mrtn

I don't have any significant rust in these 6 years. There is one rust spot where the rear bumper touches the sheet metal, I think it's bent a bit from a minor bump or smth. I don't have splash guards so one of the door sills has lost paint in a square inch area. It's been like that since and it hasn't started to rust.

Oh, ok, mine's 2006.

Yes they do salt the roads. It's been too cold for a month for salt to have any effect so when possible they use some kind of liquid which eats its way through ice as well as through metal. But yes, you are correct, it's all about tires, especially in mud, which has totally different characteristics from snow because it's sticky. Even offroad tires for muddy conditions are different from other offroad tires. The tread blocks have to be very wide apart for it to self clean. The tires I have on the TC are actually very mild winter tires more suitable for Central European conditions than ours here.

I just made a demo for you. This is old snow in my back yard. Deeper than TC clearance. I didn't reverse out of it, made a full turn just for the fun of it. Got stuck because there was a hardened mole pile That caught the subframe.

With winter tires (not All-seasons) it goes like a bulldozer, pushing a snow bank in front of it. 8" of fresh snow is no problem.

There should be a drawer under the passenger seat. It's quite roomy, holds a 15" laptop plus some manuals/catalogues.

It can't be disabled. You'll have to fix it or remove it. It takes 5 to 6 hours just to unmount/mount. There are basically 3 things that can go wrong: 1) The fan fails. Replacement only. €140 OEM IIRC. 2) The glow plug/glow shield burnt. Replacement only. 3) The control unit fails. Replacement mostly, can also be repaired by means or shorting some pins or smth, don't know the details. It's encapsulated in resin so not serviceable. Control unit is out of the question for you since it runs. You'll probably have the same fault as mine: 1 and 2. It was a €307 repair, been running since. You'll have smoke for the next day or two because of the unburnt fuel in the pipe.

Equipped with snow tires the TC is very capable in snow. Better than any FWD passenger car. Well balanced and almost impossible to get stuck if driven with common sense. Coming from a region with at least 4 to 5 months of permanent snow per annum. Edit: are you planning to replace the Element with the TC? Element is probably the only vehicle I have a strong urge for.

I'd get a vent cleaning spray and clean the guts of the ventilation systen, including the pollen filter (if equipped). There's sometimes a fungus living in it.

The real problem with push button gears would be the lack of muscle memory based ergonomics. You don't really pay attention to the shifter, you just slide it once to the correct position. You'd have to pay attention on the buttons to operate them. I've had one car with a column shifter: Taurus '96, had no clearance issued with the other controls.

You guys should buttkick Ford until you get a diesel manual there. Averages 36 mpg in summer and 29 mpg in winter.

Understanding is not my cup of tea.

I'm not sure which foam you mean but some foams are blocked out. Work as insulators but don't absorb water.

Having two different types of tires on a car makes it completely unpredictable and uncontrollable in slippery conditions. You can't even have studless and studded winter tires at the same time. Both have completely different characteristics on snow and ice. By snow I mean packed, hard snow, not slush. Vanity plates are not my cup of tea.

NH, apparently. Anyway, the Connect is very capable in snow. Good balance and ground clearance. Never been stuck with it. Just in case, I keep a shovel in the boot.

I would hold on to the Element if I had one. A funky piece of machinery. Unfortunately it's not available over here.

Wow, a CD! Long time no see!

Beautiful specimen. Unfortunately you'll have to follow the average market price plus some extra you are willing to sell for and hope that some true Transit fan finds it.

I don't get it. The floor and roof are virtually level. There shouldn't be any height difference in the back. Noone delivers cargo in the front seat y0.

I think "released" means that it's cleared for delivery from tax free lot - customs paid etc.

Not exactly. It's more truckish, has an almost fully upright seating position, not as relaxed as in TC. I couldn't find a comfortable position behind the wheel but being 6'4", it's a lot to ask from most of the vehicles. Other than that, the cargo space is huge.

Are you guys reverting your brake lights to original?

I'm at 182 000 km (113K mi) now and just had the rear drums replaced for the first time. The front discs were replaced a while ago and the pads/shoes at a reasonable interval, no worse then any other car.

Have the blower directed at the windshield from the beginning of your drive and temperature turned up. This way the glass will heat up step by step together with the engine. Sudden hot air at the lower edge of the windshield causes a thermal shock and uneven expansion of the glass resulting in damage.

Backup sensors break easily. Even a jet washer can permanently damage one. There's nothing else to do but to replace the damaged one.