Chevy Astro 2WD vs AWD pros/cons?

[matt]

Hello everyone!

 I'm interested in getting a 1999 or newer Chevrolet Astro van to convert to a camper.  I see there are 2WD and AWD versions, can anyone chime in on the pros and cons of each? 

My main concern is reliability as I am not mechanically inclined.

 

[Gideon33w]

Twice as much stuff to fail on an AWD version, much harder to work on, and you lose 20% fuel economy.
There's also concerns about running tires which aren't evenly sized or aired up.
Unless you have real offroading needs I'd stick with the 2wd. I built one of each and if doing an Astro again I'd do 2wd for sure.

 

[matt]

Thank you gsfish and Gideon33w, that's pretty much the same thing my dad said. Just thought I'd get some input from the van community. I'm in California for the time being so adverse weather conditions aren't really an issue and I don't plan on going off-road other than maybe some maintained dirt roads. The search narrows

 

[MrNoodly]

Also, the AWD system on Astros is really only meant for slick pavement or snow. It's not real 4WD. However, with the aid of a kit, the transfer case can be swapped for one from S-10/Sonoma trucks or Blazer/Jimmy SUVs.

 

[highdesertranger]

I am a big fan of Chevy's and I am a bigger fan of their straight axle 4wd's. however I am not a big fan of 4wd conversions or AWD vehicles or independent front wheel drives weather its 2wd, 4wd, or AWD. my 2 cents. highdesertranger

 

[Gideon33w]

Also, the AWD system on Astros is really only meant for slick pavement or snow. It's not real 4WD. However, with the aid of a kit, the transfer case can be swapped for one from S-10/Sonoma trucks or Blazer/Jimmy SUVs.

There's two different versions on the Astros. The first gen (up till model year 98) is true full time awd and is made for pavement with a BW4472 transfer case. The later gen (99+) is the rwd which only engages the front during slip. Later gen is the easily interchangeable one too iirc.

 

[deadwood]

I agree with the others that said that there is much less to go wrong with the two wheel drive version. On the all wheel drives you can't even replace one tire on the van. If one tire gets replace the all get replaced so that the wear is the same on all four of them. My daughter drives an all wheel drive Subaru which does great in the winter when she is in the snow back east but more expensive to maintain and more expensive to fix when things break.

 

[user 37446]

The case against AWD is this (as far as tires):  A relative has an AWD Ford Edge. They had a front sidewall blowout from a sharp rock on the pavement. The tires were about a year/15,000 k's old. They had to get a flatbed tow truck ($) since it was an AWD. Then the tire store told them since the new tires (same kind) were more than 3/32nds bigger (due to being new) than the ones already on the car, they had to replace all 4 tires.  $820! 
:huh:

A frantic phone call and my looking it up showed that yes, the Edge manual said the same thing (cannot have different height tires), a check of the Edge forums said the same thing, 
"[font='Lucida Grande', 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]But AWD is a different story. The reason not to mix tires on an AWD is because of the 3 differentials. Most of the time the differentials spin in one way only. But when you go around a corner or you get one tire slipping, they spin in two ways. This second way creates relative movement between gears and parts that don't usually see movement, thus they aren't designed to be quite so durable. When you put on a mismatched tire, you cause the differentials to spin in both ways pretty much all the time, so you're increasing the wear on the extra gears and parts. The question is how much is too much mismatch? I don't know the exact answer, it's probably in the owner's manual somewhere..."[/font]

(unless you want to risk the $1,600 (parts only) center differential). So they had to pay. Oh, and the road hazard tire warranty did pay for the $160 tire, but only the one... 

So for AWD, its really risky since the P series tires have a soft sidewall, and having wider rims (theirs were 20") means even lower profile.... Another reason to switch your van to LT's.

 

[Campor99]

I have the 2000 AWD Astro,196k miles, the only issue that I have had is the Encoder Motor, this is the brain for telling wheels what to do, i.e. 2wd or 4wd. You will know the unit failed if you have a Service AWD light that won't go away and keeps returning.  If you take it to a dealer they will kill you on price of repair.  You can fix this by using a good ole boy garage, for a lot less, Parts and labor less than 400. Im sure I saved 1500 dollars or more.  Now, get your encoder replacement from Auto Zone, their warranty is life time, the GM dealer 1 year. 

I run Mastercraft All Terrain Coursor  235/75/15, and travel to some pretty rough back country places.  Great in snow, icy, mud and places that your 2wd will not make it.  That said, I am moving to a real 4x4 1988 Chevy Suburban, which has all mechanical drive system, NO electrons.

GOOD LUCK ON YOUR SELECTION.

 

[Gideon33w]

This is why on my old awd Astro I went with the 1st gen. The full time all wheel drive hurts fuel economy but it's a purely mechanical system.
Offroad performance was excellent. Can't speak to foul weather but all kinds of desert terrain was tackled with just all season tires.

 

[tripper]

I really like the AWD. Having a small van with AWD means you can get to many spots that most other people can't. Astros get such bad mileage anyways why worry about the 1 or 2 mpg worse. It sure is nice for soft sand and muddy roads. You will run into that occasionally as a boon docker.