Jesus that is a lot of failed parts at 80k miles.
Jesus that is a lot of failed parts at 80k miles.
Cross-posting this here since it's in the trips and adventures forum: https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/trips-adventures-and-get-togethers/i-have-a-dream-of-a-track/274966/page1/#post4002823
It's funny how we remember people - the Ford Transit Connect guy.....
At church Sunday someone said some old dudes name and a few others were - who is that again?
The (guy who passes out) butterscotch candy guy......oh yeah, that guy.
Datsun240ZGuy said:It's funny how we remember people - the Ford Transit Connect guy.....
At church Sunday someone said some old dudes name and a few others were - who is that again?
The (guy who passes out) butterscotch candy guy......oh yeah, that guy.
How about "the Datsun240Z Guy"? 
Thank you Tom Suddard
Just a reminder others waiting on a reply from me, the forums has a new thing which tells me that in order to curb spam I can only post once an hour.. so sorry for the delay on getting back to you.
One of the best and major accomplishments was just a hunch I had pertaining to the hardrace sway bar. You may or may not recall a post I did where we traveled to see John Hotchkis in the heart of NASCAR country once there john, his crew and I debunked a rumor that a focus sway bar could fit the Connect which it didn't but one thing lead to another and we located a 28mm hard race sway bar designed for the Kuga/Escape and Focus that was bent just like the Connect sway bar. What made this even more important was that the Kuga/escape and the Connect share the same engine cradle. The only trouble is the shop I had install this for me did not follow my directions and did not use Teflon tape along with silicone grease on the sway bar and bushing. For 2 weeks it was squeak squeak and knock knock.. One reason for the knock knock was whiteline sent me the wrong info about what links to use with this setup. Now they wont warranty their mistake.. Which lead me to NAPA end links and so far these have been working out very well.
The other major accomplishment was the development of my own rear coil springs for the van. These cobra springs are failing cause the fender to rub the tire. I was informed by suspension.com to contact Coil Spring Specialties out of KS USA told them what I needed and within 4 weeks that delivered the first run prototype springs base on my specs. These springs are 2'' shorter than factory, 20% stiffer than factory. The OE springs lifted the rear of the van approx 4'' above the tire. which is about the amount of a balled up fit placed between the fender edge and tire. Installing the Cobra springs there was less than a 2'' gap between the tire and fender edge and over time, the cobra springs are starting to sag causing the fender to touch the tire. We've already had to replace two of the tires due to this rubbing. After Sat test fit of the new CSS springs, we're looking at a 2 3/4 space between the tire and fender edge. A bit more breathing room for sure. I didn't get a pic of the gap, but did get one of the springs test fit.
So what's next?.. According to the tire shop, the mounting plates on the dead axle have not been welding in correctly from the factory or got bent some how, so we're getting some weird angles on the rear wheels. We'll be looking again taking a chance and test fit the hardrace camber plates to make up this difference. The only other option, would be to buy a new or used dead axle and cut off the hub assembly plate and weld them to the desired angle. otherwise we'll keep on keeping on with some interior stuff.
Seeing how Keith is reposting my blog, There's no need for me to post any pics here..
Oh and btw, Once we yank the cobra springs they're up for grabs if anyone wants them..
FlordPerformance said:Thank you Tom Suddard
Just a reminder others waiting on a reply from me, the forums has a new thing which tells me that in order to curb spam I can only post once an hour.. so sorry for the delay on getting back to you.
One of the best and major accomplishments was just a hunch I had pertaining to the hardrace sway bar. You may or may not recall a post I did where we traveled to see John Hochkic in the heart of NASCAR country once there john, his crew and I debunked a rumor that a focus sway bar could fit the Connect which it didn't but one thing lead to another and we located a 28mm hard race sway bar designed for the Kuga/Escape and Focus that was bent just like the Connect sway bar. What made this even more important was that the Kuga/escape and the Connect share the same engine cradle. The only trouble is the shop I had install this for me did not follow me directions and did not use Teflon tape along with silicone grease on the sway bar and bushing. For 2 weeks it was squeak squeak and knock knock.. One reason for the knock knock was whiteline sent me the wrong info about what links to use with this setup. Now they wont warranty their mistake.. Which lead me to NAPA end links and so far these have been working out very well.
The other major accomplishment was the development of my own rear coil springs for the van. These cobra springs are failing cause the fender to rub the tire. I was informed by suspension.com to contact Coil Spring Specialties out of KS USA told them what I needed and within 4 weeks that delivered the first run prototype springs base on my specs. These springs are 2'' shorter than factory, 20% stiffer than factory. The OE springs lifted the rear of the van approx 4'' above the tire. which is about the amount of a balled up fit placed between the fender edge and tire. Installing the Cobra springs there was less than a 2'' gap between the tire and fender edge and over time, the cobra springs are starting to sag causing the fender to touch the tire. We've already had to replace two of the tires due to this rubbing. After Sat test fit of the new CSS springs, we're looking at a 2 3/4 space between the tire and fender edge. A bit more breathing room for sure.
