Is there a reason Ford decided not to update the interior on the aerostars? And what I don't get at all is why did Ford have to use such crappy materials in the Aerostar? I mean come on every piece of plastic in our Aerostar is cracked. Does anybody elese agree with me? fordguy101

 

Only a few of mine are cracked, but I have used a lot of ArmorAll and other goodies like that. The ones that aren't cracked are bowed and otherwise misshapen. In my vans ('92 and '94) I am starting to see significant wear on the seats, particularly the outboard side of the driver's seat.

These vans are generally so reliable, I hate to part with them. I see 10 more years out of each one, which will save me a bunch of car payments. If I could just figure out what's wrong with my Tempo, I'd have it made.

 

significant wear on the seats, particularly the outboard side of the driver's seat.

Yeah in our Aerostar we are getting wear on the drivers seat too. I use Armor All but it just attracts dust. fordguy101

 

I have a 90 and a 91 3.0. The 90 has the Eddie Bauer interior and is immaculate. The only wear is on the front seats on the outboard raised part of the cushion. I have no problems with cracked plastic. The 90 is the XL version and the cloth seats didn't hold up to well. As far as the plastic is concerned, same as the other one....no problems.

 

What state do you live in? Florida, southern Cal or southern Texas? I have a '91 and a '93. No cracks in the dash or interior. Driver and passenger sear are starting to show some foam.
Wait. My passenger seat is getting thin?
That gets me to thinkin'. Maybe the other half is with me a LITTLE too often... ;-)

 

I live in Iowa like around the sliding door. And the drive and passanger door. And the rear hatchback door. and the vinyl on the door is cracking.

 

Actually just part of the passenger door.

 

I'm in Canada and I think i've got about 5 cracks in various places - plus all the stinkin' screws keep undoing themselves. I think I tightened them up about a year ago and many are 1/2 way out again. Bad roads, big temperature changes and hauling firewood (yeah!) are all offending I'm sure. But then again my father-in-law keeps saying "boy what would we do without that van." Or the guy at the lumber yard the other day when I needed a 4x8 sheet of plywood and I just layed the seats down and threw the whole sheet in there. (Extended) He was amazed! I don't think I'll ever be able to replace the utility that this van serves when it's service life is done. Cracks will come but my 4.0 just keeps tickin'.

 

What I did on the Hard plastic pieces was use claer PVC pipe glue, then mixed up some fiberglass resin and used some fiberglass netting on the back of the panals, Front bumber. Etc.
Light sanding and I don't have to worry about the cracks or broken off pieces anymore.

Should of seen the front bumper before the work on it.

Jay

 

Remove the screws and dip the threads in clear silicone. It's pliable enough that if you need to remove them, they will come back out.

 

I'm in Texas btw...both cars have been garaged which definitely helps. The bit with the screws must be a Ford "feature"..I have a 90 Cougar and a 2000 Mercury Grand Marquis (along with my two Aeros) and the same thing happens to them. On the Cougar it's always the same two screws in the front pillar....but big deal, I screw them back in about once a year....

 

I remember when the 96 Aero was new only about 6 months old the screws on the sliding door loosened up causing the inner plastic trim to rattle it was very annoying so I went to the hardware store and picked some identical screws slightly bigger and nothing else has rattled since.

I suppose now that I look back on it though if your screws are not badly stripped try using some Threadlocker Blue on them and they should not loosen up again.

 

I have noticed the same problem with using Armour-All and related siliconized sprays. Last year I started using Murphy's Oil Soap and have been really pleased with the results. (You find it among the kitchen cleaning agents at the supermarket.) No super slick surfaces so my coffee mug stays put and hardly any dust build up. The kids bought me a "California Duster" for Christmas and I just run it over the dash every few weeks to keep things looking good.

 

I thought a "California Duster" was a bushy mustache......just couldn't resist

 

No, That's a cookie duster.