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jrm223

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Everything posted by jrm223

  1. Look at those part numbers, again - DT1Z-17519A70-AB (w/o fixed roof glass) vs 17519A70 from your second link. It's the same console - the original link you quoted shows a pic of the "front" of the console, meaning towards the front of the vehicle and thus it is the side that goes against the headliner, not the "back" of the console where the doors are. These are also not sold as a "kit" from Ford, so you'll need to make sure that you're ordering all of the relevant parts & pieces. For your info, the front console (the open shelf) is part number DT1Z-61117A72-BB (no roof glass) or DT1Z-61117A72-AB (w/ fixed roof glass) - all from that Tasco Ford link that you quoted.
  2. @G B L how do cargo van dimensions help him figure out the available space behind each row of seats in a wagon?? @Warren, I was just looking through the Ford body builders guide for the TC (I have a cargo van, so no seats), but even it only shows cargo volume behind the seats, not cargo length measurements behind the seats - probably since most wagon buyers don't care about how many inches (specifically) are available, lol. It shows leg room and such, but not cargo dimensions for wagons. But, there are a few members here with wagons with all the seats in them, so eventually they'll be along in here and can perhaps measure their own wagons to find the dimensions you're looking for.
  3. I forgot to comment on that before - I see what look to be three steel sleeves in the front lift spacers, so they should hold up fine & not cause sloppy handling or anything like that.
  4. For the wiper arms, no tool is needed and - after you figure out the trick - it only takes about 5 seconds to pop-off each one. Learning that knowledge took me like 15 minutes of screwing around with them, but now I can get them in a few seconds. Turn the arms enough that you can fold it 90* like you were lifting them to change the blades, this removes the holding pressure on the mounts/ends (after removing nuts, too, of course). After that, rock them back and forth a few times to loosen them up and they come right off in your hands, easy peasy. Lining them back up right was kind of another PITA, since they're stepper motors and expect to be within a certain relatively small range of sweep area. Standard air bags on the back could prove rather difficult because the springs aren't sitting vertically - lift will lean them further away from vertical. They're angled back a bit and the rubber bumpstops are mounted to the beam axle inside the springs (see pic, but it's old and shows Conti's instead of General Grabber AT2's), so take those off, too. Some air bags have internal bumpstops, which would be better here. And with the short 'control arm' length of the beam axle, some re-engineering would probably be needed to make air bags work for lifting the van - dropping one would be easy, though. When lifting, the wheel will move down a bit and forward in reference to the body, which could cause tire-body contact if big enough tires are used (size unknown, at this point). Essentially, you would want drop brackets for the body side of the axle, like are used for IFS diffs & t-cases, but some inspection & design work would be required to make them strong enough & bolt-in using OEM holes underneath - or permanently modify the body structure by welding them in? If you used drop brackets in only the one current bolt hole per side, it would act as a shackle, instead and the whole axle would move around in ways it shouldn't.
  5. On my 2015, the AUX hook-up/plug is down in the center console. So maybe check there to start, seems like AUX is pretty standard these days, even on basic AM/FM radios like in my TC XL cargo. But do they even still make those CD walkmans to plug-in to the AUX port? Might need to do some resale shop searching. FM modulator is another option for adding a CD or satellite tuner, too. At least until the aftermarket catches up and makes an install kit for the 19+ TC (if there isn't one, already).
  6. Several members have used aftermarket RV windows, look up sKiZo for one example (easy name to remember, lol). If you want factory glass, your best bet is finding one that has it or getting doors with glass from a junkyard and having them repainted to match the van you buy, if they're a different color (most likely white) and then swap them. The slider doors have plastic panels glued in where the windows would be, but the body upper quarter panel and barn doors are full solid steel, so they're more difficult to modify after-the-fact to have glass, unless using universal RV windows. Not impossible, but it wouldn't be nearly as clean cut as OEM "with-glass" doors.
  7. That's just a vinyl wrap. Heat gun & some elbow grease to remove it, probably need some Goo-Gone or alcohol to remove the remaining adhesive, too.
