Fifty150

Does she work at Costco? I was just there. Costco worker at the gas pump called the van "creeper white". She said that the Transit Connect looked like I would pull her into the back and nobody would ever see her again.

If you are sitting in your van, doors closed, windows up, watching TV, cold drinks in the fridge, food warming up in the microwave, rooftop air conditioning on, engine running to power it all - is that really camping? Or just another homeless guy living out of a car?

Look at the wiring for worn battery cables or a loose connection. Check out the alternator.

I'm trying to imagine pushing the engine oil dipstick into the transmission vent.

I installed Philips. I am satisfied. They appear to work very well.

Right under the air intake tube, there is a radiator hose. The vent cap is right under the radiator hose. A traditional transmission funnel won't really work because of the radiator hose. Use a transmission funnel with a flexible tube or an offset funnel.

When you jack up the car, you will see the drain plug. Look under your hood. Right under the radiator hose next to the air filter box, you will see the vent cap.

At some dealerships, they use a machine. The machine attaches to the cooling and return lines. As the contaminated fluid is pumped out of the transmission, fresh fluid is filled to replace it. The service manual procedure for the 6F35 is a triple drain & fill. A process which can be performed at home by the car owner. A lot of forum members are doing this at home. 6f35.pdf

Does that mean that the lifetime fluid in the transmission was never exchanged?

Another low price.

Another member on this forum is using Global Triax ATF, which is labeled as a low viscosity fluid and claims to be suitable for Mercon LV. I am using Valvoline Maxlife ATF, which on the label, reads "recommended for" Mercon LV. Wal*Mart Supertech, Philips 66, Peak, Castrol, and Mag 1 all bottle ATF which they claim is suitable for Mercon LV use. RedLine offers D6 ATF: "As ATF requirements lean toward lighter viscosity, this one has ultimate stability." Royal Purple Max ATF is Mercon & Mercon V, not Mercon LV. I would not use. Amsoil list Signature Series Fuel-Efficient Synthetic Automatic Transmission Fluid, which sells for $60.95 per gallon. A fuel efficient automatic transmission fluid recommended for GM, Ford and Toyota transmissions where lighter viscosity oil is required. Amalie has Dexron VI, a low viscosity. But does not recommend it as suitable for Mercon LV. I would not use it. Lucas Oil specifically states on the Technical Data Sheet NOT TO USE for Mercon LV. Mobil 1 Synthetic LV ATF HP is approved and licensed by General Motors against DEXRON® HP ATF. I would not use.

See those palm trees next to the freeway offramp? That's actually the California Highway Patrol police station. A bicycle runs a red light, gets hit by a car coming off the freeway; it all happens in front of the CHP. As a motorcycle rider, I am keenly aware of my surroundings. I will not ride in anyone's blindspot. I try to position my bike so that I can safely change lanes in case someone in front of me suddenly stops. I never ride too close to someone's rear bumper in case they suddenly stop. I'm much more vigilant of pedestrian activity so that I don't run into some senior stepping off a curb or a kid chasing a ball. I never ride in the "door zone" where someone could open the door of a parked car, or pull out of a parking space, directly in my path. Well, there are many things that motorcyclist do & don't do in the interest of self preservation. One of them is not running red lights in the path of a freeway offramp. This street is also engineered with a bicycle lane. But cyclist never follow the rules. They don't ride in the bike lane. They still weave in & out of traffic. They don't obey traffic control devices. And they do not yield to pedestrian. It doesn't help that police do not pull over bicyclist for traffic infractions.

New traffic lights for bicycles. Now, when they run a red light, a red light which is specifically for bike riders; it won't be your fault when you hit them.

Raising my hand. I'm in that group.

Just a thought; you should Mercon LV. Ford automatic transmissions have been known to fail because the wrong fluid was used. Not to say that you have to use Ford Motorcraft brand. You could use other brands which meet specifications, or are Mercon vLV licensed. But you do not want to use just any type of ATF sold over the counter. When Ford began using Mercon V, a lot of people were buying Dex/Merc ATF and/or multi-vehicle ATF. Those ATF do not meet Mercon V spec. Those transmissions failed. The 6F35 uses a low viscosity fluid. Be sure that your choice of ATF is labeled for Mercon LV. Most of the over-the-counter ATF are not Mercon LV spec. It's not too late to correct this. And be sure that you perform a triple drain & fill, or a transmission return line exchange. I cannot stress how important it is to have the correct ATF. Glad that you got some new spark plugs and coil over plug ignitions, and that it worked out. On that note, what brands did you use? Did you stick with Motorcraft, since it's what most people recommend? The common theory is that Ford engines operate best with Motorcraft plugs and ignitions. I don't buy it. I think that there are brands which may not work well, and then there are people who buy less expensive spark plugs. To save money, some people will install the least expensive spark plugs. Commonly, that would be a copper spark plug. Not a great idea when your car came with finewire platinum, double platinum, or iridium spark plugs. The other common mistake is to use spark plugs right out of the box, without checking the gap. Some plugs say that the recommended part number for your application is correct, and that you are not suppose to change the gap. Then there is the controversy that today's modern engines and modern spark plugs do not require anti-seize. Then when you're looking at coil over plug ignition, Motorcraft can cost up to 3X as much as a product which you've never seen or heard of.

Go to a dealer first. Maybe go to more than 1 dealer. See if they could fix your transmission or replace it with an "after warranty adjustment". With your amount of driving, I would choose the Ford transmission with unlimited mileage warranty for 3 years. I'm not sure if Aamco transmissions are that good. You may also want to shop around with independent transmission shops. Did you ever service the transmission? Was the fluid changed at all? Do you know if your transmission fluid temperatures were high? It sounds like, from your description of 66,000 miles in 22 months, that your drive conditions are what Ford describes as "severe duty". Transmission fluid should have been flushed every 30,000 miles, and you may need an auxiliary cooler. You may even need an extra cooler for the engine oil. We've discussed transmission fluid changes on this forum and there is quite a bit to read. When the topic of auxiliary cooling was discussed, none of the forum members had unusually high temperatures. But nobody is operating the van like you.

I recall $21.88 Rollback, - $5 coupon @ checkout, - $10 rebate. I bought the 3 jug limit. I admit to buying whenever pricing is low. Which means that I will have motor oil and filters for years to come. Mobil 1 is good. Many other brands are just as good or better. It's more marketing than science. Even Walmart full synthetic, is a full synthetic oil. I think that with the Transit Connect, any oil which meets Ford specification will be fine. Even most conventional oil is labeled to meet Ford spec. Think of all the fleet vehicles serviced with generic bulk oil and unbranded filters. Across the country, hundreds of thousands of municipal and private industry Ford cars and trucks. All of which operate in severe service. They all last for hundreds of thousands of miles. None of us run the car around the clock like a taxi, police car, et cetera. Your daily commute isn't in pursuit mode. Regular oil changes with oil of your choice, and a tree on the mirror, will be sufficient. I don't think the Transit Connect needs a special filter either.

Go with the class 3. You don't want a class 2, only to have to buy all new accessories, since you already have what you need for a 2" receiver.

I placed the order and filed the rebate yesterday. The rebate has been approved. Yesterday was a Sunday. They processed the the claim, and approved it, on the same day. Now let's see how long it will take to get a check.

As the plot thickens....... Seen today. In South San Francisco. Right by the Business Costco store. Or do they call it Costco Business store? There is a sticker on the back of the van. A yacht club burgee.

I got some from Amazon when they had a rebate, and Amazon had a really low price. Pennzoil full synthetic 5W-20. It seemed okay. I'm fairly confident that any major name brand, or store brand from a well known store, which labels the oil with the API starburst, donut, & GF rating is useable. Useable for me. Some high end oils have better better grade base stock. Sure, I acknowledge that even though I can't tell the difference, there is a difference between group II, group III, whatever oil. And I trust that some oil formulations have different additives in different amounts, However, I don't have a high performance car. My thinking is that any modern oil with SN, SN Plus, and GR5 rating will be good enough for my car, as long as I'm changing the oil frequently. As motor oil is such a hot button topic, I'm open to anyone else's explanation of TBN, Moly, Boron, et cetera.....and how that will benefit this little naturally aspirated 2.5L Duratec. I'll probably still buy whatever is on sale, with a coupon, offering a rebate. It's all brand name oil. Even Amazon.com oil & Wal*Mart oil are able to meet API & GF specifications. And I can't think of any over the counter, name brand oil, which will not meet Ford specification. In my youth, I spent more money. A lot more money. I used boutique brand oil. I can't tell if any of those oil formulations had a long term benefit to those cars. I do know, that without a doubt, when they claimed that the oil would yield better mileage and more power - I did not see it happen. Royal Purple, Red Line, and Lucas Oil did not make a Honda Civic faster.

Fumoto is on sale right now.

It looks like Havoline is worth the money. People much more knowledgeable than me, could view the numbers on what's in the bottle, and weigh in on what's good and what's not so good. There are much more expensive oil formulations. The more expensive oil may be better. But for $8.15 for 5 quarts, Havoline has won my business. PQIA tested the 5W-30 weight. The 5W-20 is probably pretty close when it comes to the additive package. Probably almost the same amounts of magic juju to clean the engine and hold contaminants in suspension. High Mileage Oil is suppose to also have fairy dust which conditions and swells the seals. I'll let you guys know if anything bad happens from using this oil.

I bit. Price was just too good to pass up.

TPMS sensors have a battery. Like a watch battery. Those batteries don't last forever. The sensor are not manufactured with a battery door so that you can change the battery. You are expected to replace the sensor. Sensors have to be relearned by your car. A tool is available for this. These are probably the parts you will need.