Finally an Aerostar owner again and I want her to last. She's a 1996 AWD, 4 Liter, extended body with 65,000 miles. She came from New Jersey, garage kept, but she saw some winter driving and has a little rust underneath. My 94 Aerostar saw 320,000 miles and my last 97 saw 265,000 but came out of Pittsburgh and was rusted badly by the time she gave up the ghost. I ran them hard, but got regular routine maintenance. I'd like advice on keeping her in tip top shape. I read the transmission thing and could probably manage that, but the carburetor cleaning? vacuum hose? I don't think my Hoover could handle it! Any tips would be greatly appreciated. Also the owner of an 89 Ranger with 347,000 on the original engine and still going strong! Thanks!
The 96 Aerostar is fuel injected, so no carburetor to clean. However, the throttle body can get dirty and gummed up like a carburetor, so it can also be cleaned like one. But it's a little tricky, since it has to use air that has been metered through the mass airflow sensor. You would have to pull off the air hose to clean it, then install the air hose again to run the engine.
If you've been doing regular maintenance on your other engines to make them last 300k+ miles, you can continue doing that with this one. Same with the transmission. transfer case, and differentials. Regular fluid changes is the best way to make them last.
As for preventing rust, I'm not sure if there is an easy way. I hear that it helps if you hose off the undersides each week to wash off the salt. Most of the rust proofing sprays harden in cold weather and become ineffective. Worse, when they lose their seal, they let moisture in, and trap it in, encouraging rust.
if this is your first AWD, make sure the Ford Safety recall on the driveline/transfer case was performed, will have aluminum driveline upgrade
torque the transfer case clamshell halves bolts to specs. remove each bolt one at a time and apply a non permanent thread locker such as Permatex blue. they're only self threaders in aluminum so be careful.
the bolts vibrate loose, ATF lube used leaks out and TC turns into $500 of junke which is no longer make and getting scarce. pays to change the lube every 30k>50k miles with a full synthetic Mercon rated ATF, i use Mobil 1, easy to find.
check the front differential lube level, these go dry and it's major work to replace plus expensive. i use a synthetic 75w90 Amsoil Severe Gear lube because of the small capacity and lack of cooling air flow
Get the underbody Oil sprayed every year if you live where the roads are salted in winter. I use Lucas UCL as fuel treatment every oil change, seems to keep the throttle body clean. Regular oil changes is most of the battle. Good thing with the Aero... most times you get a good amount of warning before something fails, plenty of time to prepare for it.
Front Brakes & exhaust flex pipes wear after 3 years, everything else lasts longer.
ATB Aeroman
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Green-96, XLT 2wd, 3L Vulcan, from Ontario, Canada
All original powertrain except alternator & starter motor. 320,000 kms & going strong !
When describing the 96 Vulcan engine, the word Bullet proof is not too much of an exageration !!! Just a little TLC goes a LONG way.
Tons of info here and if you have any questions feel free to ask!
I would concour, the best thing you can do is regular fluid changes and keep on top of the rust before it goes out of control. Like what has been said, it does not take alot to keep these rigs running if you keep up on maintinence.
__________________ '97 Ford Aerostar AWD 4.0L v6 AT 84k mi '07 Ford Taurus SE 3.0 Vulcan ATX 42k mi, Last of the original Tauri
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Brought her home today!
