Hello to all & Happy Thanksgiving..... I recently inherited a '91 Aerostar (marked resemblence to a DustBuster)..... this one's a real Cherry...... 52K original miles.... absolutely NO rust whatsoever (garage kept) ....... oh.... also its purpose in life was to do removals for family funeral home..... hey wait a minute..... 14 years old and no rust...... also strong smell of formaldehyde from everywhere in interior....... hummm.... guess that explains the well-preserved condition of the body ...... I digress....

This vehicle has been setting for about 3-years COMPLETELY untouched. Upon inheriting her.... I immediately had all hoses/belts checked and/or replaced..... major tune up (including plug wires)..... All was fine 'til I drove her to Atlanta...... noticed the temperature guage would climb EXTREMELY close to "red" area (especially when stopped/idling). If I revved her up..... the temp would drop almost immediately. Decided to flush cooling system myself. Took me three days and about 10,000 gallons of water (used the Prestone "T-in-heater hose" gizmo)..... after 3 days and 3 nights.... I was able to finally get clear-running water from the radiator. Afterwards.... I could quickly get 100% displacement from radiator drain (had to "burp" heater lines, etc.)... anyway, am pretty confident I have no blockages. Still had overheating problems.... I had the thermostat removed (was this a bad decision?).... the problem has cleared-up about 60% of time. Also ambient temperature and humidity have dropped significantly here in FL...... could be coincidence???? I have a feeling this problem will reappear come Spring..... any suggestions??

Also will idle really REALLY roughly sometime (but doesn't stall). Having read the forum.... I think some of the sensors may need to be cleaned / replaced. Especially this "MAF" sensor (according to other posters).... Question..... where exactly is this sensor?

ANY ideas/suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks to all

 

You have got to have a thermostat in there to regulate the water flow. Without it, the coolant will race through the block before it has time to absorb some of the heat, and you'll get heating/cooling problems. That could very possibly affect the way the engine runs because it can't decide if it's in cold start mode or not.

Bottom line - you need a thermostat.

 

If it had been sitting that long and you had tons of rust in there, I suspect your water pump impellers are probably gone. Since the car did cool down when you rev up the engine, that's another indication that your water pump is on its last leg. I would replace the water pump since it's quite cheap (about 20-40 bucks) and definitely put a 190 degree thermostat in there. Otherwise, you might be running in open loop forever without the computer ever kicking in.

The MAF sensor is located on the top of the air filter box. Actually, it's on the top half of the air filter box. There is an electrical connector going into it with 4 wires. You can't miss it.

 

I know you're right about getting another thermostat..... I just wanted to see if its absence helped the problem at all..... it never occurred to me that too much coolant may be moving through the engine too quickly...... I'll get her replaced this weekend for sure........

I'll also check out the MAF sensor now that I know its location.

Thanks again..... I WILL post again next week to advise of its status after repairs (probably have WP replaced too when they install another thermostat)..

MHildebrandt