Ford Aerostar :: 1993 - Stumble At 40MPH - Speed Jumping Then Set On Zero - Again Normal?
May 11, 2017
My 93 with 210K miles threw a new one at me the other day. Not 1 mile from work with AC running, it started stumbling a bit at around 40MPH. I just assumed it was the AC cycling and the Van was in OD. Dropped into D and drove her on home.
Well this morning was round 2.... got about 2 miles from home and it started stumbling again (no AC this time). Just happened to look down at my digital dash and the speed was jumping all over, finally settling on 0 MPH. I got about a mile down the interstate and it suddenly reactivated and displayed 70mph.... smooth as silk.
OK, so I know that the rear diff. has a sensor for ABS, and obviously a pulse wheel on the diff. Is this sensor the input for speed? From other makes, I understand the pulse train input is "conditioned" in another device ( hardware) which then outputs to the dash display.
Based on these assumptions, I'm going to assume the crazy speed variation was playing hell with the ECU. When it settled on 0 mph it was happy again. Can't just be a display issue as there would have been no stumble. Getting ready to drive her about 3.5 hours this weekend to go trout fishing.... obviously the cruise won't work but otherwise it appears to function WITHOUT the speed input.
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I've got a 96 Aero with 128k miles. It's AWD with the 4.0L. It's developed an annoying "stumble" on startup. The engine seems to misfire a bit and the car shakes. It goes away when I give it some gas and/or start driving. This started out being very occasional but eventually started happening at least once a day. It doesn't seem to happen with the engine very cold or very warm. It mostly happens when the engine is "lukewarm" (having sat for about an hour). So far, it hasn't died on me. I ran some fuel injector cleaner through and it went away for about a week, but then returned (but not as bad). No stored codes. Within the last 10k miles I have had done:
Compression test (passed) about 10k ago
New plugs, wires
New fuel pump
New water pump
New fuel filter
Tranny rebuild
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We have a question about our 93 Aerostar. The A/C is working, but not very well. Not cold enough. It is fully charged. We are not able to see any condensation dripping below the car when parked, after running the air. We cannot discover where this condensation is going, or even wbere the hose from the evaporator is supposed to be. Shouldn't it be coming down into the front wheel well area? We have had the van since about 03, and the AC system has been replaced in that time. When the weather is cool (not often this summer) the air works OK, but it isn't keeping up in hot weather.
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Is it possible to convert a 1993 2WD Aerostar EB with a A4LD to a AWD drivetrain? I am a Subaru veteran (this is my first time posting), and the mod capabilities of soobs is endless - older 2wd car to AWD is not hard at all on those cars - in fact it is a relatively easy bolt-in change.
Traction on snow (or anything else) in a stock 2WD Aerostar leaves MUCH to be desired (especially when compared to a vintage soob). How good is the AWD drivetrain overall? Is it as reliable and rugged as the 2WD? Gas mileage difference between 2wd and AWD? Handling? Maintenance? Are there different versions of the AWD? If so what are they like? I have a 1993 FSM for the drivetrain, but I don't know how similar other model years are.
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1997 AWD 4.0L with 112k
Background : Last year van suddenly overheated (almost to red). Turned on front and rear heat full blast and drove home - about 5 miles. Tested thermostat in boiling water and found that it would not open.
Fix : Pressure-washed radiator fins. Flushed system with Prestone kit and cleaner. Replaced thermostat and temp sending sensors (gauge and ECU) with Autozone parts. Added 50/50 coolant and correct amount of Bar's leak. Temps returned to normal.
Problem : As outside temps warm, the van now consistently runs between "A" and "L" in "NORMAL" on the gauge. AC on/off makes no difference nor does sitting or highway speeds.
Initial Fix : Suspecting the non-OEM Autozone thermostat to be the cause, I replaced the thermostat with a 197 degree Motorcraft unit from the dealer. The van still runs at the same temp.
My Thoughts :
Fan Clutch - Unlikely. Resistance when turning by hand. No fluctuation between sitting and highway speeds implies airflow is adequate
Thermostat - Unlikely. New OEM unit.
Temp sending sensor for gauge - False high reading a possibility. May try to measure temp of radiator supply hose directly to see if it's accurate. May also try to measure sensor resistance to see if it's within specs.
Radiator - Likely? Older van, so scale may be causing blockage. Temps have increased with time. No fluctuation between sitting and highway speeds supports blockage. No issue when outside temps are colder also seem to support blockage theory.
Conclusion : Radiator is okay with winter temps, but reaches it's cooling capacity with summer temps.
