Fifty150

It may or may not help. I would do the complete transmission service. A triple drain and fill. That would accomplish 2 things. 1, you would know that you now have clean fluid, not partially diluted dirty fluid. 2, with every drain, you will know that 4 quarts of fluid is coming out, and that you are replacing it with 4 quarts. And it will also let you know that there's something else going on, if you just added 4 quarts of fluid, drove it around, and then 8 quarts of fluid comes out when you drain it again. Makes you wonder if some tech at one of those shops decided to pour in 4 quarts, maybe accidentally, and not say anything about it. Then the service writer at the shop just decided to tell you that the fluid was fine, because they were too lazy to drain it out and fill it again. it may, or may not, make a difference. But the fill specification is 4 liters. Not quarts. That's actually 4.227 quarts. So that's 4 quart bottles, or 1 gallon container, plus 7.560658 ounces. As I recall, I bought 3 gallons of fluid, plus 1 quart. On the first 2 drain and fills, I only filled with 1 gallon. I figured it wouldn't matter, since I was only using it to dilute dirty fluid, not driving 100,000 miles with less fluid than specified. Then on the third fill, I used a measuring cup to add the correct amount - or as close to the correct amount as I could possibly get within an ounce or two.

Mercon LV is a specification. The conventional wisdom is to use a fluid which meets specification. In the case of a dealership, they will use what the manufacturer recommends. A Ford dealer will use Motorcraft Mercon LV. The next option is using a licensed product. The wording is where it gets tricky. Some brands actually say that it's a licensed product. Other brands simply say "approved for use"., or "recommended for". And then there are ATF formulations which are suppose to be "multi vehicle". Multi-vehicle formulations are typically used by lube shops, where they have to service all sorts of different vehicles. These formulations are not specific to your transmission, or anyone's transmission. That doesn't make it better, or worse. Some people report that their vehicles run fine with a multi-vehicle ATF. Look around. Do your own reading. Then decide for yourself what you want to do. GBL has reported good results with Triax. My own history of various ATFs include using boutique brands, and "house brands". I cannot with any certainty say that any brand has outperformed another brand. Royal Purple, Redline, Lucas, Wal*Mart SuperTech, Motorcraft, O'Reilly's........and more. All of these fluids have gone in and out of my transmissions. With automatic transmissions, just like engines, regular fluid changes will yield better results than trying to see how long you can keep using the same fluid. You really would not want to use motor oil for 15,000 or 20,000 miles. You really would not want to use ATF for 100,000 or 200,000 miles. What I can say, relevant to Ford Transit Connect 6F35, is that my van currently is using Valvoline MaxLife without a problem. Just check out what's available. Read the data sheets. Read the reviews. Notice how Valvoline is licensed by GM, and recommended for use with Ford, but not licensed by Ford. And Phillips 66 lists the licenses and license numbers. Whereas Peak says, "recommended for use" with the license numbers, but doesn't actually say that it is licensed. Maybe it means something. Maybe not.

This is the unit I bought a few years ago. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07MQ8GHG3/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Post a few photos of your issue. Sometimes it helps to see it. You narrated description has left our imaginations to run wild.

Sometimes, that's all that it takes.

ForScan recommends several. It's right on the website, with links.

That issue really wasn't much of an issue. The 1st generation had a different engine and transmission. Similar, but different. The recall you saw was for the 2nd generation vans.

I have a wrench, which cost $1. I use it every time I change the oil. It saves me $100, which I don't pay, because I change the oil myself. Because my dealership decided that I should get a free oil change. To make up for the inconvenience of having to bring my car in for the recall action. Either I'm such a great customer, or that is how they build customer loyalty. I keep bringing my cars to that dealership for service. I keep buying cars from them. "Free Oil Change" is a marketing gimmick. I think my dealership calls it the same thing.

https://commercial.mobilityworks.com/wheelchair-vans-for-sale/2018-ford-transit-connect-driverge-nm0ge9e70j1352689/

You can look over the owners manual. That probably won't help. The condition which you described, where the van locks itself, with the key in the ignition, is not suppose to happen unless you are moving. Try first turning the Auto lock on. Then turning the Auto lock off. If you disable Auto lock, then it should not lock automatically.

Look into turning your "autolock" function on and off.

I haven't seen anything for retail sale. But of course, a good fabricator can make it.

Spend that money on some new shoes or a nice dinner.

Somewhere on this forum, there was a post about it.

There's the real world market price of a vehicle. If my truck was intact, what I could reasonably get from a private party sale. Then there is the book value, which is lower. At times, the book value could be higher than what you could sell it for in the real world. Then, you have the insurance company who will declare a total loss if the repair estimate is 70% of the book value. 2 California catalytic converters which are more expensive. 4 sensors. Heat shields. Cat-back exhaust system. And a damaged tailgate lock. It doesn't sound like much. Considering that the sensors are plug & play parts, the entire exhaust system from the exhaust manifold back is bolt-on, and replacing a lock cylinder is just a parts swap.

Or you could pull the radio out yourself. Just remove the upper dash. Remove the fasteners holding the radio. See what it's connected to behind the radio.

Just the converters and oxygen sensors are over $5,000. Then there are always other issues when a car goes into the shop. Almost every repair comes in over the quote. No repairs ever complete under the quote, and the mechanic refunds money to the insurance company. The insurance company tried to declare a total loss for the vehicle. The value on an 07 pickup truck, depending on condition, is between $7,000 - $8,000. Insurance companies want to declare total loss if the repair is within 70% to 80% of the value. There was no way I could accept a payment of the repair estimate, minus my deductible. The insurance would have paid me about half of what the car was worth. I had several civil discussions with various members of the insurance company. Currently, they are sending a check to my mechanic. Then parts will be ordered. Then work will begin. The claim is left open, in the event that the mechanic needs more money.

Some thief cut a catalytic converter off my F-150.

Looks good. But I'm not paying to ship that across the country. Maybe you can donate it.

You can keep cleaning out the holes from the bottom. Or wonder what is inside the door and why the holes keep clogging. What could possibly have gotten in past the weather seal to clog the drain holes? Is there dirt, sludge, or the previous owner's stash of kilogram bricks of narcotics? It's not like you could have dead rodents in both doors. And it's highly improbably that there's a buildup of sand and leaves. Only the smallest of particulate matter could be getting past the weather seals. I'm lazy. I would just use a pick tool, or a wire coat hanger, and poke the holes to unclog them. Someone not lazy would take the door panel off, see what is inside, and correct the issue properly.

There isn't. It's just a hole. You will need nuts, washers, lock washers, and probably foam rubber and/or silicone to seal out water. Just use the existing holes under the plastic caps. That works just fine. A lot of installers use rivnuts for roof rails. You can also open the hole to make it larger, so that you can use a larger rivnut. That allows you to use a larger bolt, for more strength. Keep in mind that you are not building your solar panel rack for stationary use. You have to build it strong enough so that when you are driving, the solar panels and the bracket stay on the van. Don't be the guy who is driving on the freeway, and the panels fly off. I'm 10-8

With 122,000 miles, if those are the original spark plugs, I would bet on a misfire. Even without a scan tool to check for misfires, the first thing that I would do is change the plugs and coil packs.