Fifty150

Every car has it's own range of where the temperatures for the engine coolant/cylinder head, and transmission fluid, sort of "settle". For whatever reason, each car is somewhat unique, and it's hard to even compare 2 cars of the same model with similar equipment. Drive any car long enough, and you will notice where that range is. I see that my Transit Connect coolant temperature can be as low as 181 at freeway speed, and soars to 210+ on city streets. The transmission fluid temperature on my car will run from 195 - 210. These are numbers I look at towards the end of the day, after all day of driving. Where highway speeds and better airflow lower the coolant temp significantly, the transmission temperature lowers when I'm sitting in PARK. It makes sense that the transmission fluid increases as I'm driving, and lowers when the car is in PARK. I haven't seen 225 - 250, which would cause for alarm. In my mind, because I'm old, that little heat exchanger on the Transit Connect appears inadequate. But in reality, despite my personal bias, it does work. I haven't seen any overheating. I have yet to read reports of overheating from members on this forum. If the fluid cooler bypass valve closes between 180 - 190 like most Fords, then it is working. Transmission fluid remains above 180 once the car is warmed up. The scare is that the bypass valve does not close, and the transmission fluid loops back to the return line, without cooling.

Mine are fine.

5th gear is the 1:1 ratio where the torque converter is locked. 6th gear is the overdrive. I suspect that if you are towing a trailer at 70 mph, you are not in overdrive, and there is probably a lot of downshifting to 4th gear. And your engine must be revving a little higher, spinning the torque converter faster, and heating up the fluid a little more. Your cooling system is working as designed. I would have thought that towing at 70 mph, the transmission temperature would be even higher.

My key fob has one of those buttons. My button does nothing. I wonder if I can use Forscan to try to find a feature I can activate with that button.

With auto repair, and home repair, it helps to have a little knowledge before shopping. Sure, tires have different ratings, but how many of us know what those codes really mean? I've seen a lot of bad auto repair, done by very good mechanics, who do know better. Worst example is with an older car that needs a timing belt. They remove, then reinstall, all the old belts, hoses, thermostat, water pump, etc. Beautiful work. Timing belt is perfect, and ready for another couple of hundred thousand miles. But why didn't they install new parts? You just spent $$$XXX for his labor. Or when those shops send you a coupon in the mail for a tune-up. Read the coupon carefully, and it says things like "inspect ignition system" and "inspect cooling system". How much am I paying you to "look" at old parts, just so that you can quote another price to replace those parts? I know a guy who operates a neighborhood gas station with a repair shop. It's how he makes his money. They actually charge the customer to remove the spark plugs, look at them, report that the condition is fouled and out of gap range, reinstall the plugs, and quote a price for changing the spark plugs. Every car, at 50,000 miles, will not have clean spark plugs, and the gap will always be off by a little. That's why you change them. Not look at them, then quote another price to change them. This shop also uses one of those coolant testers, reports the condition to the customer with a recommendation and quote for coolant drain & fill. What a ripoff. I can tell you that all coolant, unless it's new, has a decreased level of coolant properties. You don't need to test it, to know that after 100,000 miles, you should change it. I love the plumbers who always want to sell you a re-pipe job. Or you call them for a clogged drain, and they rack up the billing with an inspection camera. What ever happened to just sending a snake down the line and clearing the obstruction? After they send the camera, they show you that the obstruction is a bunch of wadded up paper & sludge, then send a snake down the line and clear it. Same thing a plumber did 20 years ago, before they could pad the bill with the inspection camera.

Accurate as the Daisy Duke Dyno. When I wear tight, short shorts, I can feel the power from the stickers on my Honda.

I don't know how much cargo, or what type, you'll be carrying with a baby in the car seat. I've driven vans with, and without bulkhead divider screens. I've seen cargo fly around unexpectedly. I've had loose objects strike the back of my seat, slide under the seat and hit the back of my foot, fly into the windshield, and strike me in the back of the head. Just a tug on the sleeve. Keep the baby safe. Maybe install some sort of screen between the passenger and cargo areas.

