My only symptom was a plugged coolant filter.

To fix my issue I rebuilt the oil cooler. It is located on the drivers side of the block; above the pan, below the power-steering pump. It is a long cylinder that bolts to the block and the oil filter spins on to the rear end of it. The two ends press on to the center tube section and the coolant and oil are USUALLY kept separate by 4 orings.

Do a search for oil cooler rebuild in this forum and you should come up with a thread by Cody aka Cleatus that has a great video.

I don't mind doing the leg work searching and posting links but I am on the road right now and I have found the iphone app pretty lacking for anything other than basic posting.

 

the dex cool did always seem to be much worse about sludging. I guess the fords were just really dirty. I've never owned a vehicle new enough to use the long life coolants until a year ago. but my wife's '10 escape is under warranty for a long long time so it's just so much easier to just take it to the dealership and say here, fix it haha so I haven't wrenched on it at all. those days when I was working at Valvoline and jiffy lube while I was in college are the limit of my experience with long life coolants