How many people own or have owned an Aerostar?

[97aerostar]

I have had 91, 93, and now have 97 AWD.

[rwp1946]

1. 97 3L RWD .... from new, sold in 2010 260,000KM --- only issues were poor traction in rain and snow... and 3L couldn't pull my 4000 lb travel trailer very well , especially up hills.... yup ... 1000 lbs over.... but put in extra trans coolers, and a gauge.... 1st gear up the big hills.... what a trooper, never a problem..... including out in the bush up logging roads...


2. Picked up a used 94 4L AWD at the auto auction in about 2005 to tow with... great traction.... but here it is 2010 and it now has 310,000 KM on it ,,,, rusting,,, leaking.... but engine and tranny still strong as heck.... time to retire the old girl.... never a moments problem.....


3. Oct 2010 --- picked up a 97 Aerostar .. 4L EXT 2WD ... only 166,000KM .... immaculate.... perfect shape.... don't tow the trailer in winter so 2WD OK....

Out of all of these vehicles only problem of any sort was the high pressure fuel bypass valve (the one that shunts excess fuel back to the tank) .... thats it... other than brakes, muffler, and a few lovely P1443's ..... gotta love those guys....

Best damn vehicle ever made.... wish they still made them.... nothing comparable out there .... best van ever that combines seating for 7, trailer towing, and good leg room for driver and front passenger....

[dennis_leask]

Just got an Aerostar (92 XL 3.0L) a couple of weeks ago in a trade for a bed and a pie! So far so good!

[lehua1011]

I have a 95 that's still running great! My husband has an 02 mountaineer that has been giving us MANY problems! I feel very safe in my van...it's seriously "built Ford tough!" Planning on selling soon though. Wish they still had them in production. I wouldn't get a Windstar but if they still made Aorestars, I'd definitely consider buying another one!

[Ramblin Man]

Hello All.

Had '95, bought new for $17000. Had to sell in '98 with 40000 mi. for $8000.

That hurt.

Three months ago, got really clean '96 with 92000mi for $1000. Water pump went. Put in new water pump, radiator, upper/lower hoses, thermistat, serpentine belt. Good deal turned into just OK deal, LOL.

Keeping fingers crossed.

[jwilli26]

Hi. Presently have a 1996 extended AWD 4.0 . Been great thus far. Only 96,000 miles. No problems until now( Trans acting up - long shifts, some times a little hard until normal operating temp is reached) It's getting cold up here and its time for another fluid change.

Does anyone know if a 97 5-speed would be a easy switch? (impact on EEC module??)

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! It's possible to swap a 5R55E into a 4R55E equipped vehicle with some modifications.

[Glen4X4]

The question though is, are you speaking of the 5R55E or the M50D manual transmission?

[vvv]

Originally Posted by BrooklynBay

Been doing mods here and there on her, latest thing was HID headlights.

Good afternoon! Excuse for long absence. Life in Russia not raisin pound. Interesting about reference headlights. And still will be a photo since New Year of a meeting Aerostarov.

[Cahuna]

Had 2 of them in my past; 89 ext XLT 3.0 engine, slow as heck, stiff floor shifter esp in our cold Canadian winters. 1992 XL ext 4.0 way more power and easier on gas only problem I can remember was rear brakes locking up momentarily when stopping in damp or cold weather there was a TSB that fixed that problem. Great vehicles, tough as nails good gas mileage, piled a lot of miles hauling the boys around the country for hockey games. We even hauled 4 by 8 sheets of plywood on top of the folded rear and middle seats with a bunch of 2 by 4s on the floor, with the rear door closed!! Try that in a Windstar?

[vvv]

Originally Posted by vvv

New Year

Greetings! How are you doing?
Аэростар on a visit at freedomcars.ru)))

On January, 1st, 2011 01:30 on mountains Vorobevyh in Moscow.

YouTube Video

[WalterF]

Bought a 1997 4.0 L AWD extended Aerostar in 1999. While I have had some problems it has been a great family vehicle for me and my two boys. We are a canoeing family and before that my wife and I were never sure what was going to pop out of the old Volvo station wagon... paddle, lifejacket, loaf of bread, baseball or one of the boys. It has been the best all around vehicle we have owned. Kids are now gone but I still have it.

