Fifty150

It takes me a few days to get around to shaking off the loose dirt and debris, spraying the cleaning fluid, and rinsing it out. Then I wait a few days for it to thoroughly dry. Then I oil it, and wait at least a day for the oil to fully soak into the filter media. I decided to buy an extra paper filter for when the oiled filter gets serviced. Wow. Air filters have really gone up in price. It was only a few years ago. 2020. On a 2016, I had already cycled through 3 paper filters, which at the time, was about $10 for a Motorcraft from the dealer. Lube shops would charge about $20 for a paper filter (installation included), when you got your $20 oil change. The paper filter was almost $6 with tax. It was slightly lower in cost compared to Motorcraft. The filter and cleaner was about $50. I figured that it would take me about 8 years to break even and 10 years to come out ahead. Paper filters have gotten so expensive, that I'm already ahead. Like most auto parts, there are only a few manufacturers. Every brand comes from the same factory, with a different label. Ecogard, Premium Guard, and Purolator part numbers even end in the same 4 digits. The actual product looks the same. Every brand gets away with selling it for whatever price you are willing to pay. Every brand has skyrocketed. Based on the idea that you change a paper filter every year; the oiled filter seems like a bargain. At today's prices, 3 annual filter changes have already paid for my oiled filter. This is year 4. I'm in the money.

Batteries typically ship to distributors on pallets. Distributors then load the batteries onto battery trucks. They never toss the batteries or tumble them on conveyor belts. Which is sort of what happens when batteries are shipped via UPS, USPS, FEDEX, Amazon logistics, etc. I had an Amazon battery show up in a broken box and the box was wet. I took pictures and Amazon refunded the entire purchase amount. That's the only advantage to buying from Amazon. They will offer a full refund. I have doubts about buying from Amazon in the future. If it doesn't show up in good condition, I can get all of my money back. But if the battery doesn't last ...... Trying to file a warranty claim with Amazon, 30 days after the purchase is almost impossible.

I oiled the filter from the side that faces incoming air and waited for the oil to saturate. I don't really know what I am doing. But I think it worked.

What battery are you using now? Prices have gone up. The OEM battery was a group 96. The dealership lists the battery as a group 40. Both are $169.95 at the dealership level. Almost $100 more if you buy a similar battery from a retailer.

The Optima Red Top in my pickup lasted 20 months. March of 2022 to November of 2023. It needed a jump start every time. Including short stops for fuel, where the engine was only off for ten minutes. I have a NOCO 10 amp charger which claims that it can destratify and desulfate depleted batteries. I tried to repair the battery. The charger got it up to 14.7 volts. As soon as the charger was disconnected, the battery only read 12.1 volts. Then it dropped down to 7 volts. Keep in mind that battery warranties are serviced by the reseller. You have to have the receipt, and return to the store that you bought it from. If you didn't buy it there, they will not help you. You cannot bring a battery from O'Reilly's, to Advanced Auto Parts or Wal*Mart. Even InterState, which is an Optima distributor, will not help you with warranty service. There is a barcode sticker on the side of the battery which indicates which retailer sold the battery. You can't try to fool them with an old battery which you bought somewhere else. And you must have the original receipt which will serve as the warranty start date. If you buy the battery online....... no store will help you. If you buy a car battery online, what do you do about the core charge? You can buy a battery from Ford Parts, Rock Auto, Amazon...... and it's great to get a lower price and free shipping...... but what will it cost for you to send a 50 pound battery back to get your core deposit?

Optima recommends that you can use their Group 78. Just remember that Optima batteries are sealed. You can turn the battery on it's side and slide the battery in with the terminals facing up. It looks like a tight fit, but it could work.

That's a lot of work. Very impressive. High 5.

Let's see how dirty your filter is.

The dealership sold me a BXT-40R. It dropped right into my van. No hassle. In today's world, there are many options for group 40 and group 96. There are AGM options. Optima doesn't have a battery. Odyssey does.

Just an anecdote. No science what-so-ever. I installed a K&N oiled filter in my ex's car. We drove to Vegas & back. I kept every receipt and calculated the miles per gallon. With each fillup, and for the entire trip, we got about 10% better fuel mileage. No real science. Just a car that got about 26 miles per gallon, getting 29 miles per gallon. Many factors contribute. When your car usually drives short trips in stop & go traffic, suddenly gets a long highway trip..... cruise control set to highway speed..... CA gas versus NV gas ethanol levels..... long flat stretch of highway for hundreds of miles.......

