Meanwhile, since I wasn't planning to buy a brand-new vehicle, I couldn't think of a reason to buy a different kind of vehicle and go through the maintenance/service learning curve again. So I found myself looking for a newer, lower-mileage LT to bring home. After a little searching, craigslist turned this up:
Not the best shot, but it's all I have right now. It's a 2003 Dark Carmine Red AWD LT with leather 7-passenger seating set-up. My 2002 had everything BUT leather and AWD, so this one is the next logical step up. It only has 109,000 miles on it, was a one-owner vehicle, and seems to have been very well taken care of.
That said, within about a hundred miles of buying it, the left front caliper began dragging. I pulled it apart yesterday, hoping it was just sticky slide pins, but NO -- the rear piston was stuck out. So, 60 bucks later, it has a new LF caliper. Driving home (1 mile) from the parts store after returning the core, all of a sudden I had a mushy pedal and the brake light came on. Air bubble, I thought. Pulled into the driveway, got out and noticed a trail of drips behind the van. Hmmmm..... Jacked up the corner, pulled the wheel expecting to see a dribble from the bleed screw, and instead saw a lake under the gas tank
Now I know why it was so cheap......Another trip to the parts store (glad I work there and get a discount!) and I now have a few fittings and a piece of Cu-Ni brake line running down the driver's side to the bulkhead fitting above the rear axle. Still need to wrap it up and re-bleed, but we're getting 12" of snow right now and me with no way to put the van in the garage (too many motorcycles hee-hee).
So thus ends one Astro adventure and another begins
Steve