Chevy & GMC Vans

I purchased a conduit punch for the rack, a set of turn signals and another 8000K HID lighting kit. Now I just need a pipe bender, harness plugs, LED bulbs, a GMC emblem, the front metal aprons, a 3000K HID kit for fog lights, relays, time, another job to pay for all this.....

Piece by piece.

Tried to post this from my mobile device over the weekend by for some reason I could not sign in to the site from the Droid Razr...

Anyways...

Took the van for a nice 350 mile drive on Thursday to my cabin in The North Country of New York...





Just got back home this afternoon... 700 + trouble free miles (for the most part) I did encounter one problem though. The van likes to cruise 75-80 MPH and if I am not careful I find myself over that

We did have a bit of snow/ice on the road when we first got to camp but the van handled it like it wasn't even there...

Nice.........love the cabin. Great green metal roof. Just installed one on my house.

Lovely cabin and spot in NY. What county? I have family in Chenango and Madison Counties.

Damn, that looks like a nice quiet place! Love the cabin! I wouldn't have to wear my tin-foil hat if I had a roof like that.



....just to keep on topic, I bought the two metal covers that go below the turn signals on the grille today. I'm also waiting for the UPS driver to deliver my signals so I can post photos and figure out what bulbs I need for them.

wkastro wrote:Lovely cabin and spot in NY. What county? I have family in Chenango and Madison Counties.

We are in Lewis County... area is Tug Hill... anyone who snowmobiles knows of the area.

I watched a log of parameters I recorded with my DashDaq using Innovate Motorsports Logworks 3.0. The graphs are on the left screen and the right screen shows the data in gauges. I know it's hard to see but one of the plots on the graph has a lot of spikes, that is the fuel economy in real time. I've seen it go from 4mpg all the way up to 90mpg depending on how I'm driving and the road conditions:

been driving it. hit 168k yesterday
trans is still going out (sometimes it wont shift properly and will feel like a gear is only half engaged- if that makes sense)
front shocks need replacing bad- need to do that before I put on new tires. in the wind, its very hard to control on the highway. it bounces all over the lane like a roller coaster.

its going in thursday due to issues with brakes (left front pad is cracked, I think). it makes an awful grinding metal to metal noise when speed drops below 20 mph when stopping. this would explain why I've had issues when ABS kicks in at low speed and the van swerves a couple feet to the left (if anyone was to my left at the time, they would have been creamed by a van). I still despise ABS with a passion. It is worthless as far as I'm concerned as it increases stopping distances noticably and doesnt give you full control of the vehicle in dry and slightly wet conditions. I'm heavily considering pulling the fuses for winter. last thing I need is ABS kicking in and causing an accident in the snow and ice.
today, went to drive and found out the power steering reservoir was bone dry. went to oreillys before class and picked up some power steering fluid. it took over 3/4 of a quart (I put in extra since it leaks alot)
also getting new tires in the coming weeks prior to winter (have to get new shocks installed and an alignment first)
rear speakers still need to be replaced. wonder if I can bridge the speakers high and low channels to make the 4 rear speakers full range without blowing the amp (factory x-over points are no good for aftermarket speakers)

Dropped the '04 panel off at North Shore Customs in Fort Atkinson, Wi to get the transmission changed. Didn't like the odds of the origional one making it through the winter. This van had options that I had been looking to find for a long time so I overlooked some red flags on this thing. With the "new" tranny I should have it all dealt with I think. Probably gonna put a 5.3 V8 in it come summertime.

lost second gear in the trans
so now I only have first and third. second and fourth work when they want to. I get bad vibrations anytime over 65 mph when I press the gas pedal. I guess I better save up to get my spare trans (145k) rebuilt and installed.

Took a big chance and left for work with an empty tank, hoping to make it to town were gas is 122.9, instead of paying 125.9 at home.
Drove about 15 minutes to Chan's Gas station, and put in 88.2 litres. How close is that cutting it?

Your vans should have 27 gallon / 102 liter tanks, so not that close.

27 gallons? If you're right.....I want one!

yep, stock tank on "most" Astros is 27 gallons. all of mine have been that way.

I hate driving my Astros in Cali with the fuel pumps in the stations they have there. It is impossible to fill your tank.