Are the mechanical parts almost all the same? As I read the webpages it seems to me that there were very few changes to the Astro since '96....or was it '95? I think dual front airbags came as standard equipment on 96 and later.

Thanks! It was the fuel pump, although I have neither tools nor space to do the work myself. While I had it in the shop I had the plugs, wires, distrib cap, etc replaced. The wires looked like originals. There were three brands of plugs in the engine - now there is only one :) Thanks for all of your...

Thanks...put another way, what he said was the "doohickey" that is supposed to tell the fuel pump to pump gas is not working - no signal. He did not do a fuel pressure test, just used his computer reader. Sometimes I think I should buy a late 60's model van - no computers at all - but get ...

Thanks! He connected a computer reader thingie to the van to do some diagnosis - I don't know if that makes any difference. He said that it was not getting a signal from somewhere...sorry for such a poor description.

Assuming my fuel system problem can be fixed for a reasonable amount of money :yellin: the next thing I will address is the tranny issue. I thought I ran across a post on this forum that described how to rebuild the tranny in my 96 stro but I cannot find it. All I found was a post on rebuilding a 5 ...

Thanks! I had my mechanic look at it and he said that there seemed to be nothing wrong with the fuel pump. He said that it was not getting signals from the "brain" to tell it to pump fuel. I shuddered when I heard this....electronic stuff can get really expensive very quickly. I hope it is...

I was making a left hand turn near my street and it stopped. i will check spark and other things later - it is raining now.

dead on the road :( Fortunately I was only half a block from my home on a hill, and was able to roll it back and park it on the side of the street. She has half a tank of gas, turns over but doesn't start. My first guess would be fuel pump. Does that sound reasonable? I had a mechanic plug it into h...

"but at that point you are probably better off just getting a full size." That is what I am afraid of. I really want the room but I also like the 21 mpg on the freeway and the ease of parking. I guess if I got a full sized with a diesel engine in it I could probably get 20, though I might ...

I have seen a variety of front end kits for the stro. Has anyone made anything to extend the van 24" or more? Or make it a little wider in the rear 2-3 feet?

by yourself? http://www.discountvantruck.com/vantopsraisedroofs/TVvantopsCA.htm It looks kind of scary - to cut the top of your van off is, to me, as scary as cutting the top of my head off. Does anyone have any idea how many mpg you will loose with the added resistance? I have been googling for som...

Thanks! If i get a newer than 1996 tranny will I need a new computer also? Is the computer in the tranny or does it connect to the computer in the engine? I long for the days when cars were simple and women were complex...now, both are impossible to figure out!

"just get yourself an nice awd and be done with it" Cool! But I will probably not be in a position to do that within this year. My tranny is gradually getting worse. I am going to have a couple of places look at it and see what is going on. What I am hoping is that I can buy a used tranny ...

So what newer model tranny will be a bolt in addition? I am thinking more and more that I want to swap this for an awd.

Sorry about the editing! My tranny is getting a little rough shifting into 2nd and also a little rough going out of gear. I saw an ad for a guy who is parting out an 02 with damage to the right front of the car - my guess is that he did not have insurance - and want to know if it would be a suitable...