without exception, Front Wheel Drive (FWD) vehicles suck big time, (Windstar, Freestar).

when it comes time to repair them, you'll find out. The engine and transmission are mounted sideways in Front Wheel Drive vehicles, a pain to work on them.

Rear Wheel Drive (RWD) vehicles have been the "Standard" for over 100 years of automobile manufacture and design. (Aerostar). The engine is mounted facing forward, parallel to the vehicle, and the transmission is mounted behind the engine, parallel to the vehicle.

I had an experience with a Front Wheel Drive car in the early 1980's and that was the only time. Never again.

 

I do prefer RWD, but to say they are the standard is hardly fact, or even an educated opinion. FWD vehicles dominate the market. They are cheap to produce, easy to manufacture, and are a fairly tight package. It is true that often they are harder to work on, lighter duty, more prone to overheating, etc.

In a small light 4 cylinder model, FWD is fine. In a van, if all you do is move people or light loads, they work ok too. But the RWD design has major advantages in load hauling and heat management. That is why ALL trucks are RWD.

 

In the long run FWD cars are cheaper to produce for the factory. They can't do dual purpose hauling, pulling and drag the kids or passengers around. Where as the Aerostar can or even the Chevy Astro which they dropped that now.

I think the factories want you to buy two vehicles now, One Truck and SUV or car. They make more sells from it.

 

You're funny.

Front wheel drive has improved dramatically since the 1980's.

There are tricks to making it easier and it is different.

The spark plugs on my Windstar, you can't see the back ones, and I was told what a horrific job it is to replace them.

I'll tell you what, it is a lot easier than it was on my E250 van with a 351W!

The trick is to remove a couple pieces you would not think about removing, then they can be accessed fairly easily.

It's just different, and it does have it's place.

I do prefer rear wheel drive......

 

You ever pulled the transmission from a FWD van. It is easier to pull the engine out with it.


I have always hated to work on FWD vans they just jam so much up front you have to pull extra crap off to just get at the AC unit. Smaller FWD 4 cylinder cars are about as much as I like to work on anymore these days, given they are lighter and you can actually pull the engine block out with your bare hands.

 

Easier to lift the entire vehicle off the front sub assembly in many cases, it's just change and I do not know about you, but I'm not a huge fan of change (especially what I've experienced over the past 4 years, but we'll not go there...).

My biggest issues with front wheel drive are:

Steering torque - never deal with it on a rear wheel drive, easy to adapt too.Heat - The compact nature seems to cause issues with heat, almost requiring heavy duty cooling systems and auxillary coolers for engine and transmission - increased fluid capacities at a minimum.

 

I was under the impression the windstars had crap engines and didn't come with the 3.0? Anyone know?

 

The majority of them had 3.8L, a few of the early ones did come with the base 3.0L, but they a few and far to be seen.

 

Most home mechanics don't have lifts that big to pick up the front of the car. I saw someone try to do that once, with block-and-tackle hung from the roof joists of his garage, trying to lift up the front of the car. You can guess what happened; he brought down part of his roof. (and since you've brought us there, our experiences with the previous 8 years were just wonderful. PM me if you want more details)

 

I have one Aerostar, one Windstar. Both are '96s.

Windstar:

The 3.8 is decent after a head gasket job. Mine lasted to 180,000 miles. Might be a little less crowded under the hood, looks to have more airflow around the front at least. Adding brake fluid is a pain.

The rebuilt transaxle is holding up well, with proper fluid changes. When it was going out, at least it gave some warning, and didn't leave us stranded on the side of the road.

Comes with 15" rims, and this one has 215-70-15 tires, handles the load well.

The middle row buckets are much easier to take out and put back in. The rear bench slides back and forth on a track, but gets heavy to take out.

The sliding door works better.

The speakers are better placed, and mine has the premium sound with a separate amplifier.

The height is just a touch lower than the Aerostar, and my wife highly prefers it; with her back troubles, the step up is an issue for her. The Windstar she can just slide into.

I've spent quite a bit of coin on it, but the body is still pretty much rust-free, which is hard to find around here. My wife's mobility scooter fits well, but the shortness inside causes me to fold it down.

The tiller stays upright in the Aerostar.

Aerostar:

More interior room. Rear drive. Sliding side windows.


Room behind the scooter.

I since have put bucket seat in the middle row, ramp slides between.


I think the Freestar has extra height inside, might have the vertical room of an Aerostar. The newer transaxles are better than the AX4S in my Windstar, after rebuilding. A common failure is the aluminum input shaft shearing off.

 

I think it is like anything, it's how they are maintained.

There was an issue with a intake gasket, but other than that, we've got 140,000 trouble free miles on ours - engine and transmission!

We also had a Aerostar, that was a awesome minivan and I do believe it was built "heavier".

It had the 3.0 and a 3:73 rear axle, it was quick enough to embarrass more than a few kids!

The tranny in it finally went, and if it was not the the rust (common theme) we would of fixed it.

 

I used our old Windstar to haul an old motorcycle last week -





Fun fun fun!

 

The Ford Windstar was officialy exported to Europe with the 3.0L Vulcan as standard Configuration and the 3.8L Essex as an Option. Many of the 3.0L equipped Windstars are @ around 100'000miles and for sale for a bargain right now, especially in Germany; only a few with the 3.8L can be found and these are more expensive.
I miss a Long-Verison of the Windstar, that is the major Reason why i stay with Aero* XLT's; besides the Frame-Design which i like very much.

97' Aero* XLT, 3.0L RWD, 113'000miles

 

I could be wrong, but I think the Windstar weighs about the same as the Aerostar extended 2WD. The Aero shorty specs at 3500, while the Windy is around 3800, like the 2wd Aero ext.

Also, the Windstar is slightly longer and wider, but shorter, than the Aerostar ext. Yet, its interior is smaller, so like a lot of the newer minivans that are more oriented for passengers instead of load, it can not pass the plywood test.

 

I wanna purchase windstar. I have taurus 3.8 but I miss my old aero.

as I know ford do not want to build new vans next 3-5 years. they discontinued freestar and they want to sell EU vans in USA, Transit and Transit connect