Why is 93 ford aerostar leaking antifreeze water pump thermostat have been replaced and rediator has been flushed. now van leaks on passenger side.?

Answer 1

CHECK THE HOSES. THERE MAY BE A LOOSE CLAMP AND OR POSSIBLY A SMALL PUNCTURE IN ONE OF THE HOSES ITSELF. i have a 1994 and the leak on the passenger side was from the heater control valve . It is in a very difficult spot to get at. You cannot get the hose any more, go to a parts store and they sell adapters for the 90 degree turns. It is worth your time to do it since a repair place will need a lot of time to do it. Oh, the new control valve is only $16.00. ---------- I don't agree with EvilTechie's answer above. I just got my '95 Aerostar a couple weeks ago and planned to replace both radiator hoses sooner or later. I have had many used cars and it is a simple fact that these hoses have a finite life. The top hose becomes brittle first because it cooks in unrelieved heat when you park the car. If you buy or have an old car then replace the hoses before something happens. Just accept this as part of owning a used car.

For me it was sooner than later. Half a mile from home I heard a sound from many years back when I playfully plowed a car thru water. I heard the v-belts squeaking. I smelled burned oil or burned rubber. I looked inside and things were wet with something. I checked the next day. The lower hose had a 2" split in it. It had spit all its water out at once. Half a mile did not seriously overheat anything. The clamps on that hose were the pincher clamps that Ford uses at the factory with special tools. I am really surprised that any hose could last 13 years.

This is where EvilTechie is wrong. The spaces inside the Aerostar engine (I have the 3.0) are too specific and too small and curve in a complex way. I have had cars where generic curved hoses could be adapted. Not the Aerostar. Get the specific hoses from an auto parts store. The lower hose cost me $15. I've seen it on the internet for $9. If you have a '96 or '97 it gets more expensive because the hose has a T hose running off the side. Then it would be $33. My top hose had the stainless steel hose clamps which meant the previous owner had replaced that already. Now comes a difficult point. Before you take off the old hose, wrap a strip of colored electrical tape or Duct Tape firmly near one end. Compare the old and the new hoses. The complex curves are subtle and counterintuitive. Mark the new one with a piece of tape so you know which end is which. When you are upside down replacing the lower one you will become disoriented and waste time and stress trying to fit the wrong end in. Have a 1/4" drive ratchet set and the 7/16" socket. Use that rather than the screwdriver slot to tighten the hole. It's the only effective way in the very cramped spaces. Now stepping back to an anecdote. I once had a Plymouth and I was in front of my favorite auto parts store and had reason to have the hood up. I happened to touch one of the hoses that took hot water to the heater. The engine was off but I saw the antifreeze leak. The brittle hose had cracked in exactly that moment. These hoses were very conveniently placed on top of the engine. I went back inside and bought a length of generic hose and 4 clamps. It would make a good story to say I fixed it in the parking lot but I didn't have tools including a big sharp knife so I drove the mile to my own driveway to fix it. I haven't traced the heater hoses yet on my '95 Aerostar but I will -- and I will replace them, too, before they fail on me on the road.