I bought a Ford 1990 Van about 6 months ago. It only had 80,000 miles
on it, bought it from an old couple who just used it to take trips to
Florida. Anyways, the van runs great, never gave me a problem (besides
the fact that after driving it very long distances - 1500 miles or more

- or sitting in traffic for a few hours - it would idle low, cut off,
then not start up right away - it would click - then nothing for 2
minutes - then start right up - only happened 3 times total in 6 months

- and I had the alternator and battery tested - they were fine. The
tech concluded that when the starter got too hot, it would
temporarily malfunction). Then I stopped driving the van much during
the winter, as I acquired other wheels. The weather was very mild
during the winter, however it fluctuated from 80 degrees one day to 30
degrees the next.

After letting it sit for about a month-long stretch about 6 weeks ago -

I started the car on a hot day & it overheated on me on the freeway.
Found out that there was a leak, added water & drove home without a
problem. I put off getting it looked at, but I drove the car twice
anyways - just adding water at filling stations periodically. No
problems.

Then about 3 weeks ago - the third time I drove it - there was a light
on in the dashboard that didn't go off when I turned off the car - it's

a little light that's connected to the cruise control button - but ever

since I had an alarm installed - twice the blinkers didn't work on the
dashboard - but they worked outside - so I didn't think anything about
the light, just figured it would go off eventually.) However, when I
tried to start the car next - the battery was dead. I jumped the
battery & the alarm chirped - but I couldn't get the engine to turn
over. It had juice because the alarm kept chirping its a.s off.

I called AAA to come jump the battery - since I figured the little car
we tried jumping from just didn't have enough juice for the van - the
AAA guy tried unsuccessfully to jump me a few times before concluding
that the starter probably froze up (he said it may need cleaning or
replacing) - it had been particularly cold the night before. He said
there had been a few AAA calls about batteries & the probs were
starters.

Since I was taking a trip out of town, and the wind kept tripping up
the alarm & it kept chirping - I finally had to just turn the ignition
on to
drain the battery so the alarm would stop chirping before I left.

SO after all of that drama - wondering 3 things. Someone's interested
in buying the van - and I've related all of this information to them. I

want to know if A) The battery is still good since I just left the car
sitting with the battery drained for 3 1/2 weeks. B) The leak sounds
like it's a hose (like a friend suggested) or if it sounds like the
actual radiator. C)
Whether a starter is a hard thing to clean or replace. I've heard you
can tap them with a hammer sometimes and they'll work temporarily.

The couple that are coming to look at her - is semi-handy with fixing
cars - I just want to know if anyone thinks they'll be able to get it
running enough to take it, like they seem to think - or if I should
just try to get it fixed
myself before selling (I'm REALLY hoping against this.)

If anyone has any advice - it would be GREATLY GREATLY appreciated.

I should also probably mention that the starter pump plug was rigged to

the windshield wiper fuse area before I had the alarm installed. The
car would start on the third try - but the alarm guy rigged the starter

to the same place he wired the alarm to - and the car started up on the

first try ever since. The starter cable hangs out under the car
though...you can see it hanging if you look under the car.

Anyways, thanks for reading & if there are any Ford Gurus out there -
any advice would be stellar!