Yet another 3.7L V6 with a possible coolant issue. Will be keeping an eye on this one as well.
2016 Transit 150 3.7L V6 - 7.7K miles - RGT 5w-20
- Thread starter mdtaylor86
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- Dec 30, 2006
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Ouch, I hate seeing double digit wear metals. Question about moly. I've noticed high moly oils don't seem to have any less wear than zero moly oils, but they always run so smooth and quiet. Oil chemistry gurus, what gives?
I have never noticed any significant wear difference in my UOAs between high moly and no/low moly oils. I'm assuming any proper oil is going to protect against wear just fine, just how they do it may vary. As far as running smooth and quiet, I have never seen (or heard or felt) a difference in any of my vehicles so I can't speak to your experiences with that. Maybe someone else knows more?
I noticed the same things, and have the same questions as you do!
These Transit 250 3.7 vans are just not professional grade (I know, GMC tagline), my ‘18 has leaked antifreeze, had noisy rod bearings, oil consumption issues, weird transmission shifting/ noise, and loose/sloppy rear axle ring & pinion since Day One. It has made it past 92K now, the lease is up in June-I told the company they might not want to buy it! Unless they want to budget $10K for a transmission... 
Moly improves boundary lubrication, which quiets long timing chains & valvetrains. This why I wince when we run 7500 (or more) OCIs in ours, too many unknown variables. Might be why we had TWO 3.7s throw rods at under 60K...
I'm not sure what "professional grade" is exactly. Every fleet vehicle design I've ever seen has problems somewhere. I don't think I've seen any design that didn't leak coolant or oil or both.These Transit 250 3.7 vans are just not professional grade (I know, GMC tagline), my ‘18 has leaked antifreeze, had noisy rod bearings, oil consumption issues, weird transmission shifting/ noise, and loose/sloppy rear axle ring & pinion since Day One. It has made it past 92K now, the lease is up in June-I told the company they might not want to buy it! Unless they want to budget $10K for a transmission...
One thing I am NOT impressed with for sure is the transmission. All of them have had transmission issues that required the case be opened and repairs made at or before 60K miles. Fortunately, these have all been covered under warranty. There's the fuel pump control module and drive shaft recalls out as well. Plus the door and lock mechanisms are garbage. We have had them break far too often.
Well, when all major components of the drivetrain have BIG MONEY issues inside of 60K, and the Ford dealers don’t even want to mess with them-and they haven’t been used for towing-there’s a problem. Let’s see if I can remember them all...
2015 Transit 250 mid roof 3.7:
Torque converter clutch slippage at 55K-no transmission shop would touch it, took 3 dealers to even admit it was bad, K member on national backorder, took 2+ months in a rental before the dealer could do a job that would have been under a day in a regular van (!)
Rear axle sloppy/clunking ring & pinion at 25K-repaired under warranty, bad again by 50K (lived with it).
Shifter cable snapped off at 50K, towed in.
Fuel pump dead at 60K, towed in.
2018 Transit 250 high roof 3.7
Rear axle, see above.
Numerous coolant leaks since day one, dealer couldn’t fix them all
Rod chatter at higher RPMs (4K or above), since day one, causing...
Fairly high oil consumption, around a quart per 4K (I know, under spec).
Transmission weirdness, sticks in gears, slips on upshifts, whining noise hot. Haven’t lost TCC yet...
We have had TWO 3.7s throw rods under 50K-jackass dealer (on one) wasn’t documenting Ford Premium Care oil changes correctly, company had to pay for both.
I’m not even covering PITA rear brakes/rotor replacements or junk OEM Hankook $250+ tires!
My indy mechanic laughs every time something stupid breaks, because the dealer usually fixes it.
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Do a little research on what it takes to get the transmission out of one-make sure you’re sitting down first!
Yeah, I can go on about stuff like that with other commercial vehicles we have had. I really don't want to get started on Sprinters.
I have not had anywhere near those issues with our Transits. I have had the fuel pump control modules replaced (there has been a recall issued on them) and the torque converter clutch replaced on 2 vans. All of the repairs took less than 3 days by my dealer and all were covered under warranty.
I haven't had any oil consumption issues at all. Nor any engine issues or rear axle issues.
The rear brakes wear out in probably 18K-20K miles most of the time. But these vans are loaded to capacity frequently and never have less than 2500 pounds in payload at any given time.
I trashed the stock tires as soon as I could justify replacing them. I will run Coopers, Continentals, and Michelins. They all last well over 50K miles instead of the 25K we got out of the Hankooks.
