Hello Forum, I am completely new here, and I know i could use the search engine, but honestly I don't know what I should search for regarding this issue.

I have bought an Aerostar 4.0 L 4wd XLT, and there are quite a number of issues with it to be honest, but I am determined to try and figure out whats wrong one thing after another.

The one I have come to now is that when I accelerate hard, I can feel it's pulling, and when I hit 3rd gear it just feels like it's cutting power. it does accelerate but not nearly as hard as in 1st and 2nd gear.

I have one thing I thought it could be, right now I only have my exhaust from the manifold to the cat. the rest is gone. and I heard some engines need backpressure from the whole exhaust system to maintain optimal engine power. and I was wondering if someone else have tried something similiar, it's hard to film, because you can't really hear it.

Best regards

Daniel

 

What year? Unfortunately, even in perfect tune, this engine is a bit of a dog. A lot of the back pressure comes from the Y pipe, so if the engine needs any, it's got it right there. Some owners here report that it runs a little better with a less restrictive exhaust, so you've got that as well.

Did you ever measure 0-60 times? On this car, it would be pretty simple to do with just your watch, as it is very slow.

 

Hello XLT,

It is from 29-12-1995

Alright I was just not sure if it needed any more because the exhaust is so long, it broke off a few months after I bought it, haven't wanted to fix it yet, until I get the gearbox fixed, so i'm living with a crazy sounding van right now lol.

I might try and find a more sporty exhaust for it, also so I can hear the engine roar a little, I love the v6 sound. just not right under my seat haha..

I haven't tried to measure it from 0-60, but I could do that and come back with some timings, I don't think it will tell much, maybe there is a way to put a data-logger on it, or Dyno it, you kind of have to feel it, or tried how it feels. because if I take-over a car, and do a kickdown, it barely moves. it does still have 156 horsepower so it should move I would think, I know it's a heavy van, but it's still a V6..
I hope there is a way to tune it up, i bought some new sparkplugs for it, just have to figure out how to change the 2 furthest back, they look like a huge pain to change.. quite a funny car, fun project.

Do you know a lot about this car? i do have some more things I'm a bit confused about, i bought the book for it, so I can see how things are put together, but there are still some things I think I can't find there.

Best regards

Daniel

 

how many miles on it?
Is the engine revving, and the van just not going? Or is it bogging down when it hits 3rd?

 

I usually get under the engine to change those last 2 plugs in the back. I use an open-end wrench on the end of the spark plug socket, as there is no room for a ratchet.

If the engine just roars when it gets into 3rd, there may be a transmission problem. How does the fluid look?

I had a problem with the kick-down linkage, where it felt like the transmission dropped into neutral when it kicked down, and the engine just free-revved until I let up on the pedal.

What other mysteries are you trying to solve?

 

Give it the tuneup that it deserves and route the wires like they are supposed to be routed. If the wires are factory, you might replace them also. My arms always looked like I had gotten into a fight with a cat (feline) after I'd give my Aeros a tuneup.
If you think you still have a slow dog after that, put a vacuum meter on the engine to make sure you don't have a plugged exhaust.