So, my question is this. I want to take that stupid filler neck off because I think that I have a leak where it matches to the valve cover. Can I just take it off and use the filler cap that is on there or is there another that I need to buy?

 

Good luck taking it off. You need to pull the whole valve cover to do so and here is why. The filler neck is riveted to the neck on the valve cover, and to remove it, you will need to cut the head of the rivet off, and you can't do that in the vehicle. So looks like if that is the source of your leak, you might as well do valve coverers and intake gaskets too.

 

See, that is where my problem is. Mine is no longer riveted to the valve cover and someone tried to use liquid gasket to hold it on. I need to find a better solution.

 

How about finding a replacement valve cover with the oil filler from the salvage yard?

 

If it has already been removed, I would replace the hose first off since it has a hole in it, then just re-clamp it with a radiator hose clamp.

 

First, parts for the Aerostar are almost impossible to find in Colorado Springs. Second, the rivets were cut so the piece that holds the tubing on is loose. It is not the hose, but the lack of connection to the valve cover. Third, I am not putting that much time or money into this piece of crap. I hate this van and only need it to last another 3 to 4 months, then I am going to take it out and blow it up. I will never buy another Aerostar...they are garbage. So many problems since I bought it...I hate it.

 

Sorry to hear that, but let me ask you a question? How many miles does this have, and how much experience do you have with other vans? You do realize that few other vans every make it beyond 150,000 miles. Aerostars do it all the time. The Aerostar ranks as possibly the most reliable minivan ever built, surpassing even the Honda Odyssey. that being said, minivans are not a reliable vehicle in general. The Aerostar is one of the easier ones to work on.

How old is your van anyway? It sounds like sometime in the past the PO did not take care of it, but rather re-engineered stuff redneck style. I find it very hard to believe that the neck has come disconnected from the rest of the cover, but if that is the case, you need a new valve cover. More than likely the leak is from the clamped area. The original clamp was riveted through the hose and valve cover so that it could not be removed. If someone has removed the rivet, it will cause a leak, and the hose part would need to be replaced to fix the problem.