Re: 2006 Escape Hybrid: Catastrophic Engine failure @ 65,000 miles
 

With regard to disposing of the engine without tear down... no sweat, I got the concept. Just my old Navy engineering sense talking.

About that overheating of the bearing: this can happen quite fast if all oil was cutoff which can happen with dirt in the oil flow path. You wouldn't see the overheat in the water temps, its a very local thing right at the bearing & the cooling water jacket is distant from the crankshaft bearings. They're cooled by the oil (which apparently was cutoff).

But it would be worth taking apart the oil filter, just to have a look see. In my opinion the cause was jiffy lube. Engine design & technology has been hammered out for over a century. These engines just don't fail like that. There was a cause and its very, very likely related to the most recent change in something: e.g. the jiffy lube experience.

I do my own oil for a reason. Its not that the average jiffy lube guy isn't trying to do a god job. Its that I don't want to be the guy that has your experience for the one in a thousand bad jiffy lube guys. Oh yeah, their oil meets minimum specs... but I want better oil than that.

Re: 2006 Escape Hybrid: Catastrophic Engine failure @ 65,000 miles
 

Of course, the FEH does not have a water temperature gauge/sensor anyway...

Re: 2006 Escape Hybrid: Catastrophic Engine failure @ 65,000 miles
 

Further news on our 2006 