No TPMS in spare.
Have you had your wheel alignment checked? Would be money well spent on an accident vehicle.
Have you had your wheel alignment checked? Would be money well spent on an accident vehicle.
Correct RIM and TPMS for my 2018 Ford Transit 250
Hello, I have a cargo van 2018 Ford Transit 250 3.7 148" wheel base bought almost 3 years ago from a private seller as a salvage from Texas in good cosmetic status (damage on passenger side fender, scratching the whole passenger side of the van, and hitting the magnetic back door bumper), but it was repaired by the private seller, and everything looked pretty nice. The van came with 60k miles (not sure about that, suspicious low mileage for the year), and I have not used it a lot, only 8k miles, since I wanted to only use it for trips (not a van life thing), and I know very little about cars. I have not done much at all to the van, other than putting 2 seats perpendicularly to the driver seat. I am very irresponsible maintaining this van, and all I've done was just regular oil changes, and change rear break pads.
The other day a friend noticed how worn out only the driver side front wheel tire was on the inside part, making the tire a cone shape.
I don't know any trustworthy mechanic here in S Florida, but someone recommended me to take it to get it balanced with this nice old biker man that used to be a mechanic.
He lifted the van, and noticed that while all other 3 wheels looked good, the front driver wheel had a bent inner tie rod. He changed the inner tie rod for me, and proceeded to balance the van with a computer. Everything was good, until he installed the spare wheel (which wasn't the spare wheel, it was a wheel that came with the van, and the van had the spare wheel installed on the rear passenger side this whole time), and that wheel was hitting the caliper! He told me that was not the correct wheel RIM for my van, and sold me a used tire, which his helper installed on the correct RIM that had the cone shape tire previously, and off he sent me home with a 90 day warranty on the balancing.
I took pictures of all RIMS, and they all look identical to me, with same numbers on them, so my question is... how do I know if my RIM that is hitting the caliper is the correct one?
My guess is that whoever damaged the front passenger side bumper, and side of the van, made a really hard turn, and hit a curb, which would explain why only the front driver side inner tie rod was bent, also bending that rim? which causes that particular rim to touch the caliper? I've no idea.
Pic of van in the salvage lot:
Pic of the "spare" wheel that came with the van, supposedly the one at the moment of the crash I think. You can see how it touched the caliper at 7:30, and closer to 9 oclock:
Another pic of the "spare" wheel from the front:
Pic of rear driver side wheel:
Pic of front driver side wheel:
Pic of front passenger side:
imgur.com
Pic of rear passenger side, and original spare wheel:
imgur.com
If the rim is damaged, and that is the reason it hits the caliper, should I just buy another rim? How do I know what the correct rims for my van are?
TPMS question: I am planning on buying all 5 brand new tires soon, and I always get a 'Low tire pressure" message. I tried resetting the TPMS doing the procedure with each tire, and the van, but it never works. How do they go about resetting, or knowing if they need to replace sensors for TPMS? Is it something only the dealership can do to program for my specific van? Do I more than likely have to fix the TPMS issue before buying 5 brand new tires?
Thank you for reading!
Edit: oooh, I just read that the spare tire (currently installed in my rear passenger side) does not have TPMS sensor. Is that true?
The other day a friend noticed how worn out only the driver side front wheel tire was on the inside part, making the tire a cone shape.
I don't know any trustworthy mechanic here in S Florida, but someone recommended me to take it to get it balanced with this nice old biker man that used to be a mechanic.
He lifted the van, and noticed that while all other 3 wheels looked good, the front driver wheel had a bent inner tie rod. He changed the inner tie rod for me, and proceeded to balance the van with a computer. Everything was good, until he installed the spare wheel (which wasn't the spare wheel, it was a wheel that came with the van, and the van had the spare wheel installed on the rear passenger side this whole time), and that wheel was hitting the caliper! He told me that was not the correct wheel RIM for my van, and sold me a used tire, which his helper installed on the correct RIM that had the cone shape tire previously, and off he sent me home with a 90 day warranty on the balancing.
I took pictures of all RIMS, and they all look identical to me, with same numbers on them, so my question is... how do I know if my RIM that is hitting the caliper is the correct one?
My guess is that whoever damaged the front passenger side bumper, and side of the van, made a really hard turn, and hit a curb, which would explain why only the front driver side inner tie rod was bent, also bending that rim? which causes that particular rim to touch the caliper? I've no idea.
Pic of van in the salvage lot:
Pic of the "spare" wheel that came with the van, supposedly the one at the moment of the crash I think. You can see how it touched the caliper at 7:30, and closer to 9 oclock:
Another pic of the "spare" wheel from the front:
Pic of rear driver side wheel:
Pic of front driver side wheel:
Pic of front passenger side:
imgur.com
Pic of rear passenger side, and original spare wheel:
imgur.com
If the rim is damaged, and that is the reason it hits the caliper, should I just buy another rim? How do I know what the correct rims for my van are?
TPMS question: I am planning on buying all 5 brand new tires soon, and I always get a 'Low tire pressure" message. I tried resetting the TPMS doing the procedure with each tire, and the van, but it never works. How do they go about resetting, or knowing if they need to replace sensors for TPMS? Is it something only the dealership can do to program for my specific van? Do I more than likely have to fix the TPMS issue before buying 5 brand new tires?
