Hello, i am new here as well as new to fixing my own car. My 1993 ford aerostar 3.0 is a great vehicle but recently its been killing me trying to figure out what the cause is. I'll start at the begining. I had a job over the hill in Westwood Ca. Ran low on gas on the way home. To low apearently. Since i refuled it has a really rough idle and no power under accellaration. After it gets warmed up i get a bad smell of gas and exhaust in the cab. Now if i turn it off wait 15 min or 12 hours it will run ok for 2 min then back to hell. I has not stalled and i have replaced the fuel filter and a few months back i cleaned the Mass air flow sensor and replaced the TPS. I would love to take it to a mechanic but as i have been living in this old girl for the passed 6 months money is non-existent.
Just hoping that i can get a lead as to what to do.i have even tried diconecting 1 at a time... the TPS, MAF, and the 02 senser. No differance. Opions? Advise? Anything will be appreciated. Thanks. Oh by the way did i mention that there has been no check engine light untill i tested by didconnecting TPS etc.

 

How low did you run the gas? Did you actually run out?

The worst thing that can happen with running out of gas is the fuel pump will overheat, and possibly burn out. It uses the fuel itself to keep cool. A quick test would be to listen to its operation; it should be a smooth hum. You can also check the pressure at the fuel rail with a gauge that has a Schrader valve adapter. It should have about 40 psi with the vacuum line removed from the regulator.

 

I'd look for a vacuum leak especially the hose to the MAP sensor.

 

I poked around under the hood and found a broken off spark plug wire. Which i replaced. I also determind a general area for the exhaust leak. Top to middle Left side when facing the motor. Replacing the spark plug wire made no real difference. And i vanr get in to where i think the exhaust leak is. Sp i am at a loss.

 

Passenger side? Sounds like the you have a good size exh leak, either the gasket, manifold, or head, which took out the wire, and will take out the next wire. I would pull the manifold and see if there are any cracks, a replacement gasket is fairly cheap, just not a lot of room to work.

 

The leak could be caused by a plugged up cat or other exhaust restriction - I had this same exact thing in my wife's 3.1 chevy - smoke will find it;'s way somewhere…. so under the hood, you might see it coming out somewhere pre-cat…. hit the gas, and it would just bog down….

I could be wrong here, but I bet a lot of cats are getting older in these, and robbing us of good power…

 

Get a can of spray for the Mass Air Flow Sensor next to the air filter and give it a good spraying. I've had power problems with the engine running terrible that was fixed by spraying it real good.

 

Did you also change the spark plug that the broken wire goes to?

 

Make sure the interior front cover, the one over the transmission is correcty fitted and locked in place, otherwise engine fumes will get inside the cabin. The gasoline smell could be a leaking injector o-ring. With engine running, look around the van to check for a leak.