daneli

Good news on the TSB! (I searched through google but this TSB hasn't made its way to the inter-whatever yet.) This will make it much easier for Transit Connect owners in the future to get this fixed!

Hey! It has been about 1 month now since the new axle, bearing and seal was installed. The good news: No more leak at all! Totally dry. Also the axle movement in and out of the transmission is gone. Very good. Now the bad: An enormous amount of grease has been expelled from the CV axle. I can't find a tear in the boot so I am totally confused about were the grease is coming from. What I mean is, it is definitely CV axle grease, I just don't know how it found its way out of the boot. Maybe there is a tear that I am missing? It is really confusing. There is so much grease I could run a MacDonald's fryer operation for weeks. (Ok I know that was gross.) The service advisor wants me to bring the van back so he can take a look. Maybe we can mount a permanent webcam pointed at the driver's side cv axle/transmission so I can do easy daily inspections to stay on top of the latest developments! While this is annoying I have to say that the service people at my dealer are really very polite and helpful. In fact I think this is one of the best dealerships I've ever dealt with. I just wish we could get the the point of saying all of this is finally, totally, fixed.

GBL: What else do you think could be causing this problem? If the leak doesn't return I will consider the cv axle+bushing+seal to be a real fix. But even so I am confused about something: This problem seems to go back to 2009 Escapes with this same transmission. Why would Ford still have this problem with these transmissions after 6 years?

Got a call from the dealer that the back-ordered parts arrived. Took the van in and they replaced the inner cv axle (DV6Z-3B436-H), the seal (9L8Z-1177-A), and the transmission bushing (CV6Z-7025-C). Since these are essentially the same parts covered by the TSB for the Escapes and Fusions with the same transmission I think they are doing a TSB repair on the Transit Connect without calling it that. Anyway, I hope this fixes the leak.

You know it just hit me in reading over jimmyboost's post in the other thread that the transmission in our 2nd generation transit connects is the 6F35. Duh! There have been several TSB's for this transmission. I assumed that all the fixes would have been applied to the latest 6F35s installed in our vans - but maybe that isn't true. It seems likely that the leak we are experiencing is the same problem that the other 6F35s experienced and that there already is a TSB for this problem. (If we ask our service reps "Are there TSB for the 6F35 transmission" I assume they will say "Yes.") Here's another youtube video by the same Ford tech about the 6F35. What he says is a little worrying: -Replace fluid every 30,000 miles. -Don't flush, do a drain and fill only. -Use Motorcraft Mercon LV only. -Be aware that Mercon LV tends to break down quickly. -Trans filter is non-replaceable, sealed for life unit. So let me get this straight. Ford got rid of the dipstick and a replaceable filter on a transmission that is failure-prone, often tends to leak, and must use a specialized transmission fluid that breaks down quickly and is super-expensive? Hmm...

I'm wondering if it is possible that they have already issued an updated half-shaft to address this concern. Could that be the reason I was told I needed both a new seal and a new axle??

I found this video on youtube, in which a Ford tech describes the source of the cv axle seal problem on Fusions and Escapes, and describes the TSB and shows how to do the fix: According to the tech, the source of the problem on Fusions and Escapes is poor machining on the surface of the inner half-shaft. The rough surface of the half-shaft tears up the bearing and the seal that the axle mates with in the transmission, eventually resulting in a leak. I wonder if this is what is happening on our Connects too? That might explain why they said I need a new axle and why they are back-ordered.

Just heard back from the service advisor. He said the driver's side cv axle to trans seal needs to be replaced as well as the cv axle itself. When I dropped the car off I pointed out to them that the axle was moving in and out of the transmission about a quarter inch or so - as if the snap ring on the end of axle wasn't properly engaging with the differential. The service advisor wasn't sure if the snap ring is the problem or if there is something else wrong with the cv axle. He said the driver's side cv axle is back-ordered and won't be in for at least 1 week and that we can safely drive the car in the meantime. I hope I will get a more precise diagnosis of what is wrong with the cv axle when I bring it back to be replaced.

GBL: I haven't checked the level yet. Given that there isn't an actual drip but the area is just damp I will wait to see what the dealer finds. The car is going in early next week.

Add me to the list. Changed my oil today (13,000 miles on a 2014) and noticed oil weeping out of the driver's side trans case where the cv axle enters the case. So far shifting is fine. I'll call the dealer tomorrow and see what they suggest.

Hi Esobar. Reading through your thread it struck me that you should do a leak down test *before* you make a decision to pull the head or the complete engine. You don't have enough information yet to establish what is wrong, and removing the engine can sometimes make it more difficult to diagnose what is happening. I also think you should try to figure out what is causing your misfire before you go any further. The misfire, hard start and the low compression could all have the same cause, but you don't know that yet. Diagnosis is going to be a lot easier while the current engine is installed and running than after you remove it. There are so many things that you don't know yet and that might be behind your troubles. Here are just some examples: - Maybe you have a fuel delivery problem to cylinder #2. Maybe that cylinder is getting flooded with fuel. Maybe that wiped out your rings. (Do you smell gasoline in the oil?) - Maybe your helicoil didn't seat 100% and you are losing some compression there. (Is there evidence of blow-by past the #2 spark plug?) - Maybe you have some sort of head gasket sealing issue. (Usually head gasket leaks will show up as low compression on two adjoining cylinders, but the leak down test will tell you this - or you could get a test kit to check for hydrocarbons in your coolant.) If you don't have the equipment to do the leak down test you could have a shop do it for you. It is hard to solve ignition/fuel problems without an engine installed!

