Stic-o Escapes from the Explorer.

[Stic-o]

So the Manual Explorer thing has not gone well. My daughter has still vowed to learn, but still has a sour taste in her mouth. But if she ever wants a real Mustang, (which she says she does) she will need to learn.

A new birthday has bestowed her, and she has her license. But we all need to start from scratch, so even though she keeps trying to talk me out of my Ranger, it's not happening.

We enter the Ford Escape

2006 Ford Escape Limited

90k original miles. 3.0lt. V6, Auto.
Has every option available. "Leather", heated seats, back up sensors, side and curtain air bags, sun roof.

Paid about half of what I did the Explorer. Needs some love, but overall in very good condition. Never a accident, 1 family owner.

We'll see what happens with the Explorer Sport, but I think it will stay around for a bit as my daily, unless someone wants to give a lot of money for it.

 

[Josh P]

Define a lot of money.

 

[toypaseo]

I’d pry be if I had something with any sort of horsepower in high school….

Parent’s 1981 Mazda GLC sedan didn’t cut it

 

[mountaineer2004]

I had a 2006 Escape Limited, it's a great vehicle.

 

[Flashflood]

Define a lot of money.

Same

 

[Stic-o]

Define a lot of money.

$5k. Which is actually very reasonable

 

[BluIsBlue]

$5k. Which is actually very reasonable

$5k for what you have and what's been done to it is spectacular. The manual sports are pretty hard to find these days from what I've seen. Someone screwed my grandparents and sold them my explorer a couple years ago for somewhere around $8k. Blown body mounts, blown shocks, probably bad tires considering my grandfather pretty quickly fit it with some new highway tires. All over, not worth $8k to be entirely honest. I've thought that if I wanted to upgrade from this it'd be to a new explorer, a proper truck, or honestly the generation of escape that came after the one you bought your daughter. They're on the same platform and basically same driveline. Great vehicles honestly, especially if you treat them well.

 

[Fix4Dirt]

Which part of driving stick was hard? I can see the foot parking brake being a bit hard on hills, but aside I found stick to be relativey easy. But I had either console park brake or the dash pull and twist. Then I discoverd I can let the clutch out til right about when it bites and generraly be ok haha. Just curous since one of my friends wants to learn so Im curious what the part de resistance for others is so I can teach him well

 

[Flashflood]

Which part of driving stick was hard? I can see the foot parking brake being a bit hard on hills, but aside I found stick to be relativey easy. But I had either console park brake or the dash pull and twist. Then I discoverd I can let the clutch out til right about when it bites and generraly be ok haha. Just curous since one of my friends wants to learn so Im curious what the part de resistance for others is so I can teach him well

I drove stick for close to 3 years of my life I rarely used my parking i just left in gear. I never had a problem with hills or anything. Just let the truck start rolling than boom you can start moving. I found manuals being a piece of cake.

 

[1sicbronconut]

That generation of escapes were great vehicles we still see quite few in the shop usually for oil leaks, the owners love them and tend to put some $$ in them to keep them on the road.

 

[Fix4Dirt]

I drove stick for close to 3 years of my life I rarely used my parking i just left in gear. I never had a problem with hills or anything. Just let the truck start rolling than boom you can start moving. I found manuals being a piece of cake.

Yeah after a little while I figured that one out! But for a bit I used the parking brake. The fact that later on was a 5.9 Cummins also helped I never used the brake at all with it just let the torque move. But the old Toyotas & Hondas were a bit harder to start on the hills here (some are reallt steep)

 

[fosterzcj]

Dude stick shift is simply the best. If I still had my Honda Civic I'd be rolling stick shift to this day. I mean it's an outdated shifting method but if you learn you can handle any vehicle when the mad max apocalypse comes. Let her stick with it and be patient. She'll be glad she learned and good on you for taking the time to teach her the ways of 3 pedals. If you're in New mexico I'll whip the 94 ranger into shape so she can have a vehicle to learn in and not feel bad about abusing. If you can drive stick you'll easily pick up motorcycle riding which will be a life saver when the green stuff goes away and we're driving across deserts.

 

[Fix4Dirt]

If you can drive stick you'll easily pick up motorcycle riding which will be a life saver when the green stuff goes away and we're driving across deserts.

