Ford Escape!?

Yup, not mine. It's the GFs, it's an 02 3.0 v6 automatic 4x4, 145,000 on the od. Problem: it has an erratic idle and at about 40 mph when going into over drive it cluncks, drops into gear hard. Erratic idle, I've changed vacuum lines, pcv and hose, idle air control valve, all coil packs, spark plugs, crank position sensor, intake- u&l gaskets. Put the scanner on it, no codes. What am I missing here. Transmission: new filter, partial flush. New gear oil in diffs and transfer case. No luck on either issue. Has anyone else experienced this, if so were you able to diagnose or fix? All opinions are appreciated.

 

It's a Ford! No seriously, my Ranger did the same thing(s). Maybe a Ford forum might have some answers

 

I could suggest jacking up the radiator cap, and driving a 4Runner in under it, but not sure the radiator caps are interchangeable!

 

There's an escape forum but navigating it is impossible. POS like the vehicles. Thanks.

 

Dam good idea. Only one that makes sense.

 

it's a shitbox at those miles

throw it away or rebuild transmission

 

Starting to realize that. Good excuse for another truck.

 

I had a 1994 Crown Vic I bought from my Mother when she went into a retirement home. it was a typical Florida retirees geezermobile, no hard driving, high speeds, things like that. Driven mostly around town, except for 4 or 5 trips to Maine during the summers. The auto transmission started to go out at 74,000 miles, and had to be rebuilt. It started to fail AGAIN about 2 years later, just before the car got totalled. The transmission shop where it was rebuilt said that Ford Auto transmissions were some of the most unreliable out there.
Just putting that out there for what it's worth...

 

Everything I've read doesn't have a fix, it's either hurry up and trade it or sell it. Never had any luck with ford. Guess I'm going to trade it in or sell it. Anyone looking to buy a low mile piece of shit. That's almost oxymoronic, but with ford it's standard I guess. This is what our bailout money got us.

 

Ford did not need or take a bailout. They realized years ago they needed to reorganize. Did that but still build (and sell) crap. If you think the early second gen Tacos rust, you should have seen that Ranger. Leaf spring mounts rusted completely off the frame But they have a loyal following, FIL is one

 

Your right, I was thinking about Chevy (cobalt), every American should have a brand new car in the drive, yet repay us by shipping production outside of the US. But there again you can thank government restrictions, taxes and regulations for a portion of this. Right in the a@@, dry as a motherf@@ker.

Edit: Sorry, every Tax paying American.

 

And to FIL, sorry to hear man. Gotta a ford for sell, slightly used. Lots of miles left on her. Disclaimer; not responsible the inaccuracy of all the claims made herein.

 

I have owned a bunch of Fords over the years. They have gotten more reliable of the last 5 to 10 years, but even so they are not a 200,000 mile car IMHO. Time for the wife's escape to go! My wife got a Rav4 and loves it! Something to think about.

 

I had transmission issues in my Escape too. Less than 6 months old and the transmission would chatter from a stop. Read about it and complained to two different dealers. Of course "it isn't doing it for us" so I guess I am a liar. I ended up trading it in for a used 2013 F-150 STX 4x4. I needed a full size so I could haul steel around for the shop. Sorry to hear you are having problems too but sounds like you better ditch it quick.