Subd, this is interesting!

 

Same here I’m curious how this will turn out. Eco boost supervan???

 

Right now, we're going for a complete sleeper, and a completely factory look under the hood. It'll either be a hoot to drive, or I'll be posting a lot of parts in the classified section with my head hanging low as I revert to stock.

 

Ford Transit Connect ST

Hi all, I'm starting a crazy project. I'm having a FoST drivetrain swapped into a Transit Connect (short wheelbase, wagon). Some people find this pretty ridiculous, other's seem to 'get' it right away. Anyway, the reason I'm poking around your forum is because I'm looking to get any...

www.focusst.org

This build may help you some. Maybe, lol

 

I keep hoping for updates--I've been following that build for a while. I'm sticking to stock instrument panel (some of where I think things went awry if they didn't program the FCIM and other stuff up front to match). Once I get the bugs worked out though, I fully intend to upgrade to the newer TC instrument panel. The deep binnacles on the stock one can limit visibility if you're sitting tall, and I just like the look of the newer design. It's still a van, and will mostly be a road trip vehicle not a track van, so I really don't need the extra ST gauges or a speedometer that goes past 150. I still have to decide whether I modify it to blank out the gear indicator (which is a physical display with separate LEDs instead of part of the center display in the older ones) or try to source one from the UK with speeds in MPH and configured for a manual.

 

I was following that other thread too, glad to see someone else attempting this!
Best of luck!

 

This is awesome! Definitely gonna follow this one!

 

Holy crap. This has been a massive amount of research for you hasnt it? I see you signed up 8 years ago.

Also very interested, and hope you can figure out the road blocks the other member ran into with his ST transit project.

 

Yeah, 8 years ago I was shopping for an ST as a daily driver and to tow behind my motorhome. My 2005 Mazda6 hatchback was still doing the job well, and by the time Ford got the ST3 production delays sorted out, I had decided to hold off. That Mazda6 made way for another (almost identical spec, but a year newer) in 2016, and as life has changed (first a dog that likes to stretch out, then a partner) it became evident we needed something a little bigger particularly for the road trips visiting family. We could make do with the Focus or Mazda6, there just wasn't any room left over after you pack up luggage, dog food, and a cooler for us.

The search went high and wide--if it was going to be a road trip vehicle it needed to be comfortable, reasonably economical, and ideally still fun to drive. Oh, and not cost an arm and a leg. SUVs and crossovers were mostly out from the get-go. The Buick Regal TourX was top of the list for a while, with a manual swap in the long range plans that kind of fell apart getting into the details. Something like an Escape wouldn't have been bad, but really doesn't gain much over the Focus other than height. The TC is bigger, and I've always been a fan of sliding doors for parking lot practicality.

Reliability shouldn't have really been an issue--the 2.5L is generally rock solid, and the 6F35 (while not great) isn't terrible. Most of the parts are so common it'd be cheap to maintain. When PSA bought Opel and the TourX was discontinued, our interest in it started to wane a little. Low-production orphaned vehicles can get expensive, and there were too many stories (pre-pandemic) of issues getting common parts. We started shopping for a Transit Connect, knowing how underpowered it was (not really terrible--had it been made in the 90s it would have been downright sporty for a van). I occasionally teased that if a manual swap wasn't possible, we'd have to get an Aerostar. Surprisingly, the extended length Aerostar and LWB TC are almost identical in exterior dimensions.

Eventually, we found this TC while visiting my parents for Christmas. Some would call it a Hooviemobile--it ended up being the cheapest passenger TC on AutoTrader in the country. The dealership put absolutely zero effort into getting photos, and the description led off with "NO REAR SEATS". One owner, 155k miles, in Georgia it's whole life. It was worth a look. Turns out the Ford dealer had been the owner--not exactly good news, as they'd used it as a loaner and parts delivery vehicle. But it did actually have rear seats--they were just in a pile of pieces, having been stored since new. I knew we could get them together so long as we had all the parts. A broken windshield, a few minor battle scars, and non-working rear climate control didn't bother me at all. But it did have an occasionally harsh shift from 2nd to 3rd. Ok, it's probably been driven hard, and will eventually need a transmission. Kind of fits the bill, right? I was hoping to get into next year before needing to address it, and we put thousands of miles on it before it left me stranded in Kentucky. And that's where we are now, finally fixing that. Come to think of it, I really should have a post dedicated to how I think the transmission failed. Ultimately, it was entirely preventable based on what I've seen.

