Chevy & GMC Vans

Kabey's van is back in my driveway (long story). After having owned it for almost a year now, and being asked last Friday night by one of "Canada's Finest" if it was stolen, I have discovered there is an issue with the registration, so until I can track down the previous owner and sort out the mess of paper work, it's kind of dead in the water for now.
I'm looking at getting something a little newer and with more creature comforts.
There are lots of good deals on vans right now and I was wondering if there is any year that is better than the other, say between '96 and '00.
Awd or 2wd doesn't really matter. Im not into 4x4ing, and for the amount of time you need an awd in these parts it's not really worth it.
I've got my eye on a '98 slx awd with cloth interior and barn doors, and a '99 awd that has a full load with leather and dutch doors, which I kind of like. Both have about the same amount of milage, in the low 200's and are in similar shape.
Or if anyone in my area knows of a deal on a van let me know. I'm looking to spend around $3500- $4000 on the right van. The lower the milage the more interested I'll be.
Cheers,
Peter

You are in the mountains yes/no? if yes, then one of the first things i would look at in any local van is whether the owner
A, Did any towing
B, Did he have a big o'le aux tranny cooler installed

If any van did any towing without an aux tranny cooler ( in the mountains especially ) and the van has over 200k on it, and if the owner can't prove he just had a rebuilt tranny installed in the last 5k I would almost gaurantee that this is an expense you will have to shell out not long after buying the van.

The AWD are not really problematic on these vans ( except if you run uneven sized tires continually ) and the traction is a gazillion times better than RWD, so if all things are equal ( and you live in the mountains & get the occasional flurry ) get the AWD. I believe they changed to electronic AWD in 97 or 98

Thanks Zam,
I don't live in the mountains so to speak but I do travel through them on occasion.
I never thought about the towing thing as I don't tow stuff with my van I use my pickup.
The '99 has recently had a new tranny put in it, but I didn't think to look for a cooler. It has no hitch or signs of ever having one, so I'm guessing it has never towed anything.
The '98 has the towing package and has the obvious signs of it having been used for towing something. The '98 has had no major work done to it.
Does the '98 factory towing package include a cooler?
What do you mean by electronic awd?
Peter

yes, the '98 has a tranny cooler (and oil cooler too), it's piped into the radiator. In addition to this, most of us add an external one too.

http://www.bulkpart.com

So there's an engine oil cooler and a tranny cooler integrated into the rad. That seems like a aweful lot of cooling taking place in one componant. I'll have to ask the guy if there is an external cooler.
Still not sure what Zam meant by an electronic awd. Electronic as opposed to what?
Peter

I believe the AWD transfercase change occurred for the 99 model year. In my opinion, the best (most troublefree) transfer case is the early one which has a viscous clutch in it. In 99 they switched to a computer controlled electronic clutch. I don't know if it is really more unreliable than the viscous clutch, but over the years I've read several posts regarding them not working. (I'm a simple man and like a simple viscous clutch!)

I think the 98 model year was probably one of the best.

Just found a posting by cd0156 that explains the electronic awd fairly well.
Although he doesn't say if this electronic awd has a switch that can defete the system.
Does it, or is it fully automatic with no manual overide, and which system is better a viscous coupler or what I assume is an electronic clutch pack in the nv136.
Peter
ps; Yes Matt I too prefer a viscous coupler as well but that '99 is pretty nice.

If it is an electronic AWD then you can rig up the switch that will disable it. As Matt mentioned the pre eletronic AWD set-up is slightly more reliable but only slightly. I believe the difference is the older style was always engaged no matter what , but with the newer electronic version it is only engaged when there is slippage.

With respects to the tranny cooler, all of these vans had a oil and tranny cooler as side tanks attached to the rad, and yes that is alot of cooling requirement, this is why it is so important to add an auxilary tranny cooler, I doubt the factory towing package included an aux tranny cooler ( its not in GM'S best interest for your tranny to live,lol )

Chris ( cd0156 ) has a hi/lo real 4x4 setup, and is different then the electronic AWD version of these vans. If the 99 has had its tranny replaced ( especially recently ) and shows no signs of towing and if all other things are equal then it should be a better choice, just throw an aux tranny cooler on it for extra insurance.

astrozam wrote:If it is an electronic AWD then you can rig up the switch that will disable it. As Matt mentioned the pre eletronic AWD set-up is slightly more reliable but only slightly. I believe the difference is the older style was always engaged no matter what , but with the newer electronic version it is only engaged when there is slippage.