[Rustaholic]

I have a 1995 4.0 Electronic AWD out in the driveway.
256.000 miles on her and she is still a very strong runner.
She has been fed 5w30 Amsoil since she was a young filly.
Wix heavy duty oil filter and one oil change per year.
Amsoil is a very good deal.
Here in Northern Lower Michigan this mountain goat 4WD is very welcome.

[dieudonneMC]

I have owned 2 of them, an 88 and currently have a 95. It has 236K mi on it and runs strong! but now I have issue with pwr steering fluid leaking and I think its coming from the bellows on the rack!, on the driver side.

[red.EDDIE.4x4]

im pretty sure everyone has owned an aerostar at some point...

we had a car fire back in 2004 when we moved to new jersey. right as we got there the alternator in our ford windstar went bad and we had no way of changing it, so we just had pep boys do it. somehow or another, that night we woke up to sirens and flashing lights in the apartment parking lot and our only two cars we drove there were up in flames. (at that point we had a 99 windstar and a new 04 honda CRV.) our belongings hadent even shown up in the moving truck yet. (the fire ended up being pep boys fault and they eventually fully repaired the Honda, but the windstar was totaled.)

im still not sure how it happened...but somehow or another a cousin of mine got news of what happened and he and his family got in their 92 aerostar (with well over 200,000 miles on it) the same day and drove it all the way from Houston TX, to Princeton NJ (no cruse) so we could use it. later that day they gave us the keys. that old aerostar was one of the greatest gifts we have ever received.

[BrooklynBay]

How many years did you use the 1992 Aerostar after that?

[Rustaholic]

Originally Posted by dieudonneMC

I have owned 2 of them, an 88 and currently have a 95. It has 236K mi on it and runs strong! but now I have issue with pwr steering fluid leaking and I think its coming from the bellows on the rack!, on the driver side.

WOW That is just as if I wrote it. Our last one was an 88 and right now our 95 needs a new rack because it is leaking from the seal on the driver's side.
So far I have dumped in two bottles of Lucus and that didn't work at all.
next week she gets a new rack.

[red.EDDIE.4x4]

Originally Posted by BrooklynBay

How many years did you use the 1992 Aerostar after that?

we drove it till it pretty much died in 05 or so. the trans went south on us. when it finally went i think it had around 250,000 on the original motor and trans.
at the time we didnt have the place (apartment) or money to spend on it. so sadly we ended up selling it for parts. think we got around 600 or 700 for it. one of the only things i remember specifically about it was that it felt good to drive.

[Rustaholic]

Originally Posted by red.EDDIE.4x4

we drove it till it pretty much died in 05 or so. the trans went south on us. when it finally went i think it had around 250,000 on the original motor and trans.
at the time we didnt have the place (apartment) or money to spend on it. so sadly we ended up selling it for parts. think we got around 600 or 700 for it. one of the only things i remember specifically about it was that it felt good to drive.

Please tell me HOW the tranny went South.
At 239,000 our 88 Star died due to the tranny case just crumbling in several areas.
First one area crumbled and I did a huge JB Weld repair.
Then I tried to do a road test around our block.
(Three miles here in the country)
The tranny was bleeding it'self dry from another area that had crumbled and when I got under it I saw still another area about to let go.
That Star had other issues so a replacement tranny wasn't even considered even though I had two parts Stars down in my valley.
I came inside in defeat and our daughter brought me an add she had found in the paper. I called the guy then went and bought our current 95 AWD Star.
Almost 257,000 and the tranny is holding up. Frame is getting pretty rusty though.

[red.EDDIE.4x4]

Originally Posted by Rustaholic

Please tell me HOW the tranny went South.
At 239,000 our 88 Star died due to the tranny case just crumbling in several areas.

i honestly cant say for sure. it would leak trans fluid alot and we kept filling it as it would leak out. it started slipping a lot and eventually would hardly shift out of first and second gear.
we assume that at one or a few points in its recent lifetime that the trans was run extremely low on fluid and (mixed with Dallas/Houston heat and traffic) also got hot a few too many times....