The FORD Lounge

[Danny G]

Gary Lewis wrote

Yes, I'm enjoying it - the 2nd Champion.  The 1st one sprang a leak and they sent a replacement.

The lifetime warranty at work. Good to know they stood by it.

[Danny G]

ArdWrknTrk I was thinking of you today when I was messing with these coolant hoses. I don't know about you but I have three same distaste for worm clamps as I have for twist on wire nuts lol.  Spring clamps only IMHO.

[grumpin]

I put a Champion in my old 86 and had one installed in my 92 Bronco.

No problems, good fit.

[ArdWrknTrk]

How's he doing down there in Wagoneer since his bypass surgery?

I haven't seen him on the forum since he installed climate controls in his garage shop.

[Gary Lewis]

Jim - He texted me this morning.  He's doing well but has been busy getting that Mustang body work going.  Last we talked he'd found a real body guru who was helping him, so he's spending all of his available time learning from that guy while he has him available.

[ArdWrknTrk]

I hate to say I have many worm clamps, they're Norma, but they are worm clamps...

I always have a hard time finding constant tension clamps that fit correctly, but I usually don't have time to mess around when I lose a hose.

[Danny G]

I have used a handful of wire/logic circuit schematic apps. I like Volt Sim the best. The developer is very responsive.

Anyway I asked them if they could add a component box to the app. After some discussion they are going to add it in the next update.

So now let's say you have 4 relays and 10 fuses in a power distribution box you can group them together like in the EVTM.
Going from this:


To something like this with the blue shades background and hashed border.

[Danny G]

Also I was today days old when I realized that LKQ PyP tells you hey we warranty everything for 90 days.

What they don't tell you is they charge you 30% of the item price to do it.

[viven44]

Was sitting in traffic (again) in my bronco and wondering why Ford decided to not use all the available room (shown fender to fender with blue arrows below) to have a spacious cabin in the new bronco. Probably the main reason I refuse to buy the new ones. Next in line would be lack of torque on the inline 4 which is the only available option with the manual gearbox.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Side impact crash tests result in a high beltline, thick doors and airbags all around.

Besides, we all know it's "styled" to appeal to a certain demographic.
Those people are buying a 'lifestyle' vehicle, not the lifestyle itself...

99% of these damn things will never get sand or mud in their treads.
Just like Harley Davidson 30 years ago.
It's a toy that will sit in the garage, until you have to make a show at the beach on Saturday for a cookout.
Then it will sit in the garage for another month...

[Danny G]

NGL I have the 2.3l Ecoboost I4 and I think it's one of the best engines Ford has mad ein a long time. 310Ftlbs of torque at 3000RPMs is no slouch.

[ArdWrknTrk]

If only you could get a V-6 version in a pickup with a manual gearbox....

My baby brother has a flex fuel EB in his unmarked Police Interceptor.
It scoots pretty good on normal 10% alcohol. I can't imagine what it would do with 108 octane.

I'm old and remember the 70's when turbo F1 cars were qualifying with close to 1,200 hp.
The high rpm shriek was amazing, even though the turbo.

[viven44]

Hope yours has the new design for the head gasket
https://youtu.be/S-PYa8aBM4Q?si=1BXiW-lPx1C5P3ZR

Pound for pound it is an impressive engine, no doubt... I test drove the new Jeep with V6 and manual gearbox and I think the Bronco with the 2.3L and manual gearbox did hands down better.

Just wasn't impressed with the mpg figures vs the 2.7L ecoboost (basically same mpg) for the 310 vs 415lb torque .... although 2.7L makes more of the torque at about 500 rpm higher.

As they say, time will tell. Once the 2.3L proves its worth over the years, I'm sure I'll be sold. I am definitely a skeptic when it comes to adopting new things..

[Danny G]

I can tell you right now it's all in how you drive it. If you drive it like it's an old bullnose and stay out of the boost on Ethanol free gas I get 34MPG highway and 27MPG combined. I have 2WD 10speed auto in my Ford Ranger with the 7500Lb tow package. I'm not sure what they have in the bronco.

I loaded the bed of my ranger down with 1800lbs of block and it hauled like a champ beautifully balanced.

Also the 2.3L head was redesigned before it was put in the Ranger so not worried about that. I do have a driver side clunk I need sorted under warranty though.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Can you attach some timeline to that bell curve?

Are early adopters the first year released? The first two or three?
Pragmatists four & five
Conservatives six & seven
Luddites eight, nine and ten?

As far as "tech" goes there's going to be no support if you buy in on the taper off the back side of the curve.
If you could even buy a phone with a 3G modem and 802.11N you wouldn't find a network (well, wifi should be retroactive)

The EcoBoost line has been around for 15 years, and turbos in general since 1905.
Hell prior to that, super chargers were used in the 1870's

How 'mature' do you want your tech?  

[Danny G]

The 2.7L is a gap filler between the Inline 4 and the 3.5L ecoboost. I see the 2.7L as a niche engine. With similar economy to the 3.5L and 4100lbs less towing capability.

Economy to power wise the 3.5L Ecoboost Hybrid is the best in the ballpark with 27mpg highway and 14,000lb tow capacity cranking out 570ftlbs of torque.

All V6 engines. The Inline engines are my favorite. That 2.3L sounds like a mild diesel lol. It's loud.

Speaking of that Ford screwed the US when it didn't bring the Ecoblue engine over. 2.0L I4 diesel cranking like 370ftlbs and like 40mpg lol.

[Danny G]

ArdWrknTrk wrote

How 'mature' do you want your tech?  

In all fairness we have a pension for 30+ year old trucks here

I do agree I wish they made a bronco more like the 80/90s style. There was some concepts out there that looked awesome. BUT the Ford CEO has already come out and said the consumer needs to learn to like smaller.

[Gary Lewis]

I'm not sure where this conversation is going, but I have a 2015 Screw with the 3.5L EB and max tow, and an 85 F250 RCLB with a 460 - EFI'd 460 in fact.  Both are rated to tow almost exactly the same and the 3.5L will out tow the 7.5L any day of the week, and do it in luxury.

[viven44]

I want my automotive tech to be 5-10 years old without any major changes in its design ....

Warranty is 3 years... so I would put each graduation bracket at least 3-5 years for automotive. Consumer electronics warranty is 1 year.. so each bracket can be a year apart.
 
I often imagine how the world would be if it had 'only me', or 'only x,y,z'. World with only me would be a big salvage yard

[viven44]

I'm waiting for the 7th gen Bronco. The 6th gen is mimicking the 1st gen which was more or less like a Jeep. 7th gen will be similar to the one I have 78-79 which will be based on the F-series platform, if history repeats itself.