Cornucopia of problems. I need therapy.

[k9-design]

Hello forum. New here. NOT new to Transits.
I have a 2010 Transit Connect. I bought it used in 2012 with 35K miles on it.
Last Friday it rolled over 275,000 miles.
As you can see, I drive a lot.
Its name is Sexy Beast.
He and I have been places.
There is nothing in my life I depend on more than my Transit, and nothing causes me more aggravation.
It has had lots of work done but maybe no more than is to be expected of a car with high mileage.
It lives with three persistent dash indicators : check engine light (see below), the traction control light (never figured out why on that one), and the tire pressure light.
Can I tell you my current problems? Any input is appreciated.

Sexy Beast got the death sentence last fall. It was throwing codes left and right and kept blowing up the spark plug and coil in cylinder 2. The local Ford dealer finally said, you need a new engine. Low compression on #2 . I said, not happening, have kept driving on it. The marvelous thing about the situation, AT IDLE, cylinder #2 takes a vacation. We have literally pulled the whole plug out while it's idling, and nothing happens. It just idles away merrily. When you add some RPMs #2 wakes up and works totally fine. See, it has taught itself to be MORE EFFICIENT! Genius! I am very familiar with what it feels like to drive a car with an inoperable sparkplug, and it does not do this. The only prevailing problem is it idles too low. RPMs are around 750 at idle, they go up to about 1000 if it's in park or neutral, sometimes it dips below 750 and tries to sputter out. When you put it in drive and take your foot off the brake to switch to accelerator, it really goes low and has even died a few times on me. So question numero uno, is there a way to raise the resting idle RPMs?

More immediate problem, mainly why I am here to vent.
Last week Transit was in the shop for new inner and outer tie rods on both front wheels ($550). The day after I got four new tires ($390). Drove to my parents' for the weekend. AC had gradually gotten warmer over the past few months, so we bought a charging kit from the auto parts store ($50), after doing that, AC back to nice and cold. Most difficult part was finding the low pressure tube...those sneaky devils at Ford...
During the AC venture, my dad got to witness first hand how much oil the car was leaking, which has been going on for months. Ford dealer couldn't pinpoint it last week while it was in the shop, and frankly, I was out of money to throw at it. My dad ended up taking it to a shop on Monday, and they replaced the oil sending unit which 100% fixed the leak, so yay, and kudos to dad, who paid for it ($500). So add that up, $1500+ in work last week. After all that, Sexy drove like a superstar.

Until today. Just now I go to run some errands. Warm car up like always, turn AC on medium, take off. I get about 2 miles down the road, realize AC is blowing hot then instantly observe that temp gauge is on HIGH. NO BUENO. I pull over and turn the car off. F me!!!!!!!!

After about ten minutes I fire it back up, turn off AC, drive home. I let it idle in the driveway with the AC on low. As I'm standing at the front of the car listening for the AC compressor (shoulda popped the hood but you know, key's in the ignition), the car very peacefully dies. F ME!!!!!

Let it sit for about 20 minutes. Take it on another test drive. Drove about 3 miles with AC off. All fine. I drive home with AC on low. Fine. As I pull onto my street, I put the AC on medium. As I pull into my driveway, the car peacefully dies again. No change in temp gauge. At this point I call Dad crying, he has me turn the car on and idle, change from park to neutral to drive, it's actually idling at about 1000 so doing OK, turn AC on and off, nothing changes, it's all OK. It's during this time I realize that the coolant in the white reservoir is really low. Minimum line is halfway up the reservoir, there's only about a quarter inch of coolant at the bottom. How did I not notice this before. Dad says let the car cool down completely, like tomorrow morning, add water.

So are today's weird problems because I was low on coolant and it was freaking out (and how did myself, my dad, and three different car shops all miss that in the past week), or is my AC all screwed up now after being charged and that is causing the problem? Why does this stuff happen all at once? Why can't I find a big pile of money and just go buy a new car??????

Thanks for listening. And hopefully sympathizing. And hopefully empathizing, so you can give me advice.
--Anney in Florida

Edited July 26, 2018 by k9-design

[Fifty150]

3 hours ago, k9-design said:

 

Why can't I find a big pile of money and just go buy a new car??????
 

