What did you do to/with your van today?

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d3athm3talh3ad
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Re: What did you do to/with your van today?

Post by d3athm3talh3ad »

came home from work and finally got the right side of the flip kit done and the van sitting on all fours!!! was too dark to take any pics when i got done though...hope to fix the hole in the d/s floorboard tomorrow...
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ihatemybike
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Re: What did you do to/with your van today?

Post by ihatemybike »

Grumpy: Took a couple stuck bolts out and still can't get the driver's side half shafts out.
Aaron

2005 Astro (Gandalf) - AWD, 4.3L, 3.42, 130k+ miles
1997 Astro (Grumpy - $250 Rally Van) - AWD, 4.3L, 3.42, LSD, 2" lift, 31" tires, 335k+ orig engine, $30 eBay fuel pump
Prev Astros:99,97,00,94,87,86

Rebel
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Re: What did you do to/with your van today?

Post by Rebel »

came home from work and finally got the right side of the flip kit done and the van sitting on all fours!!! was too dark to take any pics when i got done though...hope to fix the hole in the d/s floorboard tomorrow...
You go girl,,wide open as a bedroom window in August,,a southern thang. =D>
89 Astro, 350 V-8, Shaved doors, Filled Slider, Corvette IRS, 94 Mustang GT Rack & Pinion(Thanks to Skip), Cad Tail lights from SoCalliV8 ( RIP) Miss you my friend.

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crash
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Re: What did you do to/with your van today?

Post by crash »

d3athm3talh3ad wrote:came home from work and finally got the right side of the flip kit done and the van sitting on all fours!!! was too dark to take any pics when i got done though...hope to fix the hole in the d/s floorboard tomorrow...
can't wait to see the pics of the lower stance :bounce:


I drove the 93 yesterday... funny, seems to drive better in this bitter cold, warms up faster and doesn't complain as much as the newer, much lower mileage 99... don't get me wrong, the 99 is great.. just give it 20 - 30min for all the fluids to get to temp.. stupid red anti-freeze .. LOL
Rob Image

current rides:
04 Mazda 6 V6 5spd

vans owned: Image
97 Astro AWD (selling by summer .. i think) SOLD
99 Astro LS Sept 08 ASV VOM
94 Astro LT
93 Astro LT
96 Astro LT AWD * parts van*
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d3athm3talh3ad
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Re: What did you do to/with your van today?

Post by d3athm3talh3ad »

before:
Image
Image

now:
Image
Image
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it's still ugly, but a little less so every time i work on it...
Image

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ihatemybike
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Re: What did you do to/with your van today?

Post by ihatemybike »

Looks good Gwen! What are your ideas for paint?
Aaron

2005 Astro (Gandalf) - AWD, 4.3L, 3.42, 130k+ miles
1997 Astro (Grumpy - $250 Rally Van) - AWD, 4.3L, 3.42, LSD, 2" lift, 31" tires, 335k+ orig engine, $30 eBay fuel pump
Prev Astros:99,97,00,94,87,86
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d3athm3talh3ad
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Re: What did you do to/with your van today?

Post by d3athm3talh3ad »

i'm not sure yet...when i first got it, i had thoughts of black with some airbrushed grim reapers on the sides...then i toyed with leaving it plain white with some flame outlines down the sides, now i'm thinking of '05 rx8 blue with ghost flames with skulls in the flames, paint is still a ways off though, still need to put on the roll pan, reattach the roof to the roof beams, straighten about a million little dents all over, and i just got an alarm with lots of options that may lead me to shaving the door handles...i'll probably go through at least 10 more ideas before it's ready for paint...
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Rebel
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Re: What did you do to/with your van today?

Post by Rebel »

i'll probably go through at least 10 more ideas before it's ready for paint...
heard that a couple of times.

Looks a bunch better now that it's lower. Great job Gwendolyn. Sure wish I had a cargo. :bounce:
89 Astro, 350 V-8, Shaved doors, Filled Slider, Corvette IRS, 94 Mustang GT Rack & Pinion(Thanks to Skip), Cad Tail lights from SoCalliV8 ( RIP) Miss you my friend.

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If you drive illegally, they take your driver's license. If you're here illegally, they want to give you one :)












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GEJ
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Re: What did you do to/with your van today?

Post by GEJ »

Looks good Gwen. =D>
Call me Gary

1985 Astro-"Ole Yellar"
1994 LT Astro
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mdmead
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Re: What did you do to/with your van today?