The hope is that the TC with the extra power and three pedals checks almost all of the boxes. Even before the transmission went belly-up, we were finding it was the go-to for running around town. The low step-in height and the seating height being higher than the Focus, but lower than the F-150 just made getting in and out easier. On long trips, the seating position was more comfortable than the Focus, particularly without the hard edge of the center console on the passenger side. The big cargo hold made home improvement runs and shipping large packages effortless, and as the dog ages, the low step in height and flat floor make it easier for him to get in and out. Let's be honest--he's spoiled, and accommodating him is half of the decision-making process. He approves, though the sliding doors took some adjustment--he kept expecting the opening at the back edge of the door, which never opened up enough.

I'm hoping we don't encounter the same road blocks, though especially as I've gone through electrical diagrams, I've been trying to think through where things may have gone awry there. While it's taken a lot of study, the wiring should be pretty straightforward--it all comes down to the connector at the battery junction box, and connecting the clutch pedal wiring inside. To make troubleshooting easier, I tracked down the male and female terminals for that connector, so that I can make short jumpers where necessary and not cut any wires. On a few circuits where power and ground circuits are a little different, I'll have the flexibility to rearrange if necessary.

I'm also not messing with anything inside at the same time. I know that project was intended to be a showpiece, and they had the interior pretty well torn apart. New seats, aftermarket stereo, and the ST instrument cluster. I'm keeping all of that stock for now (though I've already converted to Sync 3, and have that working as it should). ForScan is ready and waiting, and a VCM II programmer with IDS will be put into use if necessary. If nothing else, if we get everything working right without any programming, it should at least help them rule out a few things.

 

Cool backstory! As someone who really doesn't care about bells and whistles (only powertrain) i appreciate you leaving it as-is and making everything work.

Have you decided when you'll start carving on it?

 

Cool backstory! As someone who really doesn't care about bells and whistles (only powertrain) i appreciate you leaving it as-is and making everything work.

Have you decided when you'll start carving on it?

It's already kind of in pieces. Just started a couple of weeks ago, goal is to drive it before the 30-day warranty on the junkyard transmission is up (it's about half gone as we sit). I spent a little bit of time today trying to organize some of the photos I've taken so far, and hope to start filling in the details soon.

Right now, the front fascia, headlights, hood, radiator and condenser are all off, along with the windshield cowling and a bunch of little stuff. Had to remove a heat shield over the exhaust to feed the shift cables in and out, so I went ahead and disconnected the exhaust manifold. Nothing It looks like I might get some time on it tomorrow afternoon--the weekend is spoken for, so it looks like the engine and transmission will come out Monday. Shouldn't take more than a couple hours to hoist up the new engine, mount the clutch and transmission, and slide it into place, so hopefully you'll be able to see a picture of it at least sitting where it should soon.

The picture below is more or less where it sits now. I'll have to write up the details, but it took an embarassing amount of time to get all the coolant lines figured out. It ends up pretty simple, using all stock parts (all either existing stuff or ST parts). The Escape and TC both have a transmission cooler, and the TC and ST have an oil cooler, with the Escape and TC having an extra port on the radiator that will get capped off. I'll probably buy an ST radiator if I ever have reason to have the front end off after this project (same thing except for the extra port). Fuel lines, PCV, and fuel vapor system are all sorted out, have all of the intake piping (still have to track down mounting hardware for the intercooler and the line that runs from the turbo to the IC), and have most of the TC's cargo hold behind the second row filled with parts.

 

So, the intercooler slides upward into 2 locating tabs that are molded into the radiator, and sits on 2 plastic perches that are also molded into thw radiator feet. You might need that ST radiator sooner than you thought.

The hardware is just two 6mm U-nuts and two 6mm bolts.

 

I haven't looked closely at how they go together yet, but whatever tabs should be there--the Escape and Transit Connect use the same radiator, and the Escape and ST have the same intercooler.

I should probably take a look sooner rather than later though, as it's entirely possible that the factory radiators were different and just call out the same replacement part.

 

I got a little bit of time Friday night to work on the project, and got the old engine and transmission out. One thing I've stumbled upon is that I don't have a good reference for the brake booster vacuum line on the EcoBoost. It looks like there are a couple of places it could go, but a picture showing how it's routed on the ST would be super helpful.

@TurboGT I think these are the feet and tabs you were referring to. Hopefully later this morning I'll get the intercooler out of the box and see what it looks like.

So here's the old engine and transmission (right) with the new engine on the left. With any luck, I'll get the flywheel, clutch, pressure plate, and throwout bearing installed, and hopefully take care of getting the old control arms, sway bar end links, and exhaust manifold off.

