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Hello! My name is Rich and I’ve been in the industry since ’88 when I graduated from Arizona Automotive Institute (mostly a waste of money – community college would have been just as good at a fraction of the price). Worked at several small shops in WA state until ’97 when I went to work for a repair information provider (there are only a couple of us – you can guess which one probably) and have been there since.
I still work on my own beater fleet and those of friends and family but most often work behind the scenes to get fellow techs the repair info they need. I have a son currently in the Ford ASSET program at the local CC who teaches me stuff every day.
Fuel is going to be the biggest issue other than possibly brakes locked up from sitting (depending on your location) and any related to why the car has sat for a year and a half…
Personally, I’d make sure the fluids are topped off, throw a fresh battery in it and hit the key and see what happens. If it starts up and sounds okay then I’d start with basic maintenance of changing those fluids…
Fuel is going to be the biggest issue other than possibly brakes locked up from sitting (depending on your location) and any related to why the car has sat for a year and a half…
Personally, I’d make sure the fluids are topped off, throw a fresh battery in it and hit the key and see what happens. If it starts up and sounds okay then I’d start with basic maintenance of changing those fluids…
I own an ’01 Montana and while I agree many jobs on this thing are a PITA, the corrosion issue added considerably to the problem. I’m glad that I don’t have to deal with that on my personal vehicles or ones in the shop. The one thing I’ve learned with this vehicle is to not buy cheap aftermarket parts, especially on a difficult job because you will be doing it again.
I went through several radiators in this and as Eric encountered, getting the cooling fan out by itself is no easy task. It’s certainly less fun doing it for a second (or third) time. Like I told the counter person at A**ozone when I returned the second radiator (first one leaked at a seam after about 6 months, the second had problems with the trans cooler connections immediately) that their “Lifetime” warranty was worthless if I had to keep changing out the parts – didnt matter that the part replacement was free…
My most hated thing about this van is the stupid heater hose routing. Fairly simple matter if the van doesnt have rear heat but becomes a complex nightmare if it does. These two hose assemblies cost $230 from GM and there is NO way you can install it with the engine in the vehicle. You might be able to if you disconnected the steering column and dropped the back subframe down about 6 inches to get some clearance. Wound up buying the hoses seperately (totalling about $80 including the plastic tees from GM) and playing a reverse game of Jenga to fit them all in there. Ugh.
I own an ’01 Montana and while I agree many jobs on this thing are a PITA, the corrosion issue added considerably to the problem. I’m glad that I don’t have to deal with that on my personal vehicles or ones in the shop. The one thing I’ve learned with this vehicle is to not buy cheap aftermarket parts, especially on a difficult job because you will be doing it again.
I went through several radiators in this and as Eric encountered, getting the cooling fan out by itself is no easy task. It’s certainly less fun doing it for a second (or third) time. Like I told the counter person at A**ozone when I returned the second radiator (first one leaked at a seam after about 6 months, the second had problems with the trans cooler connections immediately) that their “Lifetime” warranty was worthless if I had to keep changing out the parts – didnt matter that the part replacement was free…
My most hated thing about this van is the stupid heater hose routing. Fairly simple matter if the van doesnt have rear heat but becomes a complex nightmare if it does. These two hose assemblies cost $230 from GM and there is NO way you can install it with the engine in the vehicle. You might be able to if you disconnected the steering column and dropped the back subframe down about 6 inches to get some clearance. Wound up buying the hoses seperately (totalling about $80 including the plastic tees from GM) and playing a reverse game of Jenga to fit them all in there. Ugh.
