Fifty150

Call a transmission company. They should be able to help with technical information like compatibility, the transmission control module, etc.

Interesting that Ford sells the vehicles with a "lifetime fluid", and has a full line of equipment for dealership technicians to service the transmission.

Do you want the aftermarket wheels and tires to drive the same? You will need to configure a wheel and tire combination with similar specifications. You need more information. You have to figure out what the full dimensions of the wheel are. You need the backspacing, the pitch circle diameter, bolt pattern, and backspacing. Then you can shop for tire size. If you don't care, then you just install whatever will fit. Your only consideration is that when at full lock steering, nothing is making contact.

Mercon LV is specification. Motorcraft, a brand of automotive parts, has a low viscosity, automatic transmission fluid, which meets the Mercon LV specification. It is also licensed by Ford. It's all in the wording. Approved? Recommended? By who? That's what you have to question. There have been marketing and sponsorship agreements. My fuel cap says BP. I would be screwed if I could only use BP gas. There are no BP stations in my area. Certain owners manuals were printed, stating that Ford recommends Castrol. In some markets, there is a Ford logo on bottles of Castrol. I wonder how many people question if that Castrol bottle of Ford oil can go into a Toyota. When you read the label on a bottle of ATF, you have to keep in mind that "recommended for" is marketing terminology. And unless it specifically says, "recommended by Ford", it is not recommended by Ford. On a bottle of Valvoline, where it says "recommended for"; it's Valvoline recommending that you use it. Valvoline is a product I use. It is the transmission fluid in my Transit Connect. It is a good example, of a bad example. Valvoline's literature clearly states: You can find this at: https://sharena21.springcm.com/Public/Document/18452/9e447451-fe75-e711-9c10-ac162d889bd3/5ca3517a-e29c-e711-9c10-ac162d889bd3 If you only want to use the actual factory fill fluid, you will buy Mercon LV. If you want a fluid to specification, you will buy a fluid of any brand, which meets the specification, and is licensed. Some fluids may claim to meet specification, but does not label as a licensed product.

Triax now has a product labeled specifically for low viscosity. I would try it if the price goes down.

Years ago, I saw a story on television, about this guy who had the same car for decades. It wasn't any kind of special car. It was some kind of GM. He bought spare parts like water pumps, alternators, starters - from some auto parts chain with a "lifetime warranty". He would go back, and a store manager would have to give him another auto part. Eventually, a manager would not give him a replacement. He took it up the food chain. They told him that the store managers made the onsite decisions when it came to replacing items under warranty. He wasn't satisfied. He hired an attorney. He received some sort of settlement. And he got on TV. I remember the TV host interviewer asking him if he was abusing the store policy. After all, he paid for 1 auto part, and got 4, 5, or 6 replacements, over a quarter of a century. His answer was that the store was abusing the customer by not honoring their warranty. You could try doing the same. Next time that you have to replace a fuel pump, or whatever, see if there is a warranty. Ultimately, most parts are replaceable. You just need to drive 250,000 miles a year for the next 4 years.

Sometimes the Transit Connect issues are the same issues people had with a Focus. Is there a similar Focus platform? Have Focus Ecoboost models randomly shut off? Just a hunch. I would look in Focus forums for a similar problem.

That should be an interesting experience. Will they use a fluid exchange machine? Or will they use the drain plug and fill port? Will they perform a triple drain and fill, or just drain it once? Will the shop use ULV, or substitute with a multi-vehicle fluid? My personal opinion is that a machine is more efficient. I wish I had a machine at home. In the past, with other vehicles, I would disconnect the transmission return line, let the contaminated fluid drain into a bucket, and fill with fresh fluid. When clean fluid begins to drain out, I know that the transmission is full of fresh fluid. The Transit Connect does not have a tranny cooler in front with quick disconnect lines.

A 6F35 uses Mercon LV. A 8F35 uses ULV. Mercon ULV is not backwards compatible with any other ATF. You cannot use ULV when the specification is for another fluid. So the logic would be that the opposite is also true. You cannot use any other ATF if ULV is called for. That is correct. If you go to a store, and find bottles of "multi vehicle ATF", it is not LV. If ia fluid is multi-vehicle, then it is not specific to any vehicle. Some of the multi-vehicle ATF formulations have been bottled and sold with the same recipe, since the 60's, 70's, or 80's, and at best, are okay for use with Dex/Merc transmissions. A few multi-vehicle ATF formulations are labeled as "recommended for" or "approved for" LV. It's how you interpret the wording. Who is recommending it? Who approved it? Not Ford. Ford has a specification. Ford and GM have never issued a service bulletin to ignore the fluid specification, and just use something that's close enough to it. If it meets the specification, the bottle will say that it meets the specification, and/or will read that it is a product licensed by Ford. If you are buying ATF online, or from a store, LV is now a common item. It's not hard to find. It's readily available. There is not a good reason to use the wrong fluid. Yet, some of us still use multi vehicle ATF. I am using Valvoline that I bought at Wal*Mart. I don't have a good reason. I have a reason. It was cheap. Valvoline ATF cost less than most other ATF.

