Just wanted to do a little write up on my recent project on the Escape. Since this is technically an "aftermarket" procedure, I posted it in the Powertrain Mods. It will take me a few posts to get all the info out so don't be alarmed if it seems like only half the info is here
This applies to 2005-2008 Escapes (tribute or mariner) that have the 2.3 Duratec motor (Automatic, 2WD or 4WD). I blew out the bottom end of my motor and the price for an "Escape" 2.3 motor is crazy! Cheapest I could find in my area was $1500 for one with 95,000 miles. I did a LOT of research on these motors to see what cars they come out of. If you just want to swap another 2.3 into your E/M/T, you can also use the 2.3 out of the Focus or Fusion. Just be sure to inspect the engine so that you don't end up with a 2.3 fusion motor that has VVT, this will NOT work in the Escape.
So, after finding that the 2.3 motor from the Focus will work for the E, I wondered if the 2.0 would also work. As it turns out, the 2.0 is the exact same as the 2.3 with the exception of it being 1/2 and inch shorter (that's where the displacement is taken out). Typically, if you can find a 2.0 with the same year as your E, almost everything will be plug and play. I on the other hand found a 2008 Focus 2.0 motor and put it in my 2006 so I had to do a few extra steps (which I will go over). I managed to get this '08 2.0 (30k miles) at my local salvage yard for $400. Over $1,000 cheaper than the Escape 2.3 AND it has waaay fewer miles on it, I mean this engine is just now broken in!
Without further ado, I will go over the maintenance procedure. I wont go into too many details about actually pulling the engine and swapping it because there are already a ton of guides out there (or buy a Haynes or Chilton's). I will post the steps and if you have questions just ask. This is the procedure for dropping the motor out of the bottom. If you are pulling out of the top, you don't have to remove the crossmember and instead of dropping out, just pull it up with a cherry picker. It will be a tight fit but it WILL come out (after a lot of wiggling and cursing). I cannot stress this enough, be sure to remove the engine roll restrictor from the rear of the transmission. It will give you a lot more room to work with
All vehicles:
1. With the vehicle in NEUTRAL, position it on a hoist.
2. Release the fuel system pressure.
3. Remove the engine air cleaner and air cleaner outlet pipe.
4. Remove the battery tray.
5. Drain the engine oil.
6. Drain the cooling system.
7. Remove the starter.
8. Remove the catalytic converter.
9. Remove the accessory drive belt.
10. Remove the left front drive halfshafts.
4WD vehicles:
1. Remove the transfer case.
2WD vehicles:
1. Remove the bolts and the lateral support crossmember.
2. Remove the front drive intermediate halfshaft.
All vehicles:
1. If equipped, remove the bolt and ground eyelet.
2. Remove the power distribution box cover.
3. Remove the nuts and disconnect the cables.
4. Disconnect the electrical connector from the power distribution box.
5. Remove the bolt and disconnect the ground strap. Loosen the bolt and disconnect the 42-pin electrical connector.
6. Detach the wiring harness retainers from the battery tray bracket and position the wiring harness out of the way.
7. Disconnect the transaxle electrical connector.
8. Disconnect the shift cable from the transaxle manual lever.
9. Position the transaxle control cable and bracket aside.
10. Disconnect the transmission range (TR) sensor electrical connector.
11. Detach the transaxle control harness from the brackets.
12. Disconnect the fluid cooler tube.
13. Disconnect the output shaft speed (OSS) sensor electrical connector (black).
14. Disconnect the turbine shaft speed (TSS) sensor electrical connector (white connector).
15. Remove the transmission fluid cooler retaining bracket bolt.
16. Position the fluid cooler tube aside.
17. Remove the bolt and the OSS sensor.
18. Detach the transaxle control harness from the retaining clip.
19. If equipped, disconnect the block heater electrical connector. Detach all the block heater wiring harness retainers and position the wiring harness aside.
