91 Aerostar diff bracket
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91 Aerostar diff bracket
Hi all. Just wondering if anyone has had experience replacing the front diff support bracket on a 91 AWD. Mine just happens to be cracked. The local Ford dealer wants $111 for the part and approx. $180 to put it in. I was thinking to put it in myself, and wondering how bad of a job is it.
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Joined: Apr 2001
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91 Aerostar diff bracket
My 91 was cracked also at the top support. I just took mine off and welded it back together and so far so good. I left the rubber isolator in place and used vise-grips for heat sinks to keep from melting it with a gas torch. It was cherry red by the time the weld was done but the rubber is tough and didn't melt. An arc weld would be preferable. There is a secondary backing(reinforcing) plate that comes off with the frame to bracket mount. This is a bugger to get lined back up due to limited work space and tight clearance, but the overall job is not hard. Sorry to hear you had the same problem. Mine looked like a fatigue or vibration failure with an extremely fine crack line.
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91 Aerostar diff bracket
Its encouraging to hear that it isn't too bad. Do I have to remove the driveshaft and halfshaft or at least separate them from the diff and move them out of the way or can I leave this stuff in place? As far as I can tell there is two bolts that bolt the bracket to the diff and 4 that bolt the bracket to the frame. Can this braket be removed without moving stuff around too much? I dont't know how I'm going to even get wrenches in there to work.
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Joined: Apr 2001
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91 Aerostar diff bracket
You don't need to remove any shafts. You kind of work blind on the frame bracket which is why it is hard to get that backing plate to line up properly. I attached the bracket to the diff first, then tried to get the frame bracket on. You may want to try going the other way, it may be easier. No special tools, mostly 3/8" sockets with some extensions and swivels to get everything back in place and some heavier stuff to torque it all down. Good luck!
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91 Aerostar diff bracket
Thanks for the information. Finally got around to it this weekend. Wasn't too bad. Unfortunately, my bracket was cracked to the point of no repair. (ie chunk missing-previous owner must have really beat it!) Had to remove the bushings to remove the bracket as the bolts would turn in the bushing assembly when trying to loosen the nuts. (Winters and roadsalt are harsh on things up here!) Also had to get the trusty old sawzall out to cut one of the bushing studs. Wole job took about 1.5 hours.
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