Motor Size of Express Connect?

A 401 CJ said:

Motorcycle guys like them.  Lowness makes them really easy to load that precious cargo- and hide it too.

given I am a motorcycle guy / it will come in handy

detailed and registered

hubcap

 ordered

car interior was filthy

BlindPirate said:

The utility I work for has dozens of these. They are reliable. 

great to know that!! 

been really enjoying driving it 

2600 miles driven. 27 mpg

The place I joined for work in 2016 has used these for years. I have had at least 4 in my service with them and a couple I had (Including the 2022 I drive now) I got as brand new vehicles. They get a ton of highway miles, I have probably put over 300,000 miles  on the vans that I have had over the past 8 years. The only one not still in the fleet got totaled in a one vehicle crash, not by me. No, another one was sold with over 300,000 miles on it and was running fine when it left. The owner is adamant about never changing the transmission fluid on them. I've never had a transmission go out, though two other guys have, but at less than 100,000 miles. I think it had to do with how they drive them. Reliable, get 25 mpg on the highway. Keep it , drive it.

gunner (Forum Supporter) said:

The place I joined for work in 2016 has used these for years. I have had at least 4 in my service with them and a couple I had (Including the 2022 I drive now) I got as brand new vehicles. They get a ton of highway miles, I have probably put over 300,000 miles  on the vans that I have had over the past 8 years. The only one not still in the fleet got totaled in a one vehicle crash, not by me. No, another one was sold with over 300,000 miles on it and was running fine when it left. The owner is adamant about never changing the transmission fluid on them. I've never had a transmission go out, though two other guys have, but at less than 100,000 miles. I think it had to do with how they drive them. Reliable, get 25 mpg on the highway. Keep it , drive it.

i would be very excited to get 300 k miles out of it

you are saying NOT to change trans fluid? 

mine is 95% highway miles

So I just went on marketplace and at $800 you stole that thing. I am seeing much older ones with well over 200k selling in the 3-5k range. 
 

Does your friend have any others to sell?  

In reply to dean1484 :

I reqched out to him as I got two other requests from GRM. 

He has 3 other ones he sold for dirt cheap, awaiting pickup after CA rain. 

If the dont get picked up end of next week - he will let me know 

with no rear visibility i thought would be tough to drive (like my old exige) - but its no real issue at all 

I don't know how much crossover there is between the smaller Connect and the bigger Transit, but my friend lives in her 2016 Transit.  She is a touring performer and drives everywhere for gigs.  She just got back from a PA - San Francisco - FL - TN - PA trip.  High miles, and it has been trouble free for her.

To the OP: I have a quirk of trying to guess photo locations based only upon the background. I'm guessing San Diego County. How close am I?

"...The previous owner used it for his auto repair business roadside assistance vehicle (AAA). It... wasn't well maintained..."

What a great way to say not to use your business!

In reply to nsxmr2elises2000 :

Re: changing transmission fluid.

Not changing fluid is like saying "I'm still alive, so I don't need to see a doctor for my diabeetus."  A pan drop and filter is always a good thing.  If it causes problems, you were about to lose it anyway.  Where you get into bad juju is if you flush the transmission.  That much fluid change can be a shock.  Over time, the fluid and clutches fall into a balance of solubility vs wanting to be dissolved.  If you flush it and change all the fluid, you have just introduced a highly solvent bath that cleans out clutch material.  Transmission clutches are made out of paper, basically.  They get packed full of carbon and scrubbed paper much like a cast iron pan gets seasoned, or brake pads bed into rotors.  A fluid flush will dissolve all that stuff out of the clutches and might cause the ECM's learned shift algorithms to lose their effectiveness, leading to slippage and damage.

Pan, filter, refill.  Always good.  Never bad.  I see all these people who suggest not changing it at high mileage because "it ain't broke, so don't fix it."  They're just letting their transmission wallow in burnt, corrosive, and abrasive fluid and it will dramatically shorten the life of the transmission.

I wish they towed more. Would be a perfect rig to pull my small trailer and VW.

I had one as a work vehicle and LOVED it! Boxy go kart.  Only gripe was the microsoft radio sucked, but adding a bluetooth dongle to the aux fixed that. 

The business I work for uses them primarily for delivery vehicles. Currently have a 19 (140k miles on it) and 22 (44k miles on it) Just picked up a 16 with low miles and totaled a 13 with over 200k on it. They are pretty solid for all the miles and use they go through. I do agree about the boxy go kart part.