Post by mdmead »

Rebel wrote: Sure wish I had a cargo. :bounce:
Don't put the welder away yet! (Maybe you spoke too soon about being done with mods!) :muhaha:
Matt
Selah, WA
-96 GMC Safari AWD Hi-Top Conversion -->Stalled 5.3L swap & 5" lift
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tbhager94
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Re: What did you do to/with your van today?

Post by tbhager94 »

i took the pass rear tire off to get patched , it has a a couple leaks .
2000 chev blazer 4x4
If its got tits or wheels, its gonna give you problems!
im sure we all know the #1 junk yard rule if it fits in your pocket its free.

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ihatemybike
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Re: What did you do to/with your van today?

Post by ihatemybike »

Grumpy: Got the drivers side CV out, put the suspension and steering back together, and installed new brake pads. To kill some time before dinner I removed the grill to hook a meter up to the horn's wiring harness, no juice, went looking for the horn's fuse, and didn't find one labeled for it. Anyone know which one it is?
Aaron

2005 Astro (Gandalf) - AWD, 4.3L, 3.42, 130k+ miles
1997 Astro (Grumpy - $250 Rally Van) - AWD, 4.3L, 3.42, LSD, 2" lift, 31" tires, 335k+ orig engine, $30 eBay fuel pump
Prev Astros:99,97,00,94,87,86

97CargoCrawler
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Re: What did you do to/with your van today?

Post by 97CargoCrawler »

Yesterday it rained all day, but today it let up even though it looked like it might let loose at any moment. I decided to go ahead with the fuel pump replacement anyway!

I had contemplated cutting out an access panel in the floor during this job but ended up not doing it. Seriously, it took me only 2 hours to drop the tank, clean the outside of it, test the old pump (yup not working), remove the pump, clean the bung hole, relube the bung hole :-s , slap in the new pump, test it (yup it works..shot fuel 10 feet away), change the fuel filter, get a nice gasoline bath and throw the tank back up and bolt it. Getting the tank back up took the longest as it still had some gas in it, it was greasy as all hell on the bottom and I was trying to balance it on a 3-ton floor jack by myself. Fun, Fun, Fun.

I am super anal, checked my work ten times after each step and the job was still going so quickly and easily I decided that measuring out and cutting an access panel would have taken longer than the rest of it. Of course it would have been nice maybe for the next time, but I feel I would have had to cut a 12"x12" hole on the floor to be able to really get in there and remove the hoses and whatnot, so I said "Fruk it." Took me longer to get out and put back the tools than it did to replace the pump. With two people it might have taken 30 minutes.

I kept the old pump so I can try to figure out why it died. Also I want to see if it is possible to use an external pump and suck fuel through the old one without any mods to the non-functioning pump.

The new pump is very quiet. No more whining noise. I am VERY happy it was quick and easy, and that I can drive my awesome van once again. Thanks to all those who provided me with info earlier in this post!

Here are some pix of the install: (oh, and that plate just rests on top of the tank, not bolted down just sandwiched in, but too thick to cut through while installed)

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:supz:
Jack
1997 SAFARI 2WD CARGO
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GEJ
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Re: What did you do to/with your van today?

Post by GEJ »

Glad to see you got it done.What brand name did you use to replace the pump??.Seems the newer vans tank is a lot different than the older ones like mine in the 1994LT.The plate on that is attached to the van.

Image
Call me Gary

1985 Astro-"Ole Yellar"
1994 LT Astro
1981 Winnebago-"Baby"
12'dual axle enclosed trailer
The vendor trailer


Lead with my heart & take the hits because of it like a man.

1996astro
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Re: What did you do to/with your van today?

Post by 1996astro »

97CargoCrawler, that is probably the cleanest tank and underbody I've ever seen in a vehicle that age (mines a 97.) But I live in rusty Michigan. I have had my tank down twice both times praying that the bolts would come out. Anti-seize is my friend. It won't be much longer and I will be under there replacing all the lines.
Brandon
Bay City, MI

1997 Astro LT 4x4 48,000 Miles,
Custom Lift: 3" body spacers, torsion keys,
4" leaf spring relocation mounts (by ME),
added a leaf spring from a 94 S10 blazer.
All this gives me 5-6 inches of lift.
General Grabber AT2 31X10.50R15
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Western 7' 6" plow pictures coming soon...
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1997 Buick Century 198,000 miles
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