2004 Chevy Astro AWD "Astrid"

[izaicinajums]

I love your Big Dipper pic!!! Do you plan to go to a bigger lift, or leave it at 2"?

Thanks! Actually, rear end is currently lifted something like 4" (non-intentionally).

I had original leaf springs on the van, but they were kind of sagged so I decided to swap them out for S10 leaf spring pack... Which showed how much the old ones were sagged... So now I will be lifting front end as well, to level out the van.

Unfortunately in my case passenger side of the van was sagged about 1 1/2 inch when I got van initially and when front end was leveled out it almost maxed on passenger side torsion key. So to level van this time torsion key swap is required. I have all the parts for full 4" lift, just have to get time for that.

Generally 2"-3" lift seems to be what most people will need as these things are very capable. It's more about having bigger tires (preferably 31") for ground clearance, rather than huge lift.

 

[arlon]

Nice video. Surprised there is oxygen up there for the van to run on.

 

[izaicinajums]

Nice video. Surprised there is oxygen up there for the van to run on.

Thank you! If I recall correctly, peak is at about 8200ft (2500m) above sea level - so not high enough to run into any major oxygen issues.

 

[izaicinajums]

Here is another video from our adventures in Beautiful BC backcountry. Video shows more natural beauty, less off-road though.

 

[arlon]

Amazing scenery. I live in the desert, love to see stuff like that. Tallest thing within 100 miles of me is a building.. Great choice in vans. I'm sure 04 was the best year for them. I'm always surprised where things can go. (-:}

 

[izaicinajums]

This thread went to far before I posted pictures that I wanted to be posted after introduction... So let's start from there.

This is "Astrid" when we met her first - about year ago, no lift, stock tires, no modifications, 900km from home and lots of things identified by local mechanic to fix...

I knew Astro's where great trucks/vans, but I had never driven one... So it was hard to know, how was the ride and if it's stable enough. It actually was just fine

Minutes after we bought it... Sitting kind a low.

Few more pictures:

 

[izaicinajums]

Next thing after getting Astrid was to lift it. 2" should be enough right?!

Great manual that I used a lot as reference: http://chevroletforum.com/forum/ast...ow-2"-astro-lift-install-overland-vans-25553/

Rear end

Front end

and then little problem...

Turned out that 2" lift has common side effect - vibration at low speed. That was prevented by adding pinion angle shim.

After lift vehicle certainly looked better :wings:

 

[izaicinajums]

Next thing after the lift was to get bigger tires.

I didn't go to crazy, as some people go to 31" tire, because I had little experience with Astro's and dealing with rubbing problems if they arise (and they would...)

Tires that I got were 225/75 R16 Cooper Discoverer A/T3 (29"). I would certainly buy these again, as they have impressed me on every possible terrain.

New rubber

First picture with new tires on! I forgot to tell which side I wanted out, so tire guys made decision for me

Washed off the blue stuff from tires - liked even more.

But there was something missing, so I decided to black out rims. Yes, blacked out rims is a way to go

 

[T.Low]

I nominate you to lead an All Astro-Safari Safari to Molydenbrigh, Molendendryght, Moli...up that big mountain.

Any time is bad for me, so pick a time and we'll make it happen!

 

[izaicinajums]

I nominate you to lead an All Astro-Safari Safari to Molydenbrigh, Molendendryght, Moli...up that big mountain.

Any time is bad for me, so pick a time and we'll make it happen!

hahaha - Molybdenite is not the easiest word to write, I use old copy-paste trick here

We are departing south (Centra/South America) in August, so I don't know if we will have time and spare funds for another trip to Molybdenite this year... Let me think about it.

Usually good time for this trip is August/September because the snow is melted away by that time, this year has been dryer though. My friends went last year in the first week of July and were not able to reach top. Also they close road until July because of grizzly mating season or something like that...

 

[boardrider247]

Also they close road until July because of grizzly mating season or something like that...

 

[izaicinajums]

Next up - installing transmission cooler.

When I was looking for a solution, I wanted something that is easy to install and has most if not all parts required for the job. Cooler that fitted my requirements was Tru-Cool LPD Transmission Oil Cooler 4490, with package you get everything you need for install. I ended up buying some screws from local store (Home Depo/Rona), because I wanted more robust cooler to body attachment, but you can easily live without it.

Package looks very similar to this (not my picture, taken from Internet)

#1 Thing is to take a part your front end - take off grille, air filter & housing, upper fan shroud etc.

#2 Bend brackets for proper transmission cooler attachment to van body

#3 Attach all the brackets, test fit and if you want paint them:

#4 Install the cooler:

#5 Attach the cooler oil lines and guide the to where they will be attached to system:

I used fuel clamps instead of the clamps that were provided with the package as they seem to be better solution. Also when you install them make sure they are placed the way that they can be re tightened without taking off front grill.

#6 De-attach returning transmission oil cooler line (upper) and install fitting that were provided with package:

#7 Connect external transmission cooler to the system. One thing to be aware of is to make sure that oil lines are not in front of air intake - engine needs all air it can get

Reassemble everything back up and you are done.

Don't forget to check for leaks when you finish and after you have driven few hundred miles/km.

Hope it helps and if you have any questions/suggestions please leave comment bellow!

 

[Stroverlander]

That's the same transmission cooler I installed on Stroverlander, nice install. I just removed the factory transmission cooler lines to rebuild the weeping crimped sections with new hose and FI clamps.

 

[izaicinajums]

After oil cooler next thing in line was to swap out leaf springs as old ones were a bit sagged (I thought at the time that way...), actually they were sagged a lot...

So I ended up with a van that has rear end lifted higher than front and that meant new project -raising front end up to level out van....

As of now van has been leveled out, but that is story for another day and I actually don't have any pictures of that, as it was completed few days ago

 

[Slicky72]

Where did you get you leaf springs from?