Here's the results:

799rpm idle:
HC ppm - max 200 - reading 197
CO - max 1.00 - reading 0.09
NOx ppm - n/a - reading n/a

2808rpm speed:
HC ppm - max 74 - reading 69
CO - max 0.41 - reading 0.41
NOx ppm - 1047 - reading 754

as you can see it barely passed. It won't have to be tested until August 2003, but I wanted to get a few ideas. I'm planning on a complete tune-up since there's a slight miss while idling. Now there's an exhaust leak developing between the exhaust manifold and front pipe. How difficult is that to change?

tia,
Wylde

 

How many miles and what year is your Aerostar?

The tune-up is the first step in restoring performance. You need to have good plugs, wires and a clean air filter before you do any sort of diagnositcs. Also, it's worthwhile to clean the MAF sensor. Sometimes a slight miss will occur if it's dirty. If nothing seems to eliminate the miss, check the compression. I spent a lot if time chasing gremlins and wish I had checked compression sooner when my van had a similar problem to your. My van had a slight miss while idling (and it could also just barely be felt in OD at 40 mph) and I had similar results to yours except that I barely failed the idle test but passed the high speed test. I replaced or checked all the obvious things (plugs, wires, O2 sensor, etc.) and even removed the injectors to have them cleaned. It turned out that there was a burned valve seat, so I had to replace the heads.

Just curious as to what state you're in. NOx isn't checked where I live.

 

Hi,

I checked my smog test slip from December 2001:

Idle RPM: 769
Idle CO: 0.09, Max 0.50

Load RPM: 2846
Load CO: 0.20, Max 0.30

Test passed until Dec 2003. The truck is a 1993 3.0L with 84,347 mls back then. Other things were not measured, except oil temp and Lambda. I have scanned the report and will mail it upon request to anyone interested.

I also have that slight miss when idling. I will have a friend from the U.S. send me platinum plugs, wires, cap and rotor - all Motorcraft. I also tried to clean the MAF. How do you folks do it? Do you pull the sensor unit from the housing (special screws)? When I remove the whole part from the air cleaner box I cannot see much to clean - there's just a little hole through which you can see the sensor wire. Any hints are greatly appreciated.

Tom Ucen
Bruckberg, Germany

 

Here's a link with pictures on how to clean the sensor. You will need to get the special torx bits. I was able to find them at the local hardware store here in the States, not sure about Germany though.

http://www.glue.umd.edu/~singletn/web/pages/ping.html

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 01-12-03 AT 09:09 PM (EST)]I forgot to mention it's a '94 XL with a 3.0 ltr and a 5-speed. there was approx. 259,000 kilometers on it when it was tested. I'll have to check with my dad (it was his van) when he had a tune-up last. He always followed Ford's recommended servive intervals. I'll wait until springtime to check compression, look at the plugs and clean the MAF sensor. Replacing the heads is the last thing I would want to try on this van - not much room to do anything under the hood.

thanks.





>How many miles and what year is your Aerostar?
>
>The tune-up is the first step in restoring performance. You
>need to have good plugs, wires and a clean air filter before
>you do any sort of diagnositcs. Also, it's worthwhile to
>clean the MAF sensor. Sometimes a slight miss will occur if
>it's dirty. If nothing seems to eliminate the miss, check
>the compression. I spent a lot if time chasing gremlins and
>wish I had checked compression sooner when my van had a
>similar problem to your. My van had a slight miss while
>idling (and it could also just barely be felt in OD at 40
>mph) and I had similar results to yours except that I barely
>failed the idle test but passed the high speed test. I
>replaced or checked all the obvious things (plugs, wires, O2
>sensor, etc.) and even removed the injectors to have them
>cleaned. It turned out that there was a burned valve seat,
>so I had to replace the heads.
>
>Just curious as to what state you're in. NOx isn't checked
>where I live.