Here's what the engine bay looks like. As far as pulling engines goes, I have to say this one was pretty easy. It definitely helped that I was able to pull the AC condenser and radiator out of the way, but there was ample room to maneuver, and really not that many things to unhook before yanking it out.

I'm guessing at this point it probably starts to look familiar to those ST owners that have had engines out!

 

View attachment 395699

Hey Duff now that the engine is out or is it still out, would be a good time to check to see if a Ford Focus sway bar will fit which is located behind the engine in this approximate location.

 

Yes it appears that radiator has the correct mounting for the intercooler.

Also, ill try to remember to get you a pic of the brake vacuum line tomorrow if someone doesnt beat me to it first.

 

I may have missed it but are you using the stock ST FMIC?

 

For now, yes. At $65 new, it was kind of hard to justify one of the aftermarket ones until I prove out the swap and get everything running.

The issue of the day is getting a clutch line that got left off of an order, along with figuring out low side fuel pressure sensor. On the Focus (whether ST or the GDI 2.0L) the sensor is mounted on the fuel line near the firewall, and there isn't a sensor on the 2.5L powered vehicles (Escape or TC). Working on getting an inline adapter for the quick connect lines, which will have a 1/8" NPT port on it, but I think the Ford sensor is straight threads. It's not clear what the impact of not having it plugged in will be--I don't see any mention of it in the pinpoint diagnostics info I have.

Later this afternoon I should be able to get through the process of swearing at the person that equipped the electric power steering rack with inner tie rod ends that don't have a place for a wrench to loosen them, and get the rest of the chassis stuff done.

 

This is awesome! I knew it would never happen (especially in the U.S.) but I always hoped for an ST Transit. I ended up buying an old Quest a few years ago but if I could have found a sporty van with a turbo 4 I would have jumped on it.

 

@TurboGT -- I think I got the brake booster vacuum line figured out. Part ordered.

Still waiting on one of the clutch lines to get here, and should have a downpipe today.

Flywheel, clutch, and pressure place are installed, and the transmission is mated to the engine. Oil cooler swapped over (the Escape doesn't have one), and ST wiring harness installed. Need to clean up where the recall was performed on the harness and re-tape, otherwise it was pretty painless to install.

All of the coolant hoses are finally here, and as soon as I get the tie rods replaced and the driver's side control arm in I should be ready to set it into place.
.

 

Crap, i apologize. Forgot to do it before i left the house monday, and totally slipped my mind afterward. Let me know if you still need anything in terms of that, I'll try to get right on it.

 

No big deal at all. Once I found the part, it became pretty obvious how it hooked up. Just waiting to get it.

Just about done with the suspension stuff. Had hoped to have clutch line in and test before putting the engine and transmission back in, but it looks like I'll roll the dice and do that so I can take the engine hoist back on Friday. Found one connector I missed going through all of the wiring, so I'm going to have to reroute 3 wires to the battery junction box. The downpipe got delivered and it's what I expected--the stock exhaust flange is a few inches forward of the Transit Connect's. I won't know for a bit how it all lines up otherwise.

 

So it had to happen...

Last night the engine and transmission went into place without a hitch. Shifter cables are the right length, transmission shifts smoothly (ignore the broken plastic on the shifter cables), all the wiring reaches where it needs to go, fuel and vapor lines reach, heater hoses fit--but the downpipe for an Escape won't work.

When rotated to the right angle to match the turbo outlet, the bulge for the catalytic converter interferes with the shifter cables. Unlike the MMT6, which has the cables oriented longitudinally across the top of the transmission, the MTX75 brings them across the back toward the driver's side end. They're about an inch or two too low for where the Escape downpipe would need to be. I'm going to check locally to see what I might be able to come up with for a custom downpipe, but am curious how much room the aftermarket pipes pick up on the driver's side and top of the bend coming out of the turbo. I do want it to have a cat, but might have to resort to a test pipe to be able to drive it somewhere for the custom work. Open to any and all suggestions at this point.

 

Nice! Aftermarket downpipes bring the bend radius closer to the passenger side, that may be an option for you.

 

Any idea if they'd sit any lower where the cables are hitting?

 

Yes, but because of the diameter reduction compared to the cat that is in there currently. So with the placement moved to the passenger side and the smaller diameter at that particular spot, id say it should clear.

 

Has it been two weeks? Almost.

After stepping back to rethink the approach with the shifter cables and exhaust, I ended up deciding to take (what I hope will be) the easy way out--just using an MMT6. Yes, higher RPMs on the highway like an ST, mixed responses with respect to flat towing, and probably not as reliable as the MTX75, but it will get me going. Of course, it also means new shifter cables, and possibly a new shifter assembly (though I think what I have will still work).

