Fifty150

Regearing is something that racers and off-road guys have been doing for decades. Guys used to drive to the track, change out the gears in the rear differential, race, change back to street gearing, then drive home. Not as simple as it sounds, but it was done. Most people with lift kits will swear that regearing makes all the difference in the world. Some people with stock wheel & tire, will regear so that they can have more low lend torque for towing. Simply not an option with Transit Connect's front wheel drive. And apparently, there isn't a product on the market for remapping fuel trim, changing shift points, or changing the tire size to read correctly on the speedometer. With my old tech cars of yesteryear, SCT made awesome handheld programmers for Ford vehicles. I currently have an extra SCT Livewire not paired to any vehicle. But nobody is writing custom tunes for Transit Connect. So I'll just save it, and hope it will still work and be compatible if I buy another Mustang. Maybe hope & pray, that as a joke, a custom tuner will want to write a tune for Transit Connect, then e-mail to me as a gift.

I live in a major metropolitan area. There are upholstery shops who will produce brand new seat covers for your car. They remove the seat. Remove the fabric of the seat. Then they can replace the foam padding if you want something firmer or softer. They measure, cut, and sew on new leather of your choice. This is extremely expensive, and typically goes onto custom builds. https://www.asmautoupholstery.com/story.html My Account $0.00 (972) 406-8130 HOME THE STORY THE MERCH THE WORK SERVICES THE SHOP A GIRL NAMED Sue Sue was born in Taiwan to a family of farmers where she learned her hard work ethics. Sue moved to the United States in 1984 with her husband and children. In 1990 she got started in the upholstery business with her husband’s 1968 Grand Torino. She and her friend reupholstered it in her garage. From there, she had a business opportunity to purchase an existing upholstery company, going bankrupt, in a 1000 square feet garage in Dallas, Texas. She purchased it for $4,500 and ASM Auto Upholstery was born. For years she worked day in and day out, sometimes working 24 hours a day, for 3 to 4 days in a row. Practically living at the shop, sleeping in shifts, 100 percent committed to making deadlines, in an attempt to gain the reputation of dependability and quality. After a few years of work, having gained many loyal customers, ASM grew by renting an additional 1000 square feet of the adjoining slip next door. Eventually she expanded by moving across the street and leased 2000 square feet of a building, with a parking lot. 3 years later she purchased the entire complex, 8800 square feet, which is where ASM remains today. Having gained the reputation for top quality work and unfailing customer service, at the most competitive pricing, ASM is the premier upholstery company in the D/FW Metroplex. With our restoration experience, having boosted us to the top tier of upholsterers, we are now getting restoration shipments from across the country. Sue is an example of the true American dream. ASM Auto Upholstery, LLC 11511 Reeder Road, Dallas, TX 75229 Mon - Fri 8 AM - 6 PM (972) 406 - 8130 info@asmautoupholstery.com Copyright © 2018 ASM Auto Upholstery, LLC. Dallas / Fort Worth, Texas.

This could be your chance to install something different. Since you are installing new fenders, you can install any type of light you want. Think about different styles of LED side markers. Be unique. Be creative. Fill in the OEM hole with Bondo, then rig up something else. As for wiring, we're only talking about 2 wires - positive & negative. Test the wires you already have to determine fist that they are still working, and ready for a new lamp. No reason for the wires to be dead....but who knows with used cars. That lamp only illuminates with the blinkers. Or just call LKQ, and buy it for whatever used parts cost. These parts may work. Double check for compatibility. Since your car is in the shop, the body shop should be able to find exact matches for everything that you need. Do you really want to tell them to pause the work, so that you can take your time to find a cheaper part, as opposed to just letting install the correct item and finishing the job? REPEATER BULB Part Number: E35Y13466B Manufacturer: GENUINE FORD Condition: New - Original Equipment Part Product Fit: Direct Fit UOM: EA Quantity Sold: Sold individually Qty Per Application: 1 Minimum Order Qty:1 Section: Electrical Category: Front Lamps Subcategory: Side Repeater Lamps Diagram Callout Id#: 2 Diagram Callout Id#: 2 Ships in 3-5 business days 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Get Price in Cart ***More Details BULB Part Number: E5RY13466B Manufacturer: GENUINE FORD Condition: New - Original Equipment Part Product Fit: Direct Fit UOM: EA Quantity Sold: Sold individually Qty Per Application: 1 Minimum Order Qty:1 Section: Electrical Category: Front Lamps Subcategory: Side Repeater Lamps Diagram Callout Id#: 2 Diagram Callout Id#: 2 Ships in 3-5 business days 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Get Price in Cart ***More Details SOCKET Part Number: F8RZ13K371AA Manufacturer: GENUINE FORD Condition: New - Original Equipment Part Product Fit: Direct Fit UOM: EA Quantity Sold: Sold individually Qty Per Application: 1 Minimum Order Qty:1 Section: Electrical Category: Front Lamps Subcategory: Side Repeater Lamps Diagram Callout Id#: 3 Diagram Callout Id#: 3 Ships in 3-5 business days 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Get Price in Cart ***More Details REPEATER LAMP Part Number: 9T1Z13K376A Manufacturer: GENUINE FORD Condition: New - Original Equipment Part Product Fit: Direct Fit UOM: EA Quantity Sold: Sold individually Qty Per Application: 1 Minimum Order Qty:1 Section: Electrical Category: Front Lamps Subcategory: Side Repeater Lamps Diagram Callout Id#: 1 Diagram Callout Id#: 1 Ships in 3-5 business days 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Get Price in Cart ***More Details SOCKET Part Number: 2M5Z13K371A Manufacturer: GENUINE FORD Condition: New - Original Equipment Part Product Fit: Direct Fit UOM: EA Quantity Sold: Sold individually Qty Per Application: 1 Minimum Order Qty:1 Section: Electrical Category: Front Lamps Subcategory: Side Repeater Lamps Diagram Callout Id#: 3 Diagram Callout Id#: 3 Call for Availability Request Quote ***More Details

