As the subject header notes, we do not seem to notice the trouble when in park, or in motion in drive, only when in drive (at stop lights, etc.) and in reverse. The vehicle just had some minor work done on it before we noticed the problem. It has about 140k miles on it, bought it used with 50k in 1999. The work we had done most recently was replaced all four tires and had a front-end alignment. Seems the front passenger tire wears unevenly and has to be replaced at least once a year. We noticed from looking on the net that this apparently is a common problem with Astros. I doubt the recent service had anything to do with it, as we had to have it serviced immediately (bald tires) and had a funeral to attend which was about a 500 mile round trip. Didn't notice the problems until after that trip. As one might guess, I'm not exactly mechanically inclined. We have noticed the occasional various odors emanating from the engine area, but not consistent. Sometimes it smells like anti-freeze, but usually that only happens when we try to use the heater. We had the radiator completely replaced last year because of leaks. Was shocked to see it was a plastic radiator. Sometimes the faint smell of burned rubber (belts?) Also, sometimes a sound that only my wife has ever heard that she describes as a "woodpecker" sound.
The Astro does seem to have a problem with power steering fluid leaking. When it went out (empty) most recently it affected both the brakes and steering. Have already put three fillings of fluid, since leak noticed, the last two being the "bars leaks" type, and I keep a frequent check on that fluid now.
Other problems we've just lived with for now are both power windows are dead, way too expensive to fix. A/C has been out for over a year. Estimated fix on that is $400. Otherwise, been running well for what we put it through (about 50-60 miles/day).
wow, that's some question! first off, sign up with
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great place with a ton of answers
a couple things hit me...
- your noise/vibration you need to be a bit clearer on what it is and try to track down a bit more where it is coming from, more info can help us suggest some things
- replacing a tire once a year is not normal, check front end components and alignment...again, the common problem is for front end parts to wear. Check the above site to find the right replacement brand for long wear parts (MOOG?)
- if you smell the sick/sweet smell of antifreeze while using the heater, check your heater core (the rad on the passenger side that the air flows over to heat the van)
- the hydraulic boost pumps power steering and power brakes. Check to see where the leak is coming from, track it down, shouldn't be too hard once you find where it is dripping under the van, run the engine and turn the steering if you need to force a drip
- for possible easier fixes on your A/C, check out
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Good to double check the diagnosis and repair. Experts online.
- check the board for window problems (are you sure its the motor?)
I have a 95 AWD astro with 280,000km and not many components have broken so I am surprised you seem to have all these problems at once.
I saw a reference to that site the first day I subscribed to this group and signed up right away, but it was more than a little overwhelming. There are thousands of posts on the forums on that site. I didn't look to see if there was a search mechanism for the posts or not. I'll go back there again, just the same.
I've noticed the vibration is getting worse. We have two problems right now that are impeding our efforts to fix it: First is money, but hopefully some of my clients will pay me soon, so I can afford to fix the van again. The second is that I no longer drive. I surrendered my license in 2000 because I'm legally blind. My wife is the only driver in the family now, and she doesn't like having to handle stuff like this, so getting repairs on the van means I have to get TWO friends to help me out - one to drive me and the van to the garage, another to come pick up my other friend and leave me there. Then likewise when the job is done. Sorry to get off on that tangent, but wanted to explain why we haven't had the van looked at yet.
I was hoping that the symptoms might be a common one, since it ONLY vibrates in park or when stopped at a light, and sounds/runs smooth as normal when driving. Reverse, however, is likewise vibrating harshly, but I suspect that that's only because of the lower RPM's in that gear. It's been running like this for a week or so now, and I'm surprised that the vehicle hasn't just completely broken down. I hate having to run it like this, and want to get it fixed ASAP. Haven't noticed the burning rubber smell but maybe once.
We had checked a web site somewhere a year or two ago, and found that the tire wear and other problems were apparently quite common with Astro owners. Some say it's a bad design by Chevy and can't be corrected... just something we have to live with. When we had this latest tire change, the mechanic even said that a lady who owned an Astro just two buildings over has the exact same problems as we do with the tire wear, and agreed that it was probably some kind of design flaw.
I suspected it was on the passenger side because the first time we had this problem, it would actually drip some kind of fluid, not sure it was anti-freeze, but some kind of fluid, on the passenger side inside the van! It doesn't do that anymore, and most of the time now we don't smell the anti-freeze, but sometimes it does. Thanks for the tip on that, I'll check that area.
It's definitely a major leak now, as I've noticed the carport has aquired quite a large puddle. Again, thanks for the tip, but being both legally blind, and not mechanically inclined, I think I'll leave the location and fixing of that leak to the mechanic when I finally get it to a garage.
We have a really nice mechanic who is also a friend, who also owns an Astro. He told us that what is happening with the windows is that the motor is getting overheated rapidly. It sounds right because it acts almost like a capacitor (I come from an electronics background in the military many years ago) in that it will work for a second, but then just stop, like it's been drained. Then you wait about a half minute, and you can use it again for another second. We have to tell service people to NOT try to put the windows down when we get it serviced. That mechanic is also the one who told us what was wrong with the A/C. It was some kind of (can't think of the word...) housing or pipe of some kind that splits off going to the back. We have front and rear A/C. The rear A/C worked for a while, and it turned out that the front A/C temperature control knob was busted, and we couldn't even tell - that was a couple years ago, but the rear A/C still worked. After they fixed that, the A/C went complete out a few months later, and it was that housing that he said was to blame, and it was going to cost another $400 to fix it. We lived without A/C for quite some time. We may still do without that for now, unless ALL of my clients pay me the money they owe me :-)
Wow... We've only got half that, and I was wondering just how much more we could get out of it. We still have about ten more months before it's paid for. Sure would be nice to actually get another year or two out of it.
Rick, thanks so much for taking the time to reply to my post.
I hate to make excuses, but my days are incredibly busy and I haven't even had the time to do more than check fluids recently, and not since this problem started happening. I'll make a point today to pop the hood while it's running and try to see if I can see where this intense vibration is coming from.
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