Faults:

Runs really rough and is very bad on gas.

General Comments:

The car is very good on the highway and the front seat have very little room. However the car is still top of the line.

Faults:

Where to start? Well first the vehicle had a rod sticking through the oil pan when it was given to me.

After replacing the bearings, rings, broken rod, piston, alternator, starter, water pump, oil pan and all new gaskets, (and honing and decking the block and heads), my wife had a nice looking van with a totally rebuilt engine.

This lasted through the winter when last month the 4.3 spun a bearing. This lead to replacing the crankshaft, bearings, a bent rod, and chewed up piston.

The block is tough as nails however, because the bore still gauged out to within spec.

General Comments:

Driving the vehicle is not that uncomfortable, but not as comfy as the old Caravan.

Sitting in the passenger seat is another story altogether. Your legs are crammed in between the engine cover and the wheel well in a space of about eight inches, (maybe six).

I have ridden in front twice, and since then my daughter in the car seat in back has daddy riding with her where it is comfortable.

Cargo space is more than adequate. Having hauled a washer home from the local appliance store with room to spare.

Cup holder and creature comforts seem to have been sacrificed in order to make this mini-van ride and haul like a truck.

Good torque and towing, but poor horsepower and passing ability.

One more note: when looking for an oil cooling line in the junkyard, (the one that blew off and caused the spun bearing), there were no fewer than three out of eight 4.3 liter Safari and Astro vans with connecting rods sticking through the oil pan.

Stay away from the early 4.3 GM engine!

Faults:

The ONLY things I have replaced was the water pump at 50,000 Miles and the alternator at 130,000 and a vacuum leak at 132,000 that caused a rough idle. Nothing else has been needed except normal maintenance.

General Comments:

Overall this van has been by far the best vehicle I have ever purchased. It get decent gas mileage, even at 130,000! (about 25 mpg on highway) The van has plenty of room for people or anything else in need of hauling.

Faults:

Water Pump.

Head Cracked (because of water pump failure I presume). I will explain below.

Muffler - general maintenance though.

Steering gear box leaking.

Can't find brake fluid leak anywhere, but the front reservoir is always low or out.

Power lock and window stopped working on passenger side, but figured out which wires were /are broke and did a temporary fix to get the window at least working.

General Comments:

The van is comfy to ride in, in my opinion.

I bought it used obviously as a "handy man special". The guy said it had a leaky water pump, I replaced it. They must have got it "warm' because the head gasket blew within a few hundred km's. Then, I believe is when I cracked the head. So that sucked. I ended up getting 2 "like new" head from a wrecker so I replaced both heads as they had 400000km's on them and the 2 I got really were in like new shape.

I got awesome fuel mileage before the head incident and not so good now so not sure if that one highway trip I messed up figuring it out, or I need some fine tuning.

I am surprised with the power it has, the 4.3 TBI is quite impressive.

It is not quite as "carish" as a Montana or Windstar or caravan, etc. But, for myself that is good, I use it off and on to run my electrical business out of. Can't imagine a better van for hauling stuff. As one other person put, a trick cargo van with factory tinted windows. I put some low profile 60's on and it looks good. A little bit a bark to my new muffler and it does look a bit trick.

Good van, but the only one I have owned so hard to say it is better in all ways than any other van.