Retail gasoline sales dominate the market. Every other type of fuel can't compete with distribution. Imagine that you invented the next miracle fuel. More power, clean, and less expensive. Will work in every engine. Made from never ending supply of seawater. If you have a better product, you will not be able to get it sold. No gas station operator will sell your product. You won't be able to develop a retail system. Gasoline sellers will block you politically from obtaining license to produce, store, transport.... Unions will not allow anyone to work for you.... You won't even be able to build a factory without union labor and construction permits..... Then oil companies and auto manufactures will conspire to program the car's so that your fuel won't work..... None of the gas pump manufacturers will sell you nozzles... For economic reasons..... profits.....USA market is locked into gasoline sales. Otherwise, overnight, we could all use alternative fuels. The entire nation could phase out gasoline with conversions for existing cars....All new cars could be built for other fuel....LPG, CNG, ethanol, hydrogen.....but not with gasoline industry lobbying lawmakers to protect their profits.

Diesel is a hard sell in The USA. It's hard even to purchase diesel fuel. A lot of gas stations just don't sell diesel. All the talk of bio-diesel, and that's even harder to find. We have diesel trucks in our work fleet. And I can tell you it's frustrating to drive around looking for diesel, if you are in a hurry to leave in the morning and did not start the day with a full tank.

I have a collection of stickers which I never placed on my truck. Maybe I should stick them on my van.

One of the best programs I've tried. It certainly does a lot more than I am using it for.

I don't even want to think about a key on engine on test.

Sensors on rear bumper, sometimes get bumped.

That's a new gremlin. Is that parking aid a new feature?

I've also heard that you should use a cable connector to the OBD II port. You don't want to chance losing a connection, for whatever reason, in the middle of programming, or running any of the tests.

modyourconnect may not have verified or updated the information. That happens with a lot of aftermarket parts. Check Ford. If the OEM model number is the same, then it's the same spring. The other option is simply to take a look. Look under your van. Look under an older model van. Does it look the same? Are the springs mounted in the same way? My guess is that since it's still in the same generation, the springs are the same. There are differences, but probably not in the springs.

You are completely correct. The only way an LED lamp is effective, if it's designed as a LED lighting unit. Any LED replacement for a halogen lamp is less effective. With household light bulbs, and commercial style fluorescent tubes, the LED replacements work. They are okay. But the best lighting is to install an LED fixture. The truly effective use of LED in automotive applications is when it's an LED lamp engineered at the factory. LED drop-in is not as good.

True cost is cost per mile. Miles per gallon will vary depending on fuel type. Even unleaded gas has different blends in different markets. I still believe in doing the math to figure out MPG. I don't think the dashboard readout is very accurate.

Also drive duration. if you commute less than XXX miles or XXX minutes. Versus someone who commutes an hour, 50 miles, or more. According to different service manuals I've read over the years, for different models of transmissions.....most said to drive at least 10 miles and get the transmission temperature to 180, which is suppose to be an optimal operating temperature for checking transmission fluid levels. By 180, the cooler bypass valve should be closed, and transmission fluid is flowing through the cooling system. The Transit Connect 6F35 probably falls within that rule of thumb. At 180, the transmission is "warmed up". For my short 10 mile commute to work, 170 - 180 is the transmission temperature when I park and turn off the engine. It's when I'm driving the van around all day, or traveling for longer distances on the freeway, that I see the transmission temperature rise. In my area, there are very steep hills. Hills, with stop & go traffic. Temperatures spike .Most people in The USA don't sit in stop & go traffic on the freeway or climb steep grades. Not to mention freeways with steep grades, which you have to climb at 65 - 70 MPH, as the transmission has to downshift.