  8. Smart idea! I had lightly hammered a cold-punch chisel in, had just the right shape for spreading the ears, lol.
  9. I was fixin' to say you need to spread the knuckle so it lets go of the strut, but I see you had it pulled almost all the way out already, lol. When I had to replace my struts, I ended up moving the knuckle/hub back and forth a bit in the wheelwell until I could get the strut completely free (jiggled loose) from the knuckle. Then jiggle everything back into place afterwards - although that will likely be harder with the spacer lift in place.
  10. Third front seat is never available in the US on these small vehicles, so don't expect to actually have the option available. Euro TC's have the third seat option, but not a single American TC has it, unless the owner imported Euro/international seats themselves.
  11. I think the heated windshield is only available (optional, even?) for Titanium trim level? It will have extra grid wires like back windows, but just along some edges. I have a 2015 TC XL cargo, so no heated windshield, and I have an Oklahoma Pikepass since it made more sense for me than the Texas toll pass (even though I live in Texas, I'm rural and avoid DFW where the NTTA tolls are, anyway - but I drive to IL 3-4x a year and go through OK for it). Pikepass is one of the sticker types with a tiny RFID chip inside it, and mine is on the windshield about 6-8" up from the bottom & centered in the middle. Since I have a windowless cargo model, I don't have a center mirror to mount the sticker near, so down low and out-of-the-way made the most sense to me and it works perfectly fine. You can see the white sticker above the wiper arm right here (old pic from last summer).
  12. That should be the inertia switch that cuts off fuel in the event of an accident. That's a pretty good setup y'all made.
  13. I've actually thought about building all new cubbies/covers in that area, on both sides & going floor-to-ceiling. I have the plastic panels completely removed in my van, everything is just steel behind the front seats - aside from my 48" aluminum tool chest by the back doors, lol. But for me, it's just one of those "it would be nice to have" type of project, so the 'custom cabinets' are very low on my priority list. With the design of the OEM panels and the stuff that's under them, I think you'd really only get some tiedowns & small rope in there, nothing like a typical toolbag. One of those roll-up tool packs (screwdriver & wrenchs) might fit, if the access hatch is large enough and/or well placed during installation.
  14. He's probably referring to the tripmeter, at the bottom of the dash display. Hold the button in for 4-5 seconds to reset it. Fun fact, when a TC G2 says "0 miles to empty", it does still have a fair reserve (not that I recommend using it!) - enough to go about 35-40 miles at 70-75 MPH, lol. Hey, it was 2am and I'm in rural Texas - so that drive only went through like 2 little podunk towns, lol. Ran out just 2 blocks from home and had to walk for my gas can, then filled up first thing in the morning.
  15. Mine is ancient - purchased Mar, 2009 (I only delete garbage emails, lol) and it works great in the TC. I did have problems with it not reading certain parameters right in my 2003 F350 6.0L, but that was related to the firmware version on my SG2 and I never did get it updated. But it's reading everything fine on the TC & 2.5L - I ought to test it on my e-99 7.3L, just for curiosity sake. Yea, it plugs into the OBD port and then you can select 4 different parameters to show on the screen (mine is showing MPH, RPM, Coolant temp & voltage), or even tether a second unit to the first for an additional 4 more parameters. I've only seen that done once, though. Most people will just change the displayed parameters on the fly, repeatedly click the button next to the one you want to change until it shows what you want. The screen color is programmable, also; I set mine to the closest match to the dash when I put it in, but it's changed now since mine is old and the LED's are slowwwly dying. Not a big enough deal to drop another $150-160 on a new one, yet.
  16. The sensor for the temperature needle is actually a cylinder head temp sensor, not coolant temp. As I recall, someone said the sensor is between cylinders 2 & 3 on the top of the cylinder head. I have a ScanGuage II hooked up to my van, so I see actual real numbers for the coolant temp and it takes much longer than the dummy needle in the dash. When the dash is first showing "normal" temp, SG2 reports coolant temp of only about 115-130* and continues rising to 182-188* while driving; sitting idle after warm-up can spike up to 211-212*.
  17. On my G2, I have a ScanGuage II in the little cubby hole above the radio, the wire just goes up over the steering column and then I coiled up the excess and put it in the cubby with the SG2. I know some members have their little OEM backup/radio display there, though. Could velcro it to the top of that hump over the instrument panel, instead?
