2014 Transit Connect - LemonAid

[WeAreCerti]

Newbie here.

I have took a punt on a £450 Ford Transit Connect from Facebook Market place advert from a guy that was mutual friends with some people I know. It was part ex'd and he just wanted it gone fast. I bought it blind baring a few photos.

All I knew from the photos was that the car was disgusting inside but that can be worked around. I bought an industrial seat cover from Amazon. I bought some service bits this morning along with some new flat blade wipers, some 2 stroke oil to stick in with the diesel (something I done on my b5 passat) and put on a new battery as it was flat!

I took the Transit for an MOT today at my old work place and it failed. That didn't surprise me but it wasn't as bad as I thought. It failed on an OSR brake hose pipe, it punctured on the brake test, an ABS light is on just need to diagnose that and a worn tyre and rusty buckled wheel on the OSF. Oh an rear drop links and ARB bushes.

I also have new number plates on.

Before it was MOT'd I started to clear out some rubbish and other junk, I still have some to do but time didn't allow. Enjoy some photos. There were nails and screws everywhere! Oh and lids from bottles of beer, so has definitely been drink driving. I will hopefully empty the rest tomorrow and when it is finally roadworthy and taxed I will be taking it to my friend Tariq at TIA detailing to have some love shown to it.

Oh and i have some Ford alloys lined up I just need to collect them at some point tomorrow.

Please see post below for photos.

[WeAreCerti]

Photo of the bay before changing the battery.



Some disgusting photos of the interior.















These front mats have been binned now and the small rear carpet piece also.



Some photos of the exterior.



This needs replacing



These will be rectificed very soon. Pretty cloudy.



Nice.



Probably replace the front bonnet too. Has some rust starting.







OSR brake hose that exploded.



I have recently bought a new camera, ready for going full time next month but I dare not have it near the van in this state. It's definitely nicer inside already with a rubbish removal and hoover.

Better photos soon and updates.

[WeAreCerti]

Due to rusty front steel wheels and one tyre pretty badly worn I decided to hunt for some Ford alloy wheels. Found some MK3 Mondeo 17" alloys with 2 tyres only covering a couple of thousand miles and 2 with a couple thousand left. I managed to get them for £60 but were around 40 miles away and luckily had a mate who lived 5 minutes away who went and collected them for me and is holding them for me and I'll try to collect Sunday. I gave him £20 for the hassle so that is £80 added to the overall tally.

Picked up my front quarter glass yesterday and i paid postage on ebay. Didn't even query this as it needs to be replaced urgently. £33.00 added to the overage bill.

Ordered a black leather armrest For £10.00 plus £8 p+p. Hopefully this fits all ok. £18 added to the total.

Ordered a copper brake pipe kit from ebay. £12.69 added to the total.

The price per mile currently is not great :rolleyes:

[Altransit]

Some work ahead of you there Sounds like you're good to go though


Older vehicles will always seem to be a money pit, but you need to step back and reflect at how much a brand new van will have depreciated in the same time

[WeAreCerti]

Small Update.

The car is hopefully have work completed this week and should be started today, starting with the copper brake pipe replacement. £12.69 Delivered.



So I now have my service items. Air Filter / Cabin Filter / Oil Filter / Fuel Filter / Flat Blad Wipers / Coolant. £61.66 Collected from Euros.

I also purchased front discs & pads, rear drop links and rear ARB bushes from GSF. £126.61 Collected.

Genuine front quarter glass. £37.60 collected.





Picked up a Ford 6000 headunit with a code. £11.00 collected. I have ordered the removal pins and the should be here in the next day or 2. I am probably going to need a replacement ariel. I would like a nicer headunit but for now it will do!



The wheels that I got for £60 and gave my friend £20 for fuel for collecting / storing for a couple of days.



One of the valeters at my old work gave it a bit of a clean before anyone will touch the car for servicing etc haha. It's far from clean but it's better than before.









Now for the rear inside the van, the whole rear bench assembley / belts / brackets is all coming out. the rear mat will be replaced and then attempt some form of cleaning in the rear but it is not pretty!



I am waiting on a leather arm rest arriving that I won on ebay, the guy messaged me saying he hasn't been able to get it shipped. But we have been texting and he actually has some seats for sale and to be honest my seats look passed it and the adjusters are stiff etc so I may well change them. More on that later though.

Now for a price update, it has jumped pretty quickly & the price per mile is scary currently but soon as it's on the road we can tackle that! (The labour cost so far is actually an estimate from my friend for the work being done and hasn't been paid yet but put aside.)



You may notice on that list, I also picked up a brand new Valeo clutch kit for £36.00 delivered from a guy on Ebay. More on this when it arrives, it's a 2 piece kit so I would still need to buy a release bearing.

[WeAreCerti]

Had some work done on the van now! Started to cost more than initially expected but couldn't help myself!

Anyway. Not my photos, one of my friends working on the van took a couple where possible.

Front discs and pads have been changed over. Discs were not lipped but they had corroded due to sitting around.