Thank you for reading!
Edit: oooh, I just read that the spare tire (currently installed in my rear passenger side) does not have TPMS sensor. Is that true?
1 - 10 of 10 Posts
My guess is the rim that was the spare was on the vehicle during the crash and has been warped from the crash. It is likely the warp is in the inner part where the 5 lugs attach it to the van and is difficult to spot.
Thank you! Yes, an inner tie rod was replaced for the front driver side wheel, and the van was balanced with a computer.
![]()
mcneill78, I think so too. I will order a new wheel just to be safe, but that also raises more questions about TPMS.
Is the TPMS sensor inside the wheel? If so, do I need to have them remove the TPMS sensor from the original damaged warped wheel, and be transferred to the new wheel?
Is it preferable to change all valve stems on all 5 wheels since I am buying all new tires?
If the TPMS sensor/s is/are damaged, does anyone know a ballpark price to fix them so I don't get ripped off? Is re-programming something simple like using one of those OBD2 scanner tablets, meaning most shops can do it?
Thanks in advance for any advise.
mcneill78, I think so too. I will order a new wheel just to be safe, but that also raises more questions about TPMS.
Is the TPMS sensor inside the wheel? If so, do I need to have them remove the TPMS sensor from the original damaged warped wheel, and be transferred to the new wheel?
Is it preferable to change all valve stems on all 5 wheels since I am buying all new tires?
If the TPMS sensor/s is/are damaged, does anyone know a ballpark price to fix them so I don't get ripped off? Is re-programming something simple like using one of those OBD2 scanner tablets, meaning most shops can do it?
Thanks in advance for any advise.
TPMS sensor has a non-replaceable battery that is nearing the end of it's life at five years.
I would (recently did) just replace them. About $65-$70 per wheel.
I would (recently did) just replace them. About $65-$70 per wheel.
I mentioned this to the guy at Costco, and while he said they last well over 10 years, I will take your word for it, and change them just in case.TPMS sensor has a non-replaceable battery that is nearing the end of it's life at five years.
I would (recently did) just replace them. About $65-$70 per wheel.
Costco quoted me 200 per Michelin tire, and the fifth tire for free (installation fee excluded). This sounds really good to me, but reading the forums, am now tempted to join the cool guys club, and get wider/bigger tires for the same rim.
If I don't carry a lot of weight, and use the van for odd jobs, and future travel (cold snowy Virginia, and Rhode Island), what kind of tires do you think I should get?
My 2016 with a 08/15 production date van TPMS were starting to fail to communicate with the receiver more and more often so I replaced them this past September when I changed tires..I mentioned this to the guy at Costco, and while he said they last well over 10 years, I will take your word for it, and change them just in case.
Costco quoted me 200 per Michelin tire, and the fifth tire for free (installation fee excluded). This sounds really good to me, but reading the forums, am now tempted to join the cool guys club, and get wider/bigger tires for the same rim.
If I don't carry a lot of weight, and use the van for odd jobs, and future travel (cold snowy Virginia, and Rhode Island), what kind of tires do you think I should get?
What is your production date? That is the true age of the TPMS sensors.
My 2016 with a 08/15 production date van TPMS were starting to fail to communicate with the receiver more and more often so I replaced them this past September when I changed tires..
What is your production date? That is the true age of the TPMS sensors.
My 2016 with a 08/15 production date van TPMS were starting to fail to communicate with the receiver more and more often so I replaced them this past September when I changed tires..
What is your production date? That is the true age of the TPMS sensors.
Edit: 08/18
My TPMS were replaced at 6 years as were the tires at 51,000 miles. I could have stretched another 6,000 Mi or so on the tires but why chance it . Will not wait till they are bald . They say tires age out at 6 years weather dry rotted or not. Van is usually on the highway on trips . The sensors supposedly good for six or seven years so they were replaced. Why wait till the TPMS goes bad and tear the tires down again within 6 to 12 months. No thanks. Discount Tire has new sensors for about $40, I believe they're Dorman. New TPMS sensors are activated when installed.
New tires should have weight carrying capacity that Ford calls for.
New tires should have weight carrying capacity that Ford calls for.
Thank you, I decided not to risk it, and replace all sensor. I will make another thread asking for tires for my particular case. Thank you all for the help.My TPMS were replaced at 6 years as were the tires at 51,000 miles. I could have stretched another 6,000 Mi or so on the tires but why chance it . Will not wait till they are bald . They say tires age out at 6 years weather dry rotted or not. Van is usually on the highway on trips . The sensors supposedly good for six or seven years so they were replaced. Why wait till the TPMS goes bad and tear the tires down again within 6 to 12 months. No thanks. Discount Tire has new sensors for about $40, I believe they're Dorman. New TPMS sensors are activated when installed.
New tires should have weight carrying capacity that Ford calls for.
1 - 10 of 10 Posts
Ford Transit USA Forum
A forum community dedicated to Ford Transit owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about performance, modifications, troubleshooting, storage capacity, maintenance, and more!
Full Forum Listing
Recommended Communities
