Just got a 2006 Ford Escape for $200, Trying to make it a daily driver for cheap

Step 1: make sure it has a clean title and isn’t stolen :question:

A lot of places these days are able to do keys. The requirements vary depending on what kind of hardware/software the place has, but often a place like a (participating) Batteries Plus, some hardware stores, some locksmiths, etc. Usually the dealer is the most expensive place to go, but also the only one guaranteed to get it right.

Yeah, it seems walmart can clone the keys but they are $60 each.

If on the other hand I have the dealer program 1 more key, I can then make as many as I want as home. Since I need to program 2 keys getting one from the dealer seems like a better option depending on the exact price.

Anyone know if the 2.3L in the escape is prone to rear main seal leaks?

I topped off the oil when I got it but it has proceeded to loose 1 quart and then stopped loosing oil.

I am hoping it is something else but sounds like a rear main seal to me since the oil is coming from that location as well.

If the main seal does need to be done, how hard is it on this car?

:open_mouth:

I don’t envy your purchase anymore. :disappointed:

lol, I was actually checking the oil today and it was not as low as I thought (It was on a slight incline last time and had a larger effect then I figured it would). Looks like only 1/2 a quart low. I topped it off again and going to see how it goes this time.

Think I might try one of those oil leak sealers, normally I would never touch them but for this car I am willing to take the risk.

I have some seafoam in the crankcase now (also could be causing the oil leak to be worse), going to change the oil in a day or 2 with some cheap oil. Then drive it for a take of gas with some marvel mystery oil and seafoam in the oil again. Then change the oil to some good oil. This is my normal procedure for any new to me car.

I have had great results, combined with a water / seafoam treatment through the intake I got my 4runner from ~100-120psi IIRC compression on all cyclinders up to ~200 across all of them. It was night and day when I did that in performance and how well it ran. Actually had to reset the ECU to let it relearn the tune since it was so far off from the bad compression.

I also did the fuel filter a little bit ago, first time really up under the car and have to say, the rust is not nearly as bad as I thought. Seems the rust is primarily on the wheel wells and door sills (which is all I could really see before). Under the car the body is mostly fine and the frame is just surface rust.

I will try to get some pictures later to get some northern’s opinions on the rust. Going to go give it a bath right now.

The coil on plug on all fords of that Era were prone to going bad, and when they do they will fail to illuminate the check engine light. This would be a studderomg going up hill on moderate throttle @ 2500rpm though.

If check engine light is on, scan it for the problem.

Check for vacuum leaks with carb cleaner, possible jammed catalytic converter for bad power down low

Heh, a new cat would definitely cost more than the car.

Yeah, the COP going bad is a possible issue, the work order that was in the glove box says that they checked this and replaced the #3 coil about 5k miles ago. So at least one of them died recently. Just surprised that another might be bad in the last 5k miles.

I plan to check for vacuum leaks in the next day or 2. Hopefully that is the issue.

It is strange, it runs perfectly above 3k rpm, decent power and basically as expected but it can hardly get out of it’s own way below 2500rpm. Like it is constantly downshifting on the highway just to maintain speed.

No misses or stuttering to speak of, if I really pay attention I can feel the slightest hint of some surging as it pulls through the RPM band but that seems better now after the first seafoam / water treatment.

The only lights are the ABS, 4WD and airbad, the engine light is the only one not lit up lol. I do plan to check for codes tomorrow though.

The replacement window showed up today so I spent my morning installing that before work along with some other minor things.

If the check engine light is off, it may be a bad check engine light bulb!

That is quite true. I need to re-install the torque app on my phone so I can get the codes with my OBD scanner.

Back when I had wires go bad, that was exactly the case. On the highway, it would struggle just to maintain speed, but if I’d pull it out of drive (slushbox) into the next-lower gear to get the rpm up, it ran like a champ. That’s what I meant about it almost dieseling, that even a weak spark would be enough to push it over, but at lower rpm you need a beefier spark to light it up.

Wires go bad, coils go bad, but not always go-or-blow, but by degrees. Wires get “leakier” as the insulation develops cracks. Coils, too, can weaken over time. Plugs wear, and breakover voltage sneaks up higher and higher.

At least in GM cars, its HEI was great right out of the box, no need for aftermarket ignition systems like Accel or MSD or anything.

And a few quick pictures from my phone to put a face to the car. Not the best by any means but should give an idea of the rust and overall condition:

I am used to toyota ignition systems that are beefy as heck from the factory in most cases. My 4runner COP are so strong the plugs actually die from being eaten away by the strong spark.

I will indeed check the COP but since they don’t throw a code / misfire, not sure the best method to actually check them since I am sure that are firing enough to light up my spark tester.

BTW, thanks for the help everyone. I do miss the good old days of hanging out on Car sites but not really worth finding a good one for this since I don’t think I will actually do much more then get it running properly.

I’ve tested spark by running the engine and slightly unplugging the wires one at a time and seeing how far out I can draw the arc. The cylinders that draw the longest arc and makes the loudest snapping sound are your best performers. I’ve never tried that with COP, but I imagine it would work.

For that I would end up in prison in our country…

Ohio here. That’s not bad for 2006. Either ND uses less salt than us, or it wasn’t up there nearly its whole life.
Did you say how many miles are on it?

Not sure if I said the miles or not. It has 180k miles right now.

Yeah, once I got under there I feel better about the rust. It is there for sure but nothing super worrisome that I noticed. Mostly the door sills and fender wells.

Mostly I want to stop the rust from getting any worse or spreading.