SnowStorm

Thanks +3! So input seal is 7048. From the CSP 14B03 the complete part # is DG9Z-7048-A. Its only $3.53 here and appears widely available. I wonder about all the other parts listed for a repair. Also, does anyone know if the engine/transaxle has to come out the bottom or can it come up with an engine hoist? I'll wipe things off and have another look tomorrow.

Thanks for the pics! I checked a few bolts and they were quite tight but not with a torque wrench yet. It still seems like its leaking out between the bell housing and engine so might be that seal. I thnik I'll clean it off again, run a bit and see where it shows up first. I don't have much faith in stop leak stuff but if its the seal maybe its worth a try.(?)

Hmm... I'll have a look at stop-leak products. I have no real idea exactly where its leaking and don't think you can get at it from outside. As to noise, mine is nothing like the grinding/thumping that requires that bearing kit. As I understood the service guy, with all those miles you're likely to get in there and find bad parts that you can't get - just wouldn't be worth it.

Just brought the sick puppy home - fluid is blowing back everywhere under the car. Checked the level - might be down a quart, and in only 50 some miles! Don't think I'll be driving around and topping off occasionally! Dealer says there is a noise in the transmission (car on a lift) but to me its still quite faint, you hear something at lower speeds but nothing at 55 and up. 176k miles and The Enterprise is dead. Sad. At least they only charged me $60. Not sure what's next.

The Ford Nucleon - not sure I ever heard of it - I was just a little kid then. That front overhang might be more of a problem than anything else! Interesting chart: Compared to batteries, heat producing fuels will waste about 75% of the indicated energy but they're still about 25 times better than Li-Ion.Interesting how low gunpowder is compared to fossil fuels - but it carries its own oxidizer.Hey, sugar isn't so bad! At commodity prices it would cost about 50% more per mile but wouldn't that be "one sweet ride"? :lol:How about ammonia? A bit heavier but leaves you with "one clean machine"! :)If you think nuclear is dense, check out antimatter at 90 billion MJ/kg. Better throw your trash in the trunk when you leave or you might arrive without a car! :lol2: (Hey, with a bum transmission, SnowStorm is looking for humor - even if he has to create low quality stuff himself!)

Some folks arrive before their time. This article quotes Henry Ford saying: "I believe that ultimately the electric motor will be universally used for trucking in all large cities, and that the electric automobile will be the family carriage of the future. All trucking must come to electricity. I am convinced that it will not be long before all the trucking in New York City will be electric." [emphasis added] Funny how it was said by one who, to great extent, helped bring on the ICE age!

All thoughts/suggestions are appreciated. Financially, I'm looking to minimize total cost getting to, hopefully, an electric car in about three years after going another 50k to 100k miles (our 30k per year is expected to drop somewhat). Just about anything is under consideration at this point. Other possibilities: Lease - what are the options with leasing? Might it make any sense? Is it even possible to lease a car that's out of production?Find my own transmission for dealer install. Low mileage ones for a lot less than $2700 are out there I think.Get a used one and put it in myself ??? I have a good engine hoist and place to work but that's taking on a lot. It might not be too bad if there's not much to do on the underside.Crazy no doubt, but top it off, get long distance towing insurance and keep driving - maybe figure out a way to add a dip stick and filler tube. Has anyone investigated how to get at that fill hole on top?If it doesn't get fixed, the question will be what to do with it.

Well, transmission is gone. :sad: Dealer has checked it out and there is a substantial leak and an internal noise verified by stethoscope. I have heard some noise for maybe 50k miles but didn't know if it might be a wheel bearing or CV joint. Anyway, new replacement is total of about $7100 with 3 year unlimited mileage warranty. They found some used ones, a couple of 2013s (out of the question) and a 2014 with 66k miles but would still cost $4800 total and not much of a warranty. Of course there are lots of others out there but I doubt a used one would be worth it since we would like to run this car another two or three years. We will consider options for a different car and will have our salesman look into that. I just wish there was an electric option I like but there isn't yet - I don't think.

Transmission is original at almost 176k miles. It was dripping down where it bolts to the engine - about half way between front and back. After adding fluid and parking, it soon soaked a small patch in some cardboard so I put a jar under it. Next morning there was only a drop or two in the jar so it might have been leaking more while driving. It then went to the dealer and I didn't look for any codes or monitor any temps. Scary to think I was running around with the fluid so low.

My transmission is now leaking. Changed engine oil and saw that the big cover was saturated with fluid. Pulled the check plug and had to add 3 quarts of fluid to get it up near the check hole! Yikes! That means there was only about one quart left in there. 3.5 quarts gone in about 25,000 miles (since fluid was changed). There should be an easy way to check the level. Car is at dealer now to get fixed - hear next week what they find. :sad:

Went in to rotate tires recently and they found excessive play in these adjustable arms so they have been replaced with the old ones. Quite disgusted with the product. Should have just put up with the tire wear I guess. Nothing like 20-20 hindsight! Tire shop offed to put in adjustable arms with lifetime warranty (Specialties or Moog I think) but didn't want to spend another $500+ on that option.

