What did you do to your connect today?

[LostinTransit]

Here's what a lot of you have been waiting for.. Months of work cutting material and sewing it all together just to create this diamond tucked carbon fiber spare tire cover for our 2020 Transit Connect It's not easy for this old man to do this kind of stuff anymore..

https://youtube.com/shorts/Ahy66Mwc7-0?feature=shared

[Johnathan]

20240406_182501.jpg

20240406_182532.jpg

Hi, I bought a set of wheels and tyres from a Connect Active. Wasnt sure they would fit but they were cheap so took a punt, so happy it worked out

[mrtn]

Cam belt and water pump replacement at 164Mm, new rear discs/pads plus handbrake cables. Feels fresh.

EDIT: aaand a new battery. Finally installed the quick connect socket on the terminals to make battery charger hookup easier.

[LostinTransit]

Didn't happen today but over the weekend.. We lost the center caps to the AXE wheels and Axe discontinued these center caps. so until we can locate something better to use as center caps.. painted the rotor hub gold to match the lug ends.

https://youtube.com/shorts/quJowAlXCfQ? ... LIxMfu_x23

Up next, we've special ordered the maxtondesign frotn splitter for the 2019-2023 transit Connect.. This splitter will take 8-10 weeks to create then ship to us. So while we wait.. we've order a new set of Bilstein B6 rear shocks as out 4 year old set have finally given up the ghost. Once a few cooled days arrive, we're back in the van installing Siless sound dampening sheets on the exposed area of the cargo. June is going to be a busy month for us as we have a few more parts to order, sway bar, camber plated new struts coil springs and maybe a spherical end link.

[LostinTransit]

Johnathan Looks "ok" but you need to lower the van.. the 4'' (101.6mm) gap at the rear wheels look silly.. we opted to get rid of that 4'' gap with 40mm lowering springs.. and since lowering.. the springs have settled so much so that the rear of the van is now lower than the frotn. We're aiming to correct that sometime this summer. But I will suggest that if you're going to lower, 40mm offset will not work.. you'll need a wheel with a 42mm offset so that the tire will tuck under the fenders. The 40mm offset we have does work, but the fender edge still needs to be turned under.

[LostinTransit]

Let's see if you can guess what was installed on our 2020 Connect yesterday..

imageedit_7_7307417597.jpg

You Guessed it, a $400.00 USD Optima Yellow top Battery..

[painter4]

Not been here for a while , but on my 2011 connect I had to replace acceleration pedal today ,as the old one was causing over reving between gears , was an easy fix , but £107 from Ford....

[LostinTransit]

Didn't happen today but will happen over the next few weeks..

Just got the Maxton Designs frotn splitter and we're looking to get some help installing this.
New Powerstop pads arrived as well as the dimpled/slotted rotors
Having a new set of frotn coil springs powder coated red to match the Cobra springs
Installing a new set of Bilstein B6 struts once we get the red springs back.
All new bushings and brackets will be used for the strut assembly.
Once this has bene installed we're taking a trip south of our current locate to visit with Bimmerworld where we will be testing a 10-11inch spherical ball joint end link.

[LostinTransit]

waited all day for these items to arrive:

imageedit_3_6464050363.jpg

New Bilstein B6 struts
New Powerstop brake Pads
New Dimpled /Slotted Brake rotors
New White line 28mm sway bar lateral locks
New Nokian 245/40/r19 G4 tires
New Bushings for the Strut tower
Motal Trans fluid
Motal 5W20 Motor oil

I'm still needing:

End links (Been invited to Bimmerworld in Sept)
Hardrace sway bar
Hardrace rear camber plate

imageedit_2_5876539503.jpg

Installed the brake rotors yesterday..

[LostinTransit]

General Maintenance Turns Into a Mirror Repair.

While at the shop for some general preventive Transmission maintenance with the newly acquired Motul low viscosity trans fluid, the tech notice some dried coolant stains at the lower part of the engine. Following the path, shows that there was a coolant leak at the thermostat housing which is located on the lower part of the block. The housing, a press fit, single unit has to be replaced and coolant added. I've been keeping and eye on the system as these types of coolant issues can present problems if not address as the system is closed.

Something else I learn yesterday.. whcih I didn't know and was worried that if by chance the van ever became stranded without starting. The van dose not come with a removal panel to access or disconnect the shift linkage.

In order to actually move the van:

▶ Turn the key to the on potion without starting
▶ Depress and hold the brake peddle
▶ Shift into neutral to push/tow the van out of the way of traffic

[LostinTransit]

out with the old, in with the new..

imageedit_2_8096633636.jpg

imageedit_2_5645336009.jpg

What you're looking at is a newly powder coated OE coil springs, new Bilstein B6 struts and all the hardware to rebuild the front end.

[LostinTransit]

hasn't happen today.. yet.. but will later this morning..

imageedit_1_9285846969.jpg

totally unexpected repair/upgrade as the 4 year control arm ball joints were shot.. Mevotech control arms with grease ball joints

[LostinTransit]

Current Stance on 40mm rear lowering springs:

imageedit_5_4457442728.jpg

These 2 year old Cobra Suspension rear lowering springs have seen better days. They are starting to sag and I informed Cobra Suspension about this.. Never the less a company out of KS, USA is designing a custom rear set of lowering springs just for us. and once approved they will be on the market for others wanting to lower the rear of their vans. The newly designed springs are 2'' shorter than OE and 20-25% stiffer than OE.. which means no more 4'' gap at the rear wheels. Those springs are 3 weeks out.. will report back when they arrive.

[LostinTransit]

Next Up: 28mm hardrace sway bar designed for the 2019 Ford Kuga is being installed on our 2020 Connect Nov 6th..

imageedit_1_2109707404.jpg

[LostinTransit]

Seeing how this forum refuses to create a performance section and the forum seems to be geared toward those seeking support on repairing their vans, I'll continue my post on the medium social network.

https://medium.com/@FlordPerformance