I just took my 93 3.0 extended XLT from Michigan to North Carolina and back without a single problem. The van took the 2,100 mile roundtrip like a newer vehicle and did not burn a drop of oil. It passed 170,000 miles on the way home last night. Only thing I need to do is to replace the coil springs on the front (which I have), but in the 50,000 miles I have had this van it has impressed the hell out of me. I have only replaced a few things like the power steering pump (bad when I got it), the drivers PW switch ($2 in the junkyard) and the shifter tube. Other than that I have had no problems, and the engine and tranny are original and untouched. I wish Ford would bring this van back

 

Yes they are good vans! My 92 Aerostar 3.0 liter has 185,000 miles on it and still runs fine. Did recently put in a new distributor , though. The little vanes from the stator hit the magnet under the rotor and stopped the whole ingnition process. That's really the only major thing that's ever happened to it. Other than some plugs, wires and a new muffler, I really haven't had any trouble with it.

 

I'm wondering if I can get to 200,000 on the tranny. I hope I can as I am having no problems.

 

I agree.
We bought our Aerostar 11 months ago with 48,000 miles on it.
It will turn over to 62,000 within the next week.

A month after we bought it we took it from here in Southern California to visit my wifes family in Oklahoma.
We have had absolutly no problems with it yet.
(knock wood)

Yesterday we went on a round trip of about 350 miles, all at slightly higher than legal speed,
75 to 80 mph on I 10 from the desert to to the Ontario and back.

I am always impressed with this "Truck" after a good long drive.

We have the 3.0, and I always see people here complaining about the lack of power,
but I don't feel that way at all.
Except maybe going up a long hill.

It has pretty good pick up from a standing start,
and has enough left over at cruising speed to overtake and pass other vehicles.

I think that ford made a big mistake discontinuing the Aerostar.
I think there is a market for heavier duty truck based mini vans, as opposed to the lighter duty car based mini vans.

My wife drives a Dodge Mini Van as her company car,
and she absolutly loves our Aerostar compared to the Dodge.

She says the Dodge is bothered a lot more by crosswinds, and she likes the fact that the Aerostar sits a little higher, so she can see the road better.

But the real test is would we buy another one?

You bet, I've already started to watch for a AWD with the 4.0

But we won't get rid of the one we have now, we'll keep it until the wheels fall off. LOL

It's nice to see a thread where we love our Aerostar's instead of just what needs fixing.
But I read all of them just so I can be ready when something does go wrong,
if anything ever does.

 

You know, when I got mine from my parents, I read up and figured it was going to be a bear in repairs (but hey, it was free). I have to say that all things considered this has been a very reliable vehicle. It seems that whenever I think I need repairs on it, I check the one little thing that could repair it and is virtually free, and that tends to be it (vacuum hoses, not enough coolant, etc). I have to give props to ford for the van (with the exception of the transmissions) because of the reliability.

 

Too bad they have the typical van "engine under the dashboard" stuff.

And getting all the air out of the cooling system is a BEAR!

 

Hey!
We bought a 97 EXT, 4.0 liter, AWD, 97,000 KILOMETERS, blue Aerostar!! I love it already!!! Even though we've only had it 3 days!!
We got it for 7800 dollars Canadian!!

 

We have a 94 extended with a 4.0. It has 140K miles, we had the plug wires replaced, both wiper switches, and a window motor replaced. We've looked for a replacement, the only thing we could find was a full sized van or an Excursion type vehicle that has the same seating and luggage capacity. Even the Expy. didn't measure up. So we had the Aerostar painted! If they started making them again we would buy a new one.

 

I bought my Extended Eddie Bauer new in 1990. Since then I have put 251,000 miles on it. I have the original transmission and engine, which has no problems whatsoever passing the emission standards here in Harris county, Texas. Repairs on this vehicle have been as follows:

1. Water pump replaced (replaced by dealer with a Ford rebuild which lasted about 10k miles). I replaced this with a new one from AutoZone and it is still in the vehicle.
2. I Replaced the steering rack due to seal leaks.
3. I Replaced A/C compressor at 190,000. (Which is giving me a little problem at the moment - the clutch will not energize).

The only other problem this vehicle has is with the cooling system. It looses about a pint of water a day. No visible leaks, no water under the car. I suspect that there might be some pin-holes in one of the freeze plugs.

Other than that, I think it was a bone head decision by Ford to discontinue this van. It is without a doubt the most reliable vehicle that I have ever owned (I have been buying cars since 1958).

Klaus Cook
Houston, Texas

 

I have already told my wife that if the engine or tranny goes they will be replaced. This van has done so much for me. The only thing I plan on doing is to try to get 20 more horses out of the 3.0. With the pulleys, chip, ported MAF etc I plan on doing I think I can do it. I wonder if Ford will give me anything if I reach 500,000 miles

 

Well, come on down to Colorado and take my 'old' one. It's a 1993 with 125,000 and a bad engine (not the van's fault, but the t-stat froze up and it overheated, taking the head gasket and/or head(s) with it). It does run, but looks like Old Faithful out the tailpipe

I'll be calling the charity places pretty soon to see which one wants my 'donation', as I have already replaced it (With a 1996 Aerostar 4.0 AWD, of course). I got a great price on the new van, so replacing parts on the old one made no sense...

 

Thanx Jeff,

But if I bring home one more project vehilcle my wife will kill me

I just picked up a '74 Dodge 3/4 ton Powerwagon,
and the only reason she likes it is because we can go 4 bying in it.

When I get a AWD 4.0 Aerostar it will probably be like our other one, a low milage '97

 

Hey Jeff what color in the interior? I am in need of a few things for my 94 extended.

 

I bought my 93 new in October of 92 and the wife totaled it 2 months later. We did an end-over-end flip and rolled over the sides a couple of full turns. The only damage was the front windshield pillar was pushed down about 10 inches (shattering the windshield as the top of the van hit the ground. The as the back of the roof hit the rear window popped out clean. We land on 3 blown tires to every door still opening and all side glass still in place. We were so impressed on how well it held up we bought another one just like it!

If you were wondering how the accident happened........we were on an icy road and she lost control and went over the side of the hill which caused the end over. Both kids in the back were fine both me and the wife got whiplash and I broke my little finger.

Doug

 

You would think, with the way people tow things these days, Ford would continue to find a great niche market for a solid RWD small van. Our local Post Office here in No.California purchased a fleet of shorty cargo Aerostars in 1987, 3.0v6 auto. I have a friend in the PO who said several had 300,000-400,000+ miles, hard, abusive, stop and go miles with only regular maintenence. Many were sold to other fleets (cable company, electric company etc.) when the PO bought a fleet of cargo Windstars around 1996. For the most part, the FWD early Windstars were crappy. the transaxles did not hold up under the hard use. I see Aerostar cargo vans all over northern California in daily use. Since there is mild winters, with no road salt, rust is not a concern here with the Aerostars. I would love to see Ford develop a solid, RWD small van again! Just my 2 cents...