The body style was "updated". Of course, aesthetics is all a matter of personal opinion. The 1st generation with the high roofline could have simply been stretched for a longer wheelbase with 7 passenger seating. I would have bought a longer version of the 1st generation body. For a lot of us, the body could have been elongated by a few more inches. Lots of people would love to have a 4X8 interior to accommodate building materials. I would love to see a truck with a 10' box, or van w/ 10', for loading pipe in 10' lengths. Strap enough pipe onto the rack of pickup, and you will notice the high center of gravity. Nothing like 2,000' of pipe leaning into a turn.

There is another thread buried around here in regards to the license plate screw. On my car, the dealership tech removed the interior panel of the lift gate to show it to me. There is a 6 sided, hex shaped hole punched into the door. The factory installs a 6 sided, hex shaped rivet nut. The scenario which repeats itself is that a salesman, service writer, or parts counter guy grabs a couple of license plate screws which work on all the trucks and vans......except this one, built in Turkey. Different size and thread pitch. Screws up the rivet nut threads. So the tech having access to the inside and outside of the door panel, is able to carefully remove the damaged rivet nut with a cutoff disc, angle grinder, and drill. A little touch up paint to cover the bare metal. Then with a rivet nut tool, he sets another pair of OEM 6 sided, hex shaped rivet nuts. You can do whatever you want. I recall that one member drilled out the hole and riveted his plate to his van. You could also install a rivet nut. You could overengineer it by using washers with the rivet nut.

I find that on a lot of little jobs like that, the guys at the shop have just the right tools, supplies, knowledge, experience, and know a few short cuts.......where they slap a windshield up in 10 minutes, then you just have to wait for the product to cure & set before they let you drive it off. You ever try grabbing a windshield by yourself, and setting it in straight, and hoping that the seal is good even though you had no idea what you were doing with it? Not that you can't do it. You could. But it might be better to spend the extra $35 or whatever so that a shop tech gets it right. You could make your own sushi too. It would taste fine after you dip it in soy sauce and wasabi. But you might die from handling the raw fish the wrong way.

That is awesome DIY work.

This is today. Math works out to 17.32 MPG. Your mileage may vary.

If it is rust, that is a warranty issue. Have the dealership look at it. Let their techs pull panels and peek under with a flashlight. Look on top. Do you have roof rails, or caps over the little holes. If any water is getting in, that would be a slow leak would develop. Then that moisture could trap between the roof & headliner, causing untreated metal to rust. With motion, the rusty water leaks down to where it is visible to you.

Remember how VW has a little vase for a flower? Put a sandwich in there, and tell everyone it's an OEM sandwich tray.

That's different. First time I've ever heard of drivers from San Jose & Sunnyvale being described as "better". 3rd world countries, without any vehicle codes or traffic laws are the most difficult places to drive.....except that the absolute worst place to drive, from my perspective, is India. Way more signage than anyone could learn to understand. Rules that nobody else has in any country. And chaos ensues because everything is flagrantly disregarded. I would rather drive in NYC or LA, where the chaos is controlled by bumper to bumper traffic moving at 5 miles an hour.

My dad and I saw a Mercedes van on the street not too long ago. He commented that any contractor who pulls up to your house in a Mercedes, will charge you more to pay for his Mercedes. I think that the Mercedes is simply a better product in terms of engineering and build quality. A mercedes sedan, is nicer than a Taurus. A Mercedes UniMog, is much better than an Explorer.......oops, that was not a fair comparison. But I'm not paying the extra $10,000 for a Mercedes anything. I don't date girls with expensive handbags & shoes with red bottoms. Same way I would rather eat the $5 burger, than pay $$$XXX for organic, free range, grass fed, prime grade. I know it's better. I also know it's more expensive. The only organic, free range, grass fed any animal that I will eat is one that I shot. The only Mercedes I will drive, is one that I stole. No money out of my pocket for luxury items I can't afford.