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Well I've got an nice steady leak coming from the front of the pan.... running aft of course (downhill, windflow). She's down right now for an AC overhaul and new PS pump/hoses, but I'm inspecting to see what is next to get this stinking oil leakage stopped.
Front HB removal and seal of course, done in situ (in position). But if it is actually the oil pan/seal, can that be done there also? Front of the pan looks tight to the crossmember, and how the internals look (tray baffles, pump pickup) I've no clue if it will come off. Once she is back up and running I'll ascertain where this leak originates.
Interweb searches show the 90-94 4.0L engine is notorious for pan gasket leaks. None of the writeups I've found thus far determine if that pan can be pulled where she sits.
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So I was driving along at about 50 MPH and came to a normal stop for a red light. Sitting at the light for approximately 10 seconds and feel the engine stumble or possibly misfire.
I immediately look for any idiot lights and see none, however above the mileage range instead of the pages that are normally shown I see:
LIMIT --- MPH
I drove for about a mile and everything seemed fine, I pulled off into a lot and rebooted the car and now everything is back to normal.
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Can you glide (meaning no engine engaging) on straight road without a hill without loosing any speed over 40mph? I only can when my speed is dropping. I can drive all electric around town without EV mode, no problem.
Stock Yokohama's, front and rear @ 40psi. will bump them to 44psi. Also oil is higher the high mark, which I am planing to drain.
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My Aerostar is a 93 extended EB with 4.0, AT, 212k mostly reliable miles, and blue and gold paint that has held up remarkably well. When started it runs great; smooth idle, easy revs, normal as can be. But when that third pip on the digital temp gauge hits Normal the van becomes possessed. The idle will randomly drop or surge or return to normal, the check engine light will come on for a few seconds then go off, all without pattern, just kinda crazy. Today I held it at 2k rpm, then it bogged down to like 800 rpm and lit the CEL, then it returned to 2k rpm and the light cleared, swung up to 2.5k, all while I hold the throttle steady. The light does not always come on when it bogs. I see no black smoke from the exhaust and it smells normal, but it was kinda windy today.
The check engine light is not lit otherwise so I assume no hard codes are stored. I think I found the code retrieval process for the OBDI but I have not done that yet. After reading a bit in this forum I thought to clean the MAP sensor, but I do not have security torx bits to remove it yet. As background a few years ago it had an oil leak from the top rear which I ignored, and it slowly rotted a harness back there till one day the harness died leaving me running on 3 cylinders. My local Speedy Lube guy was ex Ford dealership and knew Aerostars, he did the diagnosis and repair and said it was a common problem. But he has moved on. I was also told I have a torn boot on a plug wire, but there's no way to get my ham-like paws back in there, from front or back, to verify or replace. I mention all this as background, I doubt a bad plug wire is the issue here.
It seems like an odd problem to me because the only pattern is related to operating temp. It is not a constant problem, not an intermittent glitch, but it very definitely goes nuts right when it achieves normal temp. Aside from pulling the codes, which I will figure out tomorrow, any other tests I can run to diagnosis? Any way I can trick this thing into thinking it is cold all the time?
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My 1993 ford aerostar 3.0 is a great vehicle but recently its been killing me trying to figure out what the cause is. I'll start at the beginning. I had a job over the hill in Westwood Ca. Ran low on gas on the way home. Too low apparently. Since i refueled it has a really rough idle and no power under acceleration. After it gets warmed up i get a bad smell of gas and exhaust in the cab.
Now if i turn it off wait 15 min or 12 hours it will run ok for 2 min then back to hell. I has not stalled and i have replaced the fuel filter and a few months back i cleaned the Mass air flow sensor and replaced the TPS. I would love to take it to a mechanic but as i have been living in this old girl for the passed 6 months money is non-existent.
What to do. I have even tried disconnecting 1 at a time... the TPS, MAF, and the 02 sensor. No difference. There has been no check engine light until I tested by disconnecting TPS etc.
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I went to put the van in park, and the gear shifter just went all floppy in my hand. I was able to wiggle/jostle it around and get it into neutral or drive, but nothing else. Tow truck driver crawled under the van, and put it into drive for me, and told me it was probably just going to need a new cable or link shaft (tube shaped thing)... My hubby usually fixes these things, but is now living 1700 miles away.
Anyway, the shop called me and said I needed a new steering column, and said something about the 'lower' cap or half??? He quoted me $340 for the job. I am not getting the connection between the gear shifter being loose/floppy and the steering column needing to be replaced? Is this right?