20. Disconnect the upper radiator and coolant vent hoses.
21. Remove the nuts and the coolant vent hose brackets. Position the coolant vent hose aside.
22. Detach the heater hose support strap from the stud.
23. Disconnect the heater hoses from the heater core.
24. Remove the retainers and the accelerator cable snow shield.
25. Disconnect the accelerator cable and speed control cable (if equipped).
26. Remove the nut from the accelerator control cable bracket.
27. Remove the nut from the accelerator control cable bracket and position the accelerator control cable and bracket assembly aside.
28. Remove the nut and position the power steering tube and bracket aside.
29. Disconnect the vacuum supply tube and position aside.
30. Disconnect the fuel vapor return tube and retainer and position aside.
31. Disconnect the vacuum reservoir tube and position aside.
32. Disconnect the fuel supply tube and position aside.
33. Detach the electrical connector retainers.
34. Disconnect the Powertrain Control Module (PCM) electrical connectors. Remove the nut and position the harness aside.
35. Remove the bolt and detach the ground wire.
36. Remove the two power steering pump bolts.
37. Disconnect the lower radiator hose from the radiator.
38. Disconnect the A/C compressor electrical connector and remove the four bolts. Position the A/C compressor aside and support the compressor with a length of mechanics wire.
39. Disconnect the power steering pressure (PSP) sensor electrical connector.
40. Remove the bolts and position the power steering pump aside.
41. Remove the front roll restrictor bolt and the two bolts for the engine support crossmember.
42. Remove the rear nut and the engine support crossmember.
43. Remove the two transaxle-to-engine bolts.
44. Remove the two transaxle-to-engine bolts.
45. Using the special tools, secure the engine to the lift table.
46. Remove the engine mount bracket bolt.
47. Remove the nuts and the engine mount bracket.
48. Remove the bolt from the transaxle rear mount.
49. Remove the bolt from the left transaxle mount.
50. Lower the engine and transaxle from the vehicle.
51. Using the engine crane and spreader bar remove the engine and transaxle from the lift table.
52. Remove the starter motor isolator.
53. Remove and discard the four torque converter nuts.
54. Remove the remaining six engine-to-transaxle bolts and separate the engine and transaxle.
This applies to 2005-2008 Escapes (tribute or mariner) that have the 2.3 Duratec motor (Automatic, 2WD or 4WD). I blew out the bottom end of my motor and the price for an "Escape" 2.3 motor is crazy! Cheapest I could find in my area was $1500 for one with 95,000 miles. I did a LOT of research on these motors to see what cars they come out of. If you just want to swap another 2.3 into your E/M/T, you can also use the 2.3 out of the Focus or Fusion. Just be sure to inspect the engine so that you don't end up with a 2.3 fusion motor that has VVT, this will NOT work in the Escape.
So, after finding that the 2.3 motor from the Focus will work for the E, I wondered if the 2.0 would also work. As it turns out, the 2.0 is the exact same as the 2.3 with the exception of it being 1/2 and inch shorter (that's where the displacement is taken out). Typically, if you can find a 2.0 with the same year as your E, almost everything will be plug and play. I on the other hand found a 2008 Focus 2.0 motor and put it in my 2006 so I had to do a few extra steps (which I will go over). I managed to get this '08 2.0 (30k miles) at my local salvage yard for $400. Over $1,000 cheaper than the Escape 2.3 AND it has waaay fewer miles on it, I mean this engine is just now broken in!
Without further ado, I will go over the maintenance procedure. I wont go into too many details about actually pulling the engine and swapping it because there are already a ton of guides out there (or buy a Haynes or Chilton's). I will post the steps and if you have questions just ask. This is the procedure for dropping the motor out of the bottom. If you are pulling out of the top, you don't have to remove the crossmember and instead of dropping out, just pull it up with a cherry picker. It will be a tight fit but it WILL come out (after a lot of wiggling and cursing). I cannot stress this enough, be sure to remove the engine roll restrictor from the rear of the transmission. It will give you a lot more room to work with
All vehicles:
