New APV Owner !!!

[Jrs3800]

For being such a bad van its amazing to me that I find them all of the time with 200,000 to 300,000 Miles on them.. And people get rid of them as they have finally puked a trans... I got mine for that very reason... It puked the 4T60-E trans.. I did a complete rebuild( myself and a friend ventured in to the 4T60-E just to see if we could do it )... This trans has about 8000 miles on it at current.. I work on all of my own vehicles so I tend to keep them going... If it needs a new motor, it'll get one... Rebuild the Trans sure.... But I am able to do that when and if its needed...

The Pontiac Transports were the sportier versions.. I have done suspension work to get it to handle... And it has become very nimble and friendly to drive... My limiting factor now is not the suspension but the tires.. I need better high performance tires to stick the van to the road..

Don't get me wrong the Hondas are great vehicles and we have had them in the family... They just go on forever( usually )... But when they break, say you need a Water Pump... Thats very expensive.... And at 60K you should really replace the Timimg belt... Again very expensive..

For what you woulf pay for a water pump and timing belt R&R on the honda I could pay for a 3800 Supercharged to swap into my old van..


And just being curious... Why didn't you get the honda in the first place?

[96tsport]

The heater core alone can be the end of any older car with nothing else wrong with it. Often involves complete dash removal to get at the part & up to 20 hrs labor by the book.

Brake cyls & lines can also get into a good chunk of change.

Front struts can cost too.. but the U bodies are no diff as far as that & the above goes than other cars of the same year(s). These things can also affect much newer cars .

Helps alot if you do your own work but the huge advantage of the vans is the plastic body panels that don't rust vs most other vehicles.

Most have to deal with, do I sink money into an old car that also looks like crap due to rust. Usually kills a car vs fixing rust cos just not worth fixing the rust alone.

I suspect old u bodies will be around far longer than most other vehicles of the same year(s) & they are dirt cheap to buy now.

[Jrs3800]

I agree.. The good thing about the van is that it was a Florida van for 95% of its life... So rust is minimal and was concentrated to the battery box.. I took care of that when the drivetrain was out... And I do like that fact that its a Composite / Fiberglass van with a serious galvanized steel skeleton...lol

['97ventureowner]

In my part of the country, vehicles don't last beyond 10 to 15 years, certainly not beyond 20 years unless they are stored in the winter due to the high salt usage on the roads. I still see many late '80s/early '90s APVs roaming the roads, a testament to their durability against rust because of their composition.
I wonder though how does the undersides of these vans hold up in areas of the country where road salt is used? The thing that makes a lot of the vehicles around here meet an early demise is frame rot. Do these vans also suffer from the same problem at the same rate as other vehicles? It would be nice if the undersides of these vehicles could last as long as the outer panels.

[96tsport]

Originally Posted by '97ventureowner

In my part of the country, vehicles don't last beyond 10 to 15 years, certainly not beyond 20 years unless they are stored in the winter due to the high salt usage on the roads. I still see many late '80s/early '90s APVs roaming the roads, a testament to their durability against rust because of their composition.
I wonder though how does the undersides of these vans hold up in areas of the country where road salt is used? The thing that makes a lot of the vehicles around here meet an early demise is frame rot. Do these vans also suffer from the same problem at the same rate as other vehicles? .

I'd say yes. I was rear ended (a few times actually..) & had a close look underneath (never actually did before) at the time because of it. Body shop mentioned the use of high strength steel (dunno what that's about?) & frame rails (or rear clips) no longer being available.

Some folks with high mileage vans mentioned frame rot as being the reason for the end, or not worth putting more money into it.

I've also read about front strut shock tower repairs due to rust & would like to know more about it? I know that dodge caravans also have that prob & pretty sure a shock tower kit replacement can be purchased from dodge.

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