I guess the question is what would ever be the benefit of disabling it? I know a few people have done it, but unless you want to be able to spin your back tires, why? I don't see where there would be any improvement elsewhere since whether the clutch is (or can be) lock(ed), you are spinning all of your frontend parts all the time anyway.

It seems the viscous clutch is set to a 60/40 rear/front split that ramps up to 50/50 when slip is detected. As long as the fluid is good... (not cooked solid...) this system is foolproof. Some have commented they thought the viscous system worked quicker in the snow/ice. I've never driven a newer one, so I can't compare. I do know I've never noticed any detectable slip with mine and I used to love to race people across iced over intersections with all four wheels spinning when I lived in New England.

In all likelihood, you will be very happy with the newer van. It sounds like it might be the better of the two based on past usage, repairs and mileage.

I am leaning toward the '99.
There's nothing quite like the smell of leather in the morning. It has 4 captains chairs and the split rear seat. He's asking $4000 obo, but it has every possible option that was available. This means it did have a hitch at some point in time but must have been taken off. There's just no sign of one ever having been there. No marks from where it was bolted on or anything.
If I can talk him down a bit I think I'll take it cause it's a pretty comfy ride.
Thanks everyone, and happy Canada Day,
Peter

Hey Matt,
I was thinking of the gas milage and wear and tear. Yes, all of the drivetrain is spinning, but you are not experiencing any parasidic loss off power. If it's kicking in and out all the time then that would decrease your gas milage and increase the wear and tear on the system.
If you are in adverse driving conditions, (ie; ice and snow), then yes activate it, but if its a beautiful sunny day, or even a rainy day then you would have no need for it at all.
I was just "wondering" if it did have a defete switch in it, if it doesn't then I probably wouldn't bother putting one in.
Just a thought.

Hey Pete,
Talk to the Kevinator (kidhauler),
He has a 99 & Im sure he can give you some info.

I like my 99 the only complaint I have with it is the back suspension is soft for towing. If you don't tow then you shouldn't have a problem. If i take my mudflaps off the back then I might be happier with it as the dragging sound on speed bumps drives me nuts. there is good power compared to my 91 and the gas mileage is nearly the same. Does the van have 4 buckets and then the bench or is it the two bucket bench seats in the back. If it is the bucket benches thats what i have in my van and love them they are very comfy but can be taken out with out too much headache although they are heavy. If it has the 4 bucket seats the middle row of buckets are bolted to the ground so to remove the seats to haul large objects is a royal P.I.T.A. Plus when the seats are out you are left with a bunch of bolts sticking up from the floor so it will hack anything you put in the van. I nearly bought a 2000 but passed it up because I remove my seats fairly often to haul stuff from homedepot.

It has 4 buckets, drivers, passengers, two in the middle, and a split bench in the back.
That kinda sucks, although in my other van I took all the seats out the day I bought and I have never had them back in.
Kabey takes up a lot of realestate (7 ft. nose to tail) and he needs the room. I would have to figure out a way to mount them without having the studs left in.
Not a big problem for me.
The rear bench would be fine for the odd time I do need to carry passengers and that would still leave enough floor space for the big boy. Just hack the studs off and figure out some other way to mount the seats.
Maybe use the clamps off of the benches out of my '91 it would be a bit of work but it could be done.

I love my 99AWD! I have replaced the OEM Transfer case to a 231c, but there was never any issue with my original setup.. in fact the OEM AWD system never stopped surprising me! I did things to that case that I never thought it would recover from, and it took it like a champ every time! If you do decide to wire up a switch to bypass the AWD it is VERY easy to do. I ran it that way for a long time and only turned it on while off road or in snow. I found that with the tires I had on it tended to want to hydroplane the front in water/heavy rain while it did not seem to do it with the switch off.. more than likely caused by the lift, wider tires, and bad camber, and there is a good chance it was just my imagination.. but regardless of why you want to, it is possible..