Rear brake hose that failed the MOT, both sides have actually been changed with the copper pipe kit. No after photo for now, will see if i can get hold of some soon.



Rear droplinks. The anti roll bar bushes have not been changed yet, with the seized bolts it's going to take some work to get them out and may well not be worth the hassle, going to put some miles on it and see.



Coolant flush, a whole load of rust came out, who knows when this was last done. Hopefully this doesn't cause more problems but nice to know it has been done!



The wheels are 'bolted on' now and they look good but I have just picked up 20 new correct sized bolts and I will source a locking key set ASAP jsut want the right bolts on for now.

I also had to pick up 2 wheel cylinders for the rear drums as one was leaking so changed both.

This has creeped up the overall costs further but the van has now passed it's MOT and I will be collecting the van today. I have been to see the van in between the jobs beeing carried out as and when and its looking good.

The new wipers are on, the glass is in but I do need to get a new rubber seal as I think the valeter who cleaned the car may have just thrown it away :wall:

I also fitted the replacement OEM headunit and there seems to be an issue with power, it comes on for a split second and cuts out. So I will take some time soon and remove that old nokia phone kit etc and look in to this further.

I will also get the camera out soon and get some photos!

[WeAreCerti]

So the van will not be driven anymore this week and I am going to try and update the miles & price per mile weekly.

I filled up the tank today but I got to my local Shell yesterday and couldn't open the flap. I decided to jump ship and stop trying and I ended up heading to Timpsons and had a key cut with a guessed code and yes, it didn't solve anything.

So I have just today picked up a full lock set with 2 keys that can be programmed. So I will be replacing the ignition barrel, bonnet latch and fuel flap.

I will be getting security blanks for the passenger door, side door (which I am currently having issues opening but that is fine for now). The rear door and drivers door are going to have some form of security keys. It's annoying because I don't plan on leaving anything in the van but some little scrotes will have a go no doubt!

Anyway £49.95 added to the expenditure list.



I sprayed wd40 in all of the locks for now and the amound of dirt that came out of the rear door lock and fuel flap was vile. I managed to get the flap open for now and I have latched it but not completely closed it.

It turns better now but gets to a point you need to force it and I just don't want to risk getting caught out. So I will change the flap lock first and start to deal with the resrt.



An updated costings. This weekend with the van back I have covered 33.3 miles.



Anyway the van had a full tank of Shells goodness and a serving of 2 stroke oil and need to stick some miles on this week and see how she gets on. Although I have some cosmetic spending tomorrow

[Jay2018]

Loving it mate. You're moving through it quite quickly. Like how you're using the spreadsheet to price it all up. Great idea!

[WeAreCerti]

Loving it mate. You're moving through it quite quickly. Like how you're using the spreadsheet to price it all up. Great idea!

Thanks man, it's a good way to track the costs for sure and see how worthwhile it all is or isnt

[WeAreCerti]

Nothing to exciting to add at the moment in terms of actual progress just parts collecting.

I have added 172.2 miles on the clock last week with a couple of trips to the new unit and picking up some new seats.

I have ordered a new dogbone (this was an attempted delivery this morning but I wasn't home, it was my daughters first day at reception so I had to be there!) I am going to order a new bolt from Ford before fitting. This engine thuds bad at times and have been told it can trash the bolt.

A little while back I ordered a leather armrest on ebay, we spoke over text also and he told me he was selling some Fiesta ST Recaro seats if I was interested. I mean I was but I wasn't really looking forward to the price. Luckily for me he only wanted £100 and they have been adapted to fit the connect. Only issue was he was 250+ miles away in St Helens. Luckily I had a friend who has recently moved to London from the Wirral who was home in the van collecting some more parts and he went and collected them for me!

The seats are not fitted yet I am trying to source a black MK1 Ford Focus carpet which is proving harder than I would have liked, there is one on buy it now on ebay for £130 approx and I refuse to pay that.

I have also ordered an EGR blanking plate, enough said on that matter.

I have a boost leak and assuming its going to be an intercooler pipe or it could even be a damaged air box tube.

I feel pretty confident in driving it on my 28 mile commute now but it certainly still needs some TLC, oh and a good clean!

Price per mile sheet has been updated and I have included a couple of exterior photos!





The Recaros I purchased (this is not a photo fitted in my van)



This is currently where I am at PPM.



And a photo of the exterior of my new unit for my Photography / Studio / Working space.

[WeAreCerti]

Been super busy as always, have been doing some video work and photos and the van has came last most of the time!

Last week I covered a further 258 miles in the van, and that included taking all my stuff out of the new unit I had signed a lease too. I was finally ready to move in and they gave me a second internal document they wanted me to sign and this would have taken away my 24 hour access which I need. Not a happy bunny but we have to get on with it!

A photo of one of the seats in the house.



I finally picked up a mk1 focus carpet. £20 in the end, there was one for buy itr now on ebay for £120 circa. Crazy money considering you can buy a full car for around £300-400 these days.



