Aerostar owners, please help an Explorer owner with information on a MAF sensor.

[kindred4x]

Hey guys i need some help on a MAF for my explorer. I own a 1996 ford explorer sport, with the 4.0 ohv motor with auto tranny. I noticed my MAF sensor was not a stock one(bought used) I wrote down the part number from the MAF and called Ford. f6df12b579db was my number and it was used in ford windstars and f150's.

Ok so im like wow! this might be my answer to some little gremlins i havent been able to fix over the past two years? So i asked the parts guy what the stock number was on a ford explorer of my year, and he said it is F57F-12B579-CA. So i went to the local junk yard and poked around. All the second gen OHV motors were gone and stripped. So i looked at a aerostar and i saw the part number and it matched! I bought it in a heart beat because it was only twenty bucks. But now im wondering if i bought the right one. The donor aerostar was a 96 and the hood tag said it was a 3.0. But after research the 3.0 does not share the same part number as the aerostar 4.0 which matches the explorer 4.0 ohv maf number. But im typing in the aerostar maf number on the internet and im getting info that it is for a 4.0 explorer. This is very confusing to me! Can you guys please pop your hoods on your 3.0 and 4.0 motors and post the numbers on your stock MAF sensors! Thank you guys so much

 

[IZwack]

As long as the Ford part number matches, run it!

 

[kindred4x]

IZWACK
Thank you for the fast reply. I am starting to think that i should just run, and i actually did swap sensors and drove the truck around. No cels and no problems with how it runs.Im just nervous that it might be the wrong sensor and the computer is not telling me. I bought the explorer used and it came with the F150, windstar MAF no i didn't know any better. Drove it for three years and never threw a light but the truck would never make it's mind on how it wanted to run. some days good, some days slow, so im thinking that it might do it again with the aerostar MAF. What confuses me is that im pretty sure the hood tag on the van said 3.0 but the thottle body and position of the tps matched the ohv motor, and i saw another aerostar don't know what year had the tps on the left side ot the throttle body. Does the 3.0 have the tps on the left and the 4.0 have it on the right side like the ohv explorers?

 

[kindred4x]

Bump! The forum is busy tonight!

 

[BrooklynBay]

The part number on my 93 Aerostar with a 4.0L is F07F-12B579-A1CAFH55-053J08. I guess that each year might have a different production date on the part, so just match your existing part number to the new one. # 13 in my list of useful threads has this information: Guides for decoding Ford part numbers:
http://www.classicmustang.com/decoding_part_numbers.htm
http://mistercmk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=393

 

[kindred4x]

Brooklyn
Thank you for the reply. My explorer is a 96 so im pretty sure that OBD-1 parts won't work with my truck. Thanks for looking though i appreciate it. I would match the new maf with the old maf but my old one is the wrong sensor. Ford told me it's for a windstar or f150. So im trying to see if the 96 aerostar maf i pulled today can be used with my 96 explorer. I tried the decoding link but things really didn't match. From what i read my old maf is used in a differrent vehicle

 

[BrooklynBay]

What did you end up doing? Did the MAF from the Aerostar work?

 

[kindred4x]

Well yeah im still running the maf out of the aerostar. I have noticed a slight increase in mileage. The weather has been horrible in colorado but today is a nice day so im going to head on down to the junk yard to look at the donor aerostar today. Im almost positive it had the 96 OHV 4.0 motor and i got the hood tag mixed up in my mind with another. It amazes me that my explorer ran with the wrong maf for years and never threw a CEL, but it does explain some small issues that i thought i would never figure out. So im thinkin i can close the book on this issue and start on my valve body project

 

[BrooklynBay]

Thanks for the update!

 

[BrooklynBay]

I was looking at a spare MAF sensor from a 1993 5.0L Grand Marquis that I have, and it has the 12B579 in the code number. The actual housing is reversed. I guess Ford uses standard production numbers for their parts.