ptjones

Even with 104kmi. my Life Time has gone up to 47.4 mpg. :yahoo: How everyone else doing? :) Paul

WOW, a real MPG's killer. LOL Can you monitor your TFT? ;) Paul

l think it is time to consolidate all the info we know at this point about Transmission Failures. 1. The only info we have from FORD is that the Trans puts out a Code at 301*F. 2.Trans Fluid Link www.fcsdchemicalsandlubricants.com/main/additionalinfo/Product%20Data%20Sheet%20MERCON%20V.pdf 3. Trans longevity vs Fluid temp: http://www.txchange.com/heatchrt.htm. 4. My Trans Failed at 98Kmi and I had 82% HWY driving. 5. My Trans Fluid was darker than normal and smelled burn. 6. It would appear that I had the highest mileage and the only one with Grill Covers on. 7. Most failures occur with high percentage HWY driving CMAX's/FFH. 8. Trans has cooler behind lower grill and shutters. 9. Shutters don't open at HWY speeds until WT reaches 215*F and this may never happen without Grill Covers. So Trans Cooler gets very little air through it to cool Trans. 10. Shutters do open and fan turns on when A/C is turned on. 11. the highest temp I saw with my old Trans was 199*F, with new one 193*F. ​12. It would appear that heat is being transferred from ICE to Trans. 13. Trans TFT is effected by outside temps. I will add more as I think of them. :) Paul

I can imagine the tires are alot quieter now. LOL First 10kmi move tires from front to back, next 10kmi. crisscross tires so they are on opposite sides. In this way you minimize directional wear which can cause feathering and cupping at edge of tire which causes tire noise. :) Paul

I used 0w-30w Mobil 1, trying to decide whether to go to 15kmi or 20kmi. :) Paul

Great Job! Glad to hear from you. :) I got 64Kmi. from my first set with 50PSI, could have gone to 70Kmi., but was going on long trip with rain and snow and wasn't going to chance it. Also I had a rear alignment problem that caused my tires to feather the edges. I reversed the rotation to make them last longer and cut down the noise. I currently have 40Kmi. on my second set with 6/32nd left. :) Paul

Yes I used a K&N oil filter. :) Paul

I checked my oil with 10Kmi. on it using Mobil 1 0-30W and it is at the middle of hash mark. Doesn't appear to be using any oil with over 103Kmi on MADMAX. I don't think I have more than 5-6k on the ICE. :) Paul

After taking measurements with IR Digital Thermometer I noticed the ICE block was about 10*F warmer than the Transmission(182 vs 172*F) after driving about an half an hour or so. Now i'm thinking that significant amont of the heat in the Trans is coming from the ICE and this is why it takes at least an half an hour or more to get to a stable temp. This makes for curious dilemma when you have to get the ICE upto 215*F for the shutters to open to allow air to pass Trans Cooler. The way it works out is that the Trans is cooling the ICE. ;) Paul

WOW! One month without my MADMAX was bad enough after Deer Accident. :drop: :sad: :gaah: Paul

I agree with C-MaxSea that Dealer Techs can be a problem and my Dealer isn't an Electric Dealer and doesn't sell very many CMAX's(2 I think, more FFH) in Three years) and the closest Electric Dealer is 24mi away. Not worth the risk for me. IMO ;) Paul

This Recall is for Dead 12v Battery problems, if you aren't having dead battery problems as in Vancemi's case it would seem you are exposing yourself to more risk as it turned out. Something about "Murphy's Law". About a month ago I had my first dead 12v battery problem caused by Radio Audio Module shorting out with 101Kmi. I doubt they did the update, but maybe it was part of the Module installation. If it wasn't, I'm not going to do it. IMO :) Paul

If it isn't broke, don't fix it, I guess. Sorry to hear about your problems. ;) Paul

I agree with Taz having flown my own airplane for 13yrs. and also know about the "ruts" on I-40. :) Paul

Use Center Grill Cover all year, there is no need to take it off. Lower Grill Cover I leave on until the Trans gets hot >180*F and then I pull the tape off the five holes in the cover to let more air through. I would have to buy some more sheets of LEXAN to make anymore Grill Covers. If there was enough interest I might make some more. Well my first automatic opener doesn't work very well because of the looseness of the rods and the amount air pressure on the cover. So I'm working on model 2 to cure the problems with first one. ;) Paul

No, 103Kmi.

Assuming tire has significant tread (not Baldini :) ) the higher the pressure/smaller contact area would be less affected to Hydroplaning than less pressure would be. When I first had MADMAX using 38psi I ran through a deep puddle during a rain storm and almost had the steering wheel ripped from my hands, WOW that was scary. Now at 50psi it's not so bad. :shift: Paul

Then again you could remove ICE cover and drain out some oil from drain plug which doesn't require spending any money. Easier to do when the oil is cold. :) Paul

Tell your wife that because your shutters are broken you have to tape the center grill or the car won't run like it should. I hope your wife isn't reading this!LOL :) Paul

1. use the highest Octane you can get. 2. I use 50PSI for 70Kmi. 3. I don't understand why you wouldn't have shutters for your car. You can't get a CMAX here without them. Just use Clear Tape to cover up your center grill, maybe your wife won't notice. LOL :) Paul

1. Premium Gas/Pure Gas and get as much as you can in the tank to extend the range. 2. Tires Pressure 50PSI 3. a Center Grill Cover at least if you can get it by the wife. LOL :) Paul

Great! LOL Put a piece of tape over it.LOL :lol2: Are you using all the mileage improvement tips? :) Paul

Send picture when you get over 600mi., you can do it. :) Paul

Obviously you still haven't read the thread very well or otherwise you would know that we fixed the ScanGaugeII code so it reads the right temperture. Also the Trans heater was a Wolverine M-9 125watt/120vac stick on to the bottom of Trans which Rich FORD removed when they replaced the Trans. BTW Trans is made of Aluminum, transfers heat very well and 125Watt heater would only raise temp by no more than 20*F by itself, no cooking involved here. :stirpot: BTW my FORD Dealer didn't think it was necessary to check the fluid if it wasn't leaking. You also missed the part where :detective: I figured out the over heating of Trans is caused by the shutters not opening until 215*F WT on the FWY and without the covers the WT almost never gets that High. With the covers on you can get the WT above 215*F for the shutters to open allowing air to go through Trans Fluid Cooler. It is somewhat a balancing act trying to keep WT above 215*F and allowing some air to go through the Trans Cooler. I have removed lower Grill Cover and TFT kept going up because the WT couldn't get high enough! Air also circulates through top grill down ICE compartment and out bottom ICE cover for some cooling of ICE compartment components including Trans. From what I've seen, about 10 Trans failures, I have the highest mileage CMAX/FFH(98mi.) to fail and the only one with Grill Covers on, which would imply the Grill Covers made my Trans last longer. BTW if your Trans stats to make noise, it is to late to do anything about it, it's already failed. Your warranty issues aren't relevant to this thread. :) Paul

Send us a picture so it can be posted. Good Job! :) Paul