Fifty150

Engine should be idling. Transmission should be in park.

It looks like 3.2 quarts.

The bigger the tire, the wider the turn radius. 35" tires really messed up my truck's turn radius. I can't make u-turns anywhere in The City. Can't wait to hear how well your tires do in snow. In my part of the country, there is no snow. And when I drive up to snow, there is always a requirement for traction control devices. I know the difference between snow chains, and no chains. But I've never bought snow tires, since the police will still require chains on 2WD. With my limited snow driving experience, it feels like chains on handled better than AWD with M+S tires.

It doesn't look like it is enough of a difference to do anything bad that will effect driveability. The real difference is in being stuck, and not being stuck. Have you actually found yourself in a spot where you knew OEM would not have worked? Did you ever get stuck anywhere with OEM tires?

You could fill up the wheel wells with bigger tires in the back. But it wouldn't help you with performance in any way. More aggressive tread in the front may help, if you can find it. You could try calculating different rim & tire size combinations to see what would work. Ideally, you want to stay close to OEM specs so that you are not too far from what the computer's revolutions per mile are. With the 2.5 liter engine, you're not going to be able to add any power. But better tread could give better traction, and better stopping. But if you are only doing it because you like the way it looks, then make yourself happy. For me, the math is not in my favor.

Very nice. High 5.

That just means that not everyone is getting 27 MPG. A lot of factors. Weight, idle time, short trips, stop & go traffic, driving style, fuel mix, air conditioning...... but nobody expects 16 - 17. It didn't get better after 2 years and 20,000 miles.

I'm with you on that one. I bought this vehicle because of the 7 seats. But I don't know about sleeping in the back with a cat litter box. Sorry. Just not for me. Same way I don't bring food into the bathroom.

I vote for a spinning back kick. Much more elegant.

When I get home, I will take a photo under the hood.

Look right under the he radiator hose.

Driver side of transmission case. Just look up.

Use Low Viscosity transmission fluid. Different brands, including Ford MotorCraft, have LV fluid.

There's a drain plug on the bottom. The fill cap on top is next to the air filter box, and hidden from plain sight, beneath the radiator hose. There's also a fill port on the side for measuring fill level. You can use a container with volume level indicator to catch the drained fluid, mark the level, then refill with the same volume. A paint store will sell plastic buckets in different sizes, which are marked for liters and quarts.

Okay. I am not the only one. At the pump, it was about 11 gallons. The gauge is accurate. About 17 MPG. I've never seen the MPG on the sticker.......on any car I have owned.

So this was what my dash looked like today, as I drove up to the fuel pump. My tank is 15.8 gallons. Dash display shows 270 miles for this tank. 17.08 MPG.

I have a little button right in front of the shifter.

I would use larger tires, if there were a way to reprogram the speedometer to read correctly.

In the back of my mind, I seem to recall that not all auto glass is the same. There are probably minimum standards for auto glass safety. But I think that there are different grades, and that sometimes you get a better piece of glass when you spend more. But, I could be wrong.........too much Disco rotted my mind.

In the old days........car alarms were a joke, did nothing, and couldn't even autolock manual doors. On my pickup truck, I never even press the alarm button. Simply lock the manual doors and walk away from the vehicle. Today, the key fob does so much, that you are screwed if anything happens to it. One day, the battery will fail in your remote. And it will be in the middle of the night, in the middle of nowhere, and not even a tow truck will be able to help you......unless that AAA driver has a little remote key fob battery to sell to you for $100. Now that there are no more Radio Shack stores, there is nowhere to buy a little battery like that over-the-counter.

He's probably talking about pushing the little button on the dashboard. Ford Traction Control A traction control system (TCS), also known as ASR (from German: Antriebsschlupfregelung, lit. 'engine slippage regulation'), is typically (but not necessarily) a secondary function of the electronic stability control (ESC) on production motor vehicles, designed to prevent loss of traction of driven road wheels.Traction control system - WikipediaWikipedia

Some people feel that they get great value and peace of mind with those extended warranties and extended service plans. Some people feel that those are rip-offs where the dealer gets to take more money from you, and you have nothing to show for it. Depending on terms and conditions, you're essentially buying a coupon for work to be done later......and if you never get that work done.......you're at a loss. Back in 2007, I bought my F-150. It came with a 5 years, 50,000 mile warranty. I did not buy an extended warranty or service plan. 11 years later, I still haven't had to do any repair work to the engine, transmission, drivetrain, et cetera. So if I did buy whatever the plan was, I would have lost out on $$$XXXXX that the dealer was charging. Best advice is to carefully read all the fine print before you buy something like that. See what is covered, what is not covered, and what the exclusions are. Do you really think that you can wear out the car within 8 years, and that it will be worth it? Or is it a "service" plan where you are simply paying in advance for 8 years worth of oil changes? Transit Connect oil change light will activate between 7,500 - 10,000 miles. 20 oil changes, @$19.95 is worth $400. What is covered? Do you pay $$$XXXX, and they "service" your car with oil, brakes, tires, transmission fluid exchange......all at recommended service intervals? I can see how they might flush your transmission at 100,000 miles. Maybe even flush your coolant at 100,000 miles. Within the first 8 years, your battery will probably still be good. I doubt if they will give you 3 sets of tires. Your brake booster / master cylinder & calipers (which may never need to be exchanged within first 8 years of ownership) may be covered.....but pads and rotors are a wear item. Same way the wiper motor may be covered, but wiper blades are not. They will not give you new wiper blades every 6 months. I doubt if the service plan will even include new air filters with every oil change. Pretty sure that they will add water to your wiper washer fluid reservoir. See if the spark plugs are covered for up to 8 years.......because I doubt if you'll need new spark plugs within 8 years.

I don't know what angers the girlfriend more. The fact that I'm reading with a flashlight in the dark. Or the fact that I'm under there with an auto repair manual, and I find it more interesting than what she's wearing.