Fifty150

Looking forward to your update. Thanks for keeping us informed. If you are doing a drain & fill, you may want to swirl a magnet in the drained fluid. Curious how much metal is in suspension in the fluid. Since we can't drop the pan to clean the magnet inside, like on other transmission models. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Now we know that Dexron low viscosity works also.

Yet, people still think that 4 bolts attached is strong enough. All the weight is on those 4 bolts. Or maybe 6 bolts. Or 8 bolts. To lift and support 1 corner, equipment should be rated higher than the vehicle weight. Yet, people choose to believe that the weight rating is for 1/4 of the vehicle. I see it all the time. A 1/2 ton truck weighing 5,000 - 6,000 pounds needs at least a 3 ton jack. It's the 1.5 ton lightweight racing jack from Harbor Freight. A lot of people like it because it's light weight and inexpensive. They don't understand that it's for small cars like Mazda Miata, Toyota Yaris, or a Smart Car. There are people who believe that a 1.5 ton jack is fine, since you are only lifting less than 1 ton on any given corner of the truck. Even with a Transit Connect, you need at least a 2 ton jack. And support with jackstands. Hydraulic jacks can fail. I don't want to think about something going wrong. Be safe.

How did you choose Dexron VI? I am using Valvoline, which was inexpensive at Wal-Mart. $18 per gallon. My next service will he with Mercon LV, because I got a 6 gallon box at a reasonable price. Mag1 and Phillips are available from my local distributor, but I think price is high. I recall that someone was using Triax. I wonder how that is working.

If you don't overload the van, and service the transmission, you can expect a reasonable service life. Automatic transmissions don't last forever. But no reason to expect less than 100,000 miles. I have seen hundreds of thousands of miles. Only problem is with a used car, you can expect that the last owner did not change the ATF, and the van may have been overloaded. You hear about reported failure. You don't hear about vans that keep working, because those people rarely speak up to say, "it still runs". Some forum members are changing ATF at 30,000 miles. FordTechMakULoco on YouTube, who a lot of people look to for advice, also recommends 30,000 miles for the 6F35 transmission. My local dealership service advisor said 30,000 miles. Some owners will do it every 25,000 miles. The process is so easy, that you can drain & fill 4 liters with every oil change. There is conventional wisdom that you should only use Mercon LV. Some forum members are using other fluid. I'm sure that you will make the right choice for yourself.

Some distributors deliver free. Call around. Lumber yards, electrical suppliers, plumbing..... Sometimes you need to have a commercial account. My experience has been that if they want your business, then they have to provide service.

I hereby nominate Slamsit for doing the most to a Transit Connect. Not that other people's builds aren't nice. Surely, we've seen some great work by all. But the overall volume, mod after mod, is overwhelming. And "1-of-a-kind", "One-Off" designs like the headlights. Now nitrous. I shudder at the thought of how much has already gone into his 1st generation van. Truly living the dream.

Wow. Recaro?

Awesome if you could post photos. It would help a lot of people out.

If you were near me, I would take your steel wheels.

That sounds like something worth posting in it's own thread. Wiring. Mounting. Technical details. Photos. You can write a "how to".

You should have no problem. Plenty available. Get a 2nd generation, LWB Wagon. You will want the interior, HVAC ductwork, and windows. You may not have to build anything at all. I fold down the seats, use a small futon mattress, and sleeping bag. I don't need to build anything just to lay out and sleep. But you can go crazy building slide out kitchen, foldaway bed, hidden panel gun safe, flip down screen, whatever.

That is worth a video. I want to see that in action.

For FORScan, you will need a computer. Most guys prefer a laptop.

I thought it was more popular with Mustang & Focus owners. It seems to work well with Transit Connect.

That sounds weird. It could be true. But really, how thick can OEM wheels from a Wind Star Van be?

Exhaust gas recirculates through the valve. Coolant should not be leaking leaking from the EGR. Just because you saw coolant, that does not mean that coolant is inside the EGR and leaking out. Now you have to find the source of the coolant. Clean everything off. Dry it. Then run the car with the hood open, and start looking.

Smurfs are only 3 apples high.

It's probably the fuse. On some Ford cars, that fuse also powers the OBDII port. Check your owners manual. It's probably called the cigarette lighter.

Sure sign that you want a different mechanic.

Yes if you have the 6 seat configuration....... If the 2nd row has 3 seats, you could fold down 2 of the seats. What are you trying to fit?

Let all the air out of all 5 tires. Or an old school, hidden, kill switch. Or make a hat with the tinfoil your burrito came in, to keep the government out of your brain.

I don't think that project worked out. Odds are, that he ran out of funding, then realized how much he spent already, and decided to give up. Return on investment is emotional. You feel good. But it's not worth the money, if you are thinking about adding value to the car. Very few cars can be modded, or restomodded, to increase value. No financial advisor would endorse it.

That's too much like the old fashion magnet behind the bumper, under the car, et cetera. You could do what valets used to do. Put the key on top of the driver side, front tire. Or not even lock the car at all, and just hide the under the floor mat or tucked in the sun visor. It's like leaving your house key under the door mat. No security at all. If someone goes to the parking lot at the beach, and knows that you are 1,000' out in the water, they can look behind the bumper, on top of the tires, under the car body.....find your key and steal your car. You can always get a girlfriend to come along to watch your stuff. Just don't forget to crack the windows open because it's hot at the beach. But that gets expensive if you have to buy water for her to drink. And not so comfortable at home when the wife finds out about the girlfriend.

A lot of wheels will fit. You can play around with the numbers, fit a bigger wheel to a different size tire, etc. Many configurations. The first step is to select the correct bolt pattern. The lugs on your van need to fit the wheel. The there is the center bore diameter. Most aftermarket wheels will have a very big center bore, but you should be careful to not source a wheel with a smaller center bore. From my recollection, Transit Connect is not hub centric. It's not needed, but it won't hurt to source the correct size hub centric rings. The purpose of the centric ring is to perfectly center the alloy wheel to the wheel hub and hence prevent vibration to the steering wheel during driving and the shaking which typically appears around speeds of 40-60 mph. Transit Connect should be lug centric. OEM conical seat lug nuts should work fine with your aftermarket wheels. You can choose to buy aftermarket lug nuts, since the OEM lug nuts hidden behind hubcaps are considered "ugly" by some people. Be sure to select the correct thread pitch. 60° is the most common and is found on most aftermarket wheels. 45° conical seat lug nuts have a larger, wider surface that engages the wheel. They are used with Circle Track and NASCAR style race wheels. Most shops will try to sell you new lug nuts, lug locks, hub centric rings, nitrogen in your tires, "TPMS service", et cetera. A lot of customers just don't know, and it's how the shop makes money. Your biggest challenge will be finding a wheel with the exact specifications as the factory wheel. I found 1. Not even aftermarket steel wheels, which were advertised as Transit Connect specific replacements, where the same specification. Getting 4 new wheels with slightly different specifications is fine, since you are using them together. If it bothers you, get 5 wheels, so that your spare wheel will be exactly the same also.

Any noticeable ride quality change? How does the handling feel? From personal experience, spring spacers like that are a little bumpier. While nothing is going to last forever, spring spacers tend to cause extra wear on related suspension and steering components. With trucks & Jeeps, the spacers tend to change the angles of fitment for other parts; which is why some people opt for suspension lifts. But as they say, if I have 20 years of experience, then I'm only relating to technology which is 20 years old. And there is no over-the-counter suspension lift available, so it's not a worthwhile speculation. With the rear end, do you think there's a way to incorporate air bags?