G B L

A couple of questions. what speed? Does it clunk at every shift? Does it clunk on up shifts or down shifts. One thing I have noticed is a harsh down shift from 6th to 5th if the engine is below 2000 rpm.

E-tralier has the wiring adapter for the TC if you do not have a rear fuse box you will have to run a fused 12 volt supply from the front. The instructions's that come with the harness adapter spell it out. Good Luck Keep us posted

If the rear doors do not obstruct the tail lights and are secure there would be no technical issue. You would want to have the heater fan on Hi to reduce the possibility of the exhaust fumes entering the van.

Nice job Don. You are much much better at organization than I am

If you were really serious you could do it. the fuel efficiency would not be up to the twin variable cam direct injection 1.6. The boost pressure that you could run would be limited with out risking damage to the crank rods and piston's and the trans-axle. Having said all that it might be fun for a short time.

mrtn you are correct. I do not have the organizational skills to remember to use them.

Good dealers know that good service and good customer skills ultimately mean more sales. Unfortunately dealership quality is very variable and it appears that yours is the poster for why people hate dealers. Good dealers would have a really knowledgeable service writer who could expedite the whole process. I have the feeling that this noise should be easily identified by a good tech and a trip up on the lift. A set of ramps would give great access for the under car maintenance on the TC. The under car panel is very easy to remove and replace. Once the panel is off all of the service items, oil plug , oil filter transmission drain and starter are very easy to access. The access for all the general maintenance items on this vehicle are good. Waiting for the next installment

The barn doors were one of my requirements when looking . The panels with the molded pockets look very interesting , will have to check those out.

103west43rd you are 100 percent correct. The sales person tcconvert bought the Van from should be able to get the Service department to look at the issue instantly . For the rest of us it is like the weekly crossword puzzle.

Good info. If it is in the back then the Twist beam rear axle could have some side play or the shocks could have play at upper or lower attachment points. An easy thing you can try is. drop the spare tire 2 or three inches and then raise it and shake the tire as it comes tight. Out of an abundance of caution you might just check the Lug nuts for tightness. Looking forward to more information on the hunt.

What I am wondering is does the noise always happen when the van is backed up after sitting awhile Or does it only happen in your drive way. I think you are correct about the stones being thrown up, it would take more speed. I am not trying to help the Pack rats, just trying gain some infomation on an issue that would drive me nuts also. Keep the info coming on your search.

Which tc do you have? If you did not put the van in the garage and started off do you get the noise? If you park the car somewhere for several hours and you back up, do you get the noise?

The way this vehicles the rear axle is designed makes the width of the wheels have zero effect on the camber .

The date range could be part of the recall . It might be modified by the vin number . You should check at ford.com

As for the trade in If you run it till its ready for the scrap yard, it does not matter!

The third row folds flat and the second row seat folds and moves forward and will be flat. The space between the wheel house is 47+ inches.

Not having the networking diagram for a gen 1 my best guess is a power fault or a bad ground at the instrunent control module or the Module that controls the radio

Sounds like it is still under the powertrain warranty and should be covered and you should get a loner car good luck. Keep us posted

When this issue happens does the engine turn off and you have to stop or does the display and radio stop working and you have to switch the ignition on and off to restore the total function.

Tire Rack has lots of wheels that fit . Go to Tire Rack .com and put in the vehicle info and there are 0ver 50 different wheels of stock size or larger that will fit. The site has a photo simulator that puts all the wheels on the TC. Have fun looking

mrtn you will have to check one out as we over here do not have direct access to that option.

If there was a way to grease the bearings the rate of bearing failure would go down 90% Almost All the failure's are water related.

The driver interface would be critical. The other unknown is how it affects the life of the starter and the ring gear. The projected fuel savings might be small if the TBO (Time Before Overhaul) for those parts is reduced by a significant amount

Cool Thanks

The lift gate is available on all models here Wagon and Van, but finding a Lift gate Van on the lot would be more difficult . I think I was fortunate to find a Black XLT wagon with Swing door's. The 1.6 was never available for A TC that I would buy so I can't miss something that could never happen.