Collected my dogbone from the post office, I picked up 2 bolts from Ford and a new radio aerial.



Aerial was sezied on but changed this over ok, this was just a sign of things to come with the dogbone mount! But it's nice having good radio signal again.





Now I popped in to have my dogbone done and it is 2 bolts for the mount and it should be a 5 minute job. It's cursed honestly.

The bolt had seized inside and the bolts end up bent due to the thudding from the engine due to the failed mount. Great. This took just over 2 hours.







Snapped bolt.



Cutting begins.









The culprit.



I didn't get a photo with the new one in.

But the banging in the rear got bad and it turns out the exhaust hangers have failed and the exhaust has hit the droplinks and now has a hole. Just to add to the list.





Photo of the copper brake line at the rear!



This over for the electrics of the starter moter have broken and left stuff exposed. Will hopefully be able to order a new one from Ford.



And to top it off, with the engine knocking from the failed mount and I'm assuming a mix with the new bigger wheels we are left with this.



I have some work to do, was supposed to get the interior done this week but been tied up with work.

Updated PPM getting slightly better. But now not going to be doing anywhere near as many miles as planned due to the unit situ.



Hopefully some good updates soon.

[WeAreCerti]

A mere 25.6 miles on the odometer last week and that was my journey getting the dogbone replaced.

I have done almost 4 times that in the van today alone!

I have singed up to a new unit and I have started moving in today, it's 4 miles closer to home than the last one!

Anyway updated PPMand hopefully once I am moved in I can get some updates.

[WeAreCerti]

Sorry, quiet week again, was moving in to the new unit and I visited Poland for a show this weekend in Katowice.

Anyhow, driving it on Thursday the battery light has appeared but the van is still driving ok. The Facebook group has lead me to buying a £14.95 alternator loom which I ordered this morning after catching up on some sleep!

Hopefully the van has some work done this week, it still needs cleaning and I am driving it more now.

Updated PPM. 324.6 miles this week and an additional £14.95 spent.



The most miles I have done in this in a week and it dropped the PPM nicely!

[WeAreCerti]

So as you may see from the last PPM update, I purchased a smart alternator loom for £14.95.

It arrived in the post today and got it fitted on the van.

Here is some photos of the old one removed, someones clearly been at this before.







Here is a photo of the new one that was fitted.



Fitted it on, ironically before I arrived at my friends the light had gone off, when the new one was fitted the light remained off and I felt positive about it.

Anyhow left the engine running for a little while having a chat. Drove back to my unit which is 1-2 miles away from my friends house and the light came back on as per, then as I pulled in to the gates at my unit the stereo started flickering so I turned it off and then as I got down the dark alley towards the unit the lights went dim and then turned off completely.

So I have reserved a Lucas 130a alternator from Euros to collect tomorrow. Not ideal but here we are! Could go second hand but things like batterys and alternators I want to be solid and no worries.

More updates to come.

Oh and while looking, my number plate lights had gone out, there seems to be a dodgy connection in the rear so may need a new rear door loom but I have 2 replacement doors lined up so may well see if it comes with the loom etc. Will save money and hassle.

[WeAreCerti]

Update.

So on the basis of changing the battery when I got the van, changing the smart alternator loom earlier this week and still being a fault, the decision was to change the alternator.

Horrible weather, luckily the landlord let me bring the van in my unit for my friend to do some work. This unit is my office space / studio having a manky van in here was the last thing both of us wanted I'm sure but I was stuck with a dead battery etc.

Anyway photos.





These hoses are weak and leaking. I am going to get new ones in part of a Forge silicone kit. They are definitely not helping the sluggish drive.





Intercooler off.





Old alternator off, assuming this has changed previously and probably sourced second hand.



Old vs new. Lucas unit. 130a.



Fitted.



Everything put back together.

Fitted a fine £3.99 EGR metal sheet to. No photos.

Anyway, with some time to kill we started to strip some off the interior out ready for the clean enxt week and to get the new seats fitted.

Oh it's horrible, with oil seeping through the vinyl flooring soaking the sound deadning and everything.

Enjoy.

Passenger seat out.





More grime.





Managed to get the side door to open, it had come off the runners, we have sorted it for now and copper greased this to hell.



Rear bench removed.







Drivers seat out temp to get the vinyl flooring out.





Soaked sound deadening. Both sides. passenger side was oil based. It smells worse now.





Most of this has been removed but this will be dealt with next week while being cleaned out!

Also removed the nokia phone kit finally.



Played with the stuck heating control. Stuck on windscreen found the issue but need some silicone spray to loosen it up. IF that doesn't work it will be a new cable.

Alternator was £149.50 but I am waiting on a surcharge refund, my friend only charged me £80.00. 115 miles this week. Updated PPM.



Needed a jump start, but the battery light is still on. Euros are changing the battery to another new one of the same battery but I think it is slightly too powerfull being a 110 80ah I need a 100 75ah approx.

Anyway, more updates soon.