 

 

Just win a lottery jackpot.  People do it all the time.  Just nobody I know.  Not me, because I can't afford to buy a ticket.  But it could be you.

 

We have all been there.  You have a car that you don't want to lose, but you are throwing more money at it than it is actually worth.  Now you're in the hole.  You will never get out of it, what you're putting into it.  It's like a bad relationship.  You don't want to let it go, but can't afford to hold onto it.  

 

Your car can be fixed.  Today's modern vehicles, almost everything can be diagnosed and corrected. The right technician, with proper diagnostic equipment, could pinpoint all of the car's issues.  And as you already know, most of the time, it's just changing parts.  Every part on the car can be changed for a new one.   But at what cost?

 

You just put a over a thousand into this car.  I don't even want to think about how many thousands you have put into it over the years.  I've done the same myself.  I put over $10,000 (little by little, over many years) into an old rust bucket Jeep, until I figured out that I could have spent that money on a new car.  Like you, a thousand here, five hundred there, and 10 years later, it added up.  Your car's KBB value may only be in the $2,000 - $4,000 range.  

 

It may be time to figure out what your budget allows for car payments, and to talk to a lender about financing.  The math is not in favor of putting more money into the car.

 

 

 

 

[k9-design]

Thanks 50-150 -- you are of course the voice of reason!!

Do you know I still have four payments left on this thing. OMGGGGGG

I have never been without a car payment IN MY LIFE.

I am determined (which can be interpreted as insanity) to drive this car past the point of it being paid for.

Of course you are correct, if I took all of the repairs in the past two years and added them up, that's a hefty down payment for a new car.

 

The more I thought about it, the more yesterday's problem simply were low coolant. All the weird stuff it did was in response to that. But why did it go low. How did we all miss that? Wouldn't I have noticed a leak? Maybe it spontaneously leaked out while I was driving yesterday. Whatever. I just bought coolant and filled it up, we'll see what happens.

 

Really, this car has outlived all expectations and has performed admirably. It's just frustrating, but that's life!

This year alone I've driven it from Florida to Long Island (February), Florida to Kansas City (April), and Florida to Ontario (June). This is normal for me and knock on wood we've never been stranded on one of our long trips.

[Beta Don]

1 hour ago, k9-design said:

I am determined (which can be interpreted as insanity) to drive this car past the point of it being paid for.

Of course you are correct, if I took all of the repairs in the past two years and added them up, that's a hefty down payment for a new car.

 

Yup  -  When an 8 year old car with 275K on it starts eating up large chunks of cash, keeping it and pouring even more money into it could rightly be called insanity

 

I do feel for you, but I've not made a car payment for more than 20 years.  I only buy what I can afford to pay cash for and as the years have passed I've eventually got to the point where I can pay cash for whatever I want, new or used

 

Don

[Fifty150]

2 hours ago, Beta Don said:

 

I only buy what I can afford to pay cash for and as the years have passed I've eventually got to the point where I can pay cash for whatever I want, new or used

 

Don

 

My dad taught me the same thing about cars. Value depreciates daily. Interest adds debt daily.  

 

If I only have $2,000, then it's a $2,000 car that I will buy.  If all that buys is a 14 year old Hyundai, then I will drive it for a year, save what I would have spent on payments.  My next car will be a $4,000 car that might last 3 years.  The math can work that way.  $500 monthly car payments adds up to $30,000 in 5 years.  

 

The real problem is when you have that money in your hand, you might not want to spend it all at once on a new car.  You may decide that you could live with driving another used car, and do something else with that money.  My ex wanted to spend it on a wedding.  She is now my ex.

 

There are options.  Insurance auctions for salvage title cars.  Little old ladies that are not allowed to drive anymore.  Maybe someone else with a stroke of bad luck, and you can take over payments.

 

As a kid, I rode a motorcycle because it was cheaper.  In today's world, $2,000 will buy a very good used 2 wheeler.  Leaps and bounds beyond a $2,000 car.

 

 

[k9-design]

My Transit is also my work vehicle (I own my own business) and I have certain requirements I need in that vehicle. The Transit has worked perfectly. Just driving the Transit is already giving up a lot of creature comforts!

