zero Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 There used to be a difference between Canadian and US smog standards and the equipment needed to meet them. Canada generally lagged behind by a few years, so it's quite possible that his 'same year, Canadian Market' would have been sold without a catalytic converter. My 1978 Toyota factory manual shows more emissions stuff for Canada (and California) then for the US "Federal" trucks. In Canada it shows a small "emissions" computer that the US Federal trucks don't have. Not sure that it actually did - but I suspect it switched various EGR relays on an off. I have the factory schematic sitting here but I have not traced all the wires to see where they go. The California ""emission control computer" is the most complicated and is hooked to a tach, a speed sensor, a COO sensor and a VSV (whatever that is). Also of interest - it shows two alternator systems. The alternator with the external regulator is for warm climates, whereas the alternator with the internal regulator is for "frigid zones." By the way - one other thing that's a big funny. Remember how Japanese were portrayed as sounding funny when speaking English? Well this Toyota factory manual for 1978 spells the state of CA as "CARIFORNIA." That's how the cartoon characters said it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5Toyota Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 VSV STANDS FOR VACUUM SWITCHING VALVE the 1977 corona was sold in the U S in three smog formats. i bleive THE TRUCK WAS THE SAME I HAD A TRUCK ALSO THE SMOG FORMATS WERE A 48 STATE a CALIFORANA MODEL AND A HIGH ALTIUDE MODEL I KNOW THE CALIFORANA MODELS HAD A CATLIC CONVERTOR and a lot more vac hoses THE HIGH ALT MODEL WAS SUPOSED TO RUN BETTER AND LEANER IN SUCH PLACES AS COLORADO AND MEET STRICTER STANDREDS. MY 48 state wagen had a blank on the dash for the catlic high tempture warning light and did not have acatlic convertator also stickers saying NON CATLYST Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5Toyota Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 I just recalled I seem to recall THE 48 state version was labled 48 states and CANADA .my 78 MINIMAX moter home was a califorana model and had a catalitic converator my 78 SR5 no cat 48 state model. datsun did the same B210 calif cat 48 state no cat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 VSV STANDS FOR VACUUM SWITCHING VALVE Makes sense. I figured the "Vs" were for valves but the "S" eluded me. Several of my 80s GM diesel trucks have VRVs. (vacuum regulating valves). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stamar Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 the astro has an advantage of being more space efficient. more powerful too the v6 is much bigger than anything in the toyhome. the astro is one of the least reliable vehicles ever. I can remember seeing a few of those astro motorhomes, one is even a dolphin, back in the day but very few have survived. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 the astro has an advantage of being more space efficient. more powerful too the v6 is much bigger than anything in the toyhome. the astro is one of the least reliable vehicles ever. I can remember seeing a few of those astro motorhomes, one is even a dolphin, back in the day but very few have survived. If you're talking about mid to mini vans in general, I know that is not true. I know of many companies that had fleets of Astros with 4.3s and kept good repair records. The weak links were the four-speed OD lock-up auto transmissions and . . . for a few years (94 an 95 mabye) that God awful one -piece, non servicable Central Port injection. The earlier and later injection systems were fine. With motorhomes e.g. an Allegro? Can't say from experience. I know the engine can take a severe beating. It's a time-proven Chevy SB V8 with two cylinders shaved off. Born in 1955 as a 265. Weakest link would be the transmission. The 700R4/4L60 was never very durable. It was barely adequate in 1/2 ton trucks after 1988 and many updates. An Astro Allegro motorhome with a good transmission would likely be very reliable. Chuck an old TH400 in there and the trans would be bullet-proof. If I owned one I would not be happy with the GM corporate 10 bolt rear axle. It's about as durable as the non-floating Toyota axle. I'd swap in at least a semi-floating 14 bolt 3/4 rear axle. Better yet would be a narrowed Dana 60 full-floater. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stamar Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 consumer reports ratings had the astro as one of the least reliable vehicles ever sold. all of them put together. all years. some worse than others, some the worst vehicle ever rated. that includes yugos. I can remember someone i knew who had two and loved them, an old one and a new one. In general though they dont have a fan club they are some of the worst vehicles ever sold. he had an old one with the manual and non extended, and a modern one that looks like all modern ones. he said the old one was great and the new one was the worst truck hes ever owned. his favorite joke was he needed to keep the old one to get parts for the new one.... and i always wondered why that was funny. but its true he was normally in the old one and the new one was getting its