LOL! I think I'm giving this Astro more of a workout in the last week than it had in months from the previous owners.
I noticed something the last two days - sometimes when you go to start it, you turn the key and it just makes a "chunk" sound, but won't turn over the starter. If you then back the key off and try again, it almost always turns over the starter normally on the second try. Only once did I get the "chunk" sound a second time, and I had to back the key off and try a third time, which it fired right up.
Seems to be roughly every 3 or 4 times you start the van it will do this; does not seem to make a difference if it's hot or cold. At first I thought it might be the transmission-in-park sensor, so I was moving the shifter a little bit, but now I have tried it without touching the shifter at all, and get the same exact result, so I don't think it's that.
Does this sound like a solenoid or a starter on the way out?
Thanks!