you guys are still amazing on your replies...
I do appreciate all of them.
it has been raining since it started a few days ago and suppose to be like this for a few more days.
Rain, rain, go away... come back when I'm done fixing my aerostar!

AUSSiE

 

That's funny, that the 4 liter engine didn't get SEFI until the last 2 years, but the 3 liter engine got it earlier. But the 4 liter got EDIS much earlier than the 3 liter.

If your engine does not have SEFI, you might still be able to manually do cylinder tests by pulling the spark plug wires off one at a time. If you have EDIS, make sure you bring the pulled wire close to a ground source so it can still fire the opposite plug on the same coil. Do this quickly, as you don't want any cylinder to get too much unburned fuel in it.

 

Actually the service manual recommends pulling the injector plug, one at a time and comparing the rpm drops. Honestly, I don't know what the author was smoking! It's hard enough pulling these when the engine is cold and not running.

 

Cha no kidding. I sometime seriously doubt the authors of those manuals have ever actually worked on the vehicle. They are probably a bunch of geeks in white lab coats that occasionally talk to the engineers and look at diagrams to tell you how it is done.

 

you know that "new" dodge minivan I bought? Had to change the stupid plugs on it because of a misfire! Man... I thought I bought something good.

 

A Caravan is never good. Those are built for the ride only. The quality of the Caravan is very poor.

 

i have seen so many of them around that I thought it was well liked and reliable... The plugs on it are the first thing to go (I wonder what will be next - the BCM? I certainly hope not!

AUSSiE

 

The Caravan is common because soccer moms like the car-like ride. The reliability over r the years has been from abysmal to so-so. They tend to have a lot of problems with the engines themselves, the transmissions are weak too. The brakes have a tendency to warp. The interiors are cheaply made unless they use real leather. The Toyota and the Honda offering on FWD minivans are much better. I recommend the Honda. The Aerostar is even better, but the newest ones are coming on ten years. The Caravan has a 7 - 12 year average lifespan if properly maintained. The Aerostar has a 15 - 25 year lifespan if properly maintained. One can verify this by checking the models found i the wrecking yards. The average Aerostar in the yards around here is older than 1990. There are a few newer ones, but most of the are not really dead. Mostly the trannies need to be rebuilt and the former owners undervalue them. Most can be rebuilt for as little as $250 if you do the work yourself. Master rebuild kits for A4LD trannies are cheap. However, this isn't your issue. However, I guess I am starting to ramble, since you are not having tranny troubles. Hopefully you will get to the bottom of this soon.