what to buy..astro or lumina apv?

i owned a 91 astro and liked it..didnt really drive it enough to say i loved it.. looking for a replacement for it and wondering about maybe the lumina apv or olds sillouette style van?.. any pros or cons? ease of working on the basics myself?the asrto engine was a pain to get to things but i,m more at ease with rear wheel drive vehicles as far as fixing things myself. any regular problems with either?. any opinions would be appreciated. thanks

Reply to
Bthandel
Loading thread data ...

my mother inlaw has one it is a 1995 chevy lumina APV witht he 3.1 it has about 250k on it and father inlaw and i have dont is put head gaskets in it but that is a pain cause of it being a van !! * what more can i say the engine is half under your feet you know what i mean ??* lol and they do alot of hauling we live in pa and they hauled alot from Tennessee and after about 220k we had to replace the tranny but it is a great van run good....

Thanks Bill

Reply to
W.Rowe

I've owned A Chevy Lumina APV and currently have an Olds Silhouette APV. Identical APV"'s with some minor body trim differences. Include the Pontiac TransSport in this group.

The Chevy Lumina lasted for about 185,000. The Olds currently has 80K and I expect it to last till about 200K perhaps even 300K.

Difference between Lumina APV and The Astro. Astro is built on a truck chassis, Lumina is build on a Station Wagon Chassis thus rides a lot smoother than the Astro. The Astro passenger side is kinda cramped due to the engine compartment. Lumina has plenty of driver and passenger space.

Lumina comes with a 3.1, with a lot of pep. It doesn't have the torque or power of the Astro, but I've pulled a popup trailer up and down mountains without any problems. Lumina is pretty quick getting off the line.

Servicing the Lumina is a bitch....engine compartment access is really tight. btw.....you need to raise the body to replace or rebuild the engine. Spark plugs are a pain to change so you might wish to consider using Platinum plugs with an extended change interval.

The 3.1 is known for defective intake manifold leaks...and also the distributor "O" seal oil leak. The intake manifold gasket seems to fail pretty consistently at about 80K. Cost to have a service station do the work is about $800. You can do the work yourself if you have a mind to.

GM alternators are a problem.... I replaced mine about 3 times on the Lumina and twice on the Silhouette. The oem version lasted about 80K miles, the replacements are failing about 45K.

Water Pump failed on the Lumina at 100K and on the Silhouette at 77K.

Replaced the heater core on the Lumina. Service manual said to disconnect A/C lines. Hell, all I had to do was prop the heater core box open with a

2 X4 and the heater core came right out. This was one case where the service manual procedure did things the hard way.

I think the Astro has a lot more cargo space than the Lumina, but the Lumina is pretty spacious.... you can definitely carry sheets of plywood, and lengths of pipe without any problem. Astro is good for hauling serious cargo...Lumina APV is good for knocking around the house, hauling medium size loads.

I originally chose the Lumina APV over the Astro, just didn't need the power and cargo area of the Astro, plus the Astro handled like a truck, and guzzled a lot of gas. The Lumina has been a pretty good van, all things considered. I went ahead and picked up a Silhouette to replace the Lumina....very satisfied. I would definitely purchase another Lumina, Silhouette or even a Trans Sport.

Reply to
Peter

When getting the lumina go with the bigger motor. 3.4 is a must. I have 85k on mine with no problems. Hope to keep it for another 85k

and I expect it to

chassis, Lumina

Astro. The Astro

tight. btw.....you

cargo...Lumina APV is

Reply to
Tj

YEAH I Guess the comfyness of the lumina might be what i,m looking for..the astro had the harsh ride (more like my c1500 pickup)...

Reply to
Bthandel

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.