If the spoiler was design for down force, so that when driving, the wind pressure presses the wiper blade onto the windshield...... let us know if the wind blew the wipers off instead. But most likely, the spoiler design is for airflow. So that air flows over the wiper in an aerodynamic way. It may get you an increase in mileage. My bet is that whatever the reason for the engineering - you won't notice a thing if you flip your wipers.

Not that I've thought about it much. There is an adapter for the 2" tailpipe to the muffler's 2.5" inlet. Just about any muffler shop, or someone who knows how to weld, could cut off the OEM muffler and tailpipe, and install an aftermarket muffler and exhaust tips. Even a do-it-yourself person could find exhaust pipes with different angle bends, and exhaust tips. Not that I've thought about it much. https://magnaflowmedia-uswe.streaming.media.azure.net/5dc2c3f7-52c4-4ffc-9e2a-e1812ea02c92/Muffler_Transverse_960x524_1500.mp4#t=0.001 MagnaFlow Transverse Muffler

It would mount and look like what the shop did to a 90's Camaro.

You could replace the OEM muffler with something like this:

It looks like the 8F35 uses 8.5 liters of ULV. Most likely, it's 4 liters for the drain and fill. It has drain plug. You can fill through the vent port. It's almost like the 6F35. Service procedure looks the same.

The fluid specification and fill capacity should be in your owners manual.

My environment is not as harsh. There's no snow here. I might get 10 days of rainfall in a year. My average temperature is 55 degrees Fahrenheit. The coldest nights may be 45, with the warmest days around 65. I've had wipers last 3 years, plus. In my climate, I could get away with buying the least expensive wiper blades, and it would not make a difference. The same way that I can use the least expensive tires. From what I recall, the difference between the left wiper and the right wiper, is some sort of wind spoiler design. I guess if you use the right wiper on the left, or left wiper on the right, then the wind will blow on the wiper the wrong way. There are not many options for 29". There are more options for 28". I don't know if anyone will miss the extra inch.

As was the case with my F-150. OEM Ford Motorcraft lasted 9 years. AGM Optima lasted 6 years.

If it's the new version built by VW, then I know nothing. In 5 years, you will be the person giving advice.

Motorcraft wiper blades are not known to be great. Nor are they inexpensive. For each of us, we have to determine if there's value to a $30 item, vs a $9 item. I have bought $5 wiper blades from Amazon. They worked. But maybe in my climate, I don't battle harsh storm conditions. I also want longevity. I don't want to replace deteriorated rubber flapping and a plastic frame scratching the windshield, every year. Nothing worse than spending $5 every year, when $20 blades can last 2 years?

Costco sells an Interstate Battery with a 3 year replacement warranty. That may be the best option for me.

My Transit Connect is 2016. Battery still seems fine. It starts without hesitation. But it's on my mind. Sooner or later, a new battery will be needed. The Motorcraft battery is a size 40 or group 40 battery. A size 96 or group 96 battery will fit. Ford has a group 96 battery, which offers no advantage over the group 40 battery from Ford. It's just an alternative, if for whatever reason, the group 40 battery is not available. Ford even has battery spacers so that you can install the group 96 battery into the Transit Connect battery box. For daily driving, without anything like a refrigerator, aftermarket sound system, a rooftop refrigeration unit..... I don't need anything more than the OEM battery. The OEM battery on my F-150 lasted 9 years. The Optima battery I replaced it with only lasted 6 years. The Transit Connect is 6 years old. I'm hoping that the battery has a few more years left. In my case, the OEM Motorcraft battery from the dealership may be the best option. 3 year replacement warranty. 100 month limited warranty. Less than $150, compared to spending twice that much. And depending on the mood of the service writer, or if there's some sort of coupon online, there may be a discount on pricing or free installation. The other buying option for me, is directly from Interstate. Interstate Battery has a shop right by the airport. They have a good warranty, and provide service. In my case, I will also check with Costco for pricing. Costco may be able to sell an Interstate Battery for less. But I doubt that it will cost less than $150 Ford Motorcraft. The Odyssey AGM battery looks nice. As does the Duracell. My only problem with buying a battery online, is when they charge a core deposit. It's ridiculous to think that I'm spending $50 or more, to send a 50 LB used battery back, to get a $22 deposit.

I like performance exhaust also. On the Transit Connect, that's not available. No aftermarket performance exhaust. You can fabricate. Cut out the resonator, and replace it with a straight pipe. Cut our the muffler. Maybe add a glasspack. You'll make noise. It may not sound good. But it will be loud.

Ford sells 2 separate 29" blades. One is for the driver side. One is for the passenger side. Ford also offers a 28" wiper blade which will fit both driver and passenger side. You can use 28" or 29". You won't notice the difference. A lot of the wiper blade companies do not have a 29" blade. Sears sells a 29" wiper blade.

It would be strange if all that fluid that was suppose to be in the transmission torque converter somehow wound up in the sump. More likely scenario is that someone else poured in 4 quarts. I could imagine that a tech who didn't know what he was doing, added 4 quarts. Then the shop manager decided not to do anything or say anything about it. Because it would cost them more money to drain out 8 quarts, and refill with another 4 quarts. Probably one of the two shops in December 2021.