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hi well i did swap a manual tranny on my 2010 tc , its pretty much a bolt on parts from a manual focus, everything fits like the are the same car , brake and clutch hoses are identical, shifter and shifter cables are exactly the same and same lenght , clutch pedal and master cylinder are the same , in the exact same position , there is even a clutch line guide that bolts on behind the abs module that has the right hole and guide to bolt it on and has the perfect angle , all motor mounts and tranny mount are the same as the auto tranny, all the mechanical stuff is in, but i meay need some help with the wiring and computer stuff

This summer I am building out my 2014 XLT Cargo to better function as my traveling snowboarding rig. I owned the van last winter and love the space it has and the fact that I can change my clothes/boots in the back hassle free out of the elements. I put on Nokian Hakkapeliitta 8 studded tires and the van was unstoppable in the snow. https://www.discounttire.com/buy-tires/nokian-tire-hakkapeliitta-8-studded/p/24922 We had a big winter here in Utah and even on the worst days with those tires the van was a beast. This is the first non 4WD/AWD vehicle I've owned in 25 years and I was a bit apprehensive when I made the decision to get the van, but with the right tires the apprehension was proven to be unwarranted. The only thing that ever gave me an issue was about 12" new in the parking lot one day as the van has low clearance, but with a heavy foot on the gas and knowing how to drive in the snow I was able to manage. Ground clearance is the only thing I can ever see being an issue, and the days that it is will be very very far and few in between, in other words, they will happen so infrequently that all the other days having the van will far out weigh those days when and if they do happen, and I'll make it through those day by not being an idiot.. This summer I am going to be building benches/cargo boxes to keep all of my stuff in. I'll build a short one on the drivers side to sit on and be able to change which will keep all the winter necessities, washer fluid,tow ropes, chains, jumper cables, snow shovel, emergency blanket and emergency food/water. On the passenger side I'm gonna build one pretty much full length that will hold 2 (or maybe 3 ) snowboards. This will keep them from flying around in the back, keep them hidden from prying eyes and keep me from having to bring them in the house every single night. So to get started the stock mat had to go. Vanrug finally started producing a rug for the newer body style in the last few months and I loved the Begrug I had in my F150, so I bought one. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06Y2CCH3G/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Then under that I decided to lay down a layer of sound deadener, Stinger Roadkill is super well priced and you can get a bulk pack for around $100 on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005ATJ04S/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I did the floor and the rear wheel wells to help cut down on some of the road noise. The van rug, being a carpet type material quites the van a nice bit compared to the stock mat which reflects quite a bit of sound being a closed cell rubber mat. I also bought a cargo net to hang from the cross beams which will come in handy for gloves, beanies and goggles after a day of snowboarding so I won't have to shove them in my gear bag right away. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016YTNWSW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I bought a sheet of Alumalite and will be making panels for where the rear window cutouts are and will mount hooks and a few things on them. About a week ago I pulled the door panels, sanded them and painted them black to have the back match a tad bit better. Today was sound deadner and Vanrug install day. All in all it went well. The next two things happening will be the cargo boxes, which I'll build at my dads house as he has a full metal and carpentry shop, and then a stereo system, I like my music and I travel a bunch in the winter. For the cargo boxes I'm gonna drive over to PDX and visit my old man for a week and build them with him probably in the first week or two of August. The stereo I'll do here in SLC myself... For the stereo I go high end, you get what you pay for... The Amp is an Audison AP 5.9 - 5 channel amp http://www.ebay.com/itm/Audison-AP-5-9bit-car-audio-5-channels-amplifier-and-processor-/262776470995?epid=2118060557&hash=item3d2eb2bdd3:g:ILgAAOSw44BYXp9s it runs 40x2 - 90x2 - 1x270 Even though that is only 530w, since the amp is an Audison it's really like running a cheaper 1000w amp... If you know anything about mobile electronics bench testing and sustained output then you know what I mean.. The Amp also has a built in Digital Sound Processor so you can fully tune the system, the amp also uses line-in connections so you can run it off a stock radio and retain all of your factory functions. I also bought the dash remote kit for it so I can adjust the sub/speakers on the fly. I'm gonna mount it where the stock 12v port/change bin is and relocate the 12v port to inside the console box next to the AUXin jack. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Audison-DRC-MP-Digital-Remote-Control-Media-Play-DRC-MP-/331962025664?hash=item4d4a7a86c0:g:jC8AAOSwOdpXzrrS For the door speakers I went with Focal K2 Power 165 KR2.. These are 2ohm speakers and will let the amp run with a higher output, once again spendy, but you get what you pay for.. https://www.crutchfield.com/p_091165KR2/Focal-K2-Power-165-KR2.html?tp=106 Then for the sub I went with a JL Audio 10TW3-D4, this is a shallow mount sub, with dual voice coils so you can run it @ 2ohms to get the most out of your amp. It's gonna go under the the passenger seat and I'm gonna utilize the space from the little storage compartment that is built in by making a fiberglass box that perfectly fits in that space and then pours out to the surrounding area as well, but that space will let the sub sit plenty low under the seat, really it's kinda perfect. https://www.crutchfield.com/p_13610TW3/JL-Audio-10TW3-D4.html?tp=111 So we will see what the next month or so brings and I'll update this as I complete more things...

We have been living in a 12 foot long Camp Inn teardrop trailer (towed by our 2015 TC) for the past two years. We had sought a way to mount a solar panel on our van to recharge an AGM battery in our camper, and had a very difficult time finding anything close to decent advice on how to do so. So I asked the Camp Inn factory for help. They advised me on how to tie the solar panel into the charge line that goes from the alternator to the van's 7 pin connector. It was necessary to add a relay switch near the van battery, which allows the solar charge to go into the charge line when the ignition is off, and the alternator charge to go into the line when the ignition is on. . The camper has a built in trickle charger that can recharge the battery when connected to shore power. But the big power draw is a Dometic CF35 compressor cooler, and its power needs interferes with the trickle charger's ability to fully recharge the AGM battery. To avoid this problem, we keep the Dometic in the van during the day, which assures that the camper battery is fully charged at night when we move it to the camper (this is also great when we do grocery shopping, as we can store perishable food right away - it also gives us access to our food when we are away from our campground). The solar panel assures that the van battery is getting recharged when the ignition is turned off, thus keeping the Dometic from drawing it down too far. The details of this installation are found in this post on the Unofficial Camp Inn Forum: http://campinnforum.com/community/threads/tow-vehicle-solar-step-by-step.4030/

Been a while...but fear not! The project rolls on... I ordered a shifter assembly from a Ford parts supplier in the UK: It looks awesome and I'm pumped about it. I also ordered a Mishimoto radiator to replace the OEM ST unit. My original radiator in my 9-2x was the same design as the OEM ST one - crimped on plastic end tanks - and cracked open on my one day. I'm not going to see that happen again. This week, Vaccar will be swapping the complete wiring harness from the ST into the TC. They are very close, but not quite close enough for comfort, and this will make sure we don't end up with some crazy electrical gremlin that is impossible to understand due to a mix of systems.

For such a new car I would only check the air filter before taking it in together with Ford's own brochure and fuelly printout of other drivers' averages.

So I guess I'd have to call the dealer and ask for a decent price if I want the parking aid. Ford charges $495 for front and rear or $295 for the rear only. I wonder if our dealer would do it cheaper... but to be honest not sure if I want to spend in just the sound. I already have the back up camera and helps a lot. What would be cool is to improve the visibility in the back through the dual symmetrical doors — through the original rearview mirror (medium to small size) I only see two squares...