User serviceable items

[pheasantplucker]

On a Mk 7 Transit 2.2 duratorq all the things underbonnet which the owner should touch are yellow.

 

1) The fuel filter has a yellow push-button on it but it's not mentioned in the handbook. What is it for and should I pressit or not?

 

2) Are the headlamps adjustable for continental driving or are beam benders the only way?

 

Thanks.

[hallii]

The yellow button is pressed to reset the "filter guard", if you look through the clear bit it is marked yellow and red as the plunger comes out, that means change the filter. If you press the button it will just come back out again when the engine runs, it works on pressure difference.

 

The headlamps need masks fitting as per Ford instructions, there is a bit of a beam to the UK nearside that will shine in the eyes of those who drive on the wrong side of the road.

 

http://www.shooting.fsbusiness.co.uk/images/transit1.htm will give you the "how to" curtesy of "spose" who is, I belive a member here.

 

H

[Derek Uzzell]

pheasantplucker - 2012-07-20 12:08 AM

 

...1) The fuel filter has a yellow push-button on it but it's not mentioned in the handbook...

 

Are you sure that's the case, as it's certainly mentioned in the Ford Owner's Guide for my Transit Mk 6.

 

In my case the information is in the Guide's "Maintenance" section under the heading "Fuel filter service indicator" and it's under the same reference in the Guide's index.

 

It's quite possible that the fuel filter service indicator for a Transit Mk 7 is operated differently from that of a Mk 6. However, if a Mk 7's indicator does function in the same way as a Mk 6's, its correct operation by the user is more complicated than hallii advises.

 

Rather than use 'masks' (that potentially may damage the headlamps by overheating their plastic outer covers) I'd be tempted to employ translucent 'beam converters' instead. These are readily available on-line

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220600825181&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT

 

 

 

 

[hallii]

The beam benders don 't work on the MK7 headlamps, they need a very specific mask to knock out the bit of the beam that dips to the UK nearside.

 

I don't know whether the MK6 "filter minder" (not guard as I called it earlier) is the same as the MK7, but as I understand it the plunger in the device moves outward as the filter gradually clogs up and causes the punger to move due to a pressure change (or vacuum if you like).

 

At first I thought it was some sort of priming pump, it is not.

 

The Ford MK7 owners manual simply doesn't mention the filter minder or it's function, no doubt owners are not considered technical enough to have a look at it!

 

Whatever, the fuel fiter should be changed from time to time, I change mine every 12 months with a Ford filter, probably over the top but a new pump etc. could cost £2000 plus. I know because I had to have one.

 

H

[Derek Uzzell]

I hear what you say about masks for Transit Mk 7 headlamps, though (as you'll be aware) Tony Jones has reported previously that he had fitted universal beam-deflectors to his Mk 7's headlamps and obtained a satisfactory 'Continental' dipped-beam pattern using the time-honoured shine-on-a-wall experimental technique.

 

http://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=19608

 

There seems to be a reasonable possibility that Ford will use 'projector' headlamps on the forthcoming Mk 8 Transit. If that's the case, then perhaps Mk 8 headlamps will have an easy way of swapping a left-dipping beam-pattern to right-dipping (and vice versa) and owners of Transit Mk 8-based motorhomes can forget about masks/deflectors. Plus, if one buys an LHD Transit Mk 8-based motorhome abroad, there'll be no need to replace its headlamps to make it DVLA compliant.

 

It doesn't greatly surprise me that the Mk 7's handbook makes no mention of the technique involved in using the fuel filter service indicator, as (if the methodology is the same as for the Mk 6) there is plenty of opportunity for a technically inept owner to screw-up.

 

This is the advice in my 2005 Transit Owner's Guide:

 

• Switch off the ignition.

 

• Press the yellow button on the service indicator and hold for 3 seconds.

 

• Start the engine and let it run for 5 seconds at 4000rpm. On vehicles without tachometer, fully apply the accelerator pedal for 3 seconds.

 

• Check the service indicator. (A drawing of the indicator is provided)

 

If it is in the green area, there is no need to change the filter at this time.

 

If it lies in the clear area, the filter should be replaced at the next service interval.

 

If the service indicator lies in the red area, the filter MUST be replaced immediately. Please contact an expert.

 

 

(I guess one could confirm how to use/interpret a Mk 7's filter indicator if one were prepared to pay to download the information from Ford's etis files. Or ask on the Ford Transit forum if you can take the mental pain.)

 

This earlier O&AL forum thread might also make Transit Mk 7 owners think twice before DIY fuel-filter changing:

 

http://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=16120

 

 

 

[hallii]

The instructions for the MK6 fuel filter minder seem to be correct for the MK7, that is, if it isn't showing green then change the filter.

 

I have changed mine twice without any problem, I think the secret may be in doing it as quickly as possible to avoid drainback. A spare filter bowl could be useful in that respect, the new filter could be ready in it and filled with fuel, it could then be done in seconds, with no time for drainback.

 

H

[Robinhood]

The Mk7 Transit manual (or at least mine!) has the entry exactly as Derek describes for his Mk6.

 

Copy attached below.

 

In addition, I have successfully used the conventional "Eurolite" type beam benders on my Mk7. There are positioning instructions specifically for the Mk7 in the packs (or at least, the latest ones). The units do, however (from memory) have to be applied "upside down" from the normal orientation.