Just bought an '08 Escape
 

Just bought an '08 XLT 3L V6 with 78k on the ticker. We are the second owner.
have put about 200 miles on her over this past weekend so far.

What do I need to know? Wish I would have done a little more research, but with winter well on it's way, and the price was VERY good, the wife needed a new rig, so we bit.

I drive an '02 CC LB 7.3 Superduty, and do all my own work, so anything that needs to be done, I can do on the Escape.

Learn me bout these neat little rigs. things to watch for, need to knows etc.
So far we are REALLY liking everything about it.

TIA! :-wink

I'd just take care of the "I just bought a used car stuff"... Definitely do the transmission fluid... I'm not so hot on the 150K interval that Ford specifies, but with good, high quality fluid, 60K should be just fine.

You might also want to check if the customer satisfaction program for the transmission cooler was done. They'll inspect it (some started cracking and leaking) and replace for free. The program was originally supposed to be over by now, but has been extended past the end of the year. My '08 Mariner had a cracked one, and after a free replacement, all is good.

I've been doing everything on my Mariner since I bought it, so if you have any questions, just ask...

You would be better off with a 15,000 mile transmission fluid drain and fill. Just drain 4qts. from the transmission pan and refill. I know for a fact when I drain 4 qts. the color is different than new tranny fluid, it's darker, I don't want to think what it will look like after 150,000 miles, even after 60,000 miles it probably is spent.

If you have 78K on the vehicle and do not know if the tranny fluid has ever been serviced, I would to do the 3 times fill and drain procedure. After you do that you will have approximately 85 to 90% new trans fluid in the tranmission.

The reason for all this concern about transmission fluid is becasue the
CD4E transmission is the weak link the Escape. Simply put, they fail more than any other component of the vehicle. At least that's the way it was with the earlier Escapes, but the CD4E is the CD4E there hasn't been any major change to this transmission at all since it's inception. Remember only use Mercon V in your year Escape, that is the type of Ford fluid recommended for your year vehicle.

Thank you guys! appreciate all the advice! I plan on doing the LOF this weekend, I will add on some ATF to the list.
I run Schaeffer products in my Superduty, so that is what the Escape will be getting as well.

How about the differentials...any service needed there? is there a T-case? since the motor is mounted sideways....is there a front diff? guess I need to crawl under the thing :-partybud
anyway...any service needed on the diff(s)/tcase?

The car lot we bought it from bought it at an auction. So supposedly, the rig has been "inspected" twice, once before the auction and once at the car lot garage. They ended up putting brakes on it on all 4 corners.

Forget the 15K thing. Good MERCON V is good for 60K in this thing, easy.

If it's 2wd, there is no diff or T-case. Think of it as a funny looking front wheel drive car. Same stuff under the hood.

I've never used any of the Shaeffer's products, but I hear a lot of good stuff about 'em. As long as they have a synthetic MERCON V, you should be good to go. I changed the wife's over to the Mobil 1 synthetic ATF, and it actually made a slight difference in shift quality. VERY smooth now.

4wd

Here is their Trans Fluid
Schaeffer's ALL-Trans Supreme Transmission Fluid for Dexron III and Mercon fluids

And the Technical Data Sheet
http://www.schaefferoil.com/datapdf/204S.pdf

Pay particular attention to Page 2 of the Tech Sheet under the heading
"TYPICAL APPLICATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS"
AND

Bought a 2010 Escape XLT 4WD for the wife several months ago. Have 5,000 on it and no problems. The V-6 sure scoots it down the road.

That Shaeffer's should be good to go.

I don't remember what the spec is for the T-case and rear diff, but if it's similar to other Fords, then it's probably either 80w-90 or 75-140. Either way, use what it calls for, and ONLY what it calls for. Ford says they are good for the life of the vehicle, but changing it every 100K shouldn't hurt.

That's what I figured. I'll have to look up the capacities and just do them for good measure. Thanks for the help guys!

The tranny you can go ahead and do... I'd wait and do the T-case, rear diff and coolant at 100K. For peace of mind, you can pop the fill bolt and dip your finger in to see how bad it looks. Don't worry about the horrible smell (especially from the 75w-140).. it's normal, and trust me... The new stuff smells just as bad...

yep, done a few diffs. used to work in a shop where that was all one guy did....place stank to high heaven!

The 4WD doesn't have a transfer case, it use a PTU.

PTU=Power Transistor Unit. It's located under your ignition coils. It drives the coils.

What's this got to do with the the transfer case?

PTU=Power Transfer Unit, it's the gearbox on the passenger side of the transaxle that turns the driveshaft.

A transfer case like used in a real 4WD normally had it's own gear ratio like low and sometimes a differential that could be locked when needed like in full time four wheel drive system. Some just had a locked high and low position.

Coil on plug(COP) has been used for years and all the drivers are in the PCM. Even before COP, drivers were in the PCM since like late ninties. Not sure when they went to COP.

well....check engine light is on...code is P0455
Evaporative Emission Control System Leak Detected (no purge flow or large leak)

any idears?

troubleshooting tips?

already know the charcoal canister is going to run about $120 3-5 days from Ford...not 100% sure thats the problem tho....

any help'd be preciated