Transmission?
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Transmission?
I have a 2001 escape and right around 45 MPH sometimes it feels like the car is shimming and when the gear changes there is kinda a clunk sound and a small jolt throughout the car.
What might this be.
What might this be.
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You are in for a big bill. The tranny seems to be the weak link in an otherwise fine vehicle. Some have reported as much as $3000 to replace trannies. Try flushing and filling with Mrecon, not Mercon V and see if it helps.
Soon as my first one did it, I traded it in on a new one.
Soon as my first one did it, I traded it in on a new one.
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I have the same trouble on a 2002 3.0L 4x4 4-speed automatic Escape. The fourth-gear clutch is going and it shudders when shifting (at about 42mph for me, under light acceleration). Each time you experience the shudder you're tearing off more clutch material, so I try to baby it and let off the accelerator just when it's about to shift, until it's done, then come back on the gas easy so as not to cause a downshift. Mine also *seems* to shift into fourth fine if under moderate or heavy acceleration, so that *may* be another option to prolong the trannys eventual demise. If I forget, and am just putting along when I hit 42MPH it almost always does the shudder and it always makes me cringe.
I got a price of $1600 here for a rebuild, but we're also considering selling it (even though the wife loves it).
I got a price of $1600 here for a rebuild, but we're also considering selling it (even though the wife loves it).
Last edited by Spiff59; Oct 4, 2006 at 01:13 AM.
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Originally Posted by highlandescape
when mine started that i had the tranny serviced. (fluid flush and refill) the filter didnt even need replaced. after that it hasnt done it since. its been over a year and 50,000 miles. cost.... $98.63
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It sounds like the torque converter trying to decide whether to go into overdrive or not, which is typical with the Escape and the CD4E transmission.
Your problem sounds somewhat different, I wouldn't hesitate to bring it in to a good transmission place as soon as possible to prevent further damage.
Also try not using overdrive, and see if it makes any difference.
Your problem sounds somewhat different, I wouldn't hesitate to bring it in to a good transmission place as soon as possible to prevent further damage.
Also try not using overdrive, and see if it makes any difference.
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I've heard that the filter is built into the transmmission, not your typical drop the pan and replace the filter like on so many other transmmissions, but I could be wrong. I have seen a filter made to go on the line to the radiator. Here's a link to that. http://www.emergingent.com/subpage1Magnefine.htm
I do a drain and refill myself about every 20,000 miles and so far at 90000 miles everything seems to be working fine, but it is a messy thing to do.
I do a drain and refill myself about every 20,000 miles and so far at 90000 miles everything seems to be working fine, but it is a messy thing to do.
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scottss80 is correct. The filter in the CD4E transmission is not consumer changeable. In order to get at the filter the transmission has to be disassembled, not the job for your weekend mechanic.
After I did a 12 qt. drain and fill progressive dilution which leaves you with about 85% new fluid in the trans, I drain and fill 4 qts. every other oil change. It is easy to do and the cost is minimal. The trans fluid is basically always fresh and if it prevents a trans meltdown it is well worth the 10 minutes it takes to do.
After I did a 12 qt. drain and fill progressive dilution which leaves you with about 85% new fluid in the trans, I drain and fill 4 qts. every other oil change. It is easy to do and the cost is minimal. The trans fluid is basically always fresh and if it prevents a trans meltdown it is well worth the 10 minutes it takes to do.
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Originally Posted by tonyford
scottss80 is correct. The filter in the CD4E transmission is not consumer changeable. In order to get at the filter the transmission has to be disassembled, not the job for your weekend mechanic.
After I did a 12 qt. drain and fill progressive dilution which leaves you with about 85% new fluid in the trans, I drain and fill 4 qts. every other oil change. It is easy to do and the cost is minimal. The trans fluid is basically always fresh and if it prevents a trans meltdown it is well worth the 10 minutes it takes to do.
After I did a 12 qt. drain and fill progressive dilution which leaves you with about 85% new fluid in the trans, I drain and fill 4 qts. every other oil change. It is easy to do and the cost is minimal. The trans fluid is basically always fresh and if it prevents a trans meltdown it is well worth the 10 minutes it takes to do.
Over what timeframe did you change out 12 quarts, I assume 4 quarts at a time, done three times. In my Haynes manual it says to drain the pan (about 4 quarts)then fill it up and let the vehicle run until you get to the proper level. Then it says to drain the pan a second time to get the fluid out of the converter. So that is an 8 quart drain and fill done within minutes of eachother. I just had mine done at the dealer where they use their machine process which apparently gets about 99% of the fluid out. I did this at 25,000 miles since I bought the truch used, but from this point on I want to maintain fresh fluid myself. So any info you have on your drain process will be helpful.
I am wondering if Ford has improved this transmission over the years. I bought a consumers report mag recently and the Escape was listed as having some transmission reliability issues in the earlier years but in recent years CR gives it top marks in reliability now. So I wonder if Ford has made some improvements between the years, it looks like 2005 and 2006 get best reliability marks on the transmission while 01-03 were listed as being worse.
