Just when I was getting all excited about possibly rebuilding the 4.0 in the Aerostar- some dork on a cell phone slammed into the driver's tire yesterday when my wife was driving. Nobody was hurt, so that's the important part. She can still drive it, but I can tell that at least the upper control arm is bent. I believe it's probably going to be totaled. Fender, hood, driver's door, new turn signal, and paint on a 12 year old vehicle= totaled IMO.

I certainly hope that they let me buy it back, or pay me and let me keep it. I just put new tires on it a couple of weeks ago. I have half a mind to go ahead and put her tires and wheels on the work van (91 Aerostar) along with the sway bar bushings I bought for her van.

My biggest fear is that I'll end up with some other piece because we really don't have any extra money now- especially for putting into a vehicle. I've already fixed most of the problems with this van.

Mini-vans are so freaking expensive though- unless I get her a Windstar or a Caravan (perish the thought).

Pics coming.

Sucks man. Hope it all works out for you.

that blows!!! my parents 93 areostar was totalled after a tap in the raer end, only had 220k miles too!

Oh that's too bad, sorry to hear. You said it though, the important part is no one got hurt. I think I've mentioned this before on FF, but my parents had an Aerostar and I loved it. We drove that through the colorado mountains from New York to Cali (twice) towing a camper and it never failed. I hope you get to keep it.

Thanks, I will miss my van. I just recently went through and replaced the ball joints, upper control arm bushings, shocks, and the tires. The rear axles and U joints were next. If I get to keep it, I'll still probably get her something else to drive, and I'll take that MAF 4.0 and dump it in the work van.

Here's the carnage- the other vehicle was messed up worse from what Linda said. The bumper had completely come off, styrofoam everywhere, and they had to bend the fender back so the tire wouldn't rub it. It was a 2004 Hyundai Sante Fe.

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c285/whynotthinkwhynot/wreckedvan.jpg

doesn't look too bad

Its really hard for me to say if its totalled or not. Outside damage often fails to tell how much internal boo-boos are lurking underneath. Get a professional to appraise the damage before accepting any payments.

Oh, I'm fairly certain that the upper control arm, a $400 part will have to be replaced, the wheel has too much negative camber, it's possible it can be taken out, but I'd guess that the control arm would have to be replaced. Fender, hood, rework the body behind the headlight so it fits right, replace the bumper, and a new turn signal housing will be needed. I'm hoping I get some money and get to keep the van too.

I've already called my insurance company. USAA is good to have on your side, and they will send an adjuster out to look at the vehicle as well. I'm considering pulling those tires, but I'm afraid he won't see the evidence from the other car's impact. I am going to pull the new poly sway bar bushings out, and I'm considering swapping the heavy duty shocks that are in that van into the work van. Work van = 92 3.0 Aerostar extended cargo.

If I get to keep the van, then I'll pull the parts to swap engines- and rebuild that 4.0 for the work van. I've been wanting to compare those rockers to the 390 rockers I have to see if the parts are swappable. It would be nice to have a roller rocker system on a 4.0.

Well I am glad to hear that USAA is good people I just switched to them. Sucks about the accident though.

Doesn't look good. In addition to the damage you can see, I'm pretty sure the inner fender apron will be somewhat mangled as well. Aerostars arn't the cheapest to fix, either - pretty labor-intensive. The bumper reinforcement pieces are welded on, instead of bolted, for instance. If you really want it fixed, you could be pro-active and have your favorite body shop write a 'bare-bones' estimate (knowing that it will 'total' if they write it too high). Maybe the insurance company will bite.......

lol those vans were always workhorse tanks... but i could never get used to the looks of them... sorry for ya man! hopefully it all works out for the better and at least the wifey is okay

Sorry to hear about the van. Hope everything works out.

aww man, ppl underestimate the van, i have a winstar im kinda pissed i had to park for a long time, they are comfortable and ohnestly great daily drivers while your focus sits back and doesnt rack up miles, also the van holds lots of stuff, like lotsa guns and gear when youre going to the range or going hunting, soooo make fun all you want ppl who would make fun of the gun and gear hauling mini van...key bud light comercial mini van salute like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjMfhW6u2YM

Isn't this the van that you spent eight hours on changing the plugs?

aww man, ppl underestimate the van

Yeah, I think a lot of people my age are turned off on these the way my parents were turned off on station wagons. My sister rebelled for a long time when I told her she needed a mini-van. She was the "soccer mom in a Suburban" for a while, then she got an Odyssey- and now she finally admits I was right. Mini-vans are just more useful for everyday life than SUV's, and I swear that the guys who came up with the crossover idea were STUPID not to put dual sliding doors on a crossover.



Isn't this the van that you spent eight hours on changing the plugs?

Yep, major fun. I like it so much I have 2 of these vans. The other is an older MAP 3.0 V6.

They're not taking my van!! I've made up my mind that I'm not going to let them take it even if they total it. It's most likely that I'll just use it for parts because of all the suspension work I'd have to do to it.

The wife wants something else anyway.