JamesRich

I'm a service mechanic for a company involved in road construction so I've been considered essential. People in Tennessee aren't taking this serious! Coming home one night passing through Dayton, Tn there were people everywhere at 10pm on a weekday! I guess meth dealers don't make home deliveries! Both my wife and I are still working but if people don't start taking this seriously it will go on for ever! My family all live in Louisiana and most are out of work right now. It"s not good down there. Can't stop Cajuns from partying! James

Yea my foot is a lot heavy at times, I already found the 104 mph speed limiter. I'm impressed by the acceleration of this little motor, no problem passing when I want to. Under hard acceleration it shifts through all the gears the same, it's just when normal driving where it hangs. If I give it a set amount of throttle and hold it, it should shift each gear around the same rpms. I'll try resetting the module when I get a chance and see if that helps. If not I'll just live with it. Just wondering if others noticed this. James

This may be normal but it is annoying. My 2014 shifts normal from 1st to second, then hangs a little too long before 2nd to 3rd, then shifts normal through all the other gears. It would accelerate better, with less throttle, if it shifted at the same rpms as the other gears. Anyone else experiencing this? It's done it since I got the vehicle. Possibly reset the module for the trans with forscan? James

Mercedes has seats full of air bags that air up to support you in fast turns and even have a massage feature, to put you to sleep while driving I guess! James

I want to put an air horn on my 14 connect! I don't get any respect in this little van compared to my Ram 3500. Still haven't looked under there to see how much room there is to mount one. Was it tight to add your air horn? James

Diesel has more BTUs than gasoline. The reason for the shudders and longer warm up time is the cooling system capacity. The transit 2.5 engine takes approximately 6 quarts of coolant. A cummins 6.7 takes 8 gallons! A Cummins ISX15 (that is 15 liters) that comes in many series 8 trucks takes 15 gallons of coolant. It's impressive that the design of the ford engine and cooling system can keep the engine cool enough with only a gallon and a half of coolant. James

The previous owner may have fitted your van with stiffer suspension or air shock. I have a wagon and like most people think it rides great! Since yours is a cargo it might have been always carrying a heavy load like equipment instead of cargo so was fitted with stiffer suspension to level it back out or prevent it from bottoming out. Something to look into. James

I've noticed that too. My guess is a more efficient cooling system with a smaller capacity. Which is great when it's cold out. let it idle for 5 minutes and I have warm air. My dodge diesel takes 20 miles before I get heat!

Yes I know how a transmission works, I've been turning wrenches professionally since 1988. My current job I work on everything from chain saws and weed trimmers to Cat excavators and dozers. I've used the trans flush machines too. In my opinion if the trans has never been serviced before it's better to introduce a little fresh oil at a time. New oil has additives in it that help the seal stay soft and work correctly. It also has detergents to keep things clean. I've seen transmission with high mileage that had never been serviced but still working fine, crap out after a complete flush. My plan is the change the oil in the trans sump every time I change the motor oil. I've done this with the autos I've previously had and never lost a transmission since. Hadn't had any external leaks either. The last two auto trans vehicles I had were both nissan's, may have had something to do with it. I prefer manuals but my knees don't like pushing a clutch all day anymore. I'm 50 and have no kids at home anymore but chose a mini van as a commuter vehicle because at my previous job we took care of many of these connects for various companies, and never had problems with them. Just serviced them and sent them out. Ford E series vehicle were a nightmare of problem but transits, both full size and connects only required services. As a owner I want a trouble free vehicle so I'm not always doing repairs, I don't mind doing services though. James

I just changed the trans oil in my 14 this weekend. I jacked it up to remove the large cover then set it back down with the wheels turned all the way to the left. If I lay on the ground I can reach both plugs easily so not a difficult job at all. James

Check the end links of the rear sway bar. You will have to remove them to check them because they are always under a little tension. it doesn't take much play for one of them to make a hell of a lot of noise. James

Finally got some pics! Learned how to fold the seats and realized the lock for the alloy wheels isn't in the van! I'll have to go see the guy I bought it from and hopefully he has it. He's 72 years old and kind of forgetful though so might not remember. Think ford can order me one with the vin number? Also does anyone know if I am navigating on my iphone plugged into the usb and listening to the radio, is there a way for sync to interrupt the radio with direction? The only way I can get the directions through the speakers is if I'm listening to pandora. It will interrupt the radio for a phone call I believe. (hadn't got a call in it yet) James

Thanks guys! I'm loving my new to me TC! I work with a bunch of dump truck and heavy equipment guys and they all gave compliments on it. No one called me a soccer mom. Lol I'm 6 foot and sitting in this van it feels huge! I have a foot and a half above my head! I know it's not a luxury vehicle but it feels very refined compared to my stiff riding deleted diesel with a straight 5 in exhaust pipe! Way easier to park too. The previous owner took such good care of this thing every one that sees it thinks its new. Whenever I can get home with the sun still up I'll take some pics of it. I hadn't had time to play with it much and see how seats fold and things like that. I'm still learning to use sync too. Averaging 28mpg right now doing 57 but my route is not flat, lots of hills. Now on the interstate doing 70 is was showing 30mpg even with hills. So on my trips back home I should get 30mpg or better. I keep track of mileage with a spread sheet so I'll know exactly what it's getting. Hopefully the mpg meter doesn't lie like my dodge! claims I'm getting 2 mpg better than when calculated. I'm gonna give it a once over as soon as I get a chance. Service trans and probably new plugs and PCV. James

Well the one I was going to get was sold before I could get there! A useless dealer in Georgia! I found another one local that is in perfect shape. It doesn't have navigation and leather like the first one I was looking at but it only has 76K miles, is a one owner, was always garage kept and always serviced at the dealer. I forgot to ask him if he ever had the transmission serviced, I'll ask when I finish the paper work today. I just gave him a deposit to hold it. It has the lift gate, which I would have preferred the doors but the lift gate has its good points too. Like hiding under when you have a handful of stuff and its raining! It has a hitch which the owner had installed to pull a trailer small enough for a motorcycle. He showed me the trailer and said he only pulled it once. The paint inside the receiver isn't even chipped so I believe him. I took it out on the highway and pushed it to 80 and it drove and ran perfect! Now I can't wait to get it home and start driving it daily. Will be a welcome relief both physically and financially over driving my ram 3500 megacab dully with a 6 speed manual every day! My knees aren't what they used to be and pushing that clutch all day is tough! James

New guy here, and hopefully by tomorrow afternoon will be a new transit connect owner! I'm looking at a 2014 Wagon XLT LWB. I'll mostly be using it as a commuter vehicle since they get such great gas mileage. I moved up here from Louisiana and need a fuel squeezer to go back home often and see my family. Don't want my grandbaby to not know his Papa! The reason I chose a TC was because as a mechanic working for a fleet maintenance company we took care of several TC for various companies and never had problems or had to do repairs on these things! Just oil changes and routine maintenance was all we did to them, they never had problems. As a person that does all his own vehicle maintenance that what I want! And they are cheap used! Looking forward to learning all I can about it! Will post some pics when I get it home. James