The bezel around the headlight is also different, with the 91 and earlier openings being a little smaller for the sealed beams. If you get the sealed beam buckets, also get the front trim ring that goes with them, as they have that gasket that fills in the gap. For the electrical connection, I would find a car like the Nissan 240, whose sealed beam headlights use connectors that have full boots around them to seal against the elements. That's about the only advantage of the later 9007 series headlights; their electrical connectors are completely protected against the elements.

Also, I saw a 92+ Aerostar, and I understand your comment about the dash. The earlier models have a big flat area under the windshield that you can put stuff on, where there is no chance of that with the later models' contoured dash.

 

Actually any bucket that accepts a 6054 headlight will work, it does not have to be from an Aerostar. The bezels do need to be from a pre-92 Aero, there are a few in the wild at Ford dealerships, but it would be cheaper from a pick-n-pull. For the headlight sockets, I went the route of Dorman 84790 pigtails, soldered them in, and they are not priced that high for new.

Glass headlight housings can be found on e-bay so you can use H7 bulbs of your choice. I found some with cool LED sides that I wired into my park and turn signal wires.

One of these days I will have time to post pics of my 97 conversion.

 

I just saw this on the St Louis Craig's List: IT'S NOT SOLD! New Price $1000

1995 Ford Aerostar 4x4 4.0 V6 Luxury Van - $1200

odometer: 179845 miles
Festus - Crystal City is just a little south of St Louis on I-55



(When the van's no longer listed and the picture's gone, I edit this post.)

 

I was thinking about sharing this same 4.0L w/ the AWD as well... and then I get to the bottom of this thread and it's already there... Oh, well... It's not a '91 or '92 but it is the 4.0L w/ the AWD....

1995 Ford Aerostar 4x4 4.0 V6 Luxury Van

Good Luck in your search for the right one !!!

I have a 3.0L - 2WD - 1993 for sale - but apparently that meets none of your requirements for your dream Aero - oh well... Happy Hunting !!!!

 

I would absolutely never buy a '91 or 92. The issues had not yet been sorted. The type of headlights is a non-issue. I bought new headlights for my '97, and then clearcotated them with a good UV blocker so they won't ever fade. I see no reason to stick with the glass ones. It think the older style is ugly and dated.

'95 is one of the best years in my opinion.

 

(Bump)
Will one of you guys buy this van!? I've got my driveway full now and the wife won't let me get another one.

1995 Ford Aerostar 4x4 4.0 V6 Luxury Van - $1000 (Festus - Crystal City)

 

If not for the newer dash design I would probably buy a '94 or '95. Yes, that is how much I like the older dash. I'm also not too crazy about the column shifter

 

I have a 90 2wd in great shape, it is a XLT. Newer engine and rebuilt trans. Interior is nice and paint is good. Has a 91 AWD parts van to go with it

 

I considered such a conversion once, but it is not trivial. Other than the transmission, transfer case, front axle, the AWD uses a different front subframe and lower control arms, springs, dampers, and I think the steering rack is also different. It can be done, but it will require a lot more work and parts than you first thought.

For example, swapping the subframe will require suspending the engine from something.

 

Hey all, the search is still underway and looking better now that spring is finally here. Until a few weeks ago there was nothing to bother giving a second look at and I was starting to lose hope. However, the warmer weather as of late has brought out a much better selection of older Aerostars for sale. I found a few in CA that looked good but they sold rather quickly......

I'm still determined to find a 90/91 but there is a red over tan '94 (EB edition/4.0L/extended/leather!) in CA with only 39k miles that looks to be VERY clean. I would be very tempted to go after this one if not for being RWD. I plan on doing a lot of mountain camping and the AWD will be needed.

 

I really prefer the early pre-92 dash, as I could put lumber and pipe on a towel on the dash and haul 10' stuff that way in my shorty van. I now have the long version '97 and it's harder to haul long stuff with the curvy dash.

And changing dash lights is a snap on the early dash, not so on the late.

The late headlights are fairly easy to convert back to glass, here's a thread with pics where I and others did it.

The later E4WD have real front CV joints, the early AWD uses a cross joint.

While there are plenty of downsides to my '97 (EGR, cheap cloth seats), the OBD-II sure is nice, and the '97 4.0 block is redesigned for less NVH, which I like quite a bit. I think the seat quality issue is a '97-only problem. I miss the multi-color taillights too; '97 is the only Aero with red-only taillight lenses and the turn sig wiring is different so you can't just convert them back easily either.

In the PNW, about the only Aeros still driving are AWD these days; the 2WD variants get scrapped when the A4LD dies, the cooling system starts leaking, or the tie rod ends get too bad that the rack needs replacement.

 

Still looking.............and my patience is starting to wear thin. I really thought I would of found something by now. I actually started looking at '94-95 years............but I'm still hung up on the dash design.

*sigh*

 

I don't see the issue with the dash design. I've put 12 foot stuff in our '92 and '94, both of which have the newer dash.

Here is the hard reality, rust is taking the Aerostars out. If you could find a rust free one, you could always rebuild the mechanicals. Granted many have been crushed too. The only rust free ones are gonna be units that are owned by fanatics like us, and we don't want to let them go. I wish it wasn't so. My mom's 95 is almost rust free, but does have body damage, and its a matter of time unfortunately. In her case, I have built the power train/drivetrain to last, and I do have some replacement body panels I bought for my other van, but never used.

I'm gonna need to do a wheel bearing one of these days, its always something.

 

Here's recent Craig's List ad showing a very nice '94 Aerostar with only 95k miles - but it's not cheap at $3450.
https://stlouis.craigslist.org/cto/4512976914.html

 

Thanks for the link! I'm determined to find an AWD version but I've been thinking a 2wd might get me by for the time being. Judging from those pictures, that is the one of the cleanest Aerostars I've seen in a long time. I absolutely love that color combo! Hmmmmm, I'll give that one some serious thought......