So what's next?.. According tot he tire shop, the mounting plates on the dead axle have not been welding in correctly, so we're getting some weird angles on the rear wheels. We'll be looking again taking a chance and test fit the hardrace camber plates to make up this difference. The only other option, would be to buy a new or used dead axle and cut off the hub assembly plate and weld them to the desired angle. otherwise we'll keep on keeping on with some interior stuff.
Preserving this for the record.
About the Whiteline end links (https://medium.com/@FlordPerformance/whiteline-refuses-to-honor-our-warranty-41767ae637af) - I don't really blame Whiteline here. A "universal" end link is not a guaranteed fitment on every possible vehicle, and it's up to the installer to make sure their particular application doesn't cause problems like rubbing. Damage from rubbing isn't a warranty item.
The thing to do here would have been to buy a set of end links with a good return policy and check them carefully through the range of motion to ensure there's no fouling. If there is, you return the end links in new condition and try to find another set with different geometry. I would not expect the manufacturer to send out "prototypes" unless they were trying to develop a specific application.
Those Superpro boots definitely failed, though. I wonder if they could have sent you some new boots?
After contacting Zeder Corp the owners of Superpro and Whiteline, Informing them that they Superpro end links failed after 2 years of use, Zeder Corp suggested that I contact Josh at Whiteline AU for a new set of their Whiteline end links.
My issue is that according to their specs, they did not have a set of end links for the Connect, But they had one closes enough that might work. based on Josh and Zeder Corps suggestions I purchased a set of their 10.5–11.50 inches adjustable end links. These typically known as universal links but once on the van, they’ve made contact with the struts, coil springs, sway bar and subframe.. the links are managed after only 2 months of having them installed.
Although this is not the best angle for the pic as I was more focused on the sway bar at the time, But one can see marred areas on the end link rods where they’ve made contact with several different parts of the chasses and this isn’t even the worse side either..
Deep maring was caused by the end links making contact with the van’s subframe during articulation and whiteline will not honor my warranty on this..
When I told Josh that I was sending pics of the damaged links, right off he said Whiteline would not honor the warranty on these links claiming we installed them incorrectly and I’ve yet to hear back from Zeder Corp.. years of talking to Zeder Corp and Josh at Whiteline down the drain simply because they refuse to honor a warranty on a product that’s suppose to be universal. There’s only one way to install these end links. Just another cop out to avoid honoring our warranty.
This all boils down to, yeah sure, looks good on paper, but when it comes to real world testing.. it doesn’t fit. At least they should have sent me a prototype set for test fitting first.. Just another expense we’ve lost due to trusting someone advice and paperwork. Today, we’ve lost nearly 2K on parts that didn’t fit, never arrived or arrived damaged and those company’s who sent these parts etc would not compensate us for their mistakes.
In reply to OHSCrifle :
Please be polite.
If you want to quote him, please do so. Just have something for a reply.
Everyone deserves another chance. If you don't believe that you dont need to interact with them.
Keith Tanner said:This is Our Taboo Transit Connect Performance Build & It's Been Banned By All The Transit Connect Forums, Hotrod Forums, Racing Forums & Performance Car Forums
Not sure it's the build that's been banned. At some point when you are drowning in shiny happy people, you have to ask yourself "am I the shiny happy person?"
He is literally in here! Hahaha. This just gets weirder and weirder.
Datsun240ZGuy said:It's funny how we remember people - the Ford Transit Connect guy.....
At church Sunday someone said some old dudes name and a few others were - who is that again?
The (guy who passes out) butterscotch candy guy......oh yeah, that guy.
And different groups have different references. My wife is a musician. She and her friends talk of the bass player from Santa Fe or the French horn player from the east mountains. We have a common friend who's either the trumpet player from the track or the TR6 guy depending on who we're talking to.
Seeing how Keith has taken upon himself to repost/quote my blog with images here, there's nothing more I need to say. Guess you can get updates from Keith from now on.
Stay tuned to my blog site for the final custom coil spring installation coming up in less than 2 weeks. Then it's off to NC to my buddy's shop where he specializes in body kits and he's taking on the challenge of installing the Maxton Design front splitter for me.
In reply to FlordPerformance :
I have a Ram Promaster City as a company car/van. I thought going into it last year that I wouldn't like it. However, it is a surprisingly handy little (big) size and I like it more than I ever would have thought.
How is the Transit Connect better vs the Ram City?
