My van finally died.

[Josh P]

My $400 investment finally failed me 5 years later. The van started to use coolant and none was leaking externally. I added water for a few days till a gasket let go. This van needs way too much work, this was the final straw for it. I will focus my attention on building the other van now. I will start another thread in the aerostar parts forum if anyone is interested in the items for a manual transmission conversion. The rest of the van isn't worth touching.

 

[Rick]

RIP Aerostar...

 

[don-ohio]

Hate to see another one bite the dust. Mine is still in great shape with zero rust. I hope I can keep it til I hafta quit driving.

 

[zenish]

my vans are in great shape.the engines aren't.

 

[Josh P]

This van should have been retired before I bought it. I no longer feel safe driving it. I had to use a ratchet strap to secure the rear axle in place, the lack of air conditioning on 115 degree days after working 16+ hours outdoors is getting old. I'm tired of spending the little free time I have making car parts to keep it on the road, it is time to put the keys down and walk away.

 

[BrooklynBay]

Maybe you could transfer parts from the other van onto this one? I remember seeing a different thread about how that van was being rebuilt with a lot of things removed.

 

[Josh P]

Maybe you could transfer parts from the other van onto this one? I remember seeing a different thread about how that van was being rebuilt with a lot of things removed.

The other van had a head gasket failure, so the engine bay was cleared out. The rest of that van is in great shape, the interior is mint. I had bought parts for it but ending up using them on the rwd van. The AWD van is the better of the 2 and would be the one I'd like to fix up.

 

[BrooklynBay]

What's the year of the other van?

 

[Josh P]

What's the year of the other van?

1994, the 91 rwd will have the parts removed I need to finish the awd van. I've bought a 2005 jeep liberty diesel for $3500 for my daily driver.

 

[Josh P]

I wanted to post the final photo here before I strip it. I'll be pulling the items off I need for the other van. I won't be saving the 4.10 ratio axle. I'm excited to work on the aerobomber!

 

[BrooklynBay]

The body looks like it's in good shape. It's too bad that it can't be restored. Did you ever think of doing an EV conversion? It might be a good project. This van looks gray but the van in your profile photo is beige.

 

[Josh P]

The body looks like it's in good shape. It's too bad that it can't be restored. Did you ever think of doing an EV conversion? It might be a good project. This van looks gray but the van in your profile photo is beige.

This van is well past being restored condition. The brown van, that was my first aerostar. Someone pulled out in front of me crossing 35th ave just north of northern Ave. I spent the entire summer of 2013 figuring out how to swap a manual into the van, drove it for 10 hours at work. On my way home someone crossed the street and I never seen them until the impact. The impact spun the other car 270 degrees in the air knocking out a 9 months pregnant lady and her boyfriend on the sidewalk. It was sunset and I was the only car on the road, not sure why they had to cut me off. Insurance paid me off and I kept the van. I pulled the entire front subframe, 4.10 axle seats. The 2nd van was the same year and color, everyone I worked with thought I got my van fixed. I used the motor, trans and axle from the 1st van to fix a blown head gasket and bad trans. I got 1 month less time in ownership from the second van. I was at a red light and someone texting while driving ran into me. The current van, I got cheap cause I figured it wouldn't last a year like the previous 2. I responded to a craigslist ad, guy wanted $600 for it not running. I offered $400, replaced the fuel pump relay and it fired right up. I got 10k miles out of the a4ld then swapped in the m5od. I'll post a few more pictures of the condition. Previous owner had the passenger door torn apart, I never have any passengers so I never cared to fix it. The headliner is shot, zip ties hold wiring connections together, rear end is strapped after the axle swap, the upper arm bushings are gone. Van's with perfect interiors are easy to find for under $1k that need a trans or engine.