Apparently they have been discontinued after the 23 model year. The new version coming out over in Europe has plug in hybrid, all wheel drive, diesel and stick shift variants.

In reply to nsxmr2elises2000 :

Side mirrors are your friends, I ran an Astro cargo van it had a cargo divider and a rear view mirror which gave a fantastic view of the divider. I suggest a home built one using chain link fencing and framing of choice. The divider on the passenger side should be set up as a sliding door as that will let you use the feature of the fold forward seat back.

Just get one of those rearview camera/mirror things if the lack of visibility bothers you.

Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:

I don't know how much crossover there is between the smaller Connect and the bigger Transit, but my friend lives in her 2016 Transit.  She is a touring performer and drives everywhere for gigs.  She just got back from a PA - San Francisco - FL - TN - PA trip.  High miles, and it has been trouble free for her.

I do not know anything about them, thus I cant comment

However I do use mine for mobile office and zoom calls when on the road. 

Sound insulation is non existent and living in mine would be challenging 

DeadSkunk (Warren) said:

Just get one of those rearview camera/mirror things if the lack of visibility bothers you.

yeah its got the rear view camera 

if it was on all the time would give piece of mind

not a big deal. just not used to it 

Rons said:

In reply to nsxmr2elises2000 :

Side mirrors are your friends, I ran an Astro cargo van it had a cargo divider and a rear view mirror which gave a fantastic view of the divider. I suggest a home built one using chain link fencing and framing of choice. The divider on the passenger side should be set up as a sliding door as that will let you use the feature of the fold forward seat back.

you had a mirror

no rear mirror here - hah! 

yeah have the side biew mirrors set up correctly 

i dont have a use for a divider but will keep it in mind 

kb58 said:

To the OP: I have a quirk of trying to guess photo locations based only upon the background. I'm guessing San Diego County. How close am I?

few counties over ... 

Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to nsxmr2elises2000 :

Re: changing transmission fluid.

Not changing fluid is like saying "I'm still alive, so I don't need to see a doctor for my diabeetus."  A pan drop and filter is always a good thing.  If it causes problems, you were about to lose it anyway.  Where you get into bad juju is if you flush the transmission.  That much fluid change can be a shock.  Over time, the fluid and clutches fall into a balance of solubility vs wanting to be dissolved.  If you flush it and change all the fluid, you have just introduced a highly solvent bath that cleans out clutch material.  Transmission clutches are made out of paper, basically.  They get packed full of carbon and scrubbed paper much like a cast iron pan gets seasoned, or brake pads bed into rotors.  A fluid flush will dissolve all that stuff out of the clutches and might cause the ECM's learned shift algorithms to lose their effectiveness, leading to slippage and damage.

Pan, filter, refill.  Always good.  Never bad.  I see all these people who suggest not changing it at high mileage because "it ain't broke, so don't fix it."  They're just letting their transmission wallow in burnt, corrosive, and abrasive fluid and it will dramatically shorten the life of the transmission.

thanks

makes sense and what i do on all my cars . then again i usually dont buy modern fords, voluntarily 

since this has a new trans from ford, will do yearly fluid change 

vwcorvette (Forum Supporter) said:

I wish they towed more. Would be a perfect rig to pull my small trailer and VW.

that would be pretty great. i usually tow with lc/fjc/tacoma

TJL (Forum Supporter) said:

I had one as a work vehicle and LOVED it! Boxy go kart.  Only gripe was the microsoft radio sucked, but adding a bluetooth dongle to the aux fixed that. 

the radio seems to work fine on AM. Not sure

interestingly sync/bluetooth is horrendous on the road (for other people) 

due to no sound insulation- people can't hear me

using ear piece a must 

dxman92 said:

The business I work for uses them primarily for delivery vehicles. Currently have a 19 (140k miles on it) and 22 (44k miles on it) Just picked up a 16 with low miles and totaled a 13 with over 200k on it. They are pretty solid for all the miles and use they go through. I do agree about the boxy go kart part.

Apparently they have been discontinued after the 23 model year. The new version coming out over in Europe has plug in hybrid, all wheel drive, diesel and stick shift variants.

hybrids would be splendid 

mine works for the navy delivery 3 days a week

3 other days is commute