Motor Size of Express Connect?

A friend offered me this transit connect for $800 so I own it now. 

He had 7 for a lab testing business, and upgraded all of them. 

2018 model.

175,000 miles. Has a new trans from Ford last year. 
 

issues: 

• needs headlight bulb (h11 done)
• will need front tires in 6 months 
• needs detail
• needs oil change 
• needs hubcap

1) internet says it is a 1.6 or 2.5. How can I tell? He doesnt know (driven by employees). 

2) Are these reliable? This has No leaks. Drives great. I am surprised trans went so early - but I know nothing about modern american cars. 

3) I am thinking of wrapping it with some logos and use it for my coun laundry business that does pick up and delivery for the armed services. 

Thoughts? 

If unreliable and POS - I will just sell it on craigslist, but after driving it, I feel its worth keeping. 

It needs detail, which I will do today. 

hilarious to drive with no rear view mirror

Displacement: pop hood, look at EPA sticker.  Others might also have info

I believe the 1.6 is an Ecoboost, so pop hood and look for the turbo would be a good giveaway.  Also I've not seen an Ecoboost that doesn't say Ecoboost at least 8 places in the car. Ok that's a slight exaggeration but it is usually marketed hard.

Where on the Internet did you see that about the engines? Everything I can find says these are 2.5 only. In any case, the 1.6 is an ecoboost turbo and the 2.5 is n/a so having driven it you should be able to tell which it is.

We rented the passenger version of one, probably the same year as that. We really liked it. 

Should be either a 2.0 or 2.5 NA.  

The 2.5 is a fairly old engine and has been really reliable.  The 2.0 is a newer family, but is also quite good- I'm not sure how many of those were made, but I know they were in there- I had one as a test car.

If only there was a Transit Connect "expert" on the board!

In reply to John Welsh :

My thoughts exactly! It's like bait. LostInTransit is still out there haunting other forums.

I think they're cool.

2018 Transit lineup says it's a 2.5.

https://media.ford.com/content/dam/fordmedia/North%20America/US/product/2018/transit-connect/18-Transit-Connect-Wagon.pdf

Neat little truck , looks like the 2nd generation like yours  were  built in Spain , first gen was built in Turkey.

was that motor or trans put in any other USA sold cars ?

In reply to californiamilleghia :

Isn't that the 2.5 Duratec/MZR that was used in millions of other Fords and Mazdas?

Mr_Asa said:

Displacement: pop hood, look at EPA sticker.  Others might also have info

Maybe sign of old age... but man can't believe I missed the sticker! I am an idiot for sure

Thank you

Keith Tanner said:

In reply to californiamilleghia :

Isn't that the 2.5 Duratec/MZR that was used in millions of other Fords and Mazdas?

Oh man you telling me this is the same POS that my 2012 Mazda5 had we suffered through 9 years of low quality ownership? Sheesh.... 

nocones said:

I believe the 1.6 is an Ecoboost, so pop hood and look for the turbo would be a good giveaway.  Also I've not seen an Ecoboost that doesn't say Ecoboost at least 8 places in the car. Ok that's a slight exaggeration but it is usually marketed hard.

Definitely not ecoboost.. feeling. 

nsxmr2elises2000 said:

Mr_Asa said:

Displacement: pop hood, look at EPA sticker.  Others might also have info

Maybe sign of old age... but man can't believe I missed the sticker! I am an idiot for sure

 

Thank you

My pleasure! It's my favorite sticker to look at in junkyards

dps214 said:

Where on the Internet did you see that about the engines? Everything I can find says these are 2.5 only. In any case, the 1.6 is an ecoboost turbo and the 2.5 is n/a so having driven it you should be able to tell which it is.

Thank you. Transit or transit connect gave me many variations of 2.5/1.6 some diesel and 2.0 etc. It was confusing. Thus I wasn't sure. 

Yeah it didn't have a turbo, but I am a slow driver. I drive my like EVO like most people drive their Tercels..

Thanks for the info

Floating Doc (Forum Supporter) said:

We rented the passenger version of one, probably the same year as that. We really liked it. 

I was VERY surprised how well it drove. It is noisy (given its the cargo), but perfectly suited for what it is. It came with a full tank of gas, lets see what the MPG ends up being 

215/55/16 tires. 

I had a 2015 XLT for about a year and a half. Mine was also a cargo but had all the windows. I bought it to turn it into a simple van camper but lost interest.

Mine had 107k miles, which was a lot for the year (purchased in 2019). The previous owner used it for his auto repair business roadside assistance vehicle (AAA). It... wasn't well maintained. And it was filthy. And infested with cockroaches (just Florida things).

I was surprised how well it drove though. The 2.5L won't set your hair on fire but it's perfectly adequate. It handles like a tall Focus, which is pretty much what it is.

Mine had transmission issues due to the PO running it low on fluid. The passenger side axle seal had a weep and he never checked the fluid. Ford, in their infinite wisdom, also decided that the HF35 transmission in these should not have a dipstick, which makes checking the fluid level a PITA. Using Forscan, the fluid temp would regularly get over 220°F on the highway. I decided to get rid of it shortly after.

But for $800? Change the fluids, keep up on the maintenance and drive the wheels off of it. 

stanger_mussle (Supported by GRM undergarments) said:

I had a 2015 XLT for about a year and a half. Mine was also a cargo but had all the windows. I bought it to turn it into a simple van camper but lost interest.

Mine had 107k miles, which was a lot for the year (purchased in 2019). The previous owner used it for his auto repair business roadside assistance vehicle (AAA). It... wasn't well maintained. And it was filthy. And infested with cockroaches (just Florida things).

I was surprised how well it drove though. The 2.5L won't set your hair on fire but it's perfectly adequate. It handles like a tall Focus, which is pretty much what it is.

Mine had transmission issues due to the PO running it low on fluid. The passenger side axle seal had a weep and he never checked the fluid. Ford, in their infinite wisdom, also decided that the HF35 transmission in these should not have a dipstick, which makes checking the fluid level a PITA. Using Forscan, the fluid temp would regularly get over 220°F on the highway. I decided to get rid of it shortly after.

But for $800? Change the fluids, keep up on the maintenance and drive the wheels off of it. 

Sounds like me and you both! Figured since it has a new transmission, should be good for a while. 

Given no dipstick, would you recommend a yearly trans fluid change?

I also read these suck some coolant. The expansion tank is visible, but I couldn't find the radiator cap to take a look. 

nsxmr2elises2000 said:

Given no dipstick, would you recommend a yearly trans fluid change?

on my vehicles with automatic transmissions, if refilling is easy, then i drain and replace whatever amount i can drain, at either every engine oil change (Honda 7500 miles) or every other engine oil change (Saab 5000 miles x 2).  when refilling wasn't easy (i'm looking at you, BMW E60), i dropped the pan and replaced fluid and filter about every 50k miles.  ATF is so much cheaper than AT.

In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :

Thank you ! 

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

I misspoke; the Transit Connect has the 6F35 transmission, not the HF35.

Checking the fluid level and adding fluid procedures can be found here:

https://fordtransitconnectforum.com/topic/3113-2014-transmission-fluid-level-checkrefill/

A 401 CJ said:

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

I stuffed a non running Honda Helix in mine lol. 

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