2001 Escape Towing Capabilities

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Mar 9, 2005 | 11:01 PM

johny417

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2001 Escape Towing Capabilities

I bought a 2001 Escape for my daughter when she went away to college. We bought the car "off the lot" from existing stock. The car came with a trailer hitch and four pin wiring plug beneath the rear bumper for trailer lights. I am now buying a boat and intend use the Escape to trailer it. How can I determine the towing capacity of the existing hitch and whether it has a full towing package?

Mar 10, 2005 | 07:04 AM

DoctorCAD

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If it is a factory towing package, you have a 3500 lb pull with a 350 lb tongue weight rating. I tow a 2000 lb bass boat with very little problem.

I think the only way to tell is to see if you have a factory installed oil cooler attached to the oil filter base. Maybe a VIN decoder could tell also.

Mar 10, 2005 | 08:54 PM

johny417

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Thanks DoctorCad I appreciate the info. I'll check the oil filter base. If the oil cooler is not there I assume I would need to have one installed. Can you tell me what else should do besides the oil cooler?

thanks again...

Mar 11, 2005 | 06:44 AM

DoctorCAD

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A heavy duty flasher unit, if one isn't already installed. I put an extension on the wire plug, seems Ford would like you to kneel down in mud and gravel to plug the trailer into their oddly placed plug.

Apr 8, 2005 | 07:47 PM

mack63

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05 oil cooler

Hi, I was hoping someone could tell me what to look for when trying to determine if an Escape has a oil cooler. I looked at two 05's, one had the tow package and the other one did not but they both looked the same.
..I have seen people mention that it is beneath the oil filter but where do the hoses run? Also is it possible it now comes on all v6 Escapes?

Apr 8, 2005 | 10:28 PM

bananaboat

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The oil cooler is on ALL 2005 Escapes. I've got a 2005 I4 and it has the oil cooler. The cooler is between the engine and the filter. You'll see a hose running from it. Granted, the I4 filter/cooler is easier to see than the V6 but it's there.

My 2002 V6 didn't have one and I believe they were only installed on certain models with towing packages prior to 2005.

Apr 9, 2005 | 10:50 AM

mack63

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Thanks for the information. The reason I asked is I'm having trouble finding the vehicle I want with a tow package. If all 05's have the oil cooler than I can just add the hitch, HD flasher and wiring harness easily enough to any v6 Escape.