I got my engine finally. It's a 383 TBI crate motor from Smeding Performance. I lucked out and got the last one. Someone bought it, but never picked it up. They had paid extra to have it hot run and broken in on the dyno. It's got an Edelbrock TBI intake and is supposed to put out between 270-310 HP...

You're welcome. I copied it right off my Dish Network DVR. I was watching Xtreme 4X4 and saw it. I backed it up to the beginning and wrote all the steps down pausing it long enough to catch up on my writing. That was the best step by step explaination I've ever seen so I knew I had to save it for fu...

I'm posting this over here because the other board keeps truncating my messages down to one sentence. This in response to Roy's request for help rebuilding his axle: Differential Setup Instructions 1)  Remove the carrier from the axle housing. 2)  Pull side bearings off and grind the ID to allow for...

Bill, I got my info off the Auto Zone website. I noticed it has some inaccuracies, so I don't trust it. That brown wire that you mentioned may be the 13th wire that goes to pin F8 on the PCM. I wouldn't think that they would use two different transmission control systems for 95 Astro vs 95 pickup. I...

That's a good point you brought up. I have two schematics from All Data. One is from the 95 Astro and the other is a 95 C1500 pickup which is the authorized donor vehicle to make my conversion smog legal. The C1500 schematic shows an extra wire from the PCM to the tranny. My diagram isn't very good....

Bill, I just snagged an engine wiring harness from a 93 TBI Astro for $30 at the junkyard. What an octopus! I worked on it for two days getting it out. I was down to the last few connectors when the foreman came out and asked me what I was doing. I told him that the owner and I talked about it and h...

I don't know exactly the year GM went to the CS series alternator, but I wouldn't pull a SI and replace it with a CS. They are junk. If you over tighten the BATT terminal nut on the back the slightest amount, it breaks the rectifier bridge and the alternator will fail. I don't think it would be an e...

I don't know how many miles are on my differential, but I don't think it's very many because when I bought it, it still had those little retainers on the wheel studs that hold the drums on during production and when I pulled the drums off, the rear shoes looked almost new. I'm aiming for about 325 h...

This is for 85-02 2WD vans. US Brake http://www.usbrake.com has front calipers with larger 2 and 3/4 inch pistons. They claim that that brake proportioning is improved with a 20% increase in stopping power.

P/N 7241-9001 LH and 7241-9002 RH
Price is $79.99 each.

Rockwerx: So what you are saying is that the even stock 2WD rear axle isn't strong enough to handle that much power? My van has the 7 and 5/8ths ring gear which I thought was the stronger of the two rear axles that were installed in Astro vans. I recently read a buildup article in Chevy High Perform...

I know, but knowing what's happening and finding the source of the problem is quite another deal altogether. I was hoping that someone else had this problem before and could tell me what they did to fix it. I'm beginning to think that my van had some front end collision damage at one time because of...

I don't consider that question to be off topic. My van is 2WD, but we have several AWD vans in our local junkyard. I was thinking to pick up an extra subframe and assemble everything ahead of time. I was thinking of a HT383 shortblock, World S/R Torquer iron heads and a LT4 hot cam with 1 5/8 in hea...

While thats a handy little way of check the dia, what I really needed to know was about the threads, imperial, metric, fine,course that kinda thing, but I do appreciate the suggestion. I think I'll add that to our tips/tricks thread[/quote] Actually I thought you were going to have new hoses put on ...

No, because they flash at normal speed when the lights are off. I know that replacing it with an electronic flasher that's not sensitive to current flow would do it, but it would only be fixing the symptom, not the problem. What I think is happening is when the lights are on, some voltage from the p...

I wouldn't think you would have to change the pinion bearings. You would only need to do that if they were making a lot of noise. In any event, the carrier must be removed to change pinion bearings. Like I suggested above, you might be able to slowly tighten the pinion nut until the backlash is gone...