Is the Maverick on the same platform as the transit/escape?
i think i'd like a maverick. I loved the transit connect i had for work.
Not the same platform to my knowledge. I have heard rumors that the next transit connect might be on maverick platform which would be good for the drivetrain, but probably not as good for size/loading.
It would fix my number one complaint, which is the transmission
A few months back I asked autopian to do a Sh!t box show down between the Connect, Promaster and Nissan NV but they've yet to do such a thing. Either way, I feel that the Connect is more customizable than the other two vans. But we're dealing with a small van that most would view as a camper conversion or a contractors utility van. nimble and easy to maneuver through town. The challange is I no nothing about either the Promaster or Nissan NV and it's bene very difficult to isolate parts for the Connect. We've had more than our share of locating performance parts that fit and fit correctly. case in point the almost endless supply of failed sway bar end links. Mostly hit and miss.. but the sway bar being like it is, was a good (not great) addition to the van. John Hotchkis offered us a 31mm sway bar but being designed for the Focus, wouldn't fit the Connect. due to the angle design of the curves towards the end of the bar. So until someone actually does a comparison (performance wise) I just see the Connect winning a few of the rounds.
It's been brought to my attention that the Maverick shares the same 2.0L engine.. with that in mind we had considered adding in a boomba racing throttle body spacer designed for the maverick. but can be also installed on the Connect 2.0L. It would be nice to learn if the Maverick shares many of the same parts as the Connect, this way our new springs could be used on the maverick as well as the Connect. 2019-2023 years only as the earlier years have a totally different rear spring set up.
Based on this image via the OEM parts site, it would appear that this 2022 Maverick utilizes the same sway bar as the kuga/escape Plus the knuckles seem to be that of the ford focus. So I suspect that If someone was to spend the 249.00 for the 28mm hardrace sway bar, it might fit. but I would need to know what the OE sway bar diameter is to justify if the upgrade would be plausable. Although the image above looks the same as the Connect, the Maverick engine cradle is NOT the same.. so the sway bar upgrade may not work after all.
The main concern with the trans in most of the Ford cars and van is that they suffer with a shuddering issues, it's like the computers doesn't know what gear the trans should be in. But with our testing, we found that Motorcraft, Motual and several other trans fluids do not stop this shuddering, In fact made the shuddering worse. We've been using the BG products low viscosity trans fluid and the shuddering has subsided significantly. But the issue with the trans (which ford tells me this is normal) isn't normal at all. I think anyone who has these smaller transmission need to routinely and systematically change their fluid more than what ford says.
FlordPerformance said:
- 2 different performance shops
This list item made me chuckle.
FlordPerformance said:
The main concern with the trans in most of the Ford cars and van is that they suffer with a shuddering issues, it's like the computers doesn't know what gear the trans should be in. But with our testing, we found that Motorcraft, Motual and several other trans fluids do not stop this shuddering, In fact made the shuddering worse. We've been using the BG products low viscosity trans fluid and the shuddering has subsided significantly. But the issue with the trans (which ford tells me this is normal) isn't normal at all. I think anyone who has these smaller transmission need to routinely and systematically change their fluid more than what ford says.
There are failure concerns for sure - the failure rate gets pretty high as you approach 200k. But my issue is moreso the fact that there are 8 gears with approximately zero horsepower (its a MZR 2.0 with less hp than its MX-5 variant)* - it changes gears a LOT. Its always in the wrong gear. It could be the hardware, could be the programming, etc. This thing would really benefit from a CVT.
I will say at least the manual mode lets you hold a gear fairly well, although not under WOT. But the shifts when you hit the +/- button are super delayed.
*not complaining about the engine here. This thing doesn't need to go fast. Its a van. The 2.0 actually returns very respectable fuel economy given what it is tasked with.
This whole thing reads like a fever dream.
Pretty sure this is AI
In reply to maschinenbau :
No, he's been around a lot longer than LLMs have. This is a person, and we're actually seeing more progress and actual pictures than we ever have.
It reads like someone typed normal things into a translating app and it output abnormal things
maschinenbau said:It reads like someone typed normal things into a translating app and it output abnormal things
Translation errors are more probable, to my mind
In reply to Mr_Asa :
That might explain the switching between "we" and "I"
I've been told by the powers that be, to reply to only legitimate comments or questions directed toward the build and ignore all the non-legitimate comments. as for posting pictures.. seems Keith has this covered, so you don't need me. Furthermore, I'm using a voice to text program because arthritis is limiting the use of my hands. Any more questions not related to the build?? Also, just to add.. this isn't my build thread to begin with.. so I'll not post here anymore about the van unless the oper request it.
oh and as for "we" and "I".. there's no I in team.. yes the build was and is a team effort.. If I did the build myself I would have used the term I..
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