I see between 190 - 210. All varies depending on ambient temperature, drive conditions, whether the cooling fan is on or off, airflow from freeway driving, how heavy your foot is on the accelerator, and how much weight you have in the van. The idea is to regulate the engine and transmission temperatures to stay above 150. I've heard that 150 is the magic number for open loop / closed loop operation, and learning/relearning drive cycle. I could be wrong, but I've also heard the number 100 Celsius or 212 Fahrenheit as acceptable operating temperatures. I've also heard that with modern transmissions, anything below 225 is fine, and that the temperature that you don't want to exceed for any duration is 250. Most OEM thermostats are around 180 or 190. Engine coolant flows completely through the cooling system. The transmission has a cooler bypass valve, which closes about 180 or 190. Transmission fluid now travels to the heat exchanger. In theory, the cooled radiator fluid brings down the temperature of the transmission fluid via the oil-to-water heat exchanger. In the Transit Connect, it's a little finned device bolted on top ot the transmission. Air flow and the fan, plus the radiator fluid, work together to cool the transmission fluid. In a lot of trucks, transmission fluid is passed through the cool side of the radiator, which is a similar cooling method. In some trucks, the transmission fluid then routes through an oil-to-air auxiliary cooler. Learn to trust & believe the electric scan gauge reading for transmission fluid temperature. It's the same number which the car's computer uses. Any other temperatures you read, from any gauges you install yourself, will be less relevant. Consider that the temperature sensor inside of the transmission is suppose to be a pan temperature. Much hotter fluid is in the torque converter, pumped out through the cooling line, then returns to the transmission. Cooling line temperature is much higher than pan temperature. Return line temperature is lower. Which makes the pan temperature somewhere in the middle of the the hottest & coolest. In larger transmissions with more fluid capacity, I've heard that the temperatures can vary even more, depending on where you are taking readings. You can drive yourself crazy with setting up gauges and temperature probes. Get a "point & shoot" thermometer, and you will really go nuts. Temperature of fluid inside of the transmission lines, and inside of the transmission case, is not the same as whatever the thermometer reads when you point & shoot the outside of the transmission case, pan, lines, cooler, & fins. Imagine pointing that laser thermometer at a BBQ, then pointing it at the meat on the grill, and then taking a reading by pointing the laser dot at the pile of hot coals.

From Google searching 6F35, this image came up. It seems to show that the fluid flow comes from the front, top of the transmission, behind the torque converter. Fluid then returns back to the transmission in the rear of the unit. I hope this helps.

There is a diagram of a 6F35 with OEM installed cooler. Comparing that to the parts diagram for 6F35 without the cooler, the only difference is in the placement of the cooler bypass valve. You should be able to install and route plumbing in a similar fashion. The thermostatic cooler bypass valve will prevent "over cooling". Fluid will flow into the valve, and back to the transmission, bypassing the cooler unless the fluid is hot enough to close the valve. I'm not entirely sure of what the preset temperature is. Most bypass valves close at 180 degree Fahrenheit. It appears as if in the stock Transit Connect configuration, the cooling line flows to a bypass valve, where it returns to the transmission, unless it's hot enough to require cooling. The transmission equipped with the auxiliary cooler has the cooling line flowing straight to the heat exchanger, then a bypass valve. So if the transmission fluid exits the heat exchanger, and it's at an acceptable operating temperature, it will bypass the cooler and return to the transmission.

I installed an LED light bar on the front of my van. Works great. Especially in inclement weather. LED light bar makes a world of difference in fog & rain.

Adding fluid is pretty easy. Just add through the vent cap. The check port on the side of the transmission is not hard to get to. But that's not what you want to do. You don't want to just add a little fresh fluid to top it off. You need to service the transmission. It sounds like you should set a couple of hours aside, and service the van. With that many miles, and considering that mail delivery is "severe service", plan to do a lot more than just an oil change. Do the triple drain & fill. You need to get as much of that old fluid out as possible. Factory fill in the sump is 4 liters. After the final drain, fill with 4 liters. Since the van is up on jack stands or a lift, change the oil, do the brakes, exchange the rest of the fluids, and change the spark plugs. Belts & hoses if you can. You get the idea. You bought the van used. It has over 100,000 miles. And it's your wife driving it every day. Make it safe for her.