transmission replaced or its wiring harness redone. the new one broke down right in front of me once and he took a bus home. even the person im thinking of ended up giving both away and switching to two hondas ( a prelude and an element) and one of them at least was in the junkyard that year abandoned. if youre not devoted and have two... there were a lot sold then, it was sold for a long time. most are junk now. i havent seen a gen 1 astro in a long time on the road. most rvs i have ever seen were the allegro I dont know its length i bet its an 18 foot. i dont think it has a cab over. Theres at least a very rare astro dolphin with a cabover, but i dont have any pictures or stats of it. It exists though its in a brochure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 consumer reports ratings had the astro as one of the least reliable vehicles ever sold. In my opinion, Consumer Reports is not worth the paper it's printed on. They've been caught several times falsifying data. My wife's parents buy us a subscription every year so we always have it around. When they report on something I'm clueless about - I tend to read their reports and take it all with a grain of salt. But - when they actually review something I have experience with? They have been WAY off, many, many times. So bad it makes me wonder how the heck they stay in business. They got caught fudging car crash reports and engergy consumption figures not long ago on freezers and refrigerators. Yeah, I know.. No body is perfect I'm sure. They probably do get some things right. If you read closely about the bad reliability reports for Astro vans - they are for mostly minor nuisance and rarely cover any cars or trucks over a long spectrum of time. I just got reading Consumer Reports latest review of digital televisons. They were dead wrong on several issues and did not even test for tuner-reception quality. Seems those folks think nobody gets TV wit an antenna anymore? Not along ago they mis-reported average power consumption specs on Plasma versus LCDs. I also read many of their chain saw reviews and they failed to notice and/or report how many cheaper chainsaws are using plastic crankcases now-adays and how many plastic Husqvarna plastic saws have actually melted at the main bearing saddles? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stamar Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 i have seen the astro dolphin with my eyes but i have no proof that there is one on the road anymore. theres definitely no owners club. theres also a ford ranger mirage out there or two. ive seen pictures of those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 i have seen the astro dolphin with my eyes but i have no proof that there is one on the road anymore. theres definitely no owners club. theres also a ford ranger mirage out there or two. ive seen pictures of those. I've seen the Astro Allegros. I guess they're classified as Cs. There is also a Chevy S10 Bandit type motorhome for sale right no in the Ebay classifieds. I spoke to the seller last week. If it has a 4.3 V6 like an Astro I'd be interested. But it's a 1985 S10 with a 2.8 V6 which is not based on the Chevy SB V8 and I never liked the engine. It is a BOP pattern engine (Buick-Olds-Pontiac). Also has 70K with an auto trans leak - and for a 1985- 70K is the usual lifespan of that 700R4 trans. I wouldn't dare use it without rebuilding the atuo trans myself and updating it to 4L65 standards (5 pinion planetaries, kevlar brake bank, extra 3-4 clutches, custom build lock-up converter clutch, etc.). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5Toyota Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 BACK IN THE DAY J C WHITNEY SOLD A KIT TO REPLACE THE 700R4 TRANS WITH A TURBO HYDRO MATIC 400 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linda s Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 Astro motorhomes were made through the last year,2005, by Tiger Provan motorhomes. The early ones were pop tops but later they came out with a permanent hard high top on the XL model. They are very much in demand and sought after. Very small foot print, 16ft, Great gas mileage and some of them are AWD or full on 4X4's too. The only other Astro based motorhomes were the Aerolite which had problems because at 21 ft it just put too much weight on the Astro chassis. Made 86 and 87. The Astro Allegro was made until 1990 and had a floor plan similar to a Rialta. Nice because passengers face forward right behind the front seats. My 93 Tiger is a nice solid ,powerful little motorhome and gets 15mpg plus. Yes I own one of those too besides my 2 Sunraders. Linda S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 BACK IN THE DAY J C WHITNEY SOLD A KIT TO REPLACE THE 700R4 TRANS WITH A TURBO HYDRO MATIC 400 I replaced many failed 700R4s with TH400s. Never heard of any need for a kit unless it was a diesel. Diesel presents a problem because a stock TH400 uses engine vacuum for shifting. Diesels have no natural vacuum. The fix was to install a mechanical modulator kit into the TH400 and it got hooked to the old TV cable that formerly controlled shifting on the 700R4. Before 1988 when GM finally had some good fixes - TH400 swaps were very common. Gas engines have vacuum and the swap is easy - unless it's 4WD. Then you have to match weight class. TH400 is HD and will not mate up to to LD transfercase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vtchris Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 One of the big reasons that I have opted for the Toyota V6 (first the Itasca and then the Dolphin) is that I can sleep on a REAL deep sided mattress in the cab over and still be able to sit up and roll over. In most class C's the cab over is only about 25" deep, our Toys are 34". Of course I live in mine full time so this is a big consideration for an older person. