Beta Don

All I can say is . . . . . thank goodness 99.9% of people buying new cars don't think like you do - Where would the world be if everyone was trying to defeat the emission controls on their new vehicles? Don't know for a fact, but I would imagine there are both pre and post sensors and your new TC probably won't run worth a darn without it's catalyst Don

Then you'll have to use the buttons on the radio to change the volume and use the Bluetooth functions Don

There are several very well documented threads here (complete with pictures) of owners who have done exactly that Welcome to the forum, and take a good look around. Many if not most of what you'll need to know already exists here Don

It looks like you should be able to order Ford Towing Package 53T . . . . . if you can find a dealer willing to look it up for you Don

Lots of good info in that brochure! You can get all three of the required items aftermarket without buying anything from Ford *and* you won't have to splice any wiring . . . . . but I do understand your frustration The brochure says 'Contact your Ford dealer' and I think you are probably running into the same thing I have on many occasions at the two dealerships closest to me - The people you are talking to don't know off the top of their heads what you need to resolve your issue . . . . and sadly they just don't care enough to dig into their books to get the answers for you. There are several threads on this forum which document 'over the top' assistance from really great dealerships, but unfortunately most of us just don't have access to a dealer like that. Good luck in your quest and posting your solution here will help many of us who don't have one of those great dealers nearby Don

Don't know how much polyfill or Kraft type insulation would help with deadening sound - The industry standard for automotive applications for many years has been Dynamat http://www.dynamat.com/automotive-and-transportation/automotive-restoration/dynamat-xtreme/ Don

Just a guess. In Europe you cannot pull a trailer of any size or weight without functioning trailer brakes and *maybe* the TC CAN bus on vehicles equipped with the factory tow package can access the trailer brakes for sway control? Here in North America most trailers under 2,000 pounds don't have brakes and since the TC isn't rated to tow any more than 2,000 pounds adding a fancy module designed for trailers with brakes would not be a popular enough add on option to make Ford want to stock all the parts to enable that option? Here, I would guess 98% of us towing trailers are using just the 4 wire electrical connection like the Curt aftermarket trailer light module Just my guess Don

I have two Mitsubishi iMiEV's (electric cars) that came with excellent fog lights with DRL bulbs in them also. I got to looking and found these same assemblies are used in many other Japanese cars (other Mitsu's, Subarus and Hondas) and the fixture is also a bolt in swap for Gen 2 TC's. I bought a pair of the housings on eBay, installed LED bulbs for the DRL's and high power halogens for the fog lights and put them in the TC. I did have to run a new wire for the DRL's and I wired them into an unused fuse location in the under hood fuse panel. Better fog lights, combined with DRL's for about $100 Don

I think any gasoline powered vehicle driven predominantly on the highway runs much better than one driven mostly around town - They 'load up' and don't 'clear out' until you get some high speed miles on them True story - I had an old Datsun 240Z that I was very familiar with and I took it to Germany when I was stationed there. I noticed after about 100 miles on the Autobahn doing about 90 mph it suddenly began to run much better - More pep and obviously a good bit more horsepower too. After 50 miles or so around town, that all went away, only to return after another long, fast run down the Autobahn. The difference was very, VERY obvious! We have two electric cars which do 98% of all our in town mileage and the TC pretty much only gets started when we're headed out of state . . . . we keep a trickle charger on it for weeks at a time. We average between 28 and 29 mpg on most trips, depending on the speed and terrain - We came really close to 30 one time on a 50 or 55 mph tankful. Anything driven mostly at the speeds it was designed for works much better, in my experience. Around town, stop and go is really hard on any gasoline powered vehicle - This is where EV's really shine . . . . their around town mileage is much, much better than their freeway mileage Best results are always driving something the way it was designed to be driven - The opposite of an EV around town? An empty pick-up truck with only the driver aboard . . . . tons of those around here! Don

Count your blessings . . . . and then count them again Your Ford dealer is one in a thousand - The two dealers nearest me know next to nothing about TC's and after several years now, it appears they intend to keep it that way. They just don't care, plain and simple Don

I've driven in London, Berlin, Paris, Madrid, San Juan, Tokyo, Manila, Seoul . . . . even Riyadh, but never in LA or NYC - I'm not crazy!! Believe me, I WOULD take a cab! Don

I think *personal opinion* that the only real problem is that Ford is touting the 6F35 as a '100K maintenance free' transmission and people are finding that it's fairly hard on it's transmission fluid. If you buy a new one and service the transmission every 25 to 30K I would be very surprised if you ever experience a problem Don

Mine are yellow plastic 'Rhino Ramps' - "Another Blitz built product, made in the USA". I bought them at Wal Mart years ago. They come in several colors and are rated at 12,000 pounds per pair - Not bad for polyethelene!! The newer versions are a little fancier and a bit more costly - I think I paid $25 for mine http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rhino-Automotive-Car-Trailer-Ramps-Lift-Service-For-Low-Profile-Oil-Change-Tool-/172864808065?hash=item283f8ba481:g:HM8AAOSwBT9Zuh4M Don

