Aerostar questions
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 1,529
Likes: 35
From: Kansas
Originally Posted by Fordboy49
Guys,
When did you change the water pump on your A-Star? I mean how many miles have you got before do it?
Thanks,
Fordboy49
When did you change the water pump on your A-Star? I mean how many miles have you got before do it?
Thanks,
Fordboy49
My advice is to stay away from the "lifetime warranty" pumps available from the "lowest prices guaranteed" chain stores. The bearings in a lot of these water pumps are really low quality.
Elder User
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 624
Likes: 0
From: Houston, TX
Originally Posted by Kruse
My '91 went out at about 150K. My '93 still has the original with over 200K miles on it. I'm going to change it in a few weeks before the summer temperatures really start to climb. The '91 and '93 both have over 200K on the 3.0L motors.
My advice is to stay away from the "lifetime warranty" pumps available from the "lowest prices guaranteed" chain stores. The bearings in a lot of these water pumps are really low quality.
My advice is to stay away from the "lifetime warranty" pumps available from the "lowest prices guaranteed" chain stores. The bearings in a lot of these water pumps are really low quality.
Postmaster
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 4,452
Likes: 1
From: Southern California
The original one on my '93 3.0L lasted to about 50K miles, just right past the warranty period. I put in a new GMB pump from Autozone, with ... lifetime warranty. That one has lasted well over 130K miles without any problem.
Similar story with the A/C compressor. The original went out at about the same time. I converted to R134a and put in a rebuilt A/C compressor from Pepboys, and it has been OK so far.
Same with the original shocks. Went out right after the warranty period expired. I was amazed that Ford engineers could time it that well
, but then again, it could have been just my bad luck. The van is great otherwise.
Similar story with the A/C compressor. The original went out at about the same time. I converted to R134a and put in a rebuilt A/C compressor from Pepboys, and it has been OK so far.
Same with the original shocks. Went out right after the warranty period expired. I was amazed that Ford engineers could time it that well
, but then again, it could have been just my bad luck. The van is great otherwise.
Senior User
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 122
Likes: 0
The only thing I've replaced with a ford original is the EEC Temperature Sensor. After replacing it with an echlin 2 or 3 times I finally caught on to the fact that the echlin only lasts 6 months or so. The ford original was over twice as much ( I think 80 bucks Canadian vs. 35 for the echlin) but obviously worth it. During the first replacement the nylon echlin broke off and I had to punch the remaining into the coolant and so now I have a foreign object just floating around - so far it's been in there over two years and my water pump is just fine.
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New User
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 19
Likes: 0
I have a '95 AWD XLT with tow package. The first year at least half of the trim screws worked out. I bought it new and have 60,000 miles on it. In '98 I was driving down the highway and a piece of something hit me on the head. When I stopped and found it, it was a 2'X1' piece of the door trim over the drivers window which just broke off. Since then other chunks have broken off, as well. I need front brake pads every 17,000 miles and have changed the front rotors, too. The CV boots rotted out and got dirt in them about 4 years ago so needed to replace a bunch of parts there (forget exactly which). The van has leaked in heavy rains, (a common problem according to this forum) which I'm just now getting around to fixing after five years. Luckily, here in Nevada, we don't get much heavy rain but we have, lately. I came to the Aerostar from owning a Toyota Landcruiser for ten years, from new, which had about 100,000 miles on it when I sold it and NO problems other than routine maintanence. The only reason I now keep the Aerostar is as a back up car and for the one or two weeks a year when AWD is necessary. I'll never own a Ford product again.
Junior User
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 98
Likes: 0
From: Santa Clara, California
WOW LeftyS7, you have a lemon. My Aerostar is a tough and dependable rig at 192K. Replaced the pan gasket long ago, the rear main seal last week, and the water system last year. The rest was routine maintenance. This van beats any of the 50 or so vehicles I've owned before, and some were Japanese, German, Chevy's, Jeeps, Fords, ... Mine has lived in Alaska, Washington, and now San Jose. It has operated faithfully from -60 in the Yukon to +115 in Utah and many thousands of miles on Forest Service roads in the Sierras and Cascades.
I think you'll find a significant mileage difference between your Landcruiser and your Aerostar :-)
- jim
I think you'll find a significant mileage difference between your Landcruiser and your Aerostar :-)
- jim
New User
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 14
Likes: 0
From: Omaha Ne
It's kinda funny how some people have no luck with a particular brand and some have no problems. My Areostar has been an excellent vehicle, 140,000 mi and no real problems to speak of, had 50,000 on it when we bought it. All of the super high milage vehicles that I've had that were good vehicles were Fords. The worst one was the Dodge minivan that the Aero replaced. The only vehicle I would never buy again is a Nissan. Bought one new in 90 and got rid of the pile at 9000mi.. At that time, anyway, Nissan would not stand behind their product, very frusturating after spending 19 grand.
Elder User
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 558
Likes: 0
From: North Alabama
Tough luck, Lefty. I have certainly had good luck with my two Aerostars (92 and 94) and my 89 Tempo. I have a buddy who has a Windstar, and his luck hasn't been as good as mine. To this day, I prefer to maintain the old Fords over having a new car and the payment that comes with it. Other than a couple of very unusual issues, all I have ever done is routine maintenance. I was at Home Depot getting some lumber for a project, and I counted 9 Aerostars in the parking lot.
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