Heating system issue in my 1996 Aerostar.

Hello Forum ...
My name is James Greenfield. I am an American expat (New Yorker-turned-Californian) living in Stockholm, Sweden since 2008.

I bought my 1996 Aerostar XLT (4.0) in 2007 and shipped it here (Shipping car full of stuff is cheaper than shipping just stuff). Originally an Arizona rental car, the van was purchased in 1997 my a civil engineer from Sacramento who used it as his family vehicle and to take his boat up to Tahoe. He put a posi-track in and bumped up the tire size to 225/75/r14s. He kept extraordinarily meticulous notes on everything he did to the car. I couldn't not buy it.

My issue is this:

I'm taking the family up north to Umeå next week and the heater doesn't work. My Chilton's book is really cryptic in this area. The mechanic yesterday said that the valve was jammed and possibly the vacuum hoses were leaking or that the control was broken. I had originally taken it there to flush the cooling system.

Two years back I had had some leakage from the radiator so I put in some stop leak powder and my hunch is that this has gummed up the valve and/or the heat exchange.

1. Any advice?
2. Does anyone have a detailed schematic of this system on the engine and interior sides?

Thanks

questions:

1) is it a 3 liter or 4 liter engine ? (usually the extended-body vans have the 4 liter engine).

2) does it have the Rear (auxiliary) Heater-A/C system, or only in the front cabin?

I would start by replacing the Thermostat at the engine, before anything else; Maybe the thermostat is stuck-open or opening too soon.

If the engine is running ok, then how could there be any broken vacuum hoses? If there was a vacuum loss or issue, the engine would respond to it.

Welcome to this forum! Turn on the heater, then feel the heater hoses. Check the hose going into the valve to see if it's hot. If it is hot, and the opposite side is cold, then the valve is stuck in the closed position. You could verify that the valve is moving if you have somebody turn the heater on & off while you watch the valve move (or not move).

Thank you for your prompt responses.
Jose A., It is a 4.0 liter.
BrooklynBay, Actually I think I fixed it today. I removed the valve and flushed it out with hot water ... and then put the hose up to the top hose of the heat exchanger. LOTS of brown stuff came out! I put it back together and I have heat ... that is, in the front only.

Now I noticed that the back section has just cold air, no matter what setting I have the controls on, including rear control. Is this a separate issue?...How can I address this?

there is a second Heater Valve for the rear/auxiliary heater-a/c;

it is located under and outside of the vehicle, on a straight line down from the gas filler door, in the 4 liter, it is a different heater valve than the one in the engine compartment, looks like the picture below. Make sure there is a rubber elbow and a black vacuum tubing connected to it. you can see the heater valve from below the van.

Thank you Jose. I will check that out today.

Okay Jose, I checked under the chassis. everything looked to be okay with the valve.

I ran the heat today when driving my daughter to a playdate and when I got home, I checked the lines down there. They were cold. So no heat is getting back to the valve.

Next?

1) if the rear fan-blower runs, are you selecting the HEAT position in the air-direction selector at the Dash??

in these vans, if you put the air direction selector in VENT, hot air will not come out of the rear system. You need to select the HEAT position at the selector for hot air to be directed at the rear.

2) when you turn the rear system to ON via the front control for the rear, do you hear a "click" at the rear ? There is a solenoid which activates the rear system, you can hear it at the same time the rear Fan comes on.

if the above are ok, then the next step is to replace the REAR Heater valve, it is very inexpensive, available online at stores like www.rockauto.com who will ship to Europe.

Thanks Jose. I will check on these tomorrow. But when you say HEAT selection, ... I don't have one. Would that be floor or Defrost?

FLOOR (FLR). because Hot air rises. FLR is the Heat position.

if you read the Owner's Handbook, it says the rear / auxiliary system does not heat in the VENT position like you have it set in the picture, only the front vents will produce heated air.

I notice yours has the Tan interior, mine too.

Okay, thanks. I'll check out the floor setting tomorrow ... and "see" if I can hear the click sound. One thing I noticed when I was under the car; I was able to pinch the flex hoses pretty easily which made me wonder if there was even fluid in them.

...Yeah, I love the tan interior. I tried looking at your gallery but was denied access.

I just saw a photo online of a bench seat with the "Integrated Child Safety Seats". Have you ever seen them? They would be sooooooo good to have right now.

never seen the seats you mention but I've heard about them, unfortunately getting them in the Tan color is another story, only Eddie Bauer models and a few 1996-1997 XLT came with the tan interior.

I'm not sure but if you have not been using the FLOOR setting with the rear heater, then there would not be any fluid to speak of.

here's a picture of mine, it is the extended body with the 4.0 1997

Nice car Jose! Are those LED fog lights? Is that an older grill/headlight assembly? I am putting on a couple of rectangular halogen 55w lights for the trip up north this weekend. Any Ideas how to wire them up to the highbeams?

I found this little guy down in the south of Sweden. It doesn't run well but it might be a good parts car. I am most interested in the snow tires. The problem is that it is a 5-hour drive away which would eat up all my gas money for the family Christmas trip up to the Grandparents' house in Umeå (an 8-hour drive northward).

http://www.blocket.se/jonkoping/Dubbdack_pa_falg_Nokia_Hakka_215_70_15_57158407.htm?sa=1

Reagard the back heater ... OE (operator error). It works fine with flr selected. Thus exemplifying the difference between smart and enthusiastic. Next ... installing a LED strip on the ceiling and the extra high-beams.

glad to hear the rear heater is working !! they rarely don't work, the A/C is another story!

the fog/driving lights are a set of HELLA quartz bulb lamps I purchased at Amazon.com, they have two bulbs per lamp. one for Fog, one for Driving lights. The fog light half has ribs on the glass. They are very bright. (yes, 55w bulbs).

what I did was to install separate on-off switches for Fog or Driving at the removable dash panel for easy access. I did not want to mess with the headlights switch because they are known to be weak and burn out easily, so adding more electricity to it I was told is not advised.

I also installed a Headlights Harness made by PUTCO also sold by Amazon. It helps to keep the electrickery stable in these vans.

Also installed a Relay Box for the two headlight Relays and the two Fog/Driving lamps Relays, got it off a salvage Aerostar.

the grill is the original, I painted it to match the body color, leaving the chromed areas unpainted.

that green van looks good, I would go buy it before someone else does, parts for these vans are getting scarce !!

by the way James, I do not have a gallery in this forum.



http://www.use.com/d7623e55ae4f2e5fabb0


http://www.use.com/8bea06b76e92f098c74c


http://www.use.com/BGSdZ


http://www.use.com/BGShO

here's a picture of the integrated child restraint seat in the Aerostar. As usual, it is in the Grey color.