If you drain into a paint mix bucket with measurement lines, you will know exactly how much came out. Then when you go to refill, you can refill with the exact amount. You will also note those weird measurements, like 3.2 quarts, and 4.2 quarts. Your fluid will come out of a quart container. If you wan an exact measurement, 0.2 quarts is equal to 6.4 ounces. A trick for that measurement, as learned from Honda guys who are obsessed over exact amount of motor oil, is to use a specimen cup. The cup which the doctor tells you to pee into. It is marked for measurements. You don't even want to know what I had to do, to acquire a pee cup from a doctor's office. But I managed to add one to my tool collection. If you really can't find a good measurement container, "borrow" your girlfriend's bakeware. Clean it out afterwards, and she won't know that she is baking automotive fluid cakes.

On my one backup camera, which I installed aftermarket, I believe that the view is sufficient. Sorry about the poor quality photography. You can see in the photos that the entire street behind me, with oncoming traffic, is visible. On the right side, you can actually see the corner of the bumper of the car parked next to me. And the mirror part does work, despite the fact that my windows have limo tint. It could be that the camera I bought was "wide angle". It could be the installation location. But it is sufficient for backing out of parking spaces. I don't think that I will need an additional camera in my upper trim piece.

You will need an aggressive lift. Trucks are lifted from 6" - 12". So that the wheel well is above the center line of the tire. The entire suspension is re-engineered for the larger wheel and tire. Even the drive shaft is extended. The differentials are regeared. Computer is reprogrammed for proper shifting and speedometer & odometer readings. Not impossible. You could do all the R&D, then recuperate the cost by selling the system you developed. Or get even more creative. Mount a Transit Connect body onto a 4WD Ranger chassis. Replace the motor with a 302. Just day dreaming.

I haven't seen it on mine. I could be a lot of things. Post some photos. It may, or may not be rust. If it is rust, your brand new car has a warranty.

In The City, those are police bikes.

Calculate the new wheel and tire combination that you are thinking of using. Verify fitment with a tape measure. jrm223 is using 215/65R16 on OEM wheels. OEM wheels and OEM tire width, with a higher sidewall, gave a little taller tire with the same scrub radius. His gain in height is minimal, but he is using a tire with a more aggressive tread pattern.

Tires are on wheels. Wheels have different widths, offset, and backspacing. Allow those measurements factor in with tire size to effect your driveability. Same offset on a wider wheel means change in backspace. If you are installing an aftermarket wheel, check for the scrub radius. This is what will effect the contact patch of your tire on the pavement. Any good tire shop will be able to measure and do the math so that you don't buy something that doesn't fit and can't turn. Nothing worse than to spend $$$XXX, then your tires rub into the wheel well, the inside of your wheel is hitting suspension components, and you cannot turn steering to full lock. Most shops will not give you a refund. You picked out the wheels and tires. They can't take the merchandise back for restocking.

This mechanic was a dealership tech between dealerships. Sometimes the dealerships have good techs. Real advantage is that dealership techs work on one type of car, and get factory training. A good mechanic at a good shop works on a lot of different cars. While he's good in general, he is not working on Ford all the time, and doesn't get the latest training on Ford. Almost like asking a French chef for a burrito. Then you have to deal with dealership pricing, and out of touch service writers trying to upsell and raise their commissions. The upsell really leaves a bad taste. I watched as a service writer gouged $1500 in extra work from an old lady who came in to get new wiper blades. The worst is a dealership with bad techs. Some dealerships do not have good people....... wasn't there a post about a door latch recall, where the forum member found that the dealership did not even do the work?

A member just did the same thing. He found his parts in a junkyard. Maybe he has an invoice or something with the part numbers. If you can't find it in a local auto salvage yard, try a larger operation like LKQ.

This is the best car I've ever driven when it comes to loading disabled people from their wheelchairs. When the van was brand new, my dad loved riding in the 3rd row, with the second row folded down. It was like being in a limo. Now, it's my niece & nephew's favorite seat. Although it's illegal, sometimes I fold down all the seats, and let them ride in the back so that they could roll around, jump, bump their heads, fall when I hang a turn......just like I did back when I was a kid riding in the back of pickup trucks. Tinted windows. And they now have learned the game of ducking down, when they see a cop.

I like this van for everything that I can do with it. But here is a part of my daily life which this van is not suited for. Interstate 80. 5 lanes. Traffic flows at 70 - 75 MPH. This onramp has a stop sign. You literally have to go from 0-60, if you don't want to die. Oh yeah, there is about 25 feet for you to do that, and merge into the flow of traffic.

Very nice DIY install. Not easy to do when you have to improvise parts and mounting brackets. That is one of the most creative and clean installations of aftermarket equipment I've seen on this forum. Looks like it could have been factory installed.