm
1/12/2017 2:39pm
HippieLogger wrote:
I really like mine( AWD gmc safari) I haul my bike on a trailer behind it though. It gets 17-18mpg even hauling two bikes on the...
I really like mine( AWD gmc safari) I haul my bike on a trailer behind it though. It gets 17-18mpg even hauling two bikes on the trailer and all the gear is in side.
A friend of mine in the trades has to haul his tools and supplies up to job site in Big Sky and says it always gets him there in winter.
That's awesome to hear and seems like the majority type things I have heard from real owners. I've always dug my vans , don't know what it is about them , and to have a little kickass awd van could be super fun. And very helpful for my work! Which is the main purpose on why I started this thread. Christ!....I now have a summer project on making a badass little snow rig haha!
peelout
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peelout 1/12/2017 2:43pm
1/12/2017 2:43pm
TeamGreen wrote:
I've heard NOTHING BUT GOOD THINGS about Astro vans.

Hell, the boss at Pro Circuit has one!
that's the kind of thing a van industry suck hole would say, has an Astro ever done any wrong in your eyes?
FCTRY
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FCTRY 1/12/2017 2:50pm
1/12/2017 2:50pm
jeffro503 wrote:
I won't be using it for moto , just work on snow days and maybe a little fun. I got a moto van to haul my...
I won't be using it for moto , just work on snow days and maybe a little fun. I got a moto van to haul my bikes , so I got that covered.

It's funny, I never ever paid another thought to that thing after I got rid of it. But, I have since taken up hunting, and now that I think about it, one of those would be awesome to schlep around the hunting unit. The roads up there eat up paint and quarter panels for breakfast, so you want something almost worthless, 4wd, and reasonably roomy for some dudes. Hmm...
FreshTopEnd
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FreshTopEnd 1/12/2017 3:41pm
1/12/2017 3:41pm
Think GMan rolled in an Astro for a long while, you might ping him on PM
TeamGreen
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TeamGreen 1/12/2017 3:52pm
1/12/2017 3:52pm
TeamGreen wrote:
I've heard NOTHING BUT GOOD THINGS about Astro vans.

Hell, the boss at Pro Circuit has one!
peelout wrote:
that's the kind of thing a van industry suck hole would say, has an Astro ever done any wrong in your eyes?
Can't we all jus' get along?
Teamoatmealpie 1/12/2017 4:32pm
1/12/2017 4:32pm
Here is a link to all the Van Porn you'll ever need.

Click the link to the Ujoint Build thread- 3rd from top- this guy out of NC is doing sick things to Ford's.
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/forums/58-4wd-(and-2WD)-Camper-Va…

There's also several good reads on some local PNW Astro's too- do a search and you'll probably get a hit on some dude named Herbie. His Astro is effing awesome.



I have same van as you except its a Green 98 Chevy- with a 91 suburban axle up front, 4x4 w/2 speed transfer case.. Love it.
As with all things PDX, I got stuck in traffic in the van trying to get home with the first snow storm = 5.5 hours to get across town because every one on the street was stuck or abandoned their cars. This last one I was lucky and was already home when the snow started to fly.

Might see me at Washougal here and there over the summer- giant green van with Yellow YZ hanging off the back.

TOP.

jeffro503
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jeffro503 1/12/2017 6:14pm
1/12/2017 6:14pm
Teamoatmealpie wrote:
Here is a link to all the Van Porn you'll ever need. Click the link to the Ujoint Build thread- 3rd from top- this guy out...
Here is a link to all the Van Porn you'll ever need.

Click the link to the Ujoint Build thread- 3rd from top- this guy out of NC is doing sick things to Ford's.
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/forums/58-4wd-(and-2WD)-Camper-Va…

There's also several good reads on some local PNW Astro's too- do a search and you'll probably get a hit on some dude named Herbie. His Astro is effing awesome.



I have same van as you except its a Green 98 Chevy- with a 91 suburban axle up front, 4x4 w/2 speed transfer case.. Love it.
As with all things PDX, I got stuck in traffic in the van trying to get home with the first snow storm = 5.5 hours to get across town because every one on the street was stuck or abandoned their cars. This last one I was lucky and was already home when the snow started to fly.

Might see me at Washougal here and there over the summer- giant green van with Yellow YZ hanging off the back.

TOP.

Hey thanks for the info man! I have been doing a ton of reading through some Astro and Safari forums and have read a lot of really interesting stuff. Everything from small interior mods , to full blown 5" lifted mods and extreme offroading. I haven't ran across Herbie yet , but I'll keep my eyes open. Would you think that he's a member on the other forums such as the Astro/Safari forums? And your van....I think I may have seen it before because that thing rings a bell! Did you have black wheels on it as well?
cable
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cable 1/12/2017 8:14pm
1/12/2017 8:14pm
davistld01 wrote:
Can you fit a bike and...anything else in an Astro?
you have to run a tie down from axle to handlebar. turn the bars, grab front and pull down just like holeshot device. roll it in the van and run the front wheel up the the seat and turn the wheel. move rear wheel over. do the same with bike number two on the other side, and you could get a 3rd in the middle. Used to go to arena crosses like that in the early 90s. If your going to haul bikes, get the one with the swing out doors, and not the hatch that comes on the nicer models.
acres951
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acres951 1/12/2017 8:54pm
1/12/2017 8:54pm
Fwiw, I had 2. Both 1995's one awd and one not.
We had a business so used them quite a bit. I hauled a bike as well. Rebuilt the rear diff on the awd one and lots of fuel problems on it.
Looking back I feel like they weren't that reliable (vans so front end issues) and the awd unit had lots of little issues.
I'd struggle to recommend one now as they're a pain to access anything when working on them.
This is in Canada so maybe the seasons wreaked havoc.
RandyS
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RandyS 1/12/2017 9:01pm
1/12/2017 9:01pm
I've had 3, all 2 wd so I really have nothing to add but I just wanted to get in on this. I love Astros, all the shitty gas mileage of a full sized van without the pesky extra room.
Starcrossed
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Starcrossed 1/12/2017 9:05pm
1/12/2017 9:05pm
acres951 wrote:
Fwiw, I had 2. Both 1995's one awd and one not. We had a business so used them quite a bit. I hauled a bike as...
Fwiw, I had 2. Both 1995's one awd and one not.
We had a business so used them quite a bit. I hauled a bike as well. Rebuilt the rear diff on the awd one and lots of fuel problems on it.
Looking back I feel like they weren't that reliable (vans so front end issues) and the awd unit had lots of little issues.
I'd struggle to recommend one now as they're a pain to access anything when working on them.
This is in Canada so maybe the seasons wreaked havoc.
Ya, but Portland, OR is nothing like Canada. The climate is extraordinarily favorable for work vans to last well over 25 years in Portland, probably with very few of the REAL WORLD experiences you've had.

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