Chevy & GMC Vans

Last week I was driving my Astro at highway speed for about 30 miles stopped for 20 minutes and was returning home when I pulled out of the parking lot I accelerated to merge with traffic about 30MPH and the van just stopped running. No check engine light and no warning. I shifted to neutral to attempt to restart, and the starter turned over strong but would not start. I pulled into the gas station and tried again. It seemed like it wanted to "catch" once but that was it. I had it towed home and the tow driver suggested I try again as sometimes bouncing around on a flat bed will sometimes get a bad fuel pump to work again... no such luck. I called a mechanic friend and he tested the coil and it was fine, he checked fuel pressure it was at 55PSI never dropped below 50. There is no fuel smell when you turn it over like you get when it is flooded. I am scratching my head and dreading taking it to a dealership to have them diagnose it with their GM specific scanner. Especially with their $109.00 per hour shop fee. I have 165K miles and love this van! Don't want to get rid of it when I know it has at least another 150K miles left in her. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

What year is your van? I know that if the oil pressure sensor doesn't see pressure it will shut off the fuel supply to save the engine. The sensor is usually under the distributor at the rear of the engine.

Sorry I forgot to post that...It is a 1999 AWD 4.3l. Does it shut of the fuel supply by disabling the fuel pump because there is fuel pressure.

I would try to isolate the problem. Fire some starter fluid into the intake as you crank to see if you have a fuel delivery problem. Take out a spark plug and hold it close to the block as you crank over to make sure the spark is getting to the cylinder. (be sure to wear a glove or something). Test as many plugs as you can.

I beleive that it should have pressure but not turn on the injectors. A spray bottle with gasoline misted down the intake while you crank will also work to try and start the engine. Then at least you can limit it down to fuel or spark.

Also check the ECM fuses. You can also pull the distributor cap off, turn the engine over to see if the rotor on the distributor is turning.

I would spin, try to start twice and pull the plugs. Are the plugs wet gasoline. Use a plug to look for spark. Glove may help the shock is not fun. If no gas on plugs and blue spark is strong. Checking injector fire is different. I can look that on GM sight let you know.

Well it's running! Any guesses what it was? It was a bad cap and rotor, It seems the last time the cap was replaced the rotor was not. The mechanic believed the cap was defective (Auto Zone) and replaced it with genuine parts. Also he said it is best to replace them together as they may be mismatched if they are different brands and the tolerances may be different. After replacing the two parts he ran it on the scanner and everything looks good. So thanks everyone for the assistance, I am just glad it was not the Injector spider because that was the recommendation from the first mechanic... Until next time!

Thanks for posting your solution, Napoleon. It confirms what we know about Astro/Safaris being particular about ignition parts. Glad you got 'er fixed.