I think what tipped the scales was realizing that the axles that go with the MTX75 have the jackshaft bearing in a different spot, and the support bracket won't fit on the turbo version of the engine. I think the ST axles will work with the MTX75, but I wasn't sure. I located a low-mileage MMT6 from a 2018 a few hundred miles away, and had it shipped along with both axles. Getting it in was a little more of a pain, this time doing it without an engine hoist and with the engine already in the engine bay.

Right now I'm just waiting on parts to get delivered--there are a few little things I hope to get out of the way this week, but any real progress will have to wait until the new shifter cables and clutch line get here. After that, exhaust can go in (at least the downpipe), and I'll be able to reinstall the battery tray, PCM, and start thinking about powering up to see where we stand electrically.

I may be kicking myself for installing new axle seals on the MTX75--the MMT6 uses the same ones, and it'll be Friday before I get two more delivered. Once I have those, axles can go back in and the suspension should be able to go back together.

This may count as extremely minor progress, but I did get proper floor mats installed this morning after removing the plastic dead pedal normally present in the TC. Turns out the floor pans of the Focus and TC are almost identical.

Here's the current state of affairs under the hood (the exterior of the MMT6 is a lot cleaner than the MTX75, even after scrubbing the latter):

Here you can see the 5-speed shifter cables coming up short:

And now, for the question of the day:

What hooks up to the port on the intake piping (see small red cap) just below the throttle body? Is this present on the ST or is it an Escape-only thing? I know the Escape had a more complicated purge valve setup, and an extra port on the intake near the back of the valve cover--should I be capping this off or is there another loose end I haven't found yet?

 

That port is most certainly not on the ST. Must be an escape only thing.

 

Thanks! You led me to try to find the part--that plastic piece is sold as part of the hose from the intercooler, and it is different between the two. I was able to measure and figure out that the port on the Escape version is a 3/8” SAE quick disconnect, so I just ordered a QD to 6AN fitting and a 6AN cap. Overkill for sure, but still less than a third of the price of that hose.

Slowly checking things off the list...current plan if stuff shows up this week is to turn the key on over the weekend, and if everything looks good, add fluids and start it up!

 

Thanks! You led me to try to find the part--that plastic piece is sold as part of the hose from the intercooler, and it is different between the two. I was able to measure and figure out that the port on the Escape version is a 3/8” SAE quick disconnect, so I just ordered a QD to 6AN fitting and a 6AN cap. Overkill for sure, but still less than a third of the price of that hose.

Slowly checking things off the list...current plan if stuff shows up this week is to turn the key on over the weekend, and if everything looks good, add fluids and start it up!

With the new trans you might want to modify your thread's title? Looking forward to more up dates.

 

@Duff Why would you be kicking yourself for installing new axle seals?

 

If I'd waited to install them on the MTX75, I'd still have them to install on the MMT6! Not a big deal, just $20 and a few extra days waiting to put the suspension back together. That and it was a pain to get the old ones out--ended up using a Dremel cutting wheel to weaken the rim enough that my seal puller and slide hammer could go to work. Pretty sure those seals had been in there since 2004. The MMT6 wasn't nearly as bad, but that could have been attributed to having a better strategy second time around.

 

Ahh!! I’ve changed the seals on my MTX75 four times (twice on each side).

They can be a bit of a hassle can’t they? 😄

 

Considering how they compare to the ones in my Mazda 6 (just replaced a couple months ago when doing a clutch replacement), I was not properly prepared for the challenge presented by the MTX75. Here's to hoping the Luk clutch kit in the Transit Connect lives as long as the one that came out of the 6--it was original at 175,000 miles, and still doing fine. It would still be in there but for the throwout bearing disintegrating.

 

A little bit of progress today--after checking on the order from Ford for shifter cables (backordered, no ETA), I got my hands on the clutch hose for the MMT6. It took me a bit to figure it out, in combination with the hard line I had picked up when I was still working with the MTX75. I found a video on YouTube for a clutch pedal replacement that got me a glimpse of how the lines were supposed to be routed, so I headed out to look for the mounting bracket that the end of the hard line should mount into. At first glance, I didn't see it...

Instead, I found this bracket, no C-shaped cutout for the line to mount:

Or was there? Looks like a plastic piece that might come off...