Most newer cars (anything made in the last 8 or 10 years) have what's called a 'lane change feature' - You touch the turn signal stalk for the direction you want but don't press it hard enough that it's 'clicked on' . . . . just touch it and release it and that gives you three flashes of your turn signals and it shuts itself off. You'll never be driving for miles and miles with your signals flashing ever again! Don't feel badly - I'll bet 50% of drivers don't know their car has this feature, so you're not alone - I just pointed it out to my brother in law a few weeks ago and he knew nothing about it. You can tell those who do . . . . their signals flash exactly three times whenever they change lanes Don

I have a set of the poly ramps and use them for oil changes - The air dam clears them fine. I have no idea if the steel ones he's asking about will work or not Don

. . . . or at least it was in a '55 Chevy On most 'modern' cars, there is no 'clicker' and the computer flashes the turn lights . . . . . you won't find any bi-metal mechanical flasher anywhere. You can't add trailer lights (without installing a special circuit) because the computer doesn't like the additional power the trailer lights draw. The sound is also computer generated. On my 2012 Mitsubishi, you (actually, the dealer can) choose from 3 different sounds . . . . . but you still can't adjust the volume - It's fixed If you could make it louder, there would need to be some way to make it softer too, as it's already louder than some of us would like Don

I agree. No way I could ever get that sort of service from either of the dealers near me. "Can't be done"and "If it didn't come equipped that way from the factory, you can't add anything now" are their favorite answers to my questions - Then you go on-line and discover that it's just that they don't know . . . .. and don't care Don

Google says it's 9320.5679 miles Whatever - It's lots closer than 9,600miles Don

Yes, that post was a great help - Thank you! I'm going to do it over a period of several days. Drain & refill once, drive it 10 or 15 miles and do it again the next day. Since I'm switching to synthetic I think I'll eventually be doing 5 separate drains to get me to at least a 95% exchange. Then I'll do a drain and refill each time I do an oil change at 10,000 miles. That should keep it fresh enough without having to do another full exchange every 25K Don

Actually, 15,000 km's is 9,315 miles Don

I'm doing it at home . . . . and with only 25,000 miles on the van - I don't expect to see any 'dirty' ATF come out. My only concern is to eventually get it switched over 100% from Mercon LV to a full synthetic. I'll settle for 95% for now and drain and refill another 4 quarts when I do my next oil change at 30,000 The 6F35 has been used in many Ford vehicles for several years and it does not the best reputation . . . . and it's VERY expensive to repair/replace once it's out of warranty. No filter you can change and I really don't care for that. Personally, I believe the "100K service" on this transmission is all marketing hype which helps sell vehicles. From what I've read, there is a significant percentage of these transmissions which will never make it to 100K. I read that the trans is quite hard on it's fluid and I wonder how much Ford actually saved by NOT installing fully synthetic ATF from the factory. I suppose they have a fairly high confidence that 90 something percent of them will make it to the end of the warranty with LV and no service and that's probably the number the bean counters were looking at The only other automatic my wife and I have any experience with was a mid 90's Mitsubishi that I bought her and it's trans had a questionable reputation at best, but it did have a drain plug installed in the pan and I drained 3 quarts and refilled at every other oil change (6,000 miles) and that trans made it to about 125K when the vehicle was hit in the rear and totaled. I did install an aftermarket oil cooler on that car when I first bought it as well I would like to be confident that the 6F35 in our TC will make it to 175 to 200K reliably but I don't have that sort of faith in this trans, so I'm adopting a pretty aggressive maintenance schedule and switching to synthetic. Won't cost me that much in the long run (compared to a repair) and it's only a little more time and trouble . . . . . and I'll feel lots better about it Don

Supposedly the 6F35 holds 9 quarts total and a little more than 4 quarts drains when you pull the plug. I bought 16 quarts which will do 4 changes, but to get to a 95% pure synthetic level, I'll need 4 more quarts so I can do 5 changes The good news is . . . . once I have it switched over to full synthetic, I can just do a quick and easy 4 quart drain and refill each time I do a 10,000 mile engine oil change and my transmission should last a long time! Don

That's what I bought Oddly, it was $17 per quart from Amazon but only $5 and change from Advance Auto, so I got 16 quarts Don

I'm sure it would be pretty clear after 12 quarts - What I'm concerned with is getting as much of the conventional ATF out and as close to 100% synthetic in there as I can I bought 16 quarts of the Castrol Transmax full synthetic for $88 at Advance Auto - Think that's cheaper than the Mercon LV from Ford Don

Got 25K on the wagon now and it's time for a trans fluid change Was intending on sticking with Ford Mercon LV, but for nearly the same price you can get a full synthetic ATF, such as Castrol Transmax which is rated for use in modern transmissions which require the lighter fluid, like the Mercon LV I was thinking that instead of the 'standard' 13 quart exchange that since I would be switching to synthetic, I might go one change more and use 16 quarts which should get me closer to a 100% exchange What do the 'experts' here think? - Thanks! Don