Hi there everyone,
Thought I would take this time to introduce myself officially and update the not so great progress our '90 van is taking.
My name is Amy and my boyfriend/partner in crime (and insanity at this point) is Grant.  We live in northern CA and bought our '90 Carat 3 months ago.  I recently wrote in about the problems with it cutting out up hills at high speeds.  It turns out that we already have the AFM harness on our car, but haven't really been able to test out a new one we are borrowing because of more problems.  We took it to another mechanic to look at it and they say that the ATF is being forced into the Final drive and mixing with the 90 grade oil in there.  His opinion is that we pull the transmission and have the seals redone (all for the low price of $650)  We were trying to get all of the problems with the van resolved for a month long journey across the states.  I guess I wanted to know anyones opinion of this repair, as I know nothing about the transmission on our van.  Also we need to replace the rear brakes and have the front ones machined and repacked.  I wonder how long we could go before the brakes are dangerous?  (they will cost $700).  Am I in maintanance hell or is this just a vanagon.  My biggest concern is that we will do these repairs and then a month from now, something else will brake and we will have to put another $1000 into the van.  After 100,000 miles what other repairs are we in for?  As always, any info is greatly appreciated.  I learn more everyday about that crazy van thanks to this list.  Hopefully after we decide what to do about the tranny we will be able to figure out what the problem is with the cutting out.
Thanks, Amy S & JGG.