Escape for next vehicle?

[4pointslow]

I am looking for another vehicle to replace my 1998 4 door explorer with over 290,000 miles and I can not find another 1998-2001 4 door without rocker panel or wheel well rust.

I am thinking maybe I will try an escape from 2001 to 2008.
If anyone has any insight on what to look out for that goes bad on these escapes I would love to hear it.
I see the body rot on the rear wheel wells on a lot of them and wonder, where else would one look to make sure they don't buy an escape that isn't worth fixing.

My other thought is what else goes wrong that could be real expensive to repair?
If a transmission or engine fails I can replace them if replacements are available (used or rebuilt).

Looking for 4wd and automatic transmission.
Don't like sun roofs because of leaking, anyone had leaks in theirs?
I like the idea of more power of the V6 but also like the fuel economy of the 4cyl.
Absolutely hate rust, I should move to a state where they don't put down all this crappy brime when it snows.

 

[Mbrooks420]

Escapes tend to eat wheel bearings. They also tend to break off the rear shock mounts like you mentioned. This seemed to be corrected by the 2006 model?

They also commonly have the center support for the rear driveshaft fail. This will cause a bumping and vibrations. The only other abnormal thing to happen to mine was I ruined the cats by driving home after a cool-on-plug failed. The escape drove pretty well, the 3.0 was pretty peppy, and it was good in the snow. I had a 2004, with the option to ‘lock’ in in 4wd and not just have the ‘auto’.

 

[4pointslow]

Thanks a lot for your reply,
Truthfully I wasn't even thinking about the rear shock mounts when I posted about the rust so I am glad you mentioned it.
This gives me something to look into further. Time to search the internet for pictures!
Also tends to have me look for a 2006 or newer.

Hub bearings for the explorers are about 100 for good ones if I recall, I will have to price some escape ones out.
I have done tons of hub bearings so I don't see that being too bad.

Now the center support bearing, that I have to look into more, I assume that has to be pressed on and off.
I have a Harbor Freight press that has held up so far, but I never did a center support bearing on an escape.
I do have a shop nearby that rebuilds CV shafts and driveshafts so that might be an option.

How much were the cats?
I have seen cop failures many times on those escapes, I even have two egr valves at work with holes blown through them from high exhaust back pressure when the cats melt down. lol.

 

[vroomzoomboom]

my sister has a 2005 i believe. 3L AWD. i cant remember the mileage when she got it (i even went with her to look at it, and it was the best out of 10 of them). i think its just over 200kms (around 120 miles). she has had to replace several front wheel bearings, 2 hanger bearings at the top of my head. the shock mount going into the floor pan has separated from the body, and it has trans issues. i think she has owned it for about 6 or 7 years. not sure if she liked it or hated it.

 

[4pointslow]

That shock mount things sounds scary. I am going to look into that more to see what caused it and if the newer trucks have been redesigned so it doesn't happen.

 

[4pointslow]

Thanks Vroomzoomboom,
Maybe you could ask your sister if she did like driving it when it wasn't having problems?

I just looked at some pictures and wow the rust is bad on some of them.
The first pictures that came up show the area from inside the trunk where the shock tower is.
There are holes right through to the outside and nothing supporting the shock.
There are lots of replacement pieces but I am not into vehicles that are already in that bad shape.

This gives me things to look at though when I try to find a vehicle to purchase, now I know to ask to see inside the trunk of the vehicle.

 

[Mbrooks420]

The shock mount will rip or rust from inside the wheel well. Seemed to only plague them through 2005. I saw several that were broken off on lots. The cats replacement was about 1200. I replaced all three with pacesetter factory form high flow cats. I’m sure I could have gotten it done much cheaper. (The dealer picked up some of the 1200 cost). The escape uses press in bearings and not hub assemblies. Not hard to do.

I purchased a driveshaft support bearing and never installed it. I’d let it go super cheap if you ended up needing one.

Before going to 30.5s I was getting about 20mpg, and I drive really hard.

 

[Tech By Trade]

You picked the right age range. The pre 09 transmission is far more reliable then the post. As previously posted, my wife just had a wheel bearing done on the front drivers side of here. Of course they are press in, so I couldnt do it myself (no press). Also keep a close eye on the rad of the 08. there was an issue with the transmission cooler fitting cracking, and it is about an 800 dollar fix, because they need to pull the AC condenser to get the rad out, and to do that they have to evac and recharge the AC system. That and the Rust around the rear quarter, on every single second gen.

 

[Mbrooks420]

They actually sell bolt in repair patches now.

 

[4pointslow]

Thanks for the tips!
1200 for cats is a good hit to the wallet!
Still better than saying you need a new vehicle because of rust. I cant believe how bad things rust out around here now.
We should start a movement to end the brime or salt or what ever it is they put down that makes our vehicles rust away.

So the 2008 and down transmissions are better, that is good to know.
anything I might get will be used and if engine or trans goes I will be replacing myself probably.

 

[4pointslow]

OMG those pictures are like the ones I was looking at.
The rust is horrible

 

[Tech By Trade]

They switched to a 6 speed in 09 I do believe. I had 2 friends with the 6 speed in theirs and both had issues, and strangely enough, way worse gas mileage. my wife averages around 9 to 10 l per 100k, my friend ryan was around 13l /100k and my buddy brad got the same 16/100 k I get in the winter from my sport trac. But he drives like a dick. Also, 08 was the first year of the newer boxy body style so you got the best of both worlds. On a side note, you need to pull the intake to get at the rear plugs, which make it an expensive spark plug change if someone is doing it for you.

 

[Mbrooks420]

I was afraid of pulling the intake to replace the plugs, but it was beyond easy, and I had it done easily in a few hours. My Escape didn’t really have any rust, anywhere.

 

[4pointslow]

I have done tune ups on these engines before, the intake does seem ridiculous to have to remove just for spark plugs.
Still, it can be done In a day so not too bad.

What about sun roof leaks, anyone have any experience with that on an escape?
I know the explorers had their share of problems with the tubes coming loose from the tracks or clogging up.

 

[boominXplorer]

The 4 cyl 05+ loves to break the intermediate band. It's an easy fix for a skilled person (took me 2.5 hours my first time). You can find them pretty cheap with 2-4 shift issues and fix it with a $15 band. The one I did recently was a 4 cyl 4wd with just over 130k.

 

[4pointslow]

Thanks for the tip,
I like to fix things, especially when the parts are cheap.
Did you do it with the transmission still in the vehicle?

 

[boominXplorer]

Thanks for the tip,
I like to fix things, especially when the parts are cheap.
Did you do it with the transmission still in the vehicle?

Yes you can get it by dropping the mounts and accessing it from the drivers side wheel well.

 

[4pointslow]

Aesome, I did that once with an old Grand Am.
Thanks again for the tip!

 

[4pointslow]

Anyone have any dealings with a hybrid?
Looking at a 2007 with 2.3 4 cyl, auto trans, 4wd
I wonder if the engines or transmission are any more expensive.
The batteries could be expensive too, since its a hybrid?

 

[Mbrooks420]

It would have a separate hybrid battery, that would be very expensive to replace