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You need 12 quarts of DexronIII/Mercon, NOT Mercon V. Engine at operating temperature and preferably just been driven:
Drain, fill, drive, drain, fill, drive and then a final drain and fill...
You could also probably find DexronIII/Mercon cheaper than what I paid at Wal-Mart, shop around....
I posted this back in March 2006:
"Did Ove1's transmission fluid drain and fill this weekend and was pretty easy. It does take some time if you want to wait until every bit of fluid is drained out. I put the vehicle up on ramps to make access easier so don't know if that made a difference on how much drained out, but I measured carefully and on the first drain had just a tad over 4 quarts of fluid, some on here had said that the they got a tad under 4 quarts, like 3.9 quarts or something. Could of been mine was slightly overfilled from the factory, don't know.
The plug is magnetized, but I did not find chips of metal or anything on the plug. The fluid comes out really fast and is very hot, so be careful when taking off the plug if you plan on doing this. I used a pail rather than a shallow container to catch the fluid because trans fluid is thinner than oil and splashes, the pail minimized the splashing. I put a very thin coat of BlueBlock thread sealer on the plug when installing it for the last time. You can also use teflon tape I guess, but I would be afraid of pieces of the tape coming off.
Ove1 ran his car for 5 minutes between drains and shifted through the gears, I drove the vehicle for a few miles using 2nd, 1st, in and out of overdrive, reverse, don't know if that will make a difference or not.
When I refilled it the last time while still on the ramps, I only added 3 1/2 quarts, drove the vehicle off the ramps on level ground and while the engine running checked the fluid level, it was slightly below the half way mark in the hash area on the dipstick, I just added a little to bring it at least halfway up. Over filling a trans is just as bad as running it with low fluid.
All in all it took about an hour to do, you probably could do it faster if you don't use ramps and squeeze yourself under the front of the vehicle and not get every last drop of fluid out when you do the drains.
I used Castrol Dexron-III/Mercon which was easily available at my local Wal-Mart...I wanted to use a name brand fluid, they did have their own brand, SuperTech, but I stuck with a name brand. $2.34 a quart and used 12 quarts for the drain and fills. So for about $28 I changed about about 80% to 85% of the tranny fluid. From here on all I have to do is what Bananaboat does, every other oil change dump 4 quarts of tranny fluid and refill with 4 quarts.
Hopefully this will help avoid any problems with the CD4E trans, which is the weak link in the Ford Escape...
Drain, fill, drive, drain, fill, drive and then a final drain and fill...
You could also probably find DexronIII/Mercon cheaper than what I paid at Wal-Mart, shop around....
I posted this back in March 2006:
"Did Ove1's transmission fluid drain and fill this weekend and was pretty easy. It does take some time if you want to wait until every bit of fluid is drained out. I put the vehicle up on ramps to make access easier so don't know if that made a difference on how much drained out, but I measured carefully and on the first drain had just a tad over 4 quarts of fluid, some on here had said that the they got a tad under 4 quarts, like 3.9 quarts or something. Could of been mine was slightly overfilled from the factory, don't know.
The plug is magnetized, but I did not find chips of metal or anything on the plug. The fluid comes out really fast and is very hot, so be careful when taking off the plug if you plan on doing this. I used a pail rather than a shallow container to catch the fluid because trans fluid is thinner than oil and splashes, the pail minimized the splashing. I put a very thin coat of BlueBlock thread sealer on the plug when installing it for the last time. You can also use teflon tape I guess, but I would be afraid of pieces of the tape coming off.
Ove1 ran his car for 5 minutes between drains and shifted through the gears, I drove the vehicle for a few miles using 2nd, 1st, in and out of overdrive, reverse, don't know if that will make a difference or not.
When I refilled it the last time while still on the ramps, I only added 3 1/2 quarts, drove the vehicle off the ramps on level ground and while the engine running checked the fluid level, it was slightly below the half way mark in the hash area on the dipstick, I just added a little to bring it at least halfway up. Over filling a trans is just as bad as running it with low fluid.
All in all it took about an hour to do, you probably could do it faster if you don't use ramps and squeeze yourself under the front of the vehicle and not get every last drop of fluid out when you do the drains.
I used Castrol Dexron-III/Mercon which was easily available at my local Wal-Mart...I wanted to use a name brand fluid, they did have their own brand, SuperTech, but I stuck with a name brand. $2.34 a quart and used 12 quarts for the drain and fills. So for about $28 I changed about about 80% to 85% of the tranny fluid. From here on all I have to do is what Bananaboat does, every other oil change dump 4 quarts of tranny fluid and refill with 4 quarts.
Hopefully this will help avoid any problems with the CD4E trans, which is the weak link in the Ford Escape...
Last edited by tonyford; Jan 1, 2007 at 11:20 AM.