Both our sliding doors (2014 LWB) have been very hard to open. At some point I noticed that the nylon roller that sits in the upper track had some material flaking off - like the roller was not sitting properly in the track. Also one of the spring-loaded receiver things in the B pillar that the door interfaces with in the closed position fell out. I just pushed it back into the pillar. (There are two of these in the B pillar, one at the top and one at the bottom of the B pillar. Sorry I don't know the right name for this part - is it a latch?) We took the car in for service and they did some adjustments, apparently including adjusting the tracks themselves. The doors are now effortless to open and close. I don't know if this is related to the problem you are describing or not. The service writer seemed to think that the doors hadn't been properly adjusted at the factory.

Here's the service info for the 1.6 liter engine: Engine Oil Capacity Item Specification Service fill including oil filter 4.54 qt ( 4.3 L) Service fill without oil filter 3.96 qt ( 3.75 L)

From the FSM: Engine oil capacity: Item Specification Intial [sic] fill including oil filter 5.9L (6.3 qt) Service fill without oil filter 5.1L (5.4 qt) Service fill including oil filter 5.4L (5.7 qt)

I got these: http://www.amazon.com/Scepter-08226-Plastic-Automotive-Ramp/dp/B004XATP04

It it is a regular non-magnetic drain plug. I wanted to use my ramps but they were too tall to fit under the TC's low slung front bumper. I've since bought a lower-profile set of ramps that work great with the TC. There is a problem with jacking up the car and using jack stands: The recommended jacking points and the points where you place the jack stands to support the vehicle are the same! This isn't a problem if you are a shop with a real lift, but for a DIY type it is a challenge. The 'usual suspects' for jacking up a car like front cross members, lower control arms and the like didn't look to me to be thick enough on the TC to support a jack without a risk of bending something. The ramps are fine for doing oil changes, but what happens if you want to change a wheel bearing, a shock/strut, or a ball joint? How do you get the car in the air and onto jack stands if your jack occupies the place where the jack stand is also supposed to be? My current (crazy?) idea is to maybe fabricate a lifting bar out of some fairly thick square walled tubing. The lifting bar would span the front of the van from one lift point to the other. You would place the hydraulic jack in the middle of the lifting bar. After you raise the car to the height you want you would place the jack stands at the outer ends of the bar underneath the official jacking points. Another approach to the same problem is this - expensive - solution: http://www.jackpointjackstands.com/ The oil wasn't too dirty at 3000 miles.

From what I've read, the vehicles involved were all shipped to Puerto Rico: "The next recall is strictly on paper. Ford is recalling 368 Ford Transit Connect vehicles from the 2014 model year that are located in Puerto Rico because they have the European brake reservoir cap label, instead of the mandated US version. Dealers will replace the decal on the affected models." [source:http://www.autoblog.com/2014/07/08/ford-6-recalls-12-vehicles-100000-cars/]

I really like the wagon! On a recent family vacation we found the view out the front and side windows to be fantastic and by folding down one of the third row seats we were easily able to store all our gear. (There are 5 of us.) The ride and handling are much better than you think they will be when you first see the van. I also like the simplicity and “honesty” of a vehicle that doesn't need to try to pass itself off as a luxury car. The only real controversy in the family is about the overall shape. Is it ugly? Some seem to think so. (The kids kept holding up shoe boxes and the like and saying, “Here's our new car!”) I did the first oil change at 3,000 miles because I wanted to get the break-in by-products out of the engine. Probably isn't really necessary. I reset the “Intelligent Oil Life Monitor” and I will probably go by that for the next oil change. You have to remove the large under-car splash shield to get to the oil drain plug and the oil filter. The shield is held by 8 torx (30?) screws. Fortunately the screws go into easily accessible plastic clips rather than blind captive nuts so they shouldn't rust in place like these usually do. Here's a view of the undercarriage and the splash shield.

So I removed the large under-shield from the Connect this weekend to do an oil change. Look what I found wrapped around the wiring harness at the top of the transmission. (Below the battery box). It's a shop towel, apparently left by an auto worker. It wasn't visible at all from the engine compartment, only from underneath the car. Weird.

On the Titanium Wagon a sunglasses holder and a "child observation mirror" fit there. (Not available I think on the XLT Wagon.) You can see it in this video at about the 10:00 minute mark: Also in this picture: http://image.motortrend.com/f/wot/jim-farley-discusses-ford-transit-connect-wagon-at-motor-trend-garage-299245/59316145/2014-ford-transit-connect-wagon-overhead-shelving.jpg You would think that you could order this part separately, but the Ford Parts site isn't optimistic on that score. (The clickable image on this page shows the part, I think, but without an indication that it is available): http://www.fordparts.com/Commerce/PartDetail.aspx?n=eXNGqcteU8fPCJrP1mQWpA%3d%3d&id=278593318&m=2&search=true&year=2014&make=Ford&model=Transit%20Connect

I ran into the same issue when buying my 2014 XLT Connect Wagon last month. Roof rails were the only “must have” option I really needed. Initially the salesman said not to worry, we could just add the rails after purchase. He called back though and told me that in fact it would cost over $1000.00 to have the dealer install the rails after purchase. I also called Yakima and Thule to see if they had an aftermarket solution available, but both said their “naked roof”/no factory rail solutions would not work with the Connect. Eventually our dealer found a Connect with factory rails for us and that is what we bought.