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tnoll

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Posts posted by tnoll

  1. That is not what I have; mine is 2019. Installing the armrest was easy; getting the fold-down arm off was not. Even five guys at the dealer could not do it following Ford engineer’s instructions. I just folded back the seat upholstery and cut the rod coming out. I was putting sheepskin covers on anyway. You may not need the cup holder if your holes are accessible. I forget if I originally had one or two, but they/it are right at the front and so far down as to be a hazard. Quite ridiculous. I ordered and sent back lots of holders as too gadgety. These were straightforward, could be turned to any position, and got the cup within reach, heightwise.

  2. Hi Joe--    I believe mine is an XL but with a big nav screen, why I bought it. Not sure what you mean about open bin. I have the armrest now, and a better double cup holder thing that raises it up out of the hole they have, which would make you crash trying to get your coffee off the floor : ). It took a lot of tweaking to get it to be comfortable. Believe this is the one I bought--tried a bunch. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RV2Z8RR/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

  3. Drum buster, not sure who you are addressing. I got it off a 2019, not by Ford instructions but had to cut the mount rod; dealer couldn’t get it off either. Didn’t care because I was putting sheepskin seat covers and an aftermarket console armrest from Armster dot com.

  4. That was a handy video, only I don't have the top right icon on my lights control knob, and at Settings, I do not have the on/off menu item. I only have four autolamps delay settings: no delay, and three various by-the-second. But, from that page, I chatted with someone and, provided with my VIN, he didn't know either. Escalating to the big boys, will get back  to me ...

  5. I needed mine off a 2019 cargo LWB. I have found the instructions ‘sit in passenger seat, raise arm to 60 degrees and pull out.’ My dealer and 5 mechanics couldn’t do it. They emailed ‘Ford engineers’ to double check and were told that was correct. Personally think the manual is out of date. I cut mine off because I was putting sheepskin covers on. Mine had a round rod inside the seat.

  6. https://ursaminorvehicles.com/campers/ford-transit-connect-lwb-van-conversion-1.html 

     

    Why I didn’t get it:  It’s really a tent on the roof with an access hole between the back and the center ceiling rib. Good, no structure is cut, just roof metal. But, it does not raise the interior roof. Why sleep in a colder and less protective tent when you have a van? Granted this is a tent with an access hole to the interior, but you have to go outside anyway to undo the latches and raise it. You can get roof tents and a very nice rack for less than half the price. It’s almost $10K and they want your vehicle for three weeks, Oregon or San Diego. Great it’s low down and aero, but it’s so low you can’t leave your blanket and pillows in it and get it to close.

     

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  7. Got one here for my 2019 TC cargo LWB. www.armster.co.uk  Removing the existing stupid rotating arm thing was another matter. Five guys at dealer couldn’t do it per double-checked ‘engineer’ instructions. “Sit in passenger seat, put arm up at 60 degrees and pull.” Others have used this method successfully, maybe earlier models. Since I was putting on sheepskin seat covers, I removed the padding and arm, weasled off the plastic beauty ring covering the hole in the upholstery, and cut the damn arm rod into the seat with a hacksaw. Expensive to ship the console from England, but totally worth it. Alternative TC passenger OEM armrest is too short and cost something like $600. Put elbow on it (all shoulder-hunched since it’s back so far) and your hand can’t reach the steering wheel. Now I can be comfortable. Aaaah.

     

  8. I recently bought just their rails on Amazon for my 2019 LWB. I didn’t necessarily need a rack, could add crossbars to the rails later if I did,  but did need something for securing my awning on either side or the rear, or tying to my rear Napier tent that has a docking sleeve at the barn doors. Their rails were cheap/easy and looked smart, much better that the sticking-out eyebolts in strategic spots that were my only other idea. Also came very quickly. The instructions were a little sucky, especially since they specified which OEM mount points to use and the instructions didn’t match putting the actual rails on the roof to make sure they matched up to said holes. Probably written for SWB. The big glitch came when, per the instructions and youtube install video, you are supposed to use a supplied bolt-on-a-stick plastic installer to get under the cab headliner to the front OEM mount hole and stick a bolt up through it from the inside. My headliner is all sealed in by trim around the door frame and the grab handle is mounted through the headliner at that point, with airbag nearby. So, having just bought an air tool to install plusnuts for other mods, I just shot a plusnut into the roof from the outside at that hole to add threads, then went through the top of the bracket with a machine bolt. Wrote them about it; sent pix of my interior. They were responsive. Otherwise they use T bolts into the oval mount points and turn 90 degrees. The plusnuts, the kind where crimping them creates gripping legs on the other side of the material like a molley, are just as good, or better. Wish I’d used them all around. Rivnuts have no such legs, just knurled shoulders that kind of wedge them from stripping the hole and spinning out during the install—most of the time. Actually read a guy’s install on Amazon where he just put an oversize bolt into the hole and thought the threads being tight would hold it …. Ps they have a weight rating, can’t remember though, 150 or 200. Enough.

