Howdy. I only just googled & found this site, then registered, then discovered that it may have been an exercise in futility: I find no category for my Ford vehicle: Aerostar. I have two problems with it - one just annoying relating to the electric door locks, and the other relating to the transmission.

I'm not looking to 'stretch the envelope' here by introducing an off-topic category, so...

I'm open to suggestions.

Thanks.

 

Welcome to the forum, actually there is an area for Aerostars down in the section for Past Ford Vehicles and is called Windstar/Aerostor

https://www.fordforum.com/forumid_37/tt.htm

 

I just got this '93 after finally shooting my beloved '92. <--Blown head gasket
I was told when I bought it that it wasn't wet weather friendly, startingwise.

At present I'm experiencing two problems:

1. Intermittent cold weather (freezingish) starting problems - no rain or wet weather involved.
In one intermittent case, it'll crank but won't fire. When I first encountered this I just kept cranking and it finally began to sputter, koff and TRY to start. I kept cranking to help it along and it finally caught, but sounded awful for the first few seconds - then smoothed out and ran like a sewing machine. In the other case, it'll crank but WILL. NOT. FIRE. I fried the starter solenoid and replaced it.
Yesterday it was just a couple of degrees colder than today and it wouldn't fire. Today it gave me the "rough-at-first" start. It's now purring.

I have a pretty heavy-duty background in electricity & electronics and I know that it doesn't take much moisture in the distributor to botch the ignition, BUT...
If it's sub-freezing, wouldn't that tend to crystalize the water/moisture (form ice) - which would "shrink" any moisture tracks as crystals grew, thereby increasing the electrical resistance within the track(s) - and subsequently improving the likelyhood of starting?

2. Several electrical problems - all steering column related: Horn doesn't work, nor does cruise control.

I've encountered several ignition switch LINKAGE issues with FORD, including a '91 F150, an '88 F250, and now (possibly) this '93 Aerostar. The F250 gave me a clue in the form of the red seatbelt warning light. If I turned the switch and DIDN'T get that light, I'd have no ignition. Turn it off HARD, then back on again with a bit of force would often get me the light and it'd start.

I've done some searching and reading and have seen mention made of a "clockspring" within the steering column. <--Whutizzat, what does it look like and where am I likely to find it?

Bonus question for extra points: My '93 Aerostar had a fusebox on the undersidde of the dash to the left of the steering column. To access the box, a couple of quarter-turn thumbscrews and the cover plate came off. WHERE, pray tell, can I find the fusebox on this '93?

 

jimmj43- it's time to put all that electrical/electronic knowledge to work.
As you will recall when systems operate with limited contact as the temp drops things contract and connections do too. Have you had a chance to unplug and plug in things like the ign module etc.? Many times a working contact will shrink and open when the temp drops. I don't remember where the fuses were located in your Aerostar, but you can usually get that info from Google. With your background , you will find the problem just hang in there.

 

I had to replace the clock spring and the multifunction switch in my '94 Aerostar.
A bad clock spring can disable the cruise control.

 

I did some searching on that pesky clockspring. Do they BREAK, or to contacts just corrode? In other words, can faulty clocksprings be repaired?

A seemingly easy question: What's the fuel capacity for my '93 3.0L Arostar?

And now on to a transmission problem: Auto tranny will 'fall out' of OD intermittently. And just to complicate thing, sometimes after it 'falls out' it'll 'fall back IN'! Sometimes on smooth road and sometimes hitting a bump will knock it out and maybe or not, back in.
My thinking suggests either slightly bent linkage or worn linkage. Could a pebble lodged in the wrong place keep the linkage from "seating" properly?

Fairly good news, mileagewise: I took a 674 mile road trip yesterday - mostly interstate, and got 23.1MPG running between 60 - 70, but with a couple of hours in stop-and-go Chicago traffic.

 

I had the 4L engine and consistently got about 22 miles per gallon. The Vulcan engine is a real trooper though. They polished some internal parts to a mirror finish to reduce friction. (Eric Taub: Taurus, the Car that saved Ford).

Good luck!
I get nostalgic when I see a red extended Ford Aerostar.

 

Yes, clocksprings were forever going out on these, leading to all your problems. The clockspring is a plastic strip that has foil wrapped in it for each of the controlled functions, and when wound, resembles the name.
The 3.0L powertrain was damn near indestructible, but as for the starting, of course, check the basics (cap, rotor, wires, plugs and the gap). Check the fuel pressure; anything in the range of 30-45PSI is good. Check the inlet of the throttle body; clean with a cotton rag to get out any sludge, but DO NOT spray carb cleaner in there. I've made a fortune replacing the intake plenumn on these, which brings me to the IAC; do remove and clean well with carb cleaner. If it's sticking, it may help for a while. Some are difficult and will stick again, but this cures a large percentage of these.
As for the transmission, these had an electronically controlled 4th gear (and TCC apply). That's the only thing the computer controlled in this system in these years. I'd start with a code scan, and a 636 is what you're looking for; it means the MLP (gearshift lever switch) has an issue (common). On the other hand, these had an electric solenoid that was applied (opened) when 4th was commanded, which switched a valve and allowed the 3-4 upshift. These will set a code when defective, but really look at the MLP first, as this was a commanding sensor for the transmission.
As I said, these really were great mechanically. An old 3.0 and A4LD could run well over 200k with any maintanance. And some went much, much further.

 

A couple other thoughts:
1) Are you sure the trans concern is not to much Torque convertor slip (chatter?). It could even seem like a misfire. But, if it's just busy shifting, you may have just a kickdown cable problem (which was done away with in later years) or a vacuum modulator concern.
2) As for the ignition being hard to turn or whatever, these were just about in the timeframe for the infamous ignition switch recall that was going on so very, very, very many years ago, and this was also a common concern. However, I believe you're thinking of the truck platform which used the horseshoe ring to acutate the ignition switch on tilt wheels, which were commonly broken because people pulled themselves up into the truck by the steering wheel. This is different, but had it's problems with the switch acutator, which broke apart in later years (or any other kind of problem that could occur).

 

"........I've made a fortune replacing the intake plenumn on these"

greasemark: you expletive on- percenter!

I SAVED a fortune by replacing the isolator bolt grommets on my Windstar one Saturday afternoon. $50 in parts vs, $800 at the dealer.

I am a 1%.

Well, its a work in progress......