Help me find a van

CyberEric wrote:

Kenny_McCormic wrote: The 4L60E in the Astro is practically bulletproof behind the 4.3, even more with a cooler.

I had heard bad things about one of the transmissions, maybe it wasn't the 4L60E. Price range is as cheap as possible basically, or in other words, I need to make the money back on the purchase of this van fairly quickly. I'd like to spend 1,500$ or less to be honest, I'm crazy. How much does a 4cyl Odyssey go for? Probably out of my range. Turbo Caravan! What is that?! VWCorvette, what year is your Astro, what motor/trans does it have?

It's a 2005 4.3 with 4l60e and AWD. Only 88000 miles. Had to replace the transfer case encoder motor but as the front pinion seal needed replacing I did em both. A/C is in-op (leak somewhere).

In reply to Gasoline:

The 4L60E in the Astro is practically bulletproof behind the 4.3, even more with a cooler.

NOW they are, after all the original sun shells broke and they were rebuilt with upgraded parts to the tune of ~$1500-2k.

cheap / good mpg / easy to work on. Pick any two, I seriously doubt that you will get all three in one GRM priced package.

You have clearly never beheld the awesomeness that is a TBI/5spd Caravan. Holy crap is that thing reliable and easy to work on. Mine averaged 27mpg. I got 33 out of it once. The worst i ever got out of it was 22 when the o2 sensor died and went full rich.

Vigo wrote:

The 4L60E in the Astro is practically bulletproof behind the 4.3, even more with a cooler.

NOW they are, after all the original sun shells broke and they were rebuilt with upgraded parts to the tune of ~$1500-2k.

cheap / good mpg / easy to work on. Pick any two, I seriously doubt that you will get all three in one GRM priced package.

You have clearly never beheld the awesomeness that is a TBI/5spd Caravan. Holy crap is that thing reliable and easy to work on. Mine averaged 27mpg. I got 33 out of it once. The worst i ever got out of it was 22 when the o2 sensor died and went full rich.

Now we're talking!

Does this interest you... 1997 Toyota Previa supercharged.... http://raleigh.craigslist.org/cto/4108876093.html

Love previas

For the OP, TBI/5spd caravans and plymouth voyagers were built from 1988 to 1994. 5spds only came on 2.5L 4cylinders so you're only looking for 4cyl vans. They only came short wheelbase (which is plenty for most uses, you can sleep in the back of it at 6' tall if you want, and it still seats 7 with the seats in).

So when you're looking for one only look 88-94 and immediately disregard any "Grand" caravans and voyagers, and anything with a v6. You'll be left with a tiny number of 4 cyl vans, and a tiny number of those will be 5spds.

They are rare, but they are awesome if you can appreciate their massive utility-to-economy ratio and low cost and ease of repair.

CyberEric wrote:

914Driver wrote: 1988, 72k miles, needs heater core. $1450. NMNA. http://albany.craigslist.org/cto/3985330481.html

That looks just about exactly what I am looking for I think. If it were a wee bit closer!

Cut the deal and set up a GRM relay.

Price drop, now $975.

http://albany.craigslist.org/cto/4098407008.html

That car is too far away, but how do people feel about Previas?

Thanks for the info on the Caravan Vigo, very helpful!

I feel like they are neat but perform unexceptionally in every way including MPG. The ways that a Previa is different from other minivans don't have much payoff in the real world, just a lot of novelty value. Not a BAD van at all, just nothing special unless you like the novelty value.

Astro, Safari, or Previa FTMFW, IMO. I passed up on a berkeleying PRISTINE Previa for $2k a few months ago. Still kicking myself. I routinely see them on CL with 250k plus miles. That says a lot to me.

can someone tell me why astros seem so reliable, and s10 blazers so crappy? same engine, same trans. the vans are bigger/heavier/harder to work on. what gives?

Answer is two words: Selective Ignorance.

Thanks guys. How about this Caravan? http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/cto/4111523745.html

Are the seats removable? How much can they swallow in the way of furniture, that sort of thing?

BTW, There are two Previas in my area for sale with over 300k on them, that is pretty incredible.

CyberEric wrote: Thanks guys. How about this Caravan? http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/cto/4111523745.html Are the seats removable? How much can they swallow in the way of furniture, that sort of thing?

Yes seats will come out. Looks old people owned so it is hopefully dealer serviced. The autos require ATF+ DO NOT put anything else in it.

Around here, 2WD Astros are cheap, and old work van Astros are even cheaper.

