2003 Ford Escape long block replacement

My wife put a rod through the block. Second time guys. So I was thinking about a long block replacement. It’s a DOHC 6. But something with a little more power. Ideas ?.considering the cost of the total expenses for repairs. The shop wants to use a used block & I’m thinking about the things that were not included on the estimate. Also any ideas whom to check on the price for the engine. I haven’t been able to find a business that has what I’m looking for.

Maybe you wife should walk, bike or take an Uber??

It is a 15 year old Escape, it doesn’t deserve, nor can it handle more power, especially if your wife will be driving it. The mechanic has good advice, a used long block is your most economical solution. Anything else is just wasting money, IMHO. We don’t know where you are so we can’t suggest a shop but CarTalk’s Mechanics Files might be of some help.

I am curious, how many miles on this car and how did you destroy 2 engines?

1 Like

Apparently we have a household that has no one who knows how to check oil level . And they person wants more power , OK fine.

1 Like

Volvo_V70 is right. The only reason to throw a rod is lack of oil and often ignoring the knocking that is getting progressively louder.

In the old days overrevving could do it but with modern cars and RPM limiters that’s not possible.

Unless someone (you or your wife) gets into the habit of checking the oil level regularly you will be back in the future asking about rod through the block number 3.

The problem with used engines is that a pretty fair percentage of them have issues ranging from minor to major. I’ve seen “guaranteed good” engines that were nothing but scrap metal.

You or better-yet the shop who’s going to install it should find a guaranteed-good junkyard engine from a wrecked Escape. I think that’s your best bet. The junkyard knows a lot about the status of the car the engine came from, so it isn’t entirely guess work. If it has 80K on the clock and the rear quarter was damaged in an accident enough to total the car, and the car came in on the wrecker with clean oil at the proper level on the dipstick, pretty good chance the engine is still tops. In any event make sure you understand what the shop guarantees, and what they don’t. And it is all in writing. For example, if they install the engine and it develops a problem in 3 months that requires another engine, how much is that going to cost you in both parts and labor? Ideally it wouldn’t cost you anything, but often there are loopholes in the guarantees, so do your homework. Even if it doesn’t cost you anything in out of pocket $$ to re-replace the engine, it will cost you some time without use of the car. Does the shop guarantee anything about how long that is?

Unless you have a pretty good reason for wanting more power, or you have plenty of money you want to spend, suggest to not complicate the issue with that “nice to have”. IMHO, the objective should be to get the Escape working as good as it was before the engine conked out, and nothing beyond that. If you have some extra $$ to spend, ask the shop who installs the engine if they’ll offer up a pre-paid plan where you bring the car to them once every 3 months, and they do a general inspection to make sure it is still working correctly. You’ll get more bang for you buck that way than buying extra power.