You are here: Forums Vans & Minivans GMC Safari & Chevy Astro GMC Safari/Chevy Astro Real World MPG

GMC Safari/Chevy Astro Real World MPG

52 messages,  Last post on Mar 05, 2009 at 9:07 PM

You are in the GMC Safari & Chevy Astro Forum. Your Host is Karens

What is this discussion about? GMC Safari, Chevrolet Astro, Van

Messages Page 2 of 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 Prev Next Last

Go To Msg # Search This Discussion

#6 of 52 Re: 1994 ASTRO CENTRAL INJECTION [dlm1954] by black3fan Oct 16, 2006 (5:55 pm)
Replying to: dlm1954 (Oct 05, 2006 5:05 pm) I just did this last Monday. I read the book and thought I was in over my head, but I wanted to see how far I could get. This job is a piece of CAKE!! All you have to do is remove the air box and rubber hose to the throttle body,, then remove the ten (10) bolts that bolt the upper plenum to the lower plenum. All the harnesses and the hoses that unbolt with the side bolts will slide out of your way. The toughest part of the job is getting the upper plenum out of the van. The easiest way I found was out the back, into the interior of the van. Just raise it up and over the A/C line that runs across the bellhousing and wiggle and cuss a little and you're home free!! Installation is just the reverse. You will probably find that the inside of the plenum is FILTHY on one side (driver's side) and clean on the other (passenger's) side. The cause of this is that the fuel pressure regulator (on the passenger's side) of the fuel injector is leaking. Once you get the upper plenum off, turn the key to ON, but DO NOT start the van!! Check for leaks. Once you find and fix the leaks, you should find that the injector does not have to be replaced. That will save you about $400.00 for a new injector and you will spend under $50.00 for the regulator. I got mine back together and it idles smooth as glass, runs like a rabbit, and MPG's jumped up almost double!!   Good luck. Write back if you have any other questions.
#8 of 52 Safari mileage by jbigfoot Dec 14, 2006 (12:27 am)
I have a '94 Safari that gets 15-18 MPG in city driving, with some of it being freeway.
#9 of 52 1988 Astro (Old Faithful) by jrbudge May 21, 2007 (10:48 pm)
I have an '88 Astro with 331,000km! After reading through here, I guess I'm not doing too bad; I'm getting about 19 MPG highway(70-80mph). I live in the mountains which doesn't help, but the van's a 5 speed and that does.
#10 of 52 Slight improvment by jrbudge Jun 14, 2007 (11:34 pm)
The last 2 consecutive tanks of fuel, I reached just over 21 mpg on both! I don't know if this is the cause, but immediately before I got started on the last 2 tanks, I replaced to he serpentine belt. My van is equipped with A/C, but the system is discharged and I don't like A/C much anyway. So I bought the belt that was for the same van without A/C, now it just bypasses that pulley.
#11 of 52 Just keeps gettin' better! by jrbudge Jun 20, 2007 (11:36 pm)
After replacing the oxygen sensor, I just finished my first full tank of fuel...With a new high: 23.7mpg Replies to this message: adcessories (Jul 30, 2007 7:32 am) jrbudge (Sep 10, 2007 7:25 am) antique_maggie (Jul 03, 2008 12:40 pm) teal96 (Jul 05, 2008 7:35 pm)
#13 of 52 Poor fuel economy by adcessories Jul 12, 2007 (8:22 am)
I have a 2005 GMC Safari passenger van and I preveiously had a '93 GMC Safari conversion van, so, I am familiar with the vehicles. My problem is that this '05 gets horrible gas mileage, about 12 mpg city or highway. I have had it into a GMC dealer and they report that there is nothing wrong with my vehicle and they blame the ethanol fuel for the lousy mileage. I took it to a local independent shop that is highly regarded locally and they pretty much agreed with the dealership that the culprit is probably the ethanol blended gasoline. Is anyone else experiencing similar mileage problems? I am about ready to trade this vehicle on a different, hopefully more fuel efficient, vehicle and this one doesn't even have 40,000 miles on it yet. Replies to this message: cob (Jul 16, 2007 5:16 pm) adcessories (Jul 30, 2007 7:21 am) dskinner (Jan 19, 2008 2:00 am) guyonearth (Aug 05, 2008 7:24 pm)
#14 of 52 Re: Poor fuel economy [adcessories] by cob Jul 16, 2007 (5:16 pm)
Replying to: adcessories (Jul 12, 2007 8:22 am) I have a 1997 with 120000 miles and have the same problem 12 city and 14 highway. I was getting better numbers before I changed the plugs at 100000 miles. I parked it and am driving a $300 prism 40 miles per day at 27 mpg. Do you have the 3.73 gears or the 3.23? It seams that the 3.73 get better mileage even though it is not logical the 3.23 should turn lower rpms on the highway. Replies to this message: adcessories (Jul 30, 2007 7:21 am)
#15 of 52 Re: Poor fuel economy [cob] by adcessories Jul 30, 2007 (7:21 am)
Replying to: cob (Jul 16, 2007 5:16 pm) Thanks for the report! I don't know which gear ratio this vehicle has, and, I am not sure just how to determine it. I tend to believe that my fuel economy problem is a multiple problem, the ethanol blend fuel that we have to use doesn't burn as "hot" as the 100% gasoline fuel that the manufacturers and the EPA used to determine the posted MPG figures, and, GM uses something called the Vortex engine in the 2005 that, supposedly, they did not use in the 1993 van that I had and the Vortex engine has a reputation of not being as fuel efficient as the older engine from what some mechanics to whom I have spoken tell me. The 2005 van has "rack & pinion" steering that is different from the '93, the '93 could just about turn around in its own shadow, the '05 needs a city block in which to turn around. I am rapidly giving up hope on this vehicle ever getting close to the mileage that the '93 did. Anybody got a suggestion of what would be a good, reliable, fuel efficient replacement vehicle?

Messages Page 2 of 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 Prev Next Last

Go To Msg # Search This Discussion

You are here: Forums Vans & Minivans GMC Safari & Chevy Astro GMC Safari/Chevy Astro Real World MPG