For what it's worth, the K&N filter has paid for itself and saved money for me. If I were to have changed disposable filters every year, the expense would be over $100 by now. It's a little bit of work to clean and reoil the K&N. According to K&N, you can use those filters for a really long time between service intervals. But I don't think I will wait 50,000 miles, 75,000 miles, or 100,000 miles to clean the filter. I just do it by eye. If the filter looks dirty, I clean and oil it. From my experience, you can never get those things 100% clean. Or at least I've never been able to get everything that is stuck to the wire cage holding the filter media. When I took the air intake off to change the battery, I took a look at the filter. A lot of debris. The throttle body was pretty clean, which may mean that the filter is working. I've heard of how filter oil gets sucked into the tube, saturates the MAF sensor, and pollutes the throttle body. But I suspect that is usually from somebody not oiling the filter correctly from the outside, putting too much oil on the filter, and not waiting for the oil to saturate and fully absorb into the filter media.

Ikea futon pads work great. You must be excited.

My 2016 came from the factory with BXT-96R. The dealership replaced it with BXT-40R. I bought it based on pricing and availability. It was the least expensive battery, and it was available. No ordering and waiting for delivery. The price was significantly lower than every available option. Auto parts stores sell the same MotorCraft battery for 50% more. When I looked up the van, the BXT-96R which it came with shows that it doesn't fit.

Slide out the battery, with the ground wire attached. No point in trying to reach into that space with a wrench. The OEM battery was BXT-96R. My VIN recommended replacement is BXT-40R. The local auto parts store shows different options. Although the battery which came in the van was not an option. Then put it all back together.

The entire air intake has to be removed. Not hard. Just more work. Disconnect everything attached to the intake hose. Remove the cover. Remove the filter. Have a new filter handy. Remove the base of the air box. Disconnect the ground wire at the ground post. It's a 13mm. Disconnect the positive terminal. Remove the battery hold down securement device. 10mm wrench. No easy short cut to lifting up and disengaging the panel in front of the battery.

It could be mechanical. You may have to actually take apart the tailgate and the liftgate, inspect the wiring harnesses, and so forth. Not every issue can be diagnosed with a scan tool.

My X thought that trucks were like t-shirt sizes. Xtra Large.

The full version of FORScan with the full features is Windows with the Extended License. A wired connection is more stable. You do not want a wireless connection to disconnect while you are making changes to the car's computer.

At the dealership level, the techs use Ford IDS. You can try Forscan for the diagnostic. I don't know much about using Forscan for diagnostics, other than reading trouble codes and reading operating parameters. I know that Forscan is capable of much more. I just don't know how to use it to do more. I am using Forscan with Android on a tablet, which has limited functions. I believe that you need a PC with Windows to access the full potential. I am using this device. Although many others will work. Try a web search first. There may already be tutorials to fix your backup camera issue.

The camera operates through the car's computer. The car's computer sends a signal for the camera to turn on, then receives the data, processes the data, and sends the image to your display screen. It's not like an aftermarket camera which would be easy to troubleshoot. Maybe it's the actual physical camera unit which is not working, and sending back an upside down image. Maybe not. I have a feeling that you will need a diagnostic with a computer. The interior panel of the liftgate comes off with trim tools. I use a tool like this: This is what my liftgate looks like under the panel.

Those are just trim levels. Different trim levels come with different options. All cars have trim levels. It's not like clothing, where you're getting an "extra large tall". Usually, you can look at the sales brochures which outline the extra bells and whistles. Leather seats. Chrome wheels. Different tires. Upgraded stereo. Fog lights. Floor mats. Different engine and transmission packages. Tow package. Things like that.

Those "back up beepers" are usually a simple circuit tapped into the reverse lamp. Some people ground them to the chassis. Some people ground them back to the reverse lamp ground wire. Either way, you now have a circuit which can be used to activate a backup camera, a flashing strobe to really warn people that you're backing up, or even set up extra reverse lamps in case you're backing up to hitch up trailers at night.

What an adventure.

Usually tapped into the reverse lamp signal wire.

It sounds like you have to do an electronic diagnostic. There is a sensor sending a signal which is not correct. The computer is receiving a signal that the van is overheating, so it acts accordingly, by stopping the operation so that you don't blow the engine. When you unplug the power connector, you're temporarily resetting items in computer's memory. Then the cycle repeats. That same faulty sensor signal is being read by the computer, and the computer shuts down the van's operation. You need to find that sensor, inspect it, and inspect the wiring connection harness for the sensor.