Hi Jenn,

I have driven my awd astro to Alaska and back (and all over the continent for that matter) twice. It is an outstanding drive. Liard hotsprings is a must stop....have fun!

All back together and running like a champ :cheers: I ended up taking the throttle body and upper plenum all apart to clean everything up. Took me about 8 hours to put it all back together, and was a major pita. not a lot of room, and was in and out of the van a million times. One thing I found help...

Thanks for the info astrozam. my egie bay from the doghouse looks nothing liks yours Well I ripped it all out after work this evening and everything went fairly smooth. The only real issue I had was pulling the AC compressor forward. There must be some mystery bolt I can not find or see, but after u...

Thanks alot Smilie... your the man! I've yet to have the cap off the distributor on one of these, and was unsure if you could accurately mark the rotor relative to the dist body, or how fine the drive gear teeth are (how precise one must be). I understate your pointers and is clearly easier than fus...

I have 2003 awd with 105k that I just purchased and am working out the bugs. One of which is a leaking intake gasket. I have read all I could find on this site and others, and have read the fairly week Haynes manual as well. This will be one of the biggest mechanical projects I have taken on and hav...

Hello v8famvan, I would be curious to know, have you performed this procedure and what would be the dangers of driving a van making the noise but has not yet had a tensioner installed? Any input on the matter would be greatly appreciated

I am not computer savvy enough to steer you guys to the exact forums I was on. What I learned is this... there is infact a tsb# and procedure for this and it was revised more than once. From a specific month in 04 all 4.3 engines get a timing chain tensioner. If you google "timing chain tension...

This is a tsb for owners who experience a chatter noise from the front of the engine at around 1800-2200 rpm from years 1996-2004. The fix is to add a timing chain tensioner to fix a defect in the balance shaft. Apparently gm discontinued this as a warranty because the noise eventually comes back. m...

Thanks for that forum timelessbeing. After reading it I suspect that is infact my issue. I will contact a dealership tomorrow and had a couple of questions you may be able to anwser. What is the danger of continuing to drive the van with this condition? If it's a defect in the balancer shaft does th...

Thanks for the suggestion Smilie. Having read through practically every post on hear at this point, it is clear that you are one of the stronger members. I think I speak for all the less knowledgeable guys looking for help when I say I really appreciate your taking the time to help us out. However, ...

Well, I bought my first safari 3 years ago. A 2000 awd cargo with 180k for $1700. It was banged up but ran perfect and it always exceeded my expectations in mud, snow, and off road. Needless to say I have been hooked ever since. So, I sold said van for $1500 (with 216k), and am now on my forth van i...

Just got a 2003 awd and the 4 beam is new to me I have not tinkered with them yet There is a signeficant amount of water droplets in them I see there are some clips holding them together should I split them in half and clean them? Put them back together with some plumbers putty? Or should I just rem...

Well got the heads out and the valve seat on cyl # 6 ( the bad one) is totally fried Off to the machine shop they go So obviously running lean on that cylinder What to do ? Get the injectors cleaned or replace or put back together? money is really tight at this point

I found a shop to change and have the heads machined for $1500 I thought about getting a new long block but simply can't afford it With only a 124k on the motor it hopefully has some life left Best case scenario someone overheated the engine and put cold water in it :yikes: and the head just got f'd...

I have read online that valve binding is fairly common for several years including 98 ( s10 forums) and the symptoms associated are what I have to the letter (including cylnider #) It has 60psi at idle but drops down to 20 psi under load ie going up hill Is it safe to assume rings would cause a cons...