Howdy from Podunk AZ
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Trailering
Joined: Oct 2025
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Howdy from Podunk AZ
Had originally posted in the Van forum - reposting here as this is the more appropriate forum. Hopefully the mods will move/merge/delete any duplicate.
Just got a 98 Starcraft E-150 conversion for my wife and I. It is in decent if not pristine shape, I can tell it has been well loved, if not necessarily well maintained by that most dangerous of creatures the dreaded former owner. This one was the third owner but it had stayed in family and it came with a 1 inch thick pile of maintenance records dating back to the early 2000's. What it did not come with is any user manual (just downloaded that from the link provided in the sticky) or any sort of documentation from Starcraft (now sadly out of business).
Been cataloging the items to fix, and have been searching evilbay and amazon, and finding....not a lot. A trip to the local salvage yards will be in the near future, as I'm led to believe that a lot of the parts from 98 to 14 are x-compatible and I really don't need a lot of specific parts (so far...) and I prefer getting my eyeballs on certain types of parts in person rather than online photos anyway.
This is not my first Ford van, had two late model Aerostars back in the day, and have had multiple other Blue Oval cars over my life, so looking forward to the process of bringing this one back from the brink of boneyard. Has 174,000 on the 4.6, but runs strong good oil pressure and temp, and the AC blows cold up front. The Proaire rear is....eventual, but I'll have to pull the cover off to see if I can check R134 charge on it. Steering is a bit sloppy and the steering wheel lock may need replacement - going to rekey the ignition and doors anyhow so I'll be able to better assess at that point.
Interior is dirty but mostly intact - two door window panels (license plate window side back door and closest to passenger side door) are cracked and broken and will need replacement. There is a list of small fixes, but its in drivable state and the most major fix I have to figure out is how to *lower* the driver seat for my wife. She's a big lady and needs a bit more clearance and the tilt steering wheel digs into her gut in a not comfortable way. All of the swivel options I've yet found do not work with the power seat, so gotta figure out how attached we are to that option, it gonna be her driving 90%+ of the time so may just delete the power options in favor of a swivel base.
Well, back to forum research, 686 pages as of right now, and I've gotten about 10 read so far. Glad to be here, and at some point I'll upload photos of the beastie - haven't had enough time in her yet t come up with a good name, hopefully we'll fix that soon enough.
Grumpy
Just got a 98 Starcraft E-150 conversion for my wife and I. It is in decent if not pristine shape, I can tell it has been well loved, if not necessarily well maintained by that most dangerous of creatures the dreaded former owner. This one was the third owner but it had stayed in family and it came with a 1 inch thick pile of maintenance records dating back to the early 2000's. What it did not come with is any user manual (just downloaded that from the link provided in the sticky) or any sort of documentation from Starcraft (now sadly out of business).
Been cataloging the items to fix, and have been searching evilbay and amazon, and finding....not a lot. A trip to the local salvage yards will be in the near future, as I'm led to believe that a lot of the parts from 98 to 14 are x-compatible and I really don't need a lot of specific parts (so far...) and I prefer getting my eyeballs on certain types of parts in person rather than online photos anyway.
This is not my first Ford van, had two late model Aerostars back in the day, and have had multiple other Blue Oval cars over my life, so looking forward to the process of bringing this one back from the brink of boneyard. Has 174,000 on the 4.6, but runs strong good oil pressure and temp, and the AC blows cold up front. The Proaire rear is....eventual, but I'll have to pull the cover off to see if I can check R134 charge on it. Steering is a bit sloppy and the steering wheel lock may need replacement - going to rekey the ignition and doors anyhow so I'll be able to better assess at that point.
Interior is dirty but mostly intact - two door window panels (license plate window side back door and closest to passenger side door) are cracked and broken and will need replacement. There is a list of small fixes, but its in drivable state and the most major fix I have to figure out is how to *lower* the driver seat for my wife. She's a big lady and needs a bit more clearance and the tilt steering wheel digs into her gut in a not comfortable way. All of the swivel options I've yet found do not work with the power seat, so gotta figure out how attached we are to that option, it gonna be her driving 90%+ of the time so may just delete the power options in favor of a swivel base.
Well, back to forum research, 686 pages as of right now, and I've gotten about 10 read so far. Glad to be here, and at some point I'll upload photos of the beastie - haven't had enough time in her yet t come up with a good name, hopefully we'll fix that soon enough.
Grumpy
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FTE Community Team
Joined: Jan 2019
Posts: 10,728
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Re-quoting in automatic-colored font so folks that use Dark Mode can read it:
Cool!
I'd say, as you come up with items to ask about, figure out which sections they'd best fit in:
- Stuff related to the van chassis as produced by Ford would probably best fit in 1968-Present E-Series Van/Cutaway/Chassis or 1997 - 2003 F150 if it is related to parts that are common between the two lines
- Stuff related to RV-type appliances could get a lot of good responses in Motorhomes (Class A,B,C & Super C) and Slide-in / Truck Campers / Toppers because many smaller appliances are similar in both
- Stuff related to electronics and accessories could fit well in Aftermarket Products or Audio & Video Systems, Navigation, Satellite Radio & Mobile Electronics
- Stuff related to travel (such as laws, practices, experiences, reviews) can be found in the Towing and RVs and the Regional Chapters sections
- Etc. Modular V8 (4.6L, 5.4L), Aftermarket Products, Brakes, Steering, Suspension, Tires, & Wheels, Clutch, Transmission, Differential, Axle & Transfer Case, Exhaust Systems, Paint & Bodywork, etc.
