How much lift is on my new to me Astro?

[Dwanker]

http://s1181.photobucket.com/albums/x438/Dwanker/
What are the mods that I can do for handling? every thing is new from steering box to the tires!Does rear sway bar help?

[astroturf]

What kind of problems are you now having?

[Dwanker]

Seems a little drifty on the HWY. I just bought a Hellwig rear sway bar for it. Haven't installed it yet.

Just want it to feel a little more planted. can't change the stereo without drifting into other lane.

Any idea how much lift it has? I bought it on Ebay just as it sits site/unseen in Penn. and drove it home to CO.

[astroturf]

Hard to tell how much lift just from the pix.

The swaybar will serve you well though.

Good Luck, Jim

[astrozam]

Maybe 3-4"

Were the Idler arms replaced as well?

[Dwanker]

The idlers are new. I am hoping the sway bar will be the cure. Would like to let my son and his friends take it snowboarding. Also thinking about slowing down the power steering pump.

The steering feels light, like a go cart.

[MountainManJoe]

The stabilizer bar will reduce lean while cornering, but not drifting into other lanes. Have you had an alignment done?

[Dwanker]

Yea, from a shop that works on alot of lifted custom stuff.

That is why I am thinking about changing the P/S valving.
I wonder if the new steering box could be faster ratio, car vs van/truck?

[astroturf]

Yea, from a shop that works on alot of lifted custom stuff.

That is why I am thinking about changing the P/S valving.
I wonder if the new steering box could be faster ratio, car vs van/truck?

A Thread you may want to look at...

viewtopic.php?f=12&t=5533&p=56788&hilit ... ade#p56788

[WoodButcher]

Play with the air pressure in the tires, Start at max on the sidewall then come down a pound or two at a time. What are the tires? lifted like yours is I think anything less than an LT would be spongy. A light truck tire has thicker sidewalls than passenger cars and a heavier load rating. Typically a LT tire max pressure is 50 lbs or more.

[doyoulikeithere]

Does your van sit level?
Its hard to tell from that small pic, could be an illusion.
Looks like the front sits higher than the back.
What method of lifting was used in the rear? A tall lifted van sitting on worn out saggy leaf springs wont handle well.
if the leafs are flat or negative ark, and you find there are blocks and shackles and stuff doing all the lifting, that could contribute.

[LiftedAWDAstro]

NICE VAN! I would say you have 4-5" lift. The rear sway bar will help. How are the shocks? Try rotating tires front to back and see if it helps. More info/pics on the lift pieces would help.

[Dwanker]

The shocks are all new RS5000. Tires have been rotated.

Bought it just the way it sits for $2500 on EBay, drove it home to Denver and spent another $2000 for exhaust, shocks, drag link, AC service. Not to bad.

Other things I would like to do: tube prerunner type bumpers, small winch, camper type interior in the rear.

[doyoulikeithere]

When I had my 95 awd lifted to about5", it had brand spanking new Overland Van's torsion bars in it.
I tried driving it for a while with the Tbars cranked right to the max for max lift.
It was real tall, but when I drove over bumps, the front tires would actually hop right off the ground because there was just no down travel left in the front suspension.
It was pretty squirrelly. I turned the Tbars down a turn or two, and the van handled a heck of a lot better (hooray) but it wasnt quite as tall (boo).
That was a few years back, and the tbars have settled down. Now I have them cranked to max with no probs.

Have you had a chance yet to try to figure out just exactly what your van's lift kit consists of?
Overland sells all sorts of parts & kits to lift your van with.
Some methods work a lot better than others, just depends on what the PO purchased to do the job with.
More details on the methods used to lift it would be great.

For instance, I used Overland Van Parts on my 95 awd, I installed OLVs 2 inch blocks between the springs & axle in back. (There is 2 ".)
Then I installed some OLV shackles on the leafsprings, maxed out, there is about 3 more inches.
That 4-5" lift in rear was plagued by problems with the tires impacting the body and ripping tire lugs off, and it didnt handle very well with a ton of body roll.
My old spongy steel leafs were just wimpy old and saggy. Not a very good foundation for a tall van to rest upon!
Eventually, I took that rear suspension out and out installed 4" lifting leaf springs (same as, but not OLV). That made a huge improvement!

If you are having squirrelly handling, you might want to have a good look at how the PO lifted the van, because saying it is an overland lift is a very broad & overused term that can be used to mean almost anything.

She Looks awesome, You two should be very happy together! Cheers.

[scarecrow]

OH CHIT THATS MY OLD VAN.................sits about 5.5" i built that van 3-4 years ago maybe sold it april of 2010. look thru my posts it has overland 4in lift with the torsion bars up a bit. 4" inch full lift spring in the rear with the shackles set at 1.5". that van was my daily driver i never had a problem with it sold it to a guy near allentown PA. with 164K on it he painted it did a bunch of stuff to it then put it up for sale about 2 months after he bought it. man i miss that van!