Fifty150

Creeper White. Nice color.

I have not seen sparks when disconnecting the chassis ground.

Good enough. Not everyone wants to do it over 4 days. And to jack up the car 4 times. Overall, well done. And those additives that are suppose to fix leaks usually don't work.

Not as creeeeeeepy as:

Your daughter is right. White van is a creeper ride. Not that I do anything erotic behind tinted windows.

All the wagons I have seen around here have bench seats. 7 passenger confirmation. You could look online, and have it delivered. Costco can order it for you. Or talk to your local dealership.

Hopefully, there's no internal damage, and some fresh fluid will help. No amount of new fluid will help if the transmission is damaged.

The good news is that with the basic radio, you can install an aftermarket radio. Look around for a double din unit, with a touchscreen, and WiFi.

I think the dealership should pay for a rental car until they fix your roof.

Good deal. $7,000 on a trade in. Did they know it got struck by lightning?

I see that a "clear window tint" product is available from LLumar. I entered my zip code to see their dealer network, and the 1st listing is my friend's shop. It's surely something to consider.

I suspect that it all depends on the dealership. Big City, Small Town......it doesn't matter. Some small dealerships are better because they are small. Some big dealerships are better, and that's why they are so big. Some dealerships may be great at everything Mustang, or F-150, and not so good with the rest of the Ford fleet. Are you heading towards Northern California or Southern California? Or by CA, are you referring to Canada? I'm in The SF Bay Area. Ordinarily, I might give you some references for roadside attractions, and "go to" spots. But with Corona Virus, you should probably research the Covid infection status of the region before going. Pretty sure you could just do a VIN check to see if your van is even a part of the recall. Chances are good that if your van is a 2016, and there isn't excessive wind or a leak, then the roof is fine. I'm pretty sure that you would already have noticed if there was a loud noise from wind, or it leaked everytime you wash the car. I suspect that the fix for the recall is probably removing the roof, and reinstalling it with a new seal. If it were my van, I would not be in too much of a hurry to fix something which isn't broken. I don't think that you will be driving down the road, and all of a sudden, the roof blows off. But still, have a dealer check your VIN for the recall, and schedule the work since Ford is paying for it.

You've got it isolated to just the mount? Did you try switching the bulbs also, while you were switching the mounts around? Take the bulb out, and look inside the mount. See if the contacts look burnt or corroded. I've seen that on other cars. Never figured out why. But replacing the lamp sockets and lamps will get you back in business. I suppose it doesn't matter. But I would've have ordered 2, just to have a spare. Now's your chance to install LED signal lamps.

You could always get tint. Go with whatever the darkest tint is. I have tint, and it works good enough for me. In this state, front window and windshield tint isn't allowed. I'm only guessing that when you go camping, you'll figure something out. Park under trees, make a canopy with a tarp, leave windows down and doors open, install a roof vent. I doubt that you will drive XXX miles from home, just to sit inside of a hot van all day. Cold nights in the van won't be any worse than being cold in a tent.

I have a passenger wagon. I've removed nothing. Just pack gear that I want, and go. I set up camp when I get there. Then sleep inside the van with the seats folded down. It's cozy. I decided that I wasn't living out of the van. Just camping. All of the things like camp stoves, utensils, whatever, can be unpacked at the campsite. I didn't need to drive around everyday with my camping gear built into the back of my van.

If I were to attempt a build out, I would start with a cargo van.

There has to be a way to do it. If once upon a time, passenger wagons were shipped to the US, then stripped of the interior for sale as cargo vans, then it could be done.

Here is a view of the liftgate with the panel removed.

I have a lift gate also. Admittedly, I did not go out to the car to actually look at the rear wiper. I suppose I should have known from memory that the wiper arm is set into the rear auto glass. Sorry.

I just took a look at my driveway. The hill I live on, and the angle of my driveway, makes it a "no go" for me. I can only imagine the angle from other driveways into parking lots. But then again, if I had a front end lift kit......

Since you are convinced that you will never want the wiper again in the future........unplug the motor at the harness. Maybe even wrap a little electrical tape. Remove the motor and wiper arm. Treat the hole like a body repair. Get some 3M Bondo. I recall that there is sort of a mesh tape that you can apply over the hole, then bondo on top. Sand it down. Paint it.

It looks like just Unistrut and brackets. Strutnut and hardware comes in different sizes. Even the brackets have different sizes. Were rivet nuts used? I want to save myself the homework of measurement and pouring through parts catalogs for hours.

If you could help out, what are all the parts you used?

The problem with replacing the radios is that some Ford features are connected to the computer. New cars make is very difficult to replace the radios. If you get an upgraded Ford radio from another Transit Connect, it still may not work because the van't computer needs to be reprogrammed to operate with the new radio. You can install an aftermarket radio, with a lot of features, and it may not work with your van's steering wheel controls. It is possible, to get cruise control. Other forum members have done it. They buy a steering wheel with the cruise control buttons, and activate it using FORScan. I haven't seen anyone remap the air/fuel ratio or recalibrate gear shifting with custom tuning. It is probably possible. Maybe a shop which offers dyno tuning would help you. Just haven't heard of anyone trying it. You are not going to physically regear the front wheel drive transmission. Most mods on this van is for appearance. There are suspension components for changing ride height. Some mods are functional like cameras and lighting. But not much you can do about performance and mileage.