As someone who worked at a bike shop, its great to know how to ride, but if you get addicted...... and forbid its to something fast like an M1000r riding here ain the greatest to many idiots hahaha but all jokes aside it is useful to know how to ride! Just move the shifter to your feet...

 

[fosterzcj]

I got a junk bike from a friend for 500 and slapped 100 bucks in parts on it. It's 40 years old and it taught me 2 things. The basics of motorcycles and that I want to ride. It's a 1980 Suzuki gs850 4 cylinder and I was scared the first time I rode it but good golly is riding fun and alive. Like everything else in my life I'm primarily self taught but learning stick shift makes for an easy transition to riding a motorcycle. I used to take the parents car out when no one was home as the old Honda civic was collecting dust while my dad was deployed. I ultimately let a teenager borrow the Honda and she got hit by another driver but she learned stick in it and says she never loved another car like that one. To be honest no car is loved like the first car one owns.

 

[Fix4Dirt]

I got a junk bike from a friend for 500 and slapped 100 bucks in parts on it. It's 40 years old and it taught me 2 things. The basics of motorcycles and that I want to ride. It's a 1980 Suzuki gs850 4 cylinder and I was scared the first time I rode it but good golly is riding fun and alive. Like everything else in my life I'm primarily self taught but learning stick shift makes for an easy transition to riding a motorcycle. I used to take the parents car out when no one was home as the old Honda civic was collecting dust while my dad was deployed. I ultimately let a teenager borrow the Honda and she got hit by another driver but she learned stick in it and says she never loved another car like that one. To be honest no car is loved like the first car one owns.

Haha those Zuks are fun to ride! XJ550 my personal choice haha. All it is is shifting w your foot va hand haha

And that is true you cant love anything more than your first car!

 

[fosterzcj]

I was lucky to get 10 years with my first car but man it kind of sucks no car after that give you thr same feeling. Maybe I need to go have a midlife crisis early and buy something fun.lol but in all seriousness driving a stick shift is a skill that's never truly lost even if it's years between using that skill. I'm proud of the OP for taking the time to teach his kid stick.

 

[Stic-o]

That generation of escapes were great vehicles we still see quite few in the shop usually for oil leaks, the owners love them and tend to put some $$ in them to keep them on the road.

This seems to be the devil of these. Oil leak at the timing chain cover is extremely common on these. The man hours to fix this most of time out price people out of them. This one has a oil leak, but I'm hoping to just tighten the bolts a bit to get it to stop or just weap. It's not pouring out, but will leave drops.

Other things to fix, are tires are past gone. 10 years old, cracked and almost no tread.

Fixed the demon radio who only new volume up.

Wacky auto door locks don't all work.

Faded headlights.


Other than that, everything else works.


As far as the manual on the Explorer, we live on a hill, her school in on a hill. The explorer had a door parking brake. So it's pretty easy to get discouraged, just driving up the street. She stalled it 24 times going up the 3 blocks to our house. So she has a bad taste in her mouth, which I get. Just need to start over, and her confidence on flat, then work on hills.

 

[Fix4Dirt]

As far as the manual on the Explorer, we live on a hill, her school in on a hill. The explorer had a door parking brake. So it's pretty easy to get discouraged, just driving up the street. She stalled it 24 times going up the 3 blocks to our house. So she has a bad taste in her mouth, which I get. Just need to start over, and her confidence on flat, then work on hills.

Ahhhh got it. Makes sense. The firsttime I drove stick dad put me on a hill

That generation of escapes were great vehicles we still see quite few in the shop usually for oil leaks, the owners love them and tend to put some $$ in them to keep them on the road.

You guys fix your oil leaks? I use it as driveway waterproofing

 

[Stic-o]

New Battery, and New tires go on later today. She cleaned up nicely though.

 

[410Fortune]

Congrats on the first ride!!!

I like the color
Looks like they hit a grand Cherokee with a shrink ray in that last pic

If you have to fix oil leaks are you up for it?
I built my son a ranger, my folks gave him a Jeep… now I have a very custom 98 stepside for sale
I have a Diahatsu Rocky we use on the property back here I’m teaching all these teens how to drive a stick with it… fun to load up some 6’ tall teenagers and mob around on the dirt