Bingo! From there it was straightforward, except that there was a piece of the old plastic end inside the master cylinder that kept the new line from clipping in. A little half-blind fumbling to get it out, then pull the cap off of the brake fluid reservoir and connect the line between them. Now it almost looks like it was born this way:

Shifter cables have been ordered, but won't be here until early next week. So I'll have to decide whether or not I want to put the battery box in to start checking out my electrical/computer work this weekend. Assuming the axle seals show up on Friday morning, I'll probably get the suspension together first and see where I stand.

 

Quick update--it runs! More detailed update forthcoming

Sorted through a few codes, figured out that I'd missed plugging one of the crash sensors back in, flipped the switches in Central Configuration to set it to a manual transmission, set the trans type to MMT6, set the engine type, set the final drive ratios, ran the PATS module initialization (with its 10-minute or so time delay), and it now properly recognizes that it's a manual. No PRNDL display, shows "N", and I imagine it'll show the shift indicators once it's rolling.

It was initially worrisome to see the oil pressure light on when starting it up, but a look at the real time data showed that oil pressure was "normal" with the engine off, and "low" with the engine on. A review of the wiring diagrams shows the Escape and Focus ST use a switch that's open when oil pressure is normal, and grounded when oil pressure is low. The Transit Connect is just the opposite. Since we used the oil filter mount and cooler from the Transit Connect, that sender came with it (the Escape didn't have an oil cooler, just a mount for the filter). Easy fix to swap them out.

The plan tomorrow is to put heat shrink over the connectors in the BJB, put wheels, bumper cover, and headlights back in, get fluid in the transmission, put the computer in the box and put all the push rivets back in the splash shields and take it for a quick spin. I don't intend to drive it too much just yet, as the exhaust still needs some help (more on that later)--right now let's just say there's a leak after the downpipe.

I have an issue like the other TCST guy with the ambient air temperature sensor, so I'll have to get that sorted out. It should be easier in my case as it's consistently reading -40C though. Something obviously doesn't match between sensor, computer, and wiring schematics. If that's my biggest issue at this point, I'm calling it a win!

 

Im so happy this is moving along so quickly. Nice work!

 

Yesterday was a bit of a rollercoaster/whirlwind project day. The exhaust was taken care of with a quick cut forward of the muffler, put back together with a band clamp after rotating the flange to meet the ST's downpipe (length was already correct, but for some reason Ford had the studs at 4 and 10 on the ST and 9 and 3 on the TC). Switching oil pressure senders took care of the oil pressure light.

Further inspection of the ambient air temperature sensor kind of had me all over the place. I was scrutinizing the wiring diagrams trying to see what I could have messed up (and that would have messed the other guy up too), and more or less came up empty. Measuring the sensor itself, I was getting resistance that corresponded to -40 degrees based on the chart in the factory manual for the Focus. Since it was only a few bucks, I ordered a new sensor--we'll see if it got damaged, or if the TC is different than the Focus (the '13 Focus manual lists the TC's resistances as the same, but the '14 TC manual I have is missing the same chart). That should be figured out this afternoon.

Everything got put back together--wheels, bumper cover, wheel liners, cowl, hood, headlights, etc. A few of them more than once, as I figured out I'd misrouted the harness over near the driver's side front. It came off the jack stands, drove forward off of the ramps supporting the back end, and all seemed good. Took it out for a test drive, and let's just say it scoots. But I noticed a wheel noise left front, so we cut it short to take a look. I was a little surprised to see movement in the left front wheel--quite a bit of wheel bearing play that's either new from sitting for several months or was something I just hadn't noticed before. So I took a look at the passenger side also, and saw similar. I don't think I could have messed them up getting the old axles out, but haven't dwelled on it too much. I'll get new wheel bearings in on both sides before it goes in for an alignment hopefully later this week.

As for that little project--any tips for getting the ball joints out without destroying the boots? I just put new control arms in and would rather not have to replace ball joints in the near future--I used a pickle fork to get them out the first time around. Even though they're new, simply prying down on the control arm only seems to get me about halfway.

 

The wheel bearing play is likely from inadequate torque on the axle nuts. Im thinking you either accidentally left them loose (or maybe bumped them with the gun but forgot to torque them), or if you reused the nuts they may have been slightly galled which hit torque on the wrench before they had adequate squeeze on the bearings.

I'd get 2 new nuts and retorque before going any farther with that.

 

Along those lines, they were used axles with some surface rust. I suppose it's entirely possible (even though I cleaned them up a good bit) that they didn't get pulled in all the way. I went ahead and pulled the driver's side apart, but I'll definitely check that before doing the other side. At the very least, I suppose I should be checking for play before I set it back on the ground.