Chevy & GMC Vans

I just had the lower right ball joint replace on my 'stro. I shared my desire to get an AWD with the mechanic, mostly a good and kindly man, and he shared a mouthful with me. According to him, half of the people with AWD 'strs who have come to him with brake or front end work have had the front drive shaft pulled because of various and sundry problems and because they were only getting 13-14 mpg on the highway. Is this most likely because the owners had not maintained the awd vans properly? Please don't pop my bubble..I was expecting to loose 1-2 mph with an awd drive van, but not 8!

Also, what is the difference between AWD and 4 wheel drive? I have seen several posts here about people who have made this conversion.

I can't speak for everyone, but my 96 AWD hi-top conversion delivered 18-20 mpg on the highway ALL the time. Around town it was 15-18 mpg. The only time my mileage disapointed was towing my snowmobile trailer (in 3rd at 65 mph!) where it dropped to 13-14 mpg. It has the 3.42 gears.

I do think the newer vans, maybe 2wd and AWD, don't get as good as mileage as the older ones. Don't really know why.

mechanic speak:

If a mechanic sees something happen more than once, it's automatically termed "half the time".

Not to discount the issue, I'm just saying.

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My previous 2001 AWD Safari van was a "pig on gas" as well. My buddy has a V8 4x4 Pickup and at times, both our AWDs/4x4s got the same MPGs. And, he had much more power under his hood to justify it. At times, my prevous AWD Safari van drank gas faster than the gas tanker truck following it (well - almost). And if wondering, I maintanined that AWD better then many folks treat their own kids. For example, always changed fluids (all its fluids) before it was due, always installed new plugs, plug wires, rotor / cap, etc. And if something was loose or didn't sound right, it go fixed. Especially if it was on its engine, transmission or a safety item. No mater how much TLC I put into it, that AWD sucked down the gas like it was starving. Especially compared to my previous RWD 1995 Safari van - of same gear ratio. High repair costs and terrible MPGs was the main reasons my wife and I "traded in our previous AWD Safari van". Talk about our new technology V6 van. Its got smaller size engine yet almost 40 more HPs, its got faster take off and it gets twice the MPG (especially on the hiways against head winds while going up hills). Just last weekend, our new van `sipped down` 1/4 tank of gas. For the same distance to/from our seasonal camp site, our previous AWD Safari would have "sucked down" almost 3/4 tank of gas. Thus, we are now saving huge amounts of "fuel cost" - with our newer technology van.

I agree. Don't tell some Astro/Safari folks about a "new technology" van being better. Some folks get extremely defensive with their "old technology / gas hog" Astro/Safari vans - as I discovered on a different Astro/Safari forum... LOL!!!!

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Grumpy is currently getting over 20 mpg driving around the Chicago burbs. Drive them nicely and they'll do good. Drive them like the typical idiot and sure I could see 13-14 mpg.

The only problem I've had with AWD over 2WD is blowing the front diff due to lack of fluid caused by the seals going bad. Both happened during the winter. My 2000 I never noticed the leak, Grumpy I didn't act on the leak fast enough. Grumpy has a replacement diff now and new seals will be put in after we return from vacation in the Jeep. I'd recommend replacing the seals on any AWD van you get.

AWD is active all the time. Front wheels not going the same speed as the rear, front wheels kick in.

4WD is usually driver selectable and usually adds a extra low range which is great for demanding off-road use. Most 4WD systems are not designed to be engaged when driving on hard dry surfaces, like roads. When taking turns on pavement in 4HI we can feel the the drive line bind and tires shift due to it.

I own an Astro for what it can do for me..!! Not for gas mileage...

It hauls 4x8 goods INSIDE ....which at the time I bought the van only a full size van,Toyota Previa,Town and County/Caravan or older Aerostar could do. Only a full size van or Chrysler product will at this time.

The AWD was also something I was interested in. Wouldn't live without it now....period!

The other plus's were the towing capacity as I had a pop-up and the fact I have been able to mount a snowplow on it.Well,.... eat your heart out, to almost all other van type vehicles on the road.Again these vehicles are more truck than soccer mom kid haulers.

As far as gas mileage,there is a trade off. Yes,there is...!

You lose a couple of miles per gallon with an AWD yes . I average around 15 MPG have gotten as much as 18 and as little 12.5 .Six months a year I drive in cold weather.Gas mileage suffers if driving mainly around town.
If you want gas mileage get an older 2wd model . I think they are probably lighter in weight and therefore get you better mileage.

I'd like to get better MPG also. The Smilie van gets 12-13 city and 17-18 highway. I guess that's not too bad considering I carry an extra 800-900 lbs of ballooning equipment. With the new full custom rearend it should do a little better. I changed the gear ratio from 3:42 to 3:08. The real bottom line is there is nothing available that will work as perfectly for what I use the van for.

3:08, no kidding? I have 3.23 gears and I hate them in city driving. great on the highway if I don't push it above 60 mph, I can get 20 mpg, but I do more start and stop driving. Yeesh, 3.08 gears on my van, I'd have add bicycle peddles as an auxilary power source to get it moving.

The idea is that when it gets the V8 (the next big project) the 3:08 gears will work fine. The increase in torque will make up the difference. I do use the Safari for travel so getting the best MPG is important.

Thanks for the discussion! A couple of you mentioned "new technology" vs "old technology". Which one gets better gas mileage? and how "new" is "new"? Do you mean "new" as '95 and later? or some other breakoff?

Most 4x4's I have had had a 2 speed gear box in addition to the tranny. Is it possible without getting too "radical" to slip a 2 speed into an awd van?

There has been several 2-speed transfer case swaps done. Fairly easy to search out.