  9. Sorry David Parker, your post wasn't forwarded to me by the forum. Looking at my pictures, it appears that there's a plastic button that I might have pushed in at the top of the silver retaining ring thing at about 12:30, the other four black things in the slots being the cut-off prongs that held the retaining ring. It's pretty hard to see or get to without cutting off the beauty ring between the arm and the seat. I was reluctant to try any more disassembly without knowing what I was getting into, so cutting worked for me especially to deter rattles. In any case, it's off and the new console and sheepskin covers are on.

  10. Sorry, I should have written it clearer. It became quite a saga to get the damn arm off. Two trips to the dealer, five mechanics and the service guy couldn't get it off per Ford's repair manual. One month waiting for Ford internal engineers to respond. They said per instructions, place the arm at 60 degrees from level, and pull from the passenger side. The service manager could easily do it on the 2018s, so easily that he said he almost fell out the passenger door backwards.

     

    On the second trip in, service took the seat out and claimed they took it apart, then reported it was all one piece with the arm. Hmm. Then how did they get the 'beauty ring' black plastic cup thing onto the arm between it and the arm hole in the upholstery to cover that hole, and how did they upholster the arm and the seat while they were assembled? Don't care, what was determined for me was I could safely cut the arm off with a hacksaw.

     

    So, I cut all the upholstery off the arm in order to see. The arm was a loop of steel rod with a crosspiece welded at the end that went into the seat. Then I cut the black plastic cup/ring (about 3.5" D and there to cover the hole in the upholstery in the side of the seat where the arm went in) from between the arm and the seat. This exposed some kind of silver slotted 'retaining ring' about 2.5" D that the rod of the arm went through. That ring had some black plastic prongs sticking through some of its slots from inside the seat. Those were there to hold the 'beauty ring,' so I cut them where they stuck out because part of this was prep for my sheepskin seat covers, as well as making room for the aftermarket armrest console.

     

    It appears that the silver slotted 'retaining ring' is press fit or crimped onto some mechanism inside the seat, probably the ratcheting assembly. I decided to stop deconstruction there and just cut the steel rod of the arm flush to the retaining ring, partly so is wouldn't forever rattle around inside the seat. The 5/8" D? rod is pretty tight through the hole in the center of the retaining ring, or it is part of that ring, or something. The ring itself seems to crimp onto an 'innie' for which it is an 'outie.' And somehow during assembly (it can't possible be all one part) the black beauty ring is put on the arm where I cut it on the right side of the picture, and over the silver retaining ring, so, doubtful it's all one part with the seat.

     

    Pictures of the silver slotted retaining thing after the arm going through its center was cut flush. The seat fabric hole is tucked behind the ring so the hacksaw wouldn't catch on the upholstery, so it looks like the ring protrudes from the side of the seat, but it doesn't, much. Picture of the cut arm, and the console installed, but not yet the sheepskin--next day. The console is very nice to have, just drops right over existing with four screws, blocks the exisiting 'well' but not the cup holders, comes with a usb extension to relocate yours if you have the feature where a usb comes out the back of the Ford console, also comes all black. Its interior space isn't huge, but works. Now my Connect and I can make friends. Hated that frickin' arm.

     

     

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  11. I have a great new armrest console from England, ready to install in my 2019 Connect LWB. Elsewhere on the forum, someone said put it at 60 degrees and pull from the passenger side. I tried that, the service manager tried that, he looked in the service book and it said to try that. The other day during service to the backup camera, five mechanics tried that. Waiting for Ford to comment. Any suggestions? Any problems with the last ditch of just hacksawing it off? Getting new sheepskin seat covers soon ...

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