Fifty150

Impressive

Rivet nuts are very easy to install. Only problem is spending the money on the rivet nut setter. That's a very expensive tool to use for 6 or 8 pieces of hardware, then probably never use again.

California reformulated gas gets less mileage. More ethanol = less mileage. Rumor is that "top tier" actually is just a marketing gimmick. But some people swear that certain brands of gasoline get better mileage.

From what I have read, the OBDLink MX tool appears to be working the best. It is expensive. Yo9u can buy something for less than half of that cost. Enter "forscan" into the Amazon search box, and other options will appear. Ideally, you will want something connected by a USB cable to your laptop. This is the most stable method. Anything wireless, such as Bluetooth or WiFi, you could risk losing the connection randomly.......which is not what you want if you were to reprogram features or run tests. I have tried several inexpensive units. The preferred style has a toggle switch for High Speed and Medium Speed CAN. Cheap wireless connectors can and will lose the connection. Annoying when using as a monitor. Screws up your datalogging. And could cause catastrophic failure if you are running a key on engine on test, or rewriting a program feature into the car's computer. Cheap wireless connectors offer unexpected and irregular results. It may pair perfectly with 1 carr, then not work well with another car. Then on the same car, work well with a tablet, and not so well with another tablet or phone. A cheap connector can be bought for less than $20. If it works, then it works. If it does not work, return it and buy something better. When reading the reviews on Amazon, cheap units work perfect for some people, and don't work for others. I can only guess that the quality control and manufacturing standards are not maintained. Same seller, same model, same factory, and no quality control. You can luck out and get 1 that works perfectly. Or just spend the money, buy the most expensive unit, and you will be fine like everyone else who bought it.

I always have 2nd thoughts about mods like that. How long will the seals last? Will it leak years down the line? What about structural integrity? Will cutting into the rroof decrease the rigidity of the van body?

The fan is loud. At least to me. Maybe everyone has a different tolerance.

FYI Valvoline MaxLife ATF is now available in a 5 gallon box.

The fill check plug on the side is used when ATF is at 85 - 93 C. You will need some sort of scan tool or app to read the ATF temperature via the OBDII port. A popular setup is HS/MS Can OBDII dongle, via USB, to a laptop with FORScan. You can forget about trying to use a point & shoot thermometer, as you will get a lot of different readings, and none will be accurate to what the car's computer sees from the sensor in the transmission valve body. At the correct operating temperature, your ATF has closed the cooler bypass valve, is flowing in a complete loop through the cooling system, and has expanded. This is the correct fill level for the fill check plug. From what you have described, your ATF was not at the correct temperature when you opened the fill check plug. This will result in an overfill condition. Not entirely catastrophic. Excess hot & expanded ATF will probably purge from the vent cap. But the best idea is to now adjust the fluid level to where it is correct. Between you, me, the tree, and nobody else - I think that transmission engineers design automatic transmissions with a certain level of "oops factor". They know that some people will make a little mistake with underfill & overfill, or what if there is a fluid leak causing some fluid to be lost? Everyone will tell you that you should have the correct fluid level, and I agree with that. But you're probably safe by a quart within the correct fill level. Meaning 1/2 quart low or high would still be safe. Not ideal. But safe. After all, why is there a hashmark range on dipsticks? Otherwise, the dipstick would just have one line, or hole, and you better be at that exact level. The factory fill on this 6F35, as published in earlier versions of owners manuals, is 4 liters. Not 4 quarts. 4 liters. Fill with 4 liters. Drive until transmission fluid temperature is 185 - 200 F. Then open the fill check plug. If nothing comes out, then add fluid. If fluid is coming out, wait until nothing is coming out. Now reinstall the plug. I'm lazy,. My 3rd fill is 4 liters. I'm done. I add 4 liters of Mercon LV, and then drive it until the next transmission service. It's not right. It's just what I do. Don't consider anything I write to be advice or recommended. You do what you want to do. It won't be my fault when something goes wrong. You won't be able to say, "5150 told me to....."

Good work, Mr. Ridley. This information will serve everyone who is planning on upgrades which require better grounding.