CyberEric wrote: Thanks guys. How about this Caravan? http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/cto/4111523745.html Are the seats removable? How much can they swallow in the way of furniture, that sort of thing?

I dont know how much you care but if that is really a 4 cylinder auto it will be horrendously slow with any cargo. I love that 4cylinder for ease of service and reliability but with an auto (only 3spds) AND a caravan hooked to it, it is horribly overworked. Just for reference, my 5spd version ran 18.2 in the 1/4. The auto will run about 20-21 BEFORE you put cargo in it. Both rear seats come out easily. It is a little over 4 feet between the wheelwells and about 6.5-7' long in the cargo area.

As for fluid in the auto trans, that van will be a 3spd which is basically an old torqueflite shrunk down and turned sideways. You can put any old ATF in that, new, old, whatever. Some people mix motor oil into their atf, and some people run straight hydraulic fluid in them on a dodge forum im on. THOSE trans aren't picky. The v6 versions can get a 4spd auto and that one needs the chrysler-standard atf. I think it is currently called ATF+4.

Vigo wrote:

CyberEric wrote: Thanks guys. How about this Caravan? http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/cto/4111523745.html Are the seats removable? How much can they swallow in the way of furniture, that sort of thing?

I dont know how much you care but if that is really a 4 cylinder auto it will be horrendously slow with any cargo. I love that 4cylinder for ease of service and reliability but with an auto (only 3spds) AND a caravan hooked to it, it is horribly overworked. Just for reference, my 5spd version ran 18.2 in the 1/4. The auto will run about 20-21 BEFORE you put cargo in it. Both rear seats come out easily. It is a little over 4 feet between the wheelwells and about 6.5-7' long in the cargo area. As for fluid in the auto trans, that van will be a 3spd which is basically an old torqueflite shrunk down and turned sideways. You can put any old ATF in that, new, old, whatever. Some people mix motor oil into their atf, and some people run straight hydraulic fluid in them on a dodge forum im on. THOSE trans aren't picky. The v6 versions can get a 4spd auto and that one needs the chrysler-standard atf. I think it is currently called ATF+4.

Thanks, maybe I'll skip it if it's going to be that much of a dog with the auto. I appreciate the cargo dimensions Vigo, thanks.

Yeah, Astros are sure appealing given how numerous they are. Any thoughts on these old Toyota vans? My dad had one and he really liked it, but it was hard to work on. http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/4117804863.html

What about the V6 Caravans? http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/cto/4113305485.html

And this one looks really nice, 92 and original owner! http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/4101345807.html

In reply to Vigo:

Didn't notice that it was a four not a six.

As far as the V6 vans, they could have either the 3spd or 4spd auto. There is technically less stuff to go wrong with the 3spds but on the flip side if they drive bad they probably are bad where on the 4spd a lot of issues can be fixed by swapping on a new sensor or solenoid pack.

You could get a 3.0, 3.3, or 3.8. The 3.0 is a mitsubishi design and the 3.3 and 3.8 are a dodge design where the only difference is bore and stroke. 3.3/3.8 only came with 4spd auto. The 3.0 is pretty dang reliable but needs a timing belt and water pump every now and then (it is non interference) which is of normal difficulty. The 3.3/3.8 use a timing chain that never needs to be changed on most of them. If it needs it you will know because it will be noisy. Those are UNUSUALLY reliable. Aside from some first-year ('90) issues they just dont have any common motor issues in those older vans. I trust them enough that i bought a 3.8 van with ~250k as a motor donor to swap INTO another car that had a lower miles 3.3, and i've thrown away several 3.3s because they are useless to keep around for parts because you never NEED parts. You seriously can't give away a good 3.3 motor because nobody has a broken one that needs to be replaced.

Very helpful, thanks Vigo!

That one owner one looks to have the 3.3 motor. I'm setting up a appt to look at it. It's a little more money than some but has records and whenever someone has the original window sticker, I'm intrigued.

It's hard to narrow this van search down, there are so many vans out there at really cheap prices! I think the main contenders are Caravan, Astro, and Previa.

I found an Astro with a 5 speed?! Is that with the 4.3 motor? http://sacramento.craigslist.org/cto/4115690787.html

In reply to CyberEric: Have you looked at Mazda MVP's? I recently picked up a 2002 that needed some work for a fraction of comparable vans. I've been really happy with it, it's definitely the Mazda of minivans. It drives much better then I'd expect of a fwd box. They are a little on the small side, but make good use of their size. The back seats fold into the floor, while the middle remove easily. The 2002+ have the more powerful 3 liter engine and 5 speed auto.