You have not lived till you replaced the number 1 plug on a Monza 2+2 with a Factory 350 Chevy. You have to take the motor mount off, power steering pump and jack it up 2 feet in the air.

Simple for the aerostar, get a snap-on deep socket, and a 19mm short wrench. takes me 30mins to change them all from inside the van.

 

The best tool for doing this that I have found is a standard spark plug socket and a 3/4" ratcheting box end with a swivel head. It makes the #3 easy to get at from underneath the van, and is in fact easier than the #6 plug.

 

I think the Model-T came from the factory with a small box of tools because Ford fully expected the owner to have to do some repair on it shortly after purchase.

That is amazing that the Fairmont had such a feature. I don't think any other Fords have that kind of convenience. If Ford (or Mercedes) realized that most of their customers did not work on their own cars, then these features are for the mechanics who do the actual work. This should help cut down on repair costs, especially if warranty is involved. Maybe some bean counter figured out the costs required to provide tis level of service convenience, and decided that it wasn't worth it, since it doesn't really help the bottom line. If such features helped to sell more cars, they might be built into more cars. However, most American car owners don't work on their own cars, so they won't perceive it as a value; certainly not as a decision factor in a purchase.

 

I remember a local guy who had a fleet of 3.0 short delivery van Aerostars for his business, they were all running crappy after well over 150,000 miles......He decided to let a different shop take a look at them instead of his normal mechanic, you guessed it.....every one of them had the factory orig. plug in the passenger rear cylinder.......seems even "real" mechanics prefer to NOT change that one!

 

Never found the plugs in the aero's that hard to deal with.. I would much rather do an aero than my 5.4 superduty

 

The plug removal was not that hard on my van. the problem was that the threads had been damaged and I could not get the new one started. As for the Fairmont, IMO it was one of the most ill-engineered cars I have ever owned; Had to lean in the seat to change the radio, heater, roll up the window, turn on the wipers etc. Nothing was conveniently in reach, but it seated 4 w/ a (small) straight six & strut suspension w/ decent mileage. Exactly what was needed to compete at the time. I think it was a quick combination of existing platforms (Falcon?) that were lightened up & whatever to compete w/ the growing demand for affordable cars that were economical to drive. Perhaps the dash assembly was designed before the heating system, what they now call a "workaround".

Was the Aerostar (and Astro) a quick amalgamation of existing rear-wheel drive technologies to compete w/ FWD minivans? Example: the front half-shafts on my AWD have a spacer attached inboard to make them fit. Are they from a Taurus? No knock. It's a great vehicle. I'm glad they did it.

Mercedes actually designed the access plate into the (early 60's) vehicle. My brother spent days trying to remove the upper bolt before he broke down & called big brother. After trying every combination of wrenches extensions & swivels that existed to my knowledge, I pulled back the carpet and voila, there it was. Access plates are common on aircraft and Mercedes has an aircraft manufacturing history -- Of course you pay a price for it.

Sorry, I guess I knew this would go OT. Should this be is this a new thread ?

 

Sometimes it's easy to cross thread the spark plug if you can't see where it's going, and you're going completely by feel, and your feel is hampered by too much crud on the threads in the spark plug hole. I usually have to start threading the plug in by holding it at the very end and trying to turn it and changing the angle at the same time. Once I get it started, I slip the spark plug socket over it, and continue turning by hand. This way, if it was cross threaded, I can feel it before applying torque with a wrench.

The 1978 Fairmont was a completely new design on what Ford called the "Fox" platform. The Mustang from 1979-2003 was based on the same platform, although there were minor changes in 1994. As a grocery getter, the platform was adequate. As a performance car, it was terrible. I own a 1987 Mustang, so I know about most of the problems with that platform. Of course, mine does not have much left of the original Fox suspension, and a lot of the platform has been modified.

Similarly, the Aerostar platform is a one-off; there are no other cars like it. I think it shard front brakes with the Ranger for a while (inadequate for either car). The front control arms are similar to those on a Crown Victoria, but that car at that time was using a recirculating ball steering gear vs the Aero's rack and pinion. The rear axle uses a 3-link that's unlike anything else. The front differential was specially designed by Dana, as was the transfer case. The only other part that's similar to the inner flanges on the half-shafts would be the front drive shaft flange.

 

Good advise!

Have made the Spark Plug change successfuly yesterday - but done it twice, because i forgott to check, and set the proper Gap and Alignment on all the new Sparks.. ..better to do it before installing the new ones.

Refering to the records found in the car, 6 Spark Plugs on my van were last changed one year ago. I took out one of the "easy to get out" in front of the Heads to prove and there were new looking GNK's.
But obviously somebody had failed to change #3 & #6.. That's what i found:

GNK Spark Plugs in Cylinder #1,#2 / #4,#5


Original Motorcraft 32P in Cylinder #3


Original Motorcraft 32PG in Cylinder #6


These two worn Spark Plugs caused many problems: misfires, rough idle, lopes. Now with the new set of Autolite Double Platinum the engine performance cannot be compared with the past.
It's awesome how she runs

97' XLT 3.0L