Prepping my 94 AWD Safari

[crazyvanman]

I have obviously been living in the graces of God since 2003. I recently accidentally hit the button that switches my digital trip meter over to odometer; and discovered i now have appx. 268K or 286K on my 91 rwd Astro. I got the van with 30 something thousand miles on it. loaded it up with a bed, fridge, microwave, laptop, a truck load of books for an online seminary course,a 650 motorcycle, a recumbent trike, a canoe, food and water for my (wannabe) dog and i. And 4 season compliment of clothing. And a trailer full of construction tools.
I have never done a tune up or any repair except to replace blowouts and the damage they caused to body lights and tail pipe. Besides the original when i acquired the van; I only did one oil change; when i was spending weeks at a time driving around the desert. Which if you have never been is not flat at all. Oh and head lite replacement from a deer strike.
It finally started misbehaving the other day so i am not so comfortable driving around the wilderness with her.
So i have decided to brake out the 94 Safari AWD which has been parked for the past 6 years or so. Besides the gasoline; which i have already driven most of it out, and the tires; is there a list on site here of all the legitimate concerns i should address. I have noticed some of you make entirely too much money so; lets try to keep it as close to common problems as possible. Especially as i am on veteran disability and have 7 children and eight grand children that are; well; always gonna be my children, especially now that momma is gone. Appreciate all you guys and all your wisdom. And yes i fully intend to take better care of this van.

[crazyvanman]

Oops. Forgot i was still in the charging issues thread. Since that seems to be an issue already that is where i am going to start.

[1Gary]

I don't understand in the what the question is.

[crazyvanman]

I have heard that the AWD vans have a frequent problem; with ( i believe it was the transfer case). Since i am putty my 94 back on the road, and this site seems to be the sorce of all info for the Astro/Safari vans; i thought i would see if there is anything you think i should take a closer look at. Or replace before i hit the road .

[LiftedAWDAstro]

I moved the thread to the general section.

As for the AWD system on the 94, you have one of the most reliable AWD systems ever made. They almost never fail! Since the van has been parked for several years, I would look at doing all the basic maintenance items, engine oil and filter, air filter, fuel filter, transmission fluid and filter change as long as the fluid currently looks decent. (if it's black don't bother as it WILL destroy the transmission), transfer case fluid change, and front/rear differential gear lube change. Lube all the suspension and steering parts as well.

[mdmead]

After you do everything Dean suggested, do a lot of local driving and wait... Honestly, the worst thing for a vehicle is to sit unused. Even though parts might have low miles, a lack of use turns them brittle or seals fail or whatever. Exercise it for a few thousand miles and whatever survives, will likely give you a reasonable service life.

P.S. I thought I treated my vehicles bad with infrequent maintenance; you make me look like an anal-retentive top ASE-certified mechanic!

[crazyvanman]

After you do everything Dean suggested, do a lot of local driving and wait... Honestly, the worst thing for a vehicle is to sit unused. Even though parts might have low miles, a lack of use turns them brittle or seals fail or whatever. Exercise it for a few thousand miles and whatever survives, will likely give you a reasonable service life.

P.S. I thought I treated my vehicles bad with infrequent maintenance; you make me look like an anal-retentive top ASE-certified mechanic!

Yessir, copy your last. Although; I used to be pretty good at preventative maintenance.
I guess since i got paid to take the van, and it is a GM product anyway; i just expected it to die at the end of the driveway.
And about the same time my life style took a major hit/change. So i have spent the past 6 or 7 years trying to divest myself of all material "anchors".
I just assumed at some point a hundred miles from nowhere, the van would let me down and i would just walk away from it.
I have now been kicking around the ideal of keeping the better of the two vans. Whichever seems most dependable after all the repairs and maintenance, as something to fall back on should i be forced to once again settle down somewhere.

[Cobra]

After sitting i've had brake lines and fuel lines rust out and rupture when put back into service

[crazyvanman]

After sitting i've had brake lines and fuel lines rust out and rupture when put back into service

Rusted out brake lines is the one thing i replaced on the 91, after it sat in a field in TN for about 5 years. The 94 is a garaged California desert car so no rust anywhere. But probably brittle seals everywhere.