Aerostar side door ???

Question

93 XLT, in surprisingly good shape @ 242K. Suddenly, the side door will not close without being helped upward... a two man job. It isn't obvious to me why, but the door is riding lower on the tracks, so the claws bang into the striker post, instead of grabbing it. I talked to the parts man at the local Ford dealership, who was a real deer in the headlights. In his defense, he didn't have a driver's license yet when this was built. There's still plenty of Aerostars of this vintage on the road, so someone has experienced this. Is there any adjustment I can make? Did something in the roller mechanism go poof? Any clues would be appreciated.

Unk

Frank from Deeeetroit · Accepted Answer

I had an 86 and a 90 Aerostar, both were XLT's. The 86 was recalled for failed door rollers that resulted in the same condition you are describing. I do not recall if they used metal rollers and replaced them with nylon rollers, or vice versa. Once the rollers were replaced, I never experienced another issue. We never had an issue with the 90 Aerostar side door.

Frank

Guv Bob · Answer

I had an 86 and a 90 Aerostar, both were XLT's. The 86 was recalled for failed door rollers that resulted in the same condition you are describing. I do not recall if they used metal rollers and replaced them with nylon rollers, or vice versa. Once the rollers were replaced, I never experienced another issue. We never had an issue with the 90 Aerostar side door.

Frank

I've had a 93 and 97 and haven't had that problem. Not much help with = your fixing it. Got my curiosity up, so I checked the recall sites for = both and saw recalls for brakes, power train (FWD only) and ignition = switch, but nothing on doors.

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Frank from Deeeetroit · Answer

your fixing it. =A0Got my curiosity up, so I checked the recall sites for b=oth and saw recalls for brakes, power train (FWD only) and ignition switch,= but nothing on doors.We ordered our 86 Areostar in late 85.  Had to wait for delivery dueto the switch from a carburator engine to a fuel injector engine.Took delivery in March of 1986.  Van was recalled within the next yearto replace the door rollers.  I took it back to the dealer, theyreplaced the rollers on the side door, and fixed the issue.Our side door started out being real rough, in it's movement.  Then itkinda of tilted when we opened the door.  The original rollers failedreal fast, but for sure, there was a recall that I did not have to payfor the repair.Our 1990 XLT did not have this issue.  Perhaps the issue was resolved,or the 1990 was recalled before we purchased the van.  We purchasedthe 1990 used, a year old.Frank

uncle K · Answer

h your fixing it. =A0Got my curiosity up, so I checked the recall sites for= both and saw recalls for brakes, power train (FWD only) and ignition switc=h, but nothing on doors.Thanks.  It's hard to see inside the roller tracks, so I suspectyou've hit the nail on the head, even as they "sound" normal enoughand don't drag while rolling.  They probably did solve the issue youand Guv spoke of by '93, but at this age, the rollers likely gave out.Unk

Aerostar side door ???

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