Fifty150

You should be able to negotiate better pricing with Dodge or Chevrolet. Chevrolet and Nissan also sell small vans. Overall, Ford Transit Connect beats those vans for driveability, build quality, engineering. Mercedes is the best. Just way more expensive.

On the same transmission, Mazda uses an Idemitsu fluid with greater viscosity. But I don't think that filling with Idemitsu Type-M fluid is the solution. You mention that transmission fluid was changed. Was it a complete fluid exchange? Or was it just a drain & fill? Was Mercon LV used? I believe that on your model year, Mercon LV is the specified fluid. In earlier models, some of those transmissions were factory filled with Mercon V. If a shop did the work, they may have filled your transmission with some sort of Dex/Merc compatible fluid, which is not suitable for Mercon V or Mercon LV. And I have seen where shops make mistakes with filling to proper level. You may have issues if the transmission was only drained & filled, with the wrong fluid, and the transmission fluid level is not correct.

I thought there was a thread where someone used unistrut to fabricate an awning.

There are commercial ladder racks. I don't know if they would work for what you have in mind.

Those headlights are so clean!

I ordered this last night. Pricing is reasonable for the product. Not super expensive like boutique brand full synthetic.

If it were closer to home, I would go pick up parts. But shipping would kill the deal on just about every part.

Good job. Everything looks good. I like the extra 12 volt power points.

For 1st generation vans, youtube may be a better resource than this forum.

For what you would spend, money & time....... My option would be to buy another car. Once you install a new engine, what else will fail next on a car with that many miles?

That's like fixing a check engine light with a can of spray paint.

Very good point about the ambient air temperature sensor. Sensor also has wiring and a connector which could get wet. In most cases, if there is damage and/or a leak, it would be consistent. Not just after going through a car wash. You probably won't find a leak with a visual inspection or tracer dye. There very well may be water wetting a bad electrical connection. No reason why water is getting under the hood. Even if you go through a car wash which sprays water upward, there is an underbody shield. I can only imagine water spraying in past the passenger side wheel well, towards the side of the engine where the belts and pulleys are.

That's something you have to ask your dealer. Any dealer should be able to add them. Order and install, right?

I always like how the Econoline was basically a van version of the F-Series trucks. The Transit vans are completely different and unrelated to the F-Series trucks. I like the Transit vans for work. But I will not buy for a personal vehicle. Otherwise, I would be driving 1 now, instead of the Transit Connect. I have no personal use for a van that big, or I would still own an Econoline E-150 or something like that. Maybe when I retire the pickup truck, I'll reconsider and buy a full size van instead of a truck. Or I may never buy a 1/2 ton truck again. Just rent or borrow a truck when I need it.

You can download Forscan, and clear the adaptive learning table yourself. It's the first option that comes up with the little wrench icon. Don't pay that guy $140 for clicking on a mouse. If you really want to spend the money, pay one of the guys here on this forum to come over and do it for you.

If 185 worries you....... Consider that the temperature sensor is usually located in the valve body to measure an average "pan temperature". Same area in other transmissions where there is a transmission pan, with a test port right above the pan bolts. This means that the torque converter temperature is a lot higher. Fluid exiting at the cooling lines is significantly higher than what you see as a temperature reading from the car's computer. That hot fluid travels through the cooling system, and is returned to the sump. Theory being returned fluid at the bottom of the pan is cool, mixing with hot fluid already in the transmission, and there you have your average temperature or pan temperature. Although transmission experts advise against it, some people simply remove the bypass valve. This forces fluid to always pump through the cooling system. It takes a little bit longer for the fluid to heat up. But it does nothing to create additional cooling. Additional cooling can only be achieved by adding a cooler, and perhaps a cooler with an electric fan. My experience is that the coolers with the fans work best.

That's to compete with the Mercedes Benz van. I think that Mercedes Benz makes a better offroad van. If the price is the same, I would choose the Sprinter. I buy Ford based on lower price.

The bypass valve should be set for 185. Fluid exiting from torque converter must reach 185 before the valve closes and fluid flows to cooler. Temp seen by sensor is lower than temperature of hot fluid in cooling line.

May have a damaged condenser. Rock strikes. Bird strikes. Animal damage. But probably not a line leak or bad fitting.

The thermostatic bypass valve is in the open position, which allows fluid to bypass the cooler and return to the transmission. When a preset temperature is reached, the valve closes, and fluid will flow to the cooler. It's like the radiator thermostat, except that it closes instead of opening. The vehicle's computer needs the engine and transmission to reach operating temperature, before it operates at efficiency. In an ideal situation, your car is not overloaded, you are not climbing hills, and the ambient air temperature under 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The little oil to water heat exchanger bolted on top the transmission allows cooled radiator fluid to bring down the transmission fluid temperature. I have heard that operating transmission fluid temperature can be acceptable anywhere between 185 - 220, in modern vehicles. The car is designed, with a bypass valve, so that the vehicle can warm up, and not "over-cool". In the event that the transmission temperature is overheating, your only alternative is to pull the vehicle over, leave the engine running, raise the hood, and wait for the transmission fluid to cycle and cool. Ideally, you should not need any added cooling for normal driving. If operating in extreme conditions, the cooler may be beneficial. All day, stop & go, extensive idling, in hot climates. Some people overload without knowing. If you have 7 people, plus all of their stuff, a rooftop carrier, and a small trailer - like you're going to a campground on a holiday weekend, everyone drives a little slower in the campground, uneven terrain, dirt roads with a little wheel slip, maybe a very small boat on a trailer...... I can imagine wanting a little more transmission cooling. Of course, I'm from the mindset of driving trucks & Jeeps. Stupid to think that trucks & Jeeps, which you think are engineered to go offroad, all need transmission coolers because the transmission fluid temperatures soar when you go offroad. I have no worries at all about the family loading into the van for a trip to dinner & a movie. Even a long road trip, where it's mostly freeway driving with the torque converter locked, should be fine for 12 hour drives. But the auxiliary cooler can't harm the transmission in any way.

Okay, I think I've got it. Part No. 7A035 is the transmission cooler. It is an oil to water cooler which uses coolant to bring down the transmission fluid temperature. The line which goes back towards the front of the transmission is the return line. Fluid has either bypassed the cooler, or is returning already cooled, to the transmission. The shorter connection at the rear of the transmission is the fluid cooling line. Hot fluid flows out from this line, to Part No. 7H322, the cooler bypass valve. It looks like the parts are already available from Ford, as there are other cars which come with a factory tow package which includes auxiliary cooling. It looks like everything could fit.

The only part under your hood exposed to water from rainfall or a carwash is the front grille fascia. Water would have to spray directly in for anything to get wet. The only part on the front of the car exposed would be the air conditioning condenser, accumulator, fittings, and lines. This is the part that looks like a radiator, in front of your radiator. The air conditioning compressor is under the hood in the engine bay. Look for visible damage.

If you commit a crime, the police will only have a description of a white minivan. Do you know how many white Transit Connects are out there waiting to be pulled over by the cops? I recall a bank robbery, in downtown San Francisco. They didn't actually rob the bank. They robbed the armored courier making a cash delivery to the bank. The bandits were dressed as bicycle messengers, and made their getaway on bicycles. They blended right into the the downtown traffic with bicycle messengers darting in & out of traffic.

He's the unknown stuntman......

Very good job. Thank you for the figuring out the wiring and showing us which wire to tap into. I like that you used better quality parts for your installation. The Posi-Tap is a nice touch. I've seen a lot of installations with lower cost LED strip lights, single color without a controller. Same idea. Just not as nice.