Hello! Just bought an -89 aerostar, and looking for information. I was wondering about the small d and the big d in the gear shifter. Which should I use and when? And how do I use the overdrive? Should there be a mark or a light somewhere when its on? My english my be bad cause im from finland.

 

One of the "d"s should have an oval around it if I remember correctly. That one would be Overdrive. I would use that one all the time. Some people will use the other d when towing a trailer.

 

Yes, you just use the overdive position most of the time for fuel economy reasons. When pulling a trailer or hauling really heavy loads, the drive position disables overdrive to save wear and tear on the transmission at the cost of fuel economy.

 

For everyday driving at 50-ish and under use drive, over 50-ish use overdrive. ALWAYS USE DRIVE WHEN TOWING OR HAULING HEAVY LOADS. Don't be afraid to cruise at 3k RPMs if needed. The 3.0 has very little torque but has decent (enough) power between 2.5-3.5k RPMs. Yes you will loose a slight amount of fuel economy but you will make up for that in MAJOR repairs down the road. Repairs I would not invest in due to the age and condition of my Aerostar......

 

So I disagree with that. For everyday driving use overdrive. The OD will engage at speeds as low as to save fuel when cruising, and the trans will change gears as needed. If you use drive most of the time, you are limiting your fuel economy potential. The only time you need to disable the od is when hauling or towing.

 

Thanks for the info.

 

I gotta agree with Khan.... I think of OD as my 4th gear. I live in a hilly, semi-rural area, so quite often the trany will use that 4th gear. If you drive in D, you are just using the lower 3 forward gears. I shift my trany into D and 2 (@ lower speeds), when I climb hills so the trany isn't hunting for a gear under load. If I was pulling a trailer or had a heavy load, I'd utilize D, if appropriate.

Cheers, Mike

 

and welcome juuso to the Aerostar owners forum. hope you end up loving your Aero as much as we do. great riding and utility all purpose hauling machine.
Tervetuloa!

Kiva tavata sinut!

 

Kiitos! Well I bought the car because it was so cheap and I needed a bigger car for work. Soon its going to be winter, and I love playing with a rear wheel drive in the snow! Btw I have a squealing sound at 3krpm coming from the engine, any tips? And the powersteering + battery chargers belt are in really bad shape.

 

The old belts could be the source of your squealing sound. You should probably change them before they start slipping more often.Make sure the new belts are properly tensioned.

Normally, I would replace a belt at the factory recommended intervals, while it's still working. Then I would keep the old one in the car as a spare so you have a replacement just in case the running belt fails. But that may not work if the old belts are too worn out.

 

use a 1>2 meter section of rubber hose to listen for and pinpoint the origin of the squealing sound. we use old garden water hose.

your Aero has the 2 V belts which are more prone to slipping and squealing. take belts off and clean pulley grooves with acetone or other non oily cleaner. sand pulley grooves slightly with 200 grit sandpaper. replace belts.
tighten to less than 1cm deflection in longest span of belt.

power steering belts on these like to squeal. can also be first signs of water pump bearing failing, look for rust and first signs of water dripping from bottom of water pump snout.

time for those Nokian Hakkapeliitta tires

the AWD version of the Aero is longer and has almost perfect 50/50 weight distribution for deep snow icy winter driving. mine will go places that I don't want to be anymore. they're light in front so they don't drop through icy crust on deep snow and mud.

try flushing the power steering. search for detailed instructions here on the Aero forum. pull return hose off power steering reservoir and pump out most of the fluid from pump and rack. replace with new Mercon and run the steering back and forth with front end off ground.
pull return hose and repeat until the ATF power steering fluid is clean.
put a can or plastic bottle end over the power steering fill hole cap, they leak water from the drains above especially when the drain tubes get plugged with ice or leaf debris.

 

Could somebody check the "code" from the battery charger- and powersteering belt? So I can buy the right belt? And is there any other fuses in the car than those what are in front of drivers seat?

E: Found the belts allready.