It is a 1993 Aerostar, 3.0 by the way...
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I have a 1993 Aerostar 3.0L, automatic. The transmission has started dropping out of overdrive into drive while at speed. It's very inconsistent as sometimes it will drive without incident and sometimes it will barely go into overdrive and then drop back out and remain in drive for an extend period of time. I changed the fluid/filter/gasket thinking it was just overdue for changing but no luck. The fluid level is fine, perhaps even a little high. Fluid looks clean on the stick, so I don't think it was a lack of draining enough fluid. The problem seems to be more pronounced when warmed up.
Also when cold, I've had an issue with it stalling while taking off from a stop. I wouldn't necessarily relate the two problems, but someone mentioned they thought they might both be a symptom of a slipping torque converter or something. But the stalling issue seems to go away when it's warmed up.
Also had an issue with the van not wanting to start when damp. But I attributed this to water getting on the coil or plugs or something. What I could try before taking it to a shop and risking getting taken?
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We have a 1993 Ford Aerostar 4wd Eddie Bauer edition. This van has 150,000 miles on it. In the past 2 years we've had a number of problems related to the van idling hard and having a lack of power.
First, the van revved high and low and was unable to maintain a steady idle....I replaced the throttle positioning sensor and this fixed the problem. Next, the van was running sluggish and was very slow to respond when you pushed the accelerator....I replaced the oxygen sensor and it fixed the problem.
Currently, (a few months after changing the oxygen sensor and the problem being temporarily fixed) the van is having the same issue as before I replaced the O2 sensor (running sluggish and slow to respond to the accelerator). If you press the accelerator down (even to the floor) it barely responds, you can get it driving at highways speeds but it takes a long time to baby it up to those speeds.
When you let off the accelerator after pressing the petal down it actually sometimes gets a second of power. It also is not maintaining a stable idle (fluctuating between high and nearly dying). I bought a new 02 sensor and installed it but it didn't fix the problem this time. The exhaust smells rich in gas. What else might make the van run like this? Possible solutions for where to look next?
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My '93 has the RABS lite on when I use the brakes and the brake light comes on when I use the brakes hard. While searching the topic I stumbled on a reference to bypassing theRABS with a piece of brake line, Looking for the particulars on this?
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'93 2wd, standard instrument panel. Headlights and brake lights work fine. No instrument lights or taillights. The problem, at least with the dash lights, seems to be intermittent. My son has told me the dash lights are out, but they worked when I drove it later. I rarely drive the van. Is this a problem with the headlight switch? I pulled all the fuses, and checked the bulbs in the taillights, and everything looked ok.
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My neighbor and son took it upon themselves to get the rear latch to catch... well they have done that..... .and then some. I have got the interior panel removed and the what i will call the latch plate assembly out of the way... I can see one Phillips head screw down in the hole ... but can get nothing to move ... this thing is rock solid on the latch bolt.... what can i do?
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My Aerostar lately has been doing some weird things when going around corners. Whenever I'm going around a corner and I give the wheel a good turn the whole front end and the steering wheel start to shudder hard, and it sounds like the engine is being slightly bogged down. As soon as I finish though and straighten out it goes away immediately. Could this be the serpentine belt or the PS?
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I have a 1990 Lincoln Mark VII, black on black, basically one owner, excellent condition... except one problem. While driving the car my speed dropped to 40mph, while my RPMs rose to 4000. Upon checking I found the plastic clip, which holds the linkage from the transmission to the accelerator had snapped. I replaced the part and still have the same problem...is my transmission smoked or is there an adjustment?
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I have a really weird issue with my 2003 Ford Focus. Manual transmission, just over 50,000 miles. I've been noticing a stumble or hesitation (like the engine is cutting out) at steady speed, but ONLY when it is snowy out, more if it's windy as well. I don't recall that this happens if it's rainy or foggy. All maintenance is performed as specified, to include air filter changes.
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I recently bought a 1993 Aerostar. When I go to drive it after it rains as soon as I turn the steering wheel a good deal of water comes from the bottom of steering column right into my lap! Why this happens and what I can do to fix it?
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Srange noises of my 1994 AWD. When driving, if I take off fast, it makes a lot of pop noise, but if I take off slowly, then It's Ok. Or when I make a quick acceleration after slowing down then it make noise, but if I take it fairly slow then it's OK. The frequency is getting worse. My front axles are in good condition (30K miles on a rebuilt pair). I have unplugged the AWD controller box, it didn't do any difference. All gear shipped OK. So what is that noise in that condition? My 94 AWD is about 110k miles, good shocks.
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