Need advice. I have a 1995 Aerostar 3.0 that has 98,000 miles on it. When I tried to start it, it initially started to crank over fine, but then I heard and felt a quick thump from the motor and then it started to crank real slow and wouldn't start.
I thought maybe the timing chain had broke, but the distributor turns fine and I have spark. I pulled 1 plug and it was saturated with gas, so I know I'm getting fuel to the motor. A mechanic suggested the starter or battery was bad, but both checked o.k.. The same mechanic has suggested that something has broken internally, but with out a teardown he couldn't be certain. I have had the oil changed as scheduled per the owners manual since new, and have had all the routine services done at 30,60,90 thousand miles. Any suggestions? If motor is broke, would I be able to replace my 3.0 with a 4.0 without any major changes? Has Ford had any problems with the 3.0 letting go after only 98,000 miles on it? I thought that this van was going to run forever.

 

A compression check is definitely in order. Also, how did you test the starter motor? If it spun okay out of the block, that may still not indicate it's okay. It should be tested under a load.

Mark Biederbeck

 

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 19-Oct-01 AT 11:10 AM (EST)[/font][p]At 98,000 miles, its still a teenager. I would go with biederboat's suggestions. Pull the plugs and see if it will crank over easily and without noise. Do the compression check. The passenger side will be difficult to get a gauge on. You may have to just "thumb" the last one. Stick your thumb over the plug hole as the engine cranks and compare that to another known good cylinder. Crude, but all your are looking for is decent compression. I would lean toward the starter or bendix being the problem.

 

>Need advice. I have a 1995 Aerostar 3.0 that has 98,000
>miles on it. When I tried to start it, it initially started
>to crank over fine, but then I heard and felt a quick thump
>from the motor and then it started to crank real slow and
>wouldn't start.
>I thought maybe the timing chain had broke, but the
>distributor turns fine and I have spark. I pulled 1 plug and
>it was saturated with gas, so I know I'm getting fuel to the
>motor. A mechanic suggested the starter or battery was
>bad, but both checked o.k.. The same mechanic has suggested
>that something has broken internally, but with out a
>teardown he couldn't be certain. I have had the oil changed
>as scheduled per the owners manual since new, and have had
>all the routine services done at 30,60,90 thousand miles.
>Any suggestions? If motor is broke, would I be able to
>replace my 3.0 with a 4.0 without any major changes? Has
>Ford had any problems with the 3.0 letting go after only
>98,000 miles on it? I thought that this van was going to
>run forever.

I had a similar problem with my 5.0 Bronco a while back. The fuel pressure regulator is vacuum controlled, and the diaphragm inside let go one fine day. Allowing the engine to simply not crank normally (it would crank, but slowly). Pulling a plug I found it gas soaked, so I pulled them all to “clean” them. During this time I found a cylinder that was actually full of gas… To make a long story short, the regulator diaphragm allowed the fuel to enter the intake manifold through the vacuum hose, like a garden hose.

This probably isn’t your problem, but it could happen. IF it is, remember to change the engine oil when you are done, the gas will have saturated it, probably helping to clean out any sludge that will then clog your oil filter... etc...