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2003 Venture Van problem.. PLEASE HELP

6 messages,  Last post on Mar 09, 2010 at 5:19 PM

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What is this discussion about? Chevrolet Lumina Minivan, Chevrolet Venture, Chevrolet Astro, Van

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#1 of 6 2003 Venture Van problem.. PLEASE HELP by kentuckymommy

Feb 07, 2010 (2:00 pm)

okay heres the deal (please take time to read sorry if its long)
 
i got remarried last year and now have 7 children to raise. my husband and i went looking for a car big enough for us all and we ended up purchasing a van. (ONLY A WEEK AND A HALF AGO AT THAT)
 
the van is a 2003 model chevy venture van with 90 K miles on it.. it was a repo also.... as i stated we've had it a week with no problems at all in its running/driving. a few days ago i noticed that the fan belt is starting to make a noise and we need a new belt. (no biggie)
 
BUT
  
this morning i went out to start it and it wouldnt start.. i turned the key and all the lights in the dash came on everything is bright and working.. but when i went to crank it over there was NOTHING no cranking no noise NOTHING complete silence.
I got my husband to come out and try and again the same thing happened. well about 15-20 minutes later i went out to try and start it with the overhead lights on (to see if they went dim to rule out battery) and it started perfectly. only noise i could hear was from the belt
 
we drove to get the battery tested and found that the hot wire going to the fuse box (ontop of battery) was VERY loose so we tightened it up and drove to pick the kids up and home IT DROVE PERFECT..
 
ive been home a few hours now and its killed me worrying about it so i went to try it again and its still starting perfectly but now there is this noise coming from the driver side somewhere it makes the noise a few seconds after its started then stops. i dont know how to describe the noise its like a low rattling or something.
 
here is the only things we have done to the van since buying it.
 
1) The dvd player wasnt working after being told it did work so the guy we bought it off of said he would fix it for us. so we drove it to a car audio place and they removed to old dvd player but havent put the new one in it yet so as of right now there is no dvd player (THIS WAS DONE 2 DAYS AGO)
 
2) we ordered 2 keyless entry remotes for it because without the keyless entry we had to put the key in to get all the doors to come unlocked... now that we have the remotes its been great
 
3) We had an extra key made for it at walmart
 
other than that. we havent done a thing to it.
 
im really worried about it because i have 7 kids and im so scared ill get out and get stuck alone with all of them. PLEASE if anyone has any idea's on this and what it could be and what i should do now. its only happened this one time but it has me freaking out.

#2 of 6 Re: 2003 Venture Van problem.. PLEASE HELP [kentuckymommy] by 442dude

Feb 15, 2010 (8:20 am)

Replying to: kentuckymommy (Feb 07, 2010 2:00 pm)
Hi,
 
I would bet that the "rattling" you hear when you 1st start the car is nothing you have to worry about. Our Venture made a rattling sound at startup for most of the 100,000 that we owned it. The noise is under the hood, right? I think its just the valve lifters waiting for oil to get up to them - nothing to worry about as lots of Ventures make the exact same noise with no problems. You'll only hear it when the van has sat for a while...nothing to worry about.
 
Its also a good idea to check the tightness of the battery cables from time to time as they will tend to loosen from changes in temperature...Even better: buy a cheapo 5/16" wrench and throw it in the glove compartment - any time you have the problem you'll already have the tool available to tighten the battery cables if you need it.
 
Don't be freaked out - out Venture never stranded us once and even made it home one time when the battery froze and cracked (with a jump start of course). The Ventures were good vans and most have given good service well past 100,000 miles.

#3 of 6 Re: 2003 Venture Van problem.. PLEASE HELP [442dude] by azu

Feb 15, 2010 (8:33 am)

Replying to: 442dude (Feb 15, 2010 8:20 am)
The rattling is "piston slap" and is normal on these engines. Once it warms up the noise goes away. GM tried some things to quiet these but were a little unsuccessful. GM didn't put much more into it as it is for the most part harmless and does not shortened the life of the engine. My 99 Silhouette does it too and has 134K.

#4 of 6 Re: 2003 Venture Van problem.. PLEASE HELP [kentuckymommy] by hummingbirdana

Feb 28, 2010 (11:37 am)

Replying to: kentuckymommy (Feb 07, 2010 2:00 pm)
We have a 2002 Venture with over 10000 miles on it that does that same rattle noise at startup...Im glad to know its normal...lol. had the same worry you have had.. Had no major worries with this van, just that simple things like alternator, thermestate are hard to get to and on our other vehical would be able to change ourselves,verses this van we need a mechanic.. had alot of issues with loose wires. sending out check engine signals and come to find out its just a loose wire, other than that its great.

#5 of 6 2003 Venture by tonys45

Mar 09, 2010 (5:19 pm)

kentuckymom:
 
The advise given above is spot on!
 
I also have a 2003 (but not seven kids). Watch the temperature gauge carefully and don't ever let the van overheat. Whenever you have it in a mechanics hands have him check to see if the intake manifold gaskets are leaking. Most do. You may wish to have them replaced with aftermarket metal gaskets when you can afford it ---- good preventive maintenance.

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