  18. No, sir, I never tried that with my local Ford dealer since they had my van for 4 days a couple summers ago trying to do some other programming changes I wanted, plus that door latch recall - oh yea, and NO loaner, so I was having to get rides everywhere from coworkers & friends the whole time. At least they were able to update the BCM & turn off the perimeter lights for me, but that took them longer than it should have considering they had the SSM procedure instructions. Anyhow, I rarely check my MPG's anymore, but I know that tripmeter mileage needs to be corrected by 1.059 when I do check it, so I'm not too worried about that part. Technically, the odometer is incorrect now, but over the life of these tires so far, the amount that it's incorrect by is less than 2800 miles and the dash reading is a little under 116,800 now - "correct" would be roughly 119,562 by my math. That's using 70K miles as the change point on the tires, but I think it may have been closer to 72K miles, which would bring the "correct" mileage down just a bit more. I haven't heard of any aftermarket programmers for our van, nor have I specifically looked for one, but that would be the best way to correct the tire size since the OEM programming options that Forscan can reach only gives a few choices. It would be interesting to find out if a Focus programmer would work on our vans, though. A junkyard van would be the best way to test that, if something gets chooched, who really cares since it's in the junkyard already? None of them really around me, so I can't do the testing.
  19. I've gotta call BS on that 7" height reduction making much difference, at all. I've read about big Transit high-roofs getting low-to-mid-20's empty and they even have larger engines, to boot. Hell, my TC2 is only averaging about 24MPG whenever I actually check the numbers! Me + cargo is maybe 350-450lbs combined. My commute is only 11.5 miles and it's 70MPH speed limit for all but the first & last couple miles, so there's not a lot of warm-up distance before hitting 70. But, even on my 1K mile (each way) trips to IL, I only get about 24.5 MPG. I used to get 27-28 MPG when I lived up there and had a 40/60 highway/"city" (Chicago north suburbs) commute of 50 miles each way, but most speed limits are slower up there, too.
  20. KevinRollin said he wanted the biggest window that would fit in the door and he did it, lol. Body curvature is not something most people think of when sizing windows, though. Personally, I wouldn't mind some ventilation & fresh air in back, but I don't want big windows, so I may - at some point - put in some of the 7-7/8 x 15-3/4" rectangular porthole windows (glass size 4.4x12.3", opening size 5x12.6"), in the upper-rear corners in front of the D-pillars. One thing to note is that screens are DIY on them since they're meant for boats rather than campers/vehicles. In the ad, one reviewer put a pic of his GM cargo van with the windows in the same spot I'd use. I've heard that lightly-curved 'universal' windows are available, but I'd bet they cost a lot more than these flat ones y'all are using.
  21. So, I've got about 48-49K miles on these now and did a quick check of the tread depths today. New is 14/32", per Tire Rack, and I have one 7-7.5/32", two 8/32" & one 8.5-9/32"; it was raining out, so it was just a quick/rough spot-check that I've been meaning to do for a week now. Warranty is 60K miles, so they're holding up to my driving pretty well, overall. They'll still spin on dry pavement from a stop like the OEM Conti's did, but not as bad. Best part is that I haven't been stuck in mud with these ones. Go figure, now that I have a winch on a hitch platform, I haven't needed it for self-extraction haha (some use for moving my non-running F350 CCLB DRW 7.3L around, though, van did just fine holding it's ground).
  22. Kind of apples & oranges, you need to compare the same size windows because yours are also smaller than the size KevinRollin went with. Total outside measurements on his are 25.25x16.25" for the 24x15 and I believe your windows are the 21x14 which measure 22.25x15.25" outside, using measurements from TeardropTrailerParts.com An extra inch of height doesn't sound like much, but it could be big for even a lightly curved panel. That gap does look fairly sizable. A layer of butyl tape along the top & bottom (wrapping part way around the sides, if needed) would have helped fill out the gap and given the other sealant some extra backing, but that will be something to keep in mind for the future if you ever find a leak at the windows. Probably not a big enough deal to bother with redoing them right now.
  23. So is that Dynaflex in addition to the butyl tape that is supposed to be used in/under the window frame?
  24. I removed the "Transit Connect" emblems on mine and used spray tint for the Ford emblems to tone them down some. Haven't paid attention to them in awhile, it may be time to clean & respray 'em, lol.
  25. Here in the US, a cop with a bad attitude (or even just a bad day) would call that assault with a deadly weapon. "Freedom" lol
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