my 92 3.0 shorty has developed an issue this last week. When it gets warm.. on the freeway only when it's in the mood the right front wheel will start to shake like crazy like the floorboard is ready to fall out.. but then it will stop.. the 2 front tires are new with new tie rod ends.. i've had 2 mechanics check the front.. nothing loose or out of place.. any ideas?

Also.. I thought the van was leaking oil but it appears to be really dirty power steering fluid. Its leaking where the rack meets the "column" from a little box with hydraulic lines coming out of it.. any ideas ??

One last thing in the last 2000 miles the van has used a quart of oil is this normal.. I have 147000 miles on the van.. and it leaves no oil marks in the driveway.. what to do??

Thanks!

 

Sounds like you've got leaking piston rings, and you've lost compression on one or more cylinders. Get a compression guage, and test all the cylinders according to the instuctions that come with the guage. Before you do that though,check to see if there are any computer codes, and check to see if you are getting good spark. Also, when you remove your plugs, inspect each one carefully, and see if any have excessive carbon build up, as that would be a sign of oil leaking into that cylinder.

 

It sounds like you have a bad shock. Unlike older cars, you can not really test them on the vehicle. You have to remove them and test them by hand.

 

found out what the shaking was.. my master cylinder was bad and had the wheel locked up (but it could still turn). Although I could live without the 254.00 repair for the master cylinder.. and of course now the ABS light is on.. they are fixing that for free!

 

LOL. The ABS light will almost always come on when brake work is done. The Brake system on Aerostars is touchy. At least they are fixing it for free. Don't let them know that this is common, or they might change their minds. Glad you found your problem. So the shaking was coming from something other than the engine. As far as the engine consuming that much oil however, that still sounds like worn rings. Test it with a compression guage to determine the condition of the engine's internals. To do a proper compression test, remove all the spark plugs, and ground the primary ignition wire. Lock the throttle fully open, and crank the engine with the compression guage connected. This way, you get accurate consistant readings. If one cylinder reads low, then the valves or rings for that cylinder are worn. If 2 or more clinders next to each other are reading low, then the head gasket is blown, or the cylinder wall has cracked. The determine if a low reading on one cylinder is due to a worn or burnt valve, or if it is worn rings, squirt several ounces of medium grade oil into the cylinder, and repaet the compression test on that cylinder. If the reading is significantly higher, then the rings are worn. If it has changed little, or not at all, the valves are burned, warped, or bent, or the head gasket is blown in such a way that only that cylinder is affected. If it is a valve issue, you can have the valvetrain redone, on that side of the engine only. If it is a blown gasket, replacement of the gasket, and milling the head if it is warped is all that is required. If it is worn rings, the best way to go is to have the engine rebuilt or replaced. It is possible to have only the trouble cylinder redone, but you would not save much if any money. And a rebuilt engine is often as good as good, or better than, a new engine, depending on the engine, and the quality of the rebuild. A rebuilt engine must be broken in, just as a new one would be. If the compression loss is mild, you can try Restore, which seems to work well for mild compression loss, and cuts down on oil consumption, or try Lucas Oil Stabilizer. Frankly, I put more stock in the Lucas, as I have tried both products. I have not tried the Lucas as a way to increase compression/ reduce oil consumption, but due to it's oil thickening properties, it should do just that. The rebuild/replacement, is the only permanent solution, but the quick fixes do work. Do NOT use the other cheaper stop leak products, as they have proven themselves to be unreliable, and can potentially clog the lifters in the valvetrain.

 

Wow.. that all sounds very expensive.. how much do U think you are lookin at for a rebuild versus a valve job?

 

Typical shop labor time for removing and replacing (R&R) the 3.0 Aerostar engine is about 15 hours, which includes transfer of certain parts from the old engine to the rebuilt engine which are not usually included in a rebuilt engine (exhaust manifolds, valve covers etc.). The warranty for the new engine may require you to get a new water pump, thermostat, oil, coolant, plugs and so on.
Many years' ago I had my 3.0 engine replaced by an independant shop. Total cost was $3200. Labor was $65 per hour at that time.

Jan Richter

 

The power steering fluid you are losing from the rack and pinion is probably the result of the severe shaking caused by the brake problem. Keep checking the power steering fluid level and if it continues to leak you may need to replace the steering rack and pinion. Not too hard or overly expensive, just a pain in the a....

Ron

 

As far as the oil consumption, my 91 3.0 has always had an oil consumption problem. I checked the compression, all cylinders were all in the range that the haynes manual recommended. There are no leaks in the garage under the van. The only clue as to were the oil is going is a burning oil smell that you can smell outside the van after the engine is hot. The consumption has not gotten any better or worse since I bought it 100K km ago so I just have gotten used to buying extra oil and checking the levels regularly. It will probably use a liter of oil in 2000km.

 

Also don't forget if your getting your engine replaced the shop may remove some parts like the manifolds, water pump, oil pan, etc and they may need to be replaced because they are worn and are about to go or break off during removal or as J said for warranty purposes.

Also with the exhuast system its like home plumbing one thing leads to another if they can't get the bolts off holding the manifold pipe to the pipe that goes to the cat and they have to grind it off and they may strongly recommend to replace the exhuast system if it and its couplings are badly rusted.

Kind of like that water valve I touched in my house which I had to repalce if a rusty system doesn't leak leave it as is once you break the rusts seal it probably will leak and you won't be able to do anything but replace it.

I know for a fact that my Aeros manifolds or any other part of the system for that matter wouldn't come off in one piece they're rusted badly. Then again they're stock but it only has 75k miles on it I guess mother nature beats on your van no matter how you use it.
No leaks yet and I hope it stays that way for awhile .

 

so far after brake repairs... the ABS light is off.. there was a connector that came unplugged... no leaks from the power steering .. and no excessive use of oil.. maybe the application of the brakes while driving from the master cylinder was the root of all evils!