As mentioned, make sure car is up to date on TSBs, especially 14-0155 which addressed dead 12V batteries. (See this topic and read the TSB.) I had several dead batteries (and I mean dead) but have had no problems now for years after having 14-0155 done. I don't know how you find out if its been done. Find a dealer that has performed this TSB - maybe they can tell you. If not, I'd have them do it anyway. You might have to pay for it now as I recall there was a cutoff date for getting it done for free. I had it done at the "11th hour" and my battery failed the test so I got a new one free.

Couldn't you just turn on the heat? That should keep a cold engine running.

I'm sure he would! Now just think how far battery technology would be today if it hadn't been nearly frozen for 100 years by the ICE Age!

OK, I missed this announcement 2 months ago - “In the year 2026 will be the last product start on a combustion engine platform,” Michael Jost told the Handelsblatt automotive summit conference at Volkswagen’s headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany. So, perhaps they build that product for 10 years and ... the ICE Age ends! Only 17 years away!

Welcome and glad you found the C-Max world! Yes, there's a bunch of us that think the car is pretty awesome. Enjoy! You're off to a great start!

On my C-Max the fill hole appears to be on top towards the back - very hard to see and virtually impossible to use. Just fill through the check plug on the side - you have to get to it anyway to check the level and quite easy (at least on my C-Max) by going in through the wheel well.

Which OBDII adapter are you using? Mine is a cheap one that frequently stops working and you have to restart data acquisition.

We just finished an Interstate trip of 730+ miles at posted limits (mostly 65 or 70) except last two hours in rain but averaging maybe 60 mph. Got 42 mpg using ECO cruise with 30% EV. No grill covers, 87 fuel (mostly E0), 35 to 45F, "rolling hills", and near capacity load.

Just make sure you get the correct type of socket - see this post.

Just another reminder that the TPMS is no good for day-to-day monitoring of low pressure! Today I lowered tire pressure to 25 psi because of a critical trip we had to make in potentially nasty "winter mix" conditions. I was surprised that there was no warning from the TPMS system until after driving about 10 miles! Trip was completed without incident (although there had been an accident on top of the mountain) and tires are back to "normal". I'm left wondering if there's always such a long delay after starting the car or is the trip point down around 24 psi and I had to leave the garage and drive in 32F weather for a while before the pressure dropped that low. If there's always a delay, a tire could go almost flat overnight and you'd drive off down the road for miles before knowing it! I really need to get a full-time Forscan display installed!

Using re-circulation is the important thing. I don't know if Auto uses it - I'll have to give it a try. (Most auto-whatever algorithms don't do something I want so I rarely use them.) You want to heat yourself, not the outside world. Constantly heating 0F, 20F, even 40F air up to 70+ requires a lot more heat than just keeping the car warm using inside air. But you have to keep an eye on it because the car will periodically switch recirc back Off. I think when its cold enough it may stop doing that. Set MyView screen to show ICE temperature and watch what happens. You can be driving non-stop 'highway" at moderate speeds and without recirc the ICE won't stay up to the minimum temperature needed to center the gauge. Recirc is also a must for AC. Of course there are times when there's too much moisture in the car and you need outside air - but not likely when its really cold. For defrost I just turn it on as needed and don't worry about it. If you watch Climate Power in MyView you can see when the AC compressor is running during defrost. As I recall, power draw is quite low - or zero. You may have to turn off recirc. A clear windshield is a must of course.

Yes, some nice comments on the C-Max but "looks like a European delivery van"? Oh come on. I agree that the C-Max looks a bit "different" but I like that. There's way too many "me too" SUVs and sedans out there (excepting the ones that are down right ugly!). Go to Europe and you'll see lots of smaller "cars" or all sorts that can haul 5 or 7 people, pull small trailers, and provide a lot more practicality without taking up gobs of space or using tons of fuel. Call them "delivery vans" if you like - its a much better solution. The C-Max looks the way it does because its relatively short, tall and aerodynamic - all pluses in my book!

The "rusty brake police" are going after The Enterprise again. I had my tires rotated and was told that I would need rear brakes and rotors soon due to rust. The rears look very much like the OP's rear ones and also, the way they have looked for about 150k miles (at 167k+ now). My tire shop has been passing them for years (after they were failed by someone else - post #29 above). So I'm left wondering if there's some easy way to clean off that mottled look on the outer part of the disc before the next inspection. Has anyone had their discs resurfaced?Also, what is the minimum thickness for the pads?I guess with hybrid friction brakes its "use them or loose them"! So much for "saving the planet".

Does using 'L' ever cause the ICE to spin up for breaking purposes? I hardly ever use it - I think it does but not sure. Spinning the ICE is definitely an energy waster. At times I don't use the down hill button because it will spin the ICE - better to just use the brakes. (Of course there are times when that button works well.) In normal driving I've often wished there was no regen when your foot is off the accelerator. Most of the time your foot isn't off the accelerator because your stopping but for changing road and traffic conditions which can usually be predicted. What would really be nice is steering wheel paddles that you squeeze to control regen. Squeeze harder for more regen up to maximum without ever spinning the ICE or applying friction brakes. It would be super easy to get 100% score every time!