Should I take it to the track? Or just take a chance on the open road, with less than controlled conditions, and see what happens?

89. Different safety standards too. Glad you are still with us.

If it were me, I would buy an extra set, to have spare parts. You never know when your mirror gets kicked off by an angry hipster on a Vespa.

Maybe somebody could remove the speed limiter via Forscan, and see how fast it can really go.

I remember reading that cars of the 80's & 90's with much less technology, got much better mileage. Honda CRX, GEO Metro, and even the Ford Ranger was a MPG champ. But none of those cars could pass today's emissions regulations. I am not a scientist. I don't have any of the facts. Just things I hear or read randomly. But I have heard that to reduce tailpipe emissions, some MPG was lost, and now, technology such as gasoline direct injection, and engines turning off at a stop, are the path to getting better mileage while trying to keep the air clean.

With my driving style, I see the same range of temperatures whether the ambient temperature is 51 or 102. That's just me. It's different for everyone. If I had another 1,000 lbs of cargo or people, if I was at a different elevation, if the humidity was different.........who knows. In The Bay Area, we are close to sea level. I travel up and down The State, and my temps look the same after driving all day. I haven't seen any overheating yet. This is a fairly efficient cooling system.

Hang a tree on the mirror.

For me, it's not the top speed that I worry about. Where I need power is from a standstill. Most important to me is being able to pickup enough speed to merge into freeway traffic. Metering lights, short onramps, and just trying to merge back in from a stop on the shoulder requires a good 0 - 60.

Unless you are taking the tire off the wheel, replacing the TPMS yourself, then remounting and balancing at home...... the dealership or tire shop should relearn the TPMS as part of the installation service.

Amazing that it can be any religion. Even a religion you make up yourself.

I wish it were more exciting. But it was not storming Area 51, waiting for the aliens, or "witnessing" of "the 2nd coming". Just your run-of-the-mill, pick-a-denomination, church. They call themselves by many names, and identify as Christian on Sunday. As opposed to worshipping on Saturday. Amongst the worshippers, neither of us were there to worship. We each had our own agenda. Funny that you should mention MLM. Those churches are MLM. They are selling you a multi-level-marketing product. All of that money which you "donate", trickles up in tiers. Very seldom, do you find a religious institution, where there is no personal enrichment. A lot of people don't want to see it that way. But it's not as if those people are all unpaid volunteers, who make a living from some other source, and accept no recompense for their church duties. Most churches have a payroll. Not judging the size of anyone's paycheck, but nonetheless, there is payment. Not weighing anyone's spiritual commitment, but they're not doing it for free. I show up, perform my service, and I did not do it free. I get a paycheck. They would be without my service without remuneration at market rate.

Even stranger that the owners manual has a chart showing 5W-20 as being recommended for temperature as low as -29 C. Not -30 C. But I get it. Your owners manual is referencing an EcoBoost engine. My owners manual page is referencing the Duratec engine. 2 different engines.

In The USA, a lot of people feel that 20 weight oil is only specified by automobile manufacturers because of the Corporate Average Fuel Economy standard. So it doesn't surprise me that the European cars allow for 5W-30 as an alternative weight. I have read that modern engines need a lower viscosity oil, and that higher viscosity oil may be too thick and will clog oil passages. Maybe the modern engines aren't manufactured to such tolerances that you must use a lower viscosity oil. Maybe people posting opinions online are not engineers and scientist, and their opinions are not based on factual data. Also interesting that the US owners manual specifies the 0W-20 weight, and the European manual specifies 5W-30.

I ran into a guy I know. Surprise, he looked at me, as I looked back at him. "You too?" "Yes, me too!" I haven't seen this guy in awhile. And he pulls up to the place of weekend spiritual worship in a white Transit Connect. Then someone else in the parking lot remarked how we could commit any crime we wanted, and getaway by just driving slow and blending in with all the other white Transit Connects downtown. Same way I always said that I could hide my white pickup truck in a Home Depot parking lot. Now a 4th & 5th guy come over. Then we got all the comments about being creepy, driving around with puppy dogs & ice cream, and how we'll be suspects when people in the neighborhood start disappearing.

I'm at a lost. I don't have a facebook account to log into.