1993 aero xlt 4.0L - have owned it since '93
370,000 miles
only major repair was new tranny at 180,000 miles
always kept it serviced
just recently had a "cranks but won't start issue"
our mechanics replaced fuel pump, etc. which was bad and then it worked ok for a few days. Then the "crank wont start" began - only when it was 'cold' as in sitting overnight ... it is not cold here ever and it is summer time 90 degrees. If it started, after dozens of quick on/off cranks, it chugged miserably for awhile and ran poorly for several minutes, then it would have a big chug/surge-cough-chug and then begin to idle or run normally... too weird.
As long as it ran for a few minutes if cranked up in the middle of the night, it would start in the morning/next day but not 2 days later. Nobody could figure it out ... so I began to search for the out of the box solution ...no luck until I found several forums that had painstaking "cranks, wont start" processes for finding the problem ... most were excellent, but did not show a clear "cold crank wont start" coupled with "warm crank, does start."
but take a look at this thread here:
http://www.automotiveforums.com/t672...when_warm.html look at the 2 posts by 'teakstone' ... he was right then and about our issue 8 years later! pretty cool.
This was what we did ... we replaced the $28 coolant temperature sensor. It worked.... cold or warm. The sound of the pump building fuel pressure stops in about 4-7 seconds when 'cold' and it cranks and starts like the champ it has always been. It did take about 2 or 3 days for it to normalize as our mechanic thought.
So, I registered here to thank the forum publisher and the atmosphere of 'helping others' here. And to thank 'teakstone' for that suggestion of trouble with something that logically to a layman, is not involved in starting a car... fuel/spark/air .. the coolant temperature sensor.
I explained it, I hope, in as thorough a way so that some other poor soul who still has their great aerostar can find the same 'off the wall' answer we found here.
many thanks to all.