I might have to give up the aerostar....if not permanently, at least for the summer. I have an 89 3.0L shorty, manual transmission. The one drawback is that I don't have AC. I can deal with this while I'm in California, but I recently got an internship in Arizona for the summer. Apparently, it gets a bit hot there!

So I've been looking around for something that can still haul me and my stuff around. How much of a PITA would it be to put an AC system in my van? It came from the factory without one.

Thanks for the input; if I can I would love to keep the van...it was the first car I got when I got my license 7 years ago and it has only (slightly) let me down twice.

 

real pain to add a/c to an aero

stay away from Hondas, worst a/c system in the world, don't last.

most 4 cyl's suck on performance and gas mileage with the a/c on. V6 will get about the same mileage when using a/c

i would not even thing about a rig with no a/c for Arizona summers. test the a/c hard before purchase.

don't get a dark colored car or dark interior. want lots of glass tint.
black leather takes skin off, don't ask how I know

 

So I drove a 2001 ranger today, since i need something that is pretty reliable and can also haul my stuff around...I wasn't too impressed. maybe its because it was an auto transmission, but I feel like my 89 aerostar (with the same engine as the ranger) has more power. and it has wayyy more space inside. So i'm now considering buying another aerostar...something i never thought i would say lol.

 

OK think about this for a minute. Your needs are a car that will start, run, stop and have working AC. You need this for 3 months.

Buy something that will not depreciate. This means a nearly disposable car. I don't think AZ has smog check so you might be able to find one that won't pass smog here because someone ripped off the catalytic converter or something but runs OK and when you are done you can sell it in AZ.

Another option is something older and cheap because it is smashed up a bit, with the red tape over the tail lights and the long scrape down the passinger side and the dents in the roof from the crazy girlfriend that was jumping up and down when she found out about some guys other girl friend.

For your aero, find a place you can park it and if the tags will expire while you are gone, give it a non op and put the insurance on the beater.

CLICK HERE as an example, looks like a cheap fixer (New flex plate $54 at Rock Auto). What I would suggest is to search craigslist using the price function for cars between 100 and 750 that has a problem you can live with or solve cheap.

Step 2 is to trade the one you get when you get ready to come home for a car without working AC, runs good but needs all the parts to fix the AC. Now you should be able to find a car like that cheap or at least better than the car you are driving while in AZ.

Now when you come home, you will sweat like a pig (drive at night), but you should pay for your gas and make a few bucks when you sell the AZ car in CA. Just make sure all the emissions equipment is on the AZ car, or that it is a really desirable parts car otherwise you won't be able to get CA plates.

 

Phoenix and Tucson have emission laws, there used to be mobile sniffers that would set up at on ramps. I don't know if they are still using them. But, you won't be able to register a vehicle without a cat here any more than in CA. If the internship is in the boonies, that's a different story. And if it's in Flagstaff, just stay with the Aerostar with no A/C. It rarely gets much above 85F there.

 

Yea, I'll be living in Tucson and carpooling to the boonies for work everyday. Mobile scanners is just unfair! I registered my van in a county here that doesn't require smog...It passed the last time I smogged it but just barely.

I'm pretty sure I'll need AC in Tucson...wikipedia says the average high during the summer is around 100. Thats a bit hotter than I'm used to lol.

 

Phoenix and Tuscon both set down in geographic bowls surrounds by mountain ranges. Not enough air blowing in the summer to move a hummingbird feather. Only 2 things I remember going thru there 25 years ago was the heat and the stench from smog. Burned the eyes. Reminded me of the sulfur and chemicals here from the paper plants 50 years ago. Hell on earth.

Haven't been back since. Hear the winters there are ok?

northern half of the county here is no smog test. get behind an old beater coming from that area, can smell it before I see it, eye burner. usually an old carb'd V8 pickup that a kid has tried to hotrod but has only screwed the job up. too much raw gas and not enough air. the old pre emissions diesels are bad also, puke a dog off a gut wagon.

my 96 sails thru the smog tests here in Wa. near the bottom of the test numbers, almost too low. replaced the plugs once and the wires a couple times, 1 O2 sensor.

say a cherry almost OEM Aero on the road today, first in a long time.
keep looking for my Dream Aero.
Dark Lapis Blue '97 EXT 4L AWD.
I'd give up my manhood for that one.

 

Uh...yeah, you will need A/C. Tucson is only a few degrees cooler (actually few degrees less intensely, unbearably hotter is a better phrase) than Phoenix or Vegas. Average temperature can be deceiving. It can get 115-118 F in Tucson during the hottest part of the day at the peak of summer.

Technically, once you are working in AZ, unless you have out-of-state student status and enrolled at least more than half time or are seasonal agriculture worker, you have to get an AZ license and registration. In practice, you should be ok registering the a/c vehicle at your permanent residence in the county without smog testing, and driving with a CA license. MVD has the right to, and does do occasional checks of employee and residence parking, especially at very large employers and apartment communities in the Phoenix area. They are rare though, especially with funding cuts due to the economy.

I am pretty sure the mobile sniffers, if still in use, only have jurisdiction on vehicles registered in emission controlled zones of Phoenix metro and Tucson.

 

Well I'll still be a full-time student in California, returning to school in the fall for my last quarter so I think I'm ok on that part. I'm currently living in Los Angeles, so the smog should be better than here (hopefully!). Thanks for all the advice! I'm still lookin for a ranger; I've decided I can deal with the smaller interior. I might keep the van, or maybe buy another one later on.

I know it will be hot, but its only a summer internship! My grades aren't ideal, so I need some good experience lol.

 

No such county exists in California that dont requier emissions. Its a state law in California so its inforced in all counties. Unlike most western states that do not have an emissions law, but do have counties that have a smog ordinance. Arizona is simuler to Nevada were i live. Only 2 conties here have that ordinance while the rest do not.
I do allot of buisness in cali and they have tried multiple time's to enforce there smog laws on me. Im not against clean air, im just against a nevada based company being hosed with undue restrictions when ive already donated enough to the state at the pump.

 

I guess what I meant was some counties only require smog when the vehicle changes ownership. You don't have to have biennial inspections though!

 

I wish I had seen the need for an ac van in Arizona before.

A friend at Mesa, Mark at 480-229-8232 has a 1996 Aerostar with good ac

for sale at a bargain price, with emissions passed.

I can send pics

 

Thanks for the thought slimguy...but I already bought an 05 ranger that I've been driving for the past month or so. I'm loving the AC lol - its hot! I might consider getting another aerostar at some point, but not while I'm still in college. Otherwise I'd give your freind a call. Also, might wanna take his number down; this is a public forum and anyone can access it.

 

I note there are clubs for this make of van, so tell anyone who wants a good one with cold ac to call Mark at 480-229-8232.

What is your work out of Tucson?

 

I'm working at a copper mine for the summer, as a metallurgical engineer. I'm actually majoring in chemical engineering in college lol.