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totem Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 One of the big reasons that I have opted for the Toyota V6 (first the Itasca and then the Dolphin) is that I can sleep on a REAL deep sided mattress in the cab over and still be able to sit up and roll over. In most class C's the cab over is only about 25" deep, our Toys are 34". Of course I live in mine full time so this is a big consideration for an older person. unless you have a sunrader... My cab over bed is more like a coffin. I can sleep but many a hastened sit up has resulted in bruised head. Not as tall as a dolphin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MontanaChinook Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 Or a chinook! I've so far chosen to sleep in the lower bed, though I'll need to try out the cab over at some point, just to see what it's like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stamar Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 I sleppt in the cabover for exactly 2 nights and now sleep on the lower couch. The cabover is storage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5Toyota Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 i would have too agree the Dolphon cabover is pretty romey . the couch is a bit tite for two our 400 does not have the dinett that makes a bed. if the wife goes i always sleep up top unless our dauter is with us she sleeps up there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5Toyota Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 J D i dont recall maybe it was for the four w d would a bell houseing adapter sound about right and i saw this in the year 88 or 89 catalog so this was for the older ones i bleve that was a part of it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totem Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 I still prefer the top bed even though its close quarters vertically; I just never get it because the wife and kids always take it first. I do get it once a year though when I am passed out in it at deer camp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 J D i dont recall maybe it was for the four w d would a bell houseing adapter sound about right and i saw this in the year 88 or 89 catalog so this was for the older ones i bleve that was a part of it If we're talking about GMs, the V8 bell-housing patterns are the same for Chevy and GM-Detroit Diesel 6.2 and 6.5 diesels. So, to yank out a 700R4 and stick in a TH400 -no adapters needed. But - if 4WD - the splines where the trans bolts to the transfercase must be matched HD to HD, or LD to LD. 700R4 and the TH350 are LD. TH400 and SM465 HD cast-iron 4 speed are HD. So you cannot mate a TH400 to a transfercase that had been mated to a 700R4. Different splines and probably a different adapter flange between them. The other issue is shifting control. 700R4 and 4L60 (same trans with new name) shifts via a cable hooked to the carb or fuel injection pump (TV cable). TH400 shifts by engine vacuum. So, if putting a TH400 into a diesel - changes must be made. A factory installed TH400 in a diesel uses a separate vacuum pump and a VRV mounted on the injection pump. The "variable vacuum valve" changes vacuum as per throttle condition and sends the vacuum signa to the modulator on the TH400. For a swap - a mechanical modulator kit was usually installed into the TH400. I still have one I installed into my 83 diesel in 1985. I still use it as my plow truck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5Toyota Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 if i still had the old catalog i would look up but that is a while ago ha ha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
83 SunRader Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 I purchased my Toy because of I can work on the common fixes (both in the home and mechanical), the fiberglass, MPG, it was in my price range, reliability, and I like cool unique things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
douglitas Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 (edited) I would have rather had a Nissan class C but then we saw the 21' Toy and it only had 36,000 and was just down the street so we bought it. We have taken it out 3 times now and are getting used to it. It runs great but only gets 11 mpg. The house part is nice and roomy and my wife loves it. We first got interested when we rented a 34' behemoth last year with two tip outs and all the bells etc. but it cost us $200 in gas to go 300 mi. I used to have a 1984 Nissan Sandtana tilt top that got about 22 mpg but wifey said that was my single man's vehicle so had to sell it. Edited January 2, 2013 by douglitas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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