1994 ford aerostar
3.0L
mileage 196,xxx
things replaced: top and bottom rad hoses, alternator, battery, and fluids, air cleaner
orginial spark plugs
and she still runs like new

 

my 94 has 316k and it still works

 

tomorrow I'm going to add 800 miles to my Aerostar from Tennessee to Florida, and I know it will get me there.

It is loaded to the headliner with a church console Hammond organ, its bench and floor pedals, all my 4 tool cases, (yes I travel with tools), boxes of parts for my Jags which I continually buy, a box of Aerostar parts which I got from several salvage yards, and you name it, it is in there.
Oh yes, a 1970's BONTEMPI electric piano that my sister gave me, it fits perfectly in the sliding door "step", and my guitar and amplifier, PA system, stands, case of cables, etc.

that's the life of a wandering musician-pack rat....and yes, I have spare Prestone, transmission fluid, engine oil, gloves, rags, etc. If a hose blows out, there's always an AutoZone in the next exit.

 

Original owner of 93, garage kept, 143k miles, 4Liter, awd, XLT, extended body,
With 4 captain chairs.
Vin 1FMDA41X1PZB82343

Replaced or fixed:

Rear door seal after 1 year.
Oil & filter changes every 3k to 5k.
Rear main seal oil leak repair.
Top end oil leak repair.
R&R transfer case assy at 56k due to crack in case caused by drive chain contacting housing.
All recalls completed: alum drive shaft and some electrical issues.
R&R starter.
2 driver side cv axels, 1 passenger side cv.
2 sets of upper ball joints.
2 sets of oem rubber junky tie rod ends.
1 set of greaseable tie rod ends.
Rubber dust shield on rear drive shaft u-joint.
Rear brakes twice, cylinders, shoes and drums.
Front brakes, 4 sets of pads, 2 sets of calipers, 3 sets of disks.
3 sets of tires.
Driver side window binds when lowering, have not yet fixed.
Fickle oxy sensors.
R&R drive belt once.
In 2021 Replaced R12 AC system with R134a system, new compressor, accumulator, dryer, etc...
Due to overheating replaced radiator and water pump, did not fix problem, so then replaced clutch for fan, which did fix problem.
At approx 75k had horrible pinging problem, always used 87 octane. Tried higher octane with no success. Dealer where I purchased van could not fix, he told me to buy new one. Found suggestion on internet to add jumper on harness under hood on driver side to alter how computer controlled timing, this helped some. But found another suggestion to ingest a pint or 2 of water into engine via vacuum hose while running engine to break carbon build up in combustion chamber. This worked and have not had pinging for the last 20 years.
Like the van but by today’s standard it’s a bit of a lemon. Without doubt the chain drive transfer case for the awd is the Aerostar’s weakest link. Also found in mountain terrain that cooling and breaking is a bit undersized. However just completed 3000 mile road trip without any problems.

 

The weakest part of the van is actually the brakes. You'll find that repeated stops in rush hour traffic will overheat it, which eventually warps the rotors.

The other problem is the Cologne v6 engine, with its vibratory modes, it tends to loosen most of the fasteners, which causes oil leaks from all the gaskets that lose clamping forces.

The Morse chain contacting the transfer case is usually caused by the chain being really worn.