Welcome aboard!
Had originally posted in the Van forum - reposting here as this is the more appropriate forum. Hopefully the mods will move/merge/delete any duplicate.
Just got a 98 Starcraft E-150 conversion for my wife and I. It is in decent if not pristine shape, I can tell it has been well loved, if not necessarily well maintained by that most dangerous of creatures the dreaded former owner. This one was the third owner but it had stayed in family and it came with a 1 inch thick pile of maintenance records dating back to the early 2000's. What it did not come with is any user manual (just downloaded that from the link provided in the sticky) or any sort of documentation from Starcraft (now sadly out of business).
Been cataloging the items to fix, and have been searching evilbay and amazon, and finding....not a lot. A trip to the local salvage yards will be in the near future, as I'm led to believe that a lot of the parts from 98 to 14 are x-compatible and I really don't need a lot of specific parts (so far...) and I prefer getting my eyeballs on certain types of parts in person rather than online photos anyway.
This is not my first Ford van, had two late model Aerostars back in the day, and have had multiple other Blue Oval cars over my life, so looking forward to the process of bringing this one back from the brink of boneyard. Has 174,000 on the 4.6, but runs strong good oil pressure and temp, and the AC blows cold up front. The Proaire rear is....eventual, but I'll have to pull the cover off to see if I can check R134 charge on it. Steering is a bit sloppy and the steering wheel lock may need replacement - going to rekey the ignition and doors anyhow so I'll be able to better assess at that point.
Interior is dirty but mostly intact - two door window panels (license plate window side back door and closest to passenger side door) are cracked and broken and will need replacement. There is a list of small fixes, but its in drivable state and the most major fix I have to figure out is how to *lower* the driver seat for my wife. She's a big lady and needs a bit more clearance and the tilt steering wheel digs into her gut in a not comfortable way. All of the swivel options I've yet found do not work with the power seat, so gotta figure out how attached we are to that option, it gonna be her driving 90%+ of the time so may just delete the power options in favor of a swivel base.
Well, back to forum research, 686 pages as of right now, and I've gotten about 10 read so far. Glad to be here, and at some point I'll upload photos of the beastie - haven't had enough time in her yet t come up with a good name, hopefully we'll fix that soon enough.
Grumpy
Just got a 98 Starcraft E-150 conversion for my wife and I. It is in decent if not pristine shape, I can tell it has been well loved, if not necessarily well maintained by that most dangerous of creatures the dreaded former owner. This one was the third owner but it had stayed in family and it came with a 1 inch thick pile of maintenance records dating back to the early 2000's. What it did not come with is any user manual (just downloaded that from the link provided in the sticky) or any sort of documentation from Starcraft (now sadly out of business).
Been cataloging the items to fix, and have been searching evilbay and amazon, and finding....not a lot. A trip to the local salvage yards will be in the near future, as I'm led to believe that a lot of the parts from 98 to 14 are x-compatible and I really don't need a lot of specific parts (so far...) and I prefer getting my eyeballs on certain types of parts in person rather than online photos anyway.
This is not my first Ford van, had two late model Aerostars back in the day, and have had multiple other Blue Oval cars over my life, so looking forward to the process of bringing this one back from the brink of boneyard. Has 174,000 on the 4.6, but runs strong good oil pressure and temp, and the AC blows cold up front. The Proaire rear is....eventual, but I'll have to pull the cover off to see if I can check R134 charge on it. Steering is a bit sloppy and the steering wheel lock may need replacement - going to rekey the ignition and doors anyhow so I'll be able to better assess at that point.
Interior is dirty but mostly intact - two door window panels (license plate window side back door and closest to passenger side door) are cracked and broken and will need replacement. There is a list of small fixes, but its in drivable state and the most major fix I have to figure out is how to *lower* the driver seat for my wife. She's a big lady and needs a bit more clearance and the tilt steering wheel digs into her gut in a not comfortable way. All of the swivel options I've yet found do not work with the power seat, so gotta figure out how attached we are to that option, it gonna be her driving 90%+ of the time so may just delete the power options in favor of a swivel base.
Well, back to forum research, 686 pages as of right now, and I've gotten about 10 read so far. Glad to be here, and at some point I'll upload photos of the beastie - haven't had enough time in her yet t come up with a good name, hopefully we'll fix that soon enough.
Grumpy
I'd say, as you come up with items to ask about, figure out which sections they'd best fit in:
- Stuff related to the van chassis as produced by Ford would probably best fit in 1968-Present E-Series Van/Cutaway/Chassis or 1997 - 2003 F150 if it is related to parts that are common between the two lines
- Stuff related to RV-type appliances could get a lot of good responses in Motorhomes (Class A,B,C & Super C) and Slide-in / Truck Campers / Toppers because many smaller appliances are similar in both
- Stuff related to electronics and accessories could fit well in Aftermarket Products or Audio & Video Systems, Navigation, Satellite Radio & Mobile Electronics
- Stuff related to travel (such as laws, practices, experiences, reviews) can be found in the Towing and RVs and the Regional Chapters sections
- Etc. Modular V8 (4.6L, 5.4L), Aftermarket Products, Brakes, Steering, Suspension, Tires, & Wheels, Clutch, Transmission, Differential, Axle & Transfer Case, Exhaust Systems, Paint & Bodywork, etc.
Welcome aboard!
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