I just picked up my new 2004 Escpae 3.0 liter & it just needs a little more power, i find it shifting up & down alot on hills, wondering what you think is the best way to go(under warranty!).
anyone have expierence with the magna flow cat back system(on sale right now), but, even on sale with the Canadian dollar its still 600 bucks! so need your input on effect it will have.
And of course a K&N cold air system or just a filter change. Any comments appreciated
Roger in Toronto
P.S. -the d--m dealer didn;t give me an owners manual so looking for the 2004 manual too
thanks

 

The shifting selonoids are controlled by the PCM. It seems to be programmed to downshift on fairly low torque demand because 4th gear is so tall and the tranmission shifts into 4th at fairly low speeds to save gas. At 45MPH it's in 4th lockup with RPMs at a little over 1500! The DOHC V6 is nowhere near giving decent torque at that RPM. With the 16" wheel option, it's even worse. So, unless you are driving 75-80 MPH, expect a lot of unlocking and even downshifting on hills.

I installed a Borla cat-back and a K&N drop-in on my '01. I also removed the intake resonator chamber behind the fender liner on the left-front wheel to give it a little more cool air. The combination of all that resulted in a little more pep and a lot better sound.

The owners manual is available on the ford.com site in PDF format. Here's the link:
http://www.genuineflmservice.com/default.asp?page=E4

 

So ove1, did that affect your gas mileage at all?

 

how about adding a performance chip? I have 700 miles on my 05 Escape so far, will wait until I get 1000 miles and see if I really need to add the chip for more power.

 

There wasn't a noticeable improvement in gas milage. I think the extra pep tends to negate that, if you know what I mean.

 

Thanks ove1, i'm going with the magna flow cat back system as it is on sale here & the K&N air induction, your so right with the 16" wheels shes in & out of 4th continualy, little more torgue will help.
I know a chip would make a vast improvement (20hp&17lbs.of torgue!)but you would have to remove it every time you went for warranty work, which is fairly simple but i.m having enough trouble with the dealer already.
Interesting little bit of info from Ford Mechanic.
Seems that on some 2004 Escapes they over looked this:
At the bottom corner rear of the front fender, there is a black piece of triangular shaped plastic that the rocker panel slips into, its supposed to be tight to the body but on mine for instance, driver side, there is a 2" gap, you can push it against the body but it just springs out again, stick your finger in there & remove all the dirt & debris that accumlates in there, press it against the body & drill a small hole through it into the metal behind it , fill it with under body goo & use a sheet metal screw to make it stay in place. You will be happy you did in a couple of years when it doesn;t rust out.
Funnily enough, the pasenger side had alreay been done.
Thanks for the owners manual info
Roger in Toronto

 

Ove1: Just how did you get at the intake resonator chamber in the fender whell, is it at the very end of the intake tube against the grille?
Do i unbolt the tube from its mount to get at it?
Roger

 

You don't have to do anything under the hood to remove the resonator. Just remove some bolts, screws, and screw push-pins from the plastic fender liner to gain access to the front part of the fender space behind the bumper. The resonator is held in place with one bolt. After the bolt is removed, it pulls right off. This opens another hole in the intake tube, almost doubling the amount of intake air area. There is hardly any additional induction noise.

 

thanks ove1, more air is good! The magna flow exhaust system delivered to my dealer here comes in at $1,000.00!!! & with my 62 Fairlane in for a rear end upgrade to disc brakes I may not be able to buy the magna flow system & still feed the kids!! Going to a custom exhaust house to wsee what they can do.
roger in Toronto

 

Wow, is the looney that low now? I got my Borla at summitracing.com and it was just under $400 US shipped. I installed it myself. They also handle Magnaflow. The problem with just going to an exhaust shop is that they don't usually use stainless steel and the system will rust out after 2-3 years. The stock system is stainless steel. Maybe you could get a low-restriction stainless steel muffler installed in the stock system.

 

ove1: Well. good news, i went to an authorized Magna flow dealer & got quoted $400.00 for the Magna flow systen plus another 75 bucks or so installed so i'm going for it!!
He did say that he installed the magna flow system on a Explorer(specific for that vehicle) & the owner complained about an interior drone at cruising speed.
Do you notice any annoying drone with yours? Mind you, he may not be a car guy, i don;t have a radio in my 62 so i CAN here the engine!!

 

The Borla system doesn't drone because it has a resonator as well as a muffler, just like the stock system. Above 2000 RPM, it's not much louder inside than a stock system. It has a nice, but not loud, rumble at lower RPMs.

A fellow Escaper with a Gibson system with no resonator had it removed becaused it droned badly. He was able to resell it, but at a loss.

You really need to find someone with an installed Magnaflow to get some first-hand input. I have heard that they are louder than Borla systems. If you google 'escape central', you'll find a lot more info.

 

Got the Escape back with the "new improved" magna flow system & it sounds like i put a V-8 in it! No drone at cruising but a very pleasing throaty roar when you get on it. Gas mileage? will have to wait until i start driving it normally again if you know what i mean.
total cost: $880.00 installed(Canadian)
The garage did mention that my driver side rear rotor is warped & wearing one pad unevenly, at 1700Km this is a worry, rotors look like there is not enough material on them to do anything but replace em

 

A chip really wakes up Escapes, Explorers and Rangers. Very good power to weight ratio gain for gas tunes.

 

Common complaint with Escapes - disposable rotors since they usually can't be turned on the first brake job. Some tend to warp such as yours. My Raybestos Quiet-Stop ceramic pads and two new rotors were delivered via UPS this past week ~ $170.