1. With the vehicle in NEUTRAL, position it on a hoist.
2. Release the fuel system pressure.
3. Remove the engine air cleaner and air cleaner outlet pipe.
4. Remove the battery tray.
5. Drain the engine oil.
6. Drain the cooling system.
7. Remove the starter.
8. Remove the catalytic converter.
9. Remove the accessory drive belt.
10. Remove the left front drive halfshafts.
4WD vehicles:
1. Remove the transfer case.
2WD vehicles:
1. Remove the bolts and the lateral support crossmember.
2. Remove the front drive intermediate halfshaft.
All vehicles:
1. If equipped, remove the bolt and ground eyelet.
2. Remove the power distribution box cover.
3. Remove the nuts and disconnect the cables.
4. Disconnect the electrical connector from the power distribution box.
5. Remove the bolt and disconnect the ground strap. Loosen the bolt and disconnect the 42-pin electrical connector.
6. Detach the wiring harness retainers from the battery tray bracket and position the wiring harness out of the way.
7. Disconnect the transaxle electrical connector.
8. Disconnect the shift cable from the transaxle manual lever.
9. Position the transaxle control cable and bracket aside.
10. Disconnect the transmission range (TR) sensor electrical connector.
11. Detach the transaxle control harness from the brackets.
12. Disconnect the fluid cooler tube.
13. Disconnect the output shaft speed (OSS) sensor electrical connector (black).
14. Disconnect the turbine shaft speed (TSS) sensor electrical connector (white connector).
15. Remove the transmission fluid cooler retaining bracket bolt.
16. Position the fluid cooler tube aside.
17. Remove the bolt and the OSS sensor.
18. Detach the transaxle control harness from the retaining clip.
19. If equipped, disconnect the block heater electrical connector. Detach all the block heater wiring harness retainers and position the wiring harness aside.
20. Disconnect the upper radiator and coolant vent hoses.
21. Remove the nuts and the coolant vent hose brackets. Position the coolant vent hose aside.
22. Detach the heater hose support strap from the stud.
23. Disconnect the heater hoses from the heater core.
24. Remove the retainers and the accelerator cable snow shield.
25. Disconnect the accelerator cable and speed control cable (if equipped).
26. Remove the nut from the accelerator control cable bracket.
27. Remove the nut from the accelerator control cable bracket and position the accelerator control cable and bracket assembly aside.
28. Remove the nut and position the power steering tube and bracket aside.
29. Disconnect the vacuum supply tube and position aside.
30. Disconnect the fuel vapor return tube and retainer and position aside.
31. Disconnect the vacuum reservoir tube and position aside.
32. Disconnect the fuel supply tube and position aside.
33. Detach the electrical connector retainers.
34. Disconnect the Powertrain Control Module (PCM) electrical connectors. Remove the nut and position the harness aside.
35. Remove the bolt and detach the ground wire.
36. Remove the two power steering pump bolts.
37. Disconnect the lower radiator hose from the radiator.
38. Disconnect the A/C compressor electrical connector and remove the four bolts. Position the A/C compressor aside and support the compressor with a length of mechanics wire.
39. Disconnect the power steering pressure (PSP) sensor electrical connector.
40. Remove the bolts and position the power steering pump aside.
41. Remove the front roll restrictor bolt and the two bolts for the engine support crossmember.
42. Remove the rear nut and the engine support crossmember.
43. Remove the two transaxle-to-engine bolts.
44. Remove the two transaxle-to-engine bolts.
45. Using the special tools, secure the engine to the lift table.
46. Remove the engine mount bracket bolt.
47. Remove the nuts and the engine mount bracket.
48. Remove the bolt from the transaxle rear mount.
49. Remove the bolt from the left transaxle mount.
50. Lower the engine and transaxle from the vehicle.
51. Using the engine crane and spreader bar remove the engine and transaxle from the lift table.
52. Remove the starter motor isolator.
53. Remove and discard the four torque converter nuts.
54. Remove the remaining six engine-to-transaxle bolts and separate the engine and transaxle.