I am trying to get my aerostar ready for a trip (New Mexico-California-back) So I want to try and get some long standing problems worked out.
1. Airbag code 1
2. Airbag code 5
Does anyone know if I should take it to the ford dealership for the airbag, I don't go to dealerships to much but my sister has a Subaru and the seat belt broke the dealer fix it for free. I think because it was safety related (It was in no way in warranty its a 94) So would ford do the same or charge $$$,$$$,$$$.$$ for it?
3. Vibration when you let off the gas when going around 75mph, it gets worse the faster you go. Its just when you lift off not when costing, its fine under braking. The van vibrates its hard to tell if its coming from the front or back, it seems to be the hole van.
4. The van is very loud, it has been that way for a long time but it would be nicer if it was quieter (When going 70mph you have to shout to talk to anyone next to you). A long time ago the van was overheating, the problem was the fan clutch it doesn't overheat any more but it started making a lot more noise after we fixed that, does anyone know of anything that may cause it to do that and or any other tips to make it quieter?
Thanks for all your help!

P.S. Sorry for all spelling and grammar errors, running on 2 hours of sleep.

 

what year? what engine? AWD?

the Ford SVC cd air bag codes are listed as 12 > 53 with some not used, no 1 or 5 code nor is code 15 used.

common failure is the clock spring under the steering wheel center. part only available at Ford parts counter or the online Ford parts sponsors here on FTE.

Ford shops charge the full shop hourly rate for non warranty safety repairs.


3. vibration.
how many miles on the shocks. if more than 30k, replace

start with dynamic balance of all 4 wheels.
have all 4 tires checked for breakages or lumps in the face belts.
check the driveline u joints for wear or looseness.
check the rear end pinion shaft for wear and out of specs run out.

noisy:
spin the fan, should spin freely with some resistance. if it's stiff and barely turns, replace. the viscous clutch is worn out.

check the exhaust over closely for any leaks and burn throughs. bet the flex pipe is burned through and leaking, makes them roar on the road.

aggressive tread mud and snow tires are noisy especially in the boom box Aero

 

Its a 1992 4.0L AWD 185k,
The airbag light is flashing 1, then 5 - repeat.
can I replace the clock spring myself how hard is it.
new shocks and springs on rear about 15k on front shocks.

All new tires all the way around, all season tires not special snow or mud tires.
I looked at the exhaust didn't see anything, whats the best way to check the flex pipe?

I will check the fan in the morning, and work on getting the list done. Thanks for the information.

 

I took my aerostar to a shop for vibration, the guy pulled the front drive shaft and said that the vibration stopped so it is a transfer problem and it need to be rebuilt for around $550. I know a guy that works on transmissions and I called him up and he said that it could be anything in the front end when you take the front drive shaft off it takes all of the load off of the front end there for could still be any number of things. Before when I was looking it over I noted that you could move the front drive shaft I don't know if that would make any differences. So any thoughts on this, before I commit to a pricey potential fix?

 

Your friend is wise. It could also be your tires. AWD and 4WD vehicles are sensitive to mismatches between front and rear. I wouldn't have believed it if a my trusty mechanic I sent my friend to didn't tell him that and it saved him from an unnecessary $1200 rearend rebuild. You can Google it too.

 

I know what you mean about the tires, I was told the same thing when I was getting a AWD 9 code so Ihave 4 new tires and it worked. It does the vibration where the AWD is pulgin or not..

 

The front driveshaft is supposed to have a boot over the splines where it meets the transfer case. This boot is often missing. Water gets into the splines, causing them to seize. This puts extra strain on the u-joints and transfer case, and is often the source of vibrations.

 

His mechanic removed the front drive shaft, so it's probably not seized.

> Before when I was looking it over I noted that you could move the front drive shaft I
> don't know if that would make any differences.

Can you see if the front diff is being properly held to the the front sub frame? It is mounted through 3 or 4 rubber isolators that are bolted to the frame. These things can break with age.

Other than that, the front drive train parts may be worn.

How much motion is there the front shaft? Is it rotational or longitudinal or side to side? There should be very little of any of these. Rotational slack would mean the drive chain in the transfer case is too loose, and the front differential gears are worn. Front-back or side-side slack means the pinion bearing in the front diff is really worn.

 

The front shaft moves rotational and side to side about 1/4". I don't know where to look to see the front diff. The front drive shaft does have a boot.

 

[quote=SKaero;7540557When going 70mph you have to shout to talk to anyone next to you[/quote]

Where can you drive 70mph for long time. Usually other vehicles run slower. Yes, I used to drive faster then 100 MPH, but aero has aerodinamics of 3-wall brick and door start vibratind with turbulence made with rear view mirrors.

So cruising speed for aero is 55-60 MPH.

Okay, follow legal speed limits to reduce noise, else you wont hear police car following you .

Okay, about noise. Ajust all door locks, especially tailgate lock.

 

YouTube - ??????? ??? ?? ?...

newer drive like he does! LOL

 

SKaero:
Your vibration and noise issues are likely related. Immediate vibration when you let off the gas is usually a driveline issue - worn universal joints, broken motor/transmission mounts. Along the same lines, the vibration imparted by whatever driveline part that is worn/misaligned is picked up by the van's body shell and amplified, likely causing the "roaring" noise you described. Our van once had a slightly worn universal joint that did not cause driveability issues but manifested itself early as a droning/booming type noise inside the van around 40-45 mph on perfectly smooth asphalt road. Each vibration source will have its own harmonic frequency - meaning whatever is causing yours may be loudest at 70 mph while mine was maximal at 45 mph.

Don't get fixated on the transfer case as the sole problem source at this time. The fact the vibration ceased when the front shaft was disconnected may be misleading. As already pointed out, the front diff hangs from several rubber isolaters. If these are broken and the front diff is just sitting on the crossmember, not only will you get significant vibration/noise but the whole diff will shift suddenly when you let off the gas, causing a sudden vibration that will dissipate on coasting as the diff moves back into torque inspired 'alignment'. For a quick check on the front diff, look at the point where the front diff case comes closest to meeting the crossmember. There is a small block attached to the crossmember, immediately below the diff case. The case should NOT be resting on this block. There should be at least a 3/16 inch gap between the top of the small block and the differential case. (The more gap the better.)

 

I overbore my engine to run faster and I got driveline problems but at 120-150 kmh.

to solve it I tried to change UJs, rebalance shaft to zero, but.... The proplem was solved with 2 pice DS with center bearing.

well, bun now I got annual problem to lubricate center bearing. I had to change it once. not so diffiucult but I had to drop and pull out DS and do all on working desk

 

See, I run at those kind of speeds all the time with my AWD. If the suspension is good, the handling at those speeds is very good, and I have no vibration issues in the door. Our national average speed limit on interstate highways is 75 mph, but we have stretches of 80 here in Utah.

 

we have too, but not many really good roads. Generally we have roads with 90kmh (55mph) speed limit. We have 20 kmh for overspeeding, but if we drive 111 kmh we may get speeding ticket. But usually other drivers flash with headlamps to let us know about hidden cops.

It is so good in Germany. They have lanes with unlimited speed and it is really funny to see when this lane is over 150 ore 130 kmh speed limit.