And guess what, I bought a motorcycle last year. I ride it everywhere instead of the Transit, so long as I don't have to carry anything bigger than what fits in a backpack. Paid cash for that and it gets 100+ miles a gallon :) It fits easily IN the Transit.

It's way more fun to talk about than any Ford!

BTW I filled up coolant and took a test drive with AC on various levels and it worked perfectly. I still don't know how it got that low with nobody noticing. And I still would love to know if you can increase idling RPMs, like on an old bike you could adjust the choke.

 

[Fifty150]

I am jealous.  That is such a cool Grom. Can you take me for a ride?

 

5150

25 minutes ago, k9-design said:

 

 

And I still would love to know if you can increase idling RPMs, like on an old bike you could adjust the choke.

 

 

Yes and no.  You would need proprietary software, in most cases, to tune the engine.  Companies like SCT make handheld tuners for more popular Ford Mustang, F-150, et cetera.  But I don't think anything is over the counter for Transit Connect.  Custom tune writers are not in the business of adding HP & torque to a minivan.

 

 

25 minutes ago, k9-design said:

 

 

[Fifty150]

 

 

Try calling this guy.  He may be able to help.

 

https://www.vmpperformance.com/aboutus.asp

[mrtn]

Traction control and tire pressure warning is probably caused by a bad ABS sensor.

[OLDSCHOOLFOOL]

18 hours ago, Beta Don said:

I do feel for you, but I've not made a car payment for more than 20 years.  I only buy what I can afford to pay cash for and as the years have passed I've eventually got to the point where I can pay cash for whatever I want, new or used

 

Same here. Only I wish I had bought four decent running older vehicles instead of one new one. I love to have spares both to drive and tinker with.

[k9-design]

16 hours ago, Fifty150 said:

<<I am jealous.  That is such a cool Grom. Can you take me for a ride?>>

Sure!

Few things make me happier than my Grom :)

16 hours ago, Fifty150 said:

 

Yes and no.  You would need proprietary software, in most cases, to tune the engine.  Companies like SCT make handheld tuners for more popular Ford Mustang, F-150, et cetera.  But I don't think anything is over the counter for Transit Connect.  Custom tune writers are not in the business of adding HP & torque to a minivan.

Understood. Thanks for the link, I'll check it out.

Hmmm....okay so my GROM has a DynoJet Power Commander -- maybe hook it up to the Transit?! KIDDING!!

 

[G B L]

The real question here is how much do you like the TC, and how good is the body? If you are buying transportation  fixing the car you already own is almost always cheaper than a new one.

Sounds like most of the problems you have are related to not finding a good enough repair shop.
How did the shop confirm the low compression on No 2?

[k9-design]

1 hour ago, G B L said:

The real question here is how much do you like the TC, and how good is the body? If you are buying transportation  fixing the car you already own is almost always cheaper than a new one.

Sounds like most of the problems you have are related to not finding a good enough repair shop.
How did the shop confirm the low compression on No 2?

 

Hi!

1 - The Transit is perfect for what I need it for. On a day to day basis I crate three large dogs to and from training. It is perfect for this. On longer trips for business I need it to carry a lot of gear, and it does with aplomb, having never once said "I can fit no more." It is fuel efficient. I don't particularly care about comfy seats, kickin speakers or the ability to win a drag race. If I got a new car tomorrow, I'd get another Transit. For a long time I said, I want a little get-around second car, something cute and little and zoomy that I can enjoy for me. Well, buying a second car for those reasons on a limited budget is ridiculous. So instead I bought the Grom, which perfectly attends to those needs (wants) on a much smaller scale. Do you know how cheap motorcycle parts are? So besides dumping money into fixing things on a high mileage Transit, my vehicular satisfaction rating is sky high.

2 - The body of the car is perfect. It looks new. There are no dents, rust, or structural damage. The interior, despite being coated in dog hair, is totally fine. Besides some squirrely stuff with the locks, everything works fine. Very little wear. 99% of its mileage is in a perfectly straight line on the interstate doing 70 mph. The other 1% is slowly bumping through a field setting up training for my dogs.

3 - Last summer over the course of a few weeks, my car blew up the spark plug (literally broke it) in cylinder 2. Replaced plug and coil. Within a week that new spark plug broke again, this time the little ceramic piece was loose on the plug itself; faulty plug, replaced it. About a week after that it threw a CEL code again, took it back, the Ford dealer informed me that I had low compression on cylinder 2, they didn't know why, and the cure was a new engine, and they found a used one for $3000, can put it in tomorrow -- NO, THAT WILL NOT BE HAPPENING. After much tears I drove the thing to another shop, not a Ford dealer, for a second opinion, they did a compression test and sure enough, low on cylinder 2, but the mechanic was like, big deal, besides throwing codes and idling rough, it's really not hurting anything, and you're crazy to dump too much money into fixing it, drive it like you normally would. The figure of "40%" sticks out at me but I can't remember if the compression of that cylinder was 40% of normal, or if it was 40% less than the others, honestly I don't remember.

4 - I would agree with you, finding a reliable shop is not easy. And wanting to not put out $$$$ to fix problems is what makes it hard. Last week I sucked it up and fixed the tie rods and got new tire, really I just bit the bullet and did it, but unless it's an immediate problem, I'm not going to go out of my way to throw money at it. Unless it's something routine and predictable, any experience with getting your car fixed is an unpleasant one. You don't know what they're talking about, they assume this, and you have to pay a lot of money for it. All you really want is your car to work.

[Fifty150]

3 hours ago, G B L said:

The real question here is how much do you like the TC, and how good is the body? If you are buying transportation  fixing the car you already own is almost always cheaper than a new one.

 

 

 

You are correct.

 

Body work can often cost more than mechanical work.

 

$10,000 thrown in the right direction, with proper windage, can almost replace everything you need under the hood.  You can probably get a whole new engine, transmission, and everything to go along with it.  That is a lot less expensive than $30,000 for a new car.  

 

But do you spend $10,000, on a car that is only worth $2,000?

 

 

 

[Fifty150]

4 hours ago, k9-design said:

Sure!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Funny how you don't see guys wearing MC colors riding on the back of a girl's Grom.

[G B L]

It depends on what you are buying.  If you want a different style or size then a new car is what you need.  if the car fits the purpose and the body is rust free then you can replace what you need to make the car reliable.  every car costs so much a year to run.  If deprecation is no longer part of the cost , the cost is less.

[PhotoAl]

Love the From, they are a fun bike, I keep trying to come up with a reason to buy one but haven't yet.  As for the TC, when you say the body is perfect and the interior is good, i'd be looking at a used motor.  If it's running OK at the moment keep on going but talk to folks you know and be on the lookout for a motor and a reputable shop to install it.  IMO the hardest part of getting a vehicle repaired is finding someone I trust to do the work.  

 

Was talking to someone about how common the Japanese 4 cylinder motorcycle engines (Honda CBR600RR etc) are and how easy it is to get parts and have work done on then.  They countered with yes and "there are lots of folks who think they know how to work on them".

[Fifty150]

3 hours ago, PhotoAl said:

 

 

"there are lots of folks who think they know how to work on them".

 

 

Same goes for cars.

[G B L]

Good Call PhotoAl I have seen lots of motors and transmissions for under a 1000. Finding the right shop is the Test.

[k9-design]

Just reading my old thread which probably wasn't interesting to anybody but me.

Sexy Beast was loyal to me until the end. I got $400 trade in for it last weekend with 297,000+ miles on it. We never did figure out the #2 plug, and the AC started killing the engine at idle and low speeds, which means by May in Florida it's time to look for a new car.

Got a 2014 which is a gigantic upgrade.

Hard to drive away from the old Transit though. He never did leave me stranded.

I'm sure he met his end in a cruncher the next day. $400 was probably too much.

[windguy]

49 minutes ago, k9-design said:

Just reading my old thread which probably wasn't interesting to anybody but me.

Sexy Beast was loyal to me until the end. I got $400 trade in for it last weekend with 297,000+ miles on it. We never did figure out the #2 plug, and the AC started killing the engine at idle and low speeds, which means by May in Florida it's time to look for a new car.

Got a 2014 which is a gigantic upgrade.

Hard to drive away from the old Transit though. He never did leave me stranded.

I'm sure he met his end in a cruncher the next day. $400 was probably too much.

 

RIP "Sexy Beast". Vaya con Dios.

What's the name for your new van?

 

[Double Nickels]

I bought Autolite.  With $3 rebate, the price is about $1.