Fifty150

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.

It could be engine misfire. Use an OBD II monitor to check for misfires, misfire count, and to see which cylinder is misfiring. On some cars, low grade, sporadic misfires, which are not misfiring consistently, do not turn on the "CHECK ENGINE LIGHT". Change spark plugs and coil-over-plug & boot. Checvk for engine compression. Once in awhile, on some cars, EGR & PCV valves and sensors need to be changed. Are there any hard downshifts or upshifts? Does the transmission ever fail to engage, or slip? It's not always the transmission. But a transmission fluid exchange should be performed anyway. It's an old car, and I doubt if the transmission fluid is fresh.

The price of gas went up around here. I need to drive 5 or 10 mph slower.

Very nice. Did you buy the van with the conversion package? Or did you do all of the installation work yourself?

I understand your issue. Of course, it will work. Work for now. How about 5 or 10 years, of the weight on the door, and that weight bouncing over every bump in the road?

Is anybody using Mobil 1 for 20,000 miles?

My feeling is that the Transit Connect is not an off-road vehicle. I don't have much confidence in the small "crossover SUV" class either. I would rather step up to the 1/4 ton 4X4 like a Tacoma. Opinions vary. Just because I don't like them, doesn't mean they won't work for you. Plenty of people are buying CR-V, Escape, and comparable small utility cars.

Hundreds of thousands of these vans have been sold. Most owners don't participate in the forum.

I should have noted that I was thinking about under $20. Plenty of Amazon and eBay adapters under $20. Some work. Some don't. Hard to find consistent quality in that price range.

I've never hears of such a modification. You might be able to find a car builder who is willing to fabricate something for you. As far as being able to buy something, there is nothing on the market for that. Not for any car, as far as I know.

Weird. The silver color painted wheel is also less expensive.

I would be more concerned about the backspace. It seems like all that anyone talks about is the offset. The backspace clearance is what makes a difference. A lot of wheel specs online don't even mention the backspace.

Old School, How many sets of wheels and tires have you experimented with so far? I've lost track. I like that. You are willing to try new things. What are the specs on the wheel? What is the width? What is the backspace? 5150

Very nice Mobil 1 filter. Are you using full synthetic oil, and extending the oil change interval?

If anyone is interested, Havoline has a rebate offer until the end of the year. I have used Havoline oil. It works. Nothing special. Good enough that nothing bad happened either. If anyone is a miser, like me, then this could be a good deal.

For any kind of build, the stripped down cargo van offers the most cubic volume. But once it's stripped to cargo.....well, it's stripped down. Hard choice to make there.