Fifty150

Start driving it. Add items as needed. . Welcome aboard.

Those trucks turned into 1 hard to fix repair, after another. Not just the engines. Bumper to bumper headaches. How can it be, that for almost 20 years, Ford continues to make engines with spark plugs that shoot out? It's like the poor quality multifunction switches, door latch handles, HVAC blend doors, and other Ford parts which consistently fail and they keep using in every car. I can remember the same HVAC blend door actuator being bad in Taurus and Tempo cars from 30 years ago.....all the way up to when Ford sold the 500, then sold the Taurus again. Now that same part is still being used in F-150, Explorer, Edge, Mustang.......the exact same part. Same problems. It's stuck on cold air, I can't get any heat. It only blows out the dash, I can't get heat from floor vents or the defroster. It's stuck on hot air, and I can't get any air conditioning. Recirculated air door won't switch, outside air comes in, and my AC isn't keeping car cool. 1 little part. The same part. Failing for decades. And they keep using it. Easy for the parts counter guy at the dealership. He must sell hundreds of them every year. And you spend hours taking the dash apart, for 4 minutes of actually replacing the 1 bad part. Last time I did one of those, I worked on the car for literally 2 hours of taking apart the dashboard and reassembling. 2 hours of labor for a $12 part.

I guess I was taught different. I install the auxiliary cooler inline after the OEM cooling system. So if there is a heat exchanger in the radiator, the aftermarket unit provides additional heat dissipation after the fluid has passed the OEM cooler. Installing auxiliary coolers was something that used to be regarded as something that you had to do with off-road vehicles, trucks & vans used for hauling & towing, performance vehicles used for racing, and if the vehicle was in use for hours all day. It used to be believed, and it may have been true, that the OEM system was engineered for short trips, commutes, getting groceries, running errands. Great if you drive for less than 30 minutes to get somewhere, then the car is parked for over an hour to cool off, before you drive another 30 minutes back home. My pickup is a 2007. When it was new, I bought a large, B&M Racing cooler with a fan. A guy I know who owns a shop told me to hold off on installation. He said to drive it and monitor the temps first, and get a good base of data. This was over 10 years ago, actually 14 years ago, and even back then, he said that the modern cars are engineered better. He told me that modern OEM cooling systems evolved to being efficient, and if my ATF temps spiked to 250, there was a problem with the transmission that a cooler won't fix. Or that I was hauling too much weight, towing too much weight, or just driving way too fast. I've never overloaded any of my trucks. What I do notice is that if I'm driving 80 - 90 mph, where I go full open throttle to pass slower cars, the transmission is not in overdrive, downshifts heavy, and transmission temps are higher. Or if I am climbing steep grades at freeway speeds, uphill at 60 - 70, the truck does downshift and the engine revs up. Considering that I can't go uphill all day long, or drive 90 mph all day long, the ATF temperature does lower as I slow down, or stop. So in that sense, the cooling system works. With that in mind, I do live in a city with very steep hills, and a lot of rush hour type, stop and go traffic. So 14 years ago, with the pickup, after driving it around for 1 year stock, I did install the aftermarket cooler. The temperatures still gets up to 220 - 230, and the temps drop back down to 185 - 195. I can't tell if the cooler adds any efficiency towards lowering the temps, as the temps got up to 230 with and without the cooler. I do know that the cooler works. I measure the line temps, and I can see that the line from transmission to radiator is hottest, the line from the radiator is cooler as it goes to the auxiliary cooler, and the transmission line from the auxiliary cooler back to the transmission is the coolest. A thermometer confirms, as does touch of the hand, that the line in side is warm from ATF entering the cooler, and the line out side is cool to the touch. I do know that the fan on the cooler turns on as regulated by a thermostatic switch. But it's impossible for me to guess at how the auxiliary cooler benefitted my truck. No noticeable difference in performance. ATF temperature consistently heats up and cools down depending on driving activity. The coolant feed to the heat exchanger is controlled by electronic valves. Coolant will only flow as needed. From what I remember, coolant from the overflow tank goes to the heat exchanger, then flows towards the heater core. The heat exchanger has fins for cooling by airflow. I don't know how much cool air you get under the hood, above the transmission case. From my swiss-cheese memory, I have only seen ATF temp from the sensor read up to 220. In theory, 250 is the danger zone where you want to pull over, park, idle the engine, and lift the hood, so that the ATF can cool down. A lot of people, myself included, still aren't comfortable with average ATF temps at 225. I still don't trust that it's fine even at 235. Another thing I don't trust is that when they say the pink color is just a color additive, so when the ATF looks black, it's still perfectly fine. Only 1 way to know. Test it. I have seen on other forums where people use a point and shoot thermometer to check the aluminum line temperature as the bypass valve closes. Other people have removed the bypass valve, and boiled it to see what temp the water gets to before the valve pops closed. Against conventional wisdom, some people remove the bypass valve entirely, without worry of "overcooling" the transmission. Just a few inches of transmission line will "bridge" the cooling and return lines. Then ATF will always flow through the cooling system. It will take a little longer to "warm up" the ATF. But that does nothing for when the ATF gets really hot. Rare, but it does happen, is the cooler bypass valve being stuck open.

For anyone else who has a spark plug shoot out, there are videos, articles,and kits. A lot of us will be able to do this at home in the driveway. Parts cost is low enough that you can really save a lot by doing it yourself.

It's been in the back of my mind to install a cooler. I've even looked at a few. Here is what I see. The splice should be on part #5, the line which returns fluid to the transmission. I was wrong about that. It looks like that's actually part #6, the cooling line. It goes to part #2, the bypass valve. If fluid is hot enough, usually 185 or 190, it will go to part #1 the heat exchanger. A combination of regulated flow coolant and air dissipates the heat from the ATF. With FORScan, I've monitored the ATF temp. With my driving style, the OEM system is sufficient and I am not overheating. That may be different for everybody. These are a few of the coolers I have considered.

How mechanical are you? It can be done. Remove the front bumper, grille, and fascia. You will see the actual steel bumper bar. You will probably mount your aftermarket cooler there. It will be right in the front where you get better airflow. I would tap into the return line, where fluid returns to the sump. My reasoning is that I want the fluid to pass through the cooler bypass valve, flow past the OEM heat exchanger, then to an auxiliary cooler. That should be under the air box and intake hose, near the vent port on top of the transmission. Then it's a matter of cutting and flaring the OEM line, and connecting it to the auxiliary cooler. Based on previous experience installing auxiliary coolers, I prefer to install coolers with electric fans. A little bit more work. But it makes a huge difference.

At cheap? I don't know. But if all else fails, use one of those machines that are in 7Eleven and grocery stores. No. The machine won't be able to do it right then and there. But the company will refer the locksmith, who can do that work. I think that every modern auto has some sort of electronics in the keys. I have a 2007 pick up truck, and even that key had to be programmed. I don't think any modern cars are sold with basic keys without some sort of electronic pairing to the vehicle. Not like the old days where cars actually had "master keys". When I was a kid, Hondas & Toyotas were easily stolen if you got ahold of a "master key".

Not everybody has 1 of those. We will need to find a work-around. But otherwise, nice work. Thanks for the photos and write-up. Speaking only for myself, your contribution is much appreciated.

When you read through the older threads, you will find a lot of good information is already posted. Welcome

Awesome. 2019 w/ 100 miles. Never titled? It probably won't happen to you. On one of our fleet deliveries, we got a brand new Ford with about 5 miles. Yes, it was a few model years old, so the price was significantly lowered. By sheer coincidence, my vehicle was up next and they assigned it to me. I drove it about a year without even thinking about not having plates on it. A year passes, no plates, and wondering if the registration expired.......I'm such an idiot. Then I brought it up. We ran the VIN on the Highway Patrol's computer, and the VIN DID NOT EXIST. Literally "VIN NOT ON FILE". The VIN on the dash, matched the engine block, and frame. All legit. Truck came from Ford. It wasn't a counterfeit truck or VIN plate. DMV had no record of the VIN. All that we had was the Bill of Lading from when the fleet order was delivered, showing that VIN delivered to us. Long story, short; we eventually got it straightened out.

You're more than welcome. Glad I could help out. That's why we are on these forums. Exchanging information. If you cancel your dealership appointment, and decide to do it yourself, maybe you can help the next guy with a few photos and a write-up.

Over $1,000.00 United States of America. The light bar portion protrudes out the farthest, and is at just the right height for being damaged. Someone getting in or out of a parking space will knock it off.

For someone with a more liberal budget:

You haven't paid them for anything yet. You don't have to let the dealer charge you for whatever parts and labor. Just cancel it. Order the part online. Do it yourself. I don't know. You should get the same results with the search on your computer.

Maybe you can just air it out with a box fan.

The videos I found on youtube won't help much. On your van, you will need to pull away the weather seal strip, and remove the headliner. The part is available from dealers on the InterWeb.

High Five

Falsa blanket. Nice touch.

I like the curtains. Keep up the good work.

May as well recommend a cheap futon from Ikea.

9000 miles? Wow. Not even 1 oil change.

For what it's worth, I am satisfied with LED lights. We started the year with fog and rain. My eyes believe that there's increased visibility.

Condolences for your loss.

Without question, FORScan is the best amateur software for Ford vehicles. It's just about free. You will need something to plug into the OBD2 port. You may be able to get away with a wired connection for less than $20. I use a Bluetooth device with a low cost Amazon Fire Android tablet. A wired connection to a laptop is more stable. A guy I know has a computer set up in his garage just for working on his cars.