Looking at a 1992 Aerostar and would like to know what is the difference between AWD and 4WD and which one would benefit me more, because we don't get a lot of deep snow more packed snow and icy conditions.


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The AWD Aerostar is fulltime AWD 70% power to the rear tires and 30% power to the front tires. When the wheel speed sensor senses wheel slip in the rear the transfer case is electronicaly engaged providing 4x4 mode which sends 50% power to the front tires and 50% power to the rear tires in an neven split. My AWD Aerostar is awesome in the snow, unstopable really especialy with the skinny "pizza cutter tires" on Aerostars. To be honest a good set of winter or snow tires on a rear wheel drive or front wheel drive vehicle would be just as good if not better. I've had two winters with the Aerostar AWD and could not be more impressed..the system works well. Hope this helps, I'm sure others will chime in.

 

Great thank you for the information
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stick to the rear wheel drive (Standard) Aerostar, it will do fine in any weather. The AWD is a complicated, difficult to repair vehicle, so essentially you're buying someone elses's problem. There is no 4WD Aerostar model, only All Wheel Drive (AWD) and the standard Rear Wheel Drive model. Then you have the "shorty" and the "extended" models of each, with a 3 liter or a 4 liter engine. Normally the extended Aerostars come with the 4 liter engine and the shorty with the 3 liter, but some extended Aerostar came with a 3 liter.

in the last year for the Aerostar, 1997, they came with a nice 5-speed automatic transmission. I would not go back to the 4-speed automatic of previous years after experiencing the 5-speed transmission. Makes the van quieter at highway speeds.

 

I would overall disagree on the AWD being complicated and difficult to repair. The AWD system is actually very simple and very reliable. The most common issue by far is bad speed sensors, and that is not a major deal, nor is it really that common. I have owned 2 AWD Aerostar, have logged over 200,000 miles on both, and have suffered only minor issues related to the AWD system.

The issues I've had is a seized spline on the front driveshaft. The boot dry rots and lets water in. If it seizes, it can cause the front u-joints to fail, and/or can crack the transfer case housing. You can replace the boot with one from a rack and pinion, and even without it, if you apply some marine grade grease to the splines you should be set. The other issue I've had is CV boots failing. A FWD has CV boots, so its not the end of the world, it happens. I have also had issues with the front diff mounts getting too sloppy. They are an obsolete part so if they fail they have to be salvaged off another vehicle or you have to fabricate new ones. They should not fail very often unless you use the van in harsh offroad conditions.

Simple truth however, AWD can help you go in the snow, and can help give you better control in the snow, but it is not a substitute for season appropriate tires. All season tires are just that, they are a tire that is designed to have acceptable traction under various conditions, but they cannot shine a candle to the gripping power of a purpose made snow tire. Real snow tires give better traction in snow obviously, both wet and dry snow, ice, cold dry pavement, cold wet pavement, and light mud than an all season tire under comparable conditions. In fact on ice, some snow tires have been shown to have nearly half the stopping distance of a good all season tire. A RWD with snow tires on both front and rear will have better stopping power and manueverablity in adverse weather than an AWD with all season tires.

 

First of all, Ford calls it Electronic 4 wheel drive (E4WD), not all wheel drive. The logo is on the back of my 1990 model, and I think on the front fenders of the later models.

I also owned a 2wd model, with an open rear differential. It was pretty worthless on wet surfaces, turning into a 1wd spinning the one tire helplessly on all but the slowest acceleration attempts. I would have upgraded it to some form of limited slip rear end if I had kept it. My e4wd model has a limited slip rear differential, so with the open front differential, it ends up with 3wd in the worst case. It is much more mobile in slippery conditions than a 2wd with an open rear end.

 

I used to live in Tennessee for 26 years where it can get really slippery for a few days at times in winter and I never had any problem negotiating slippery streets and highways, of course I wasn't doing 60 mph either, but regardless, it is fun to slide all over the place while accelerating!. the Aerostar is very stable, it won't flip easily.

 

and you call THAT "very simple and reliable"?

 

When I log 40,000 miles a year loaded beyond the vans recommended weight limits, pulling as steep as 8% grades. I've had just as many driveline issues with 2wd vehicles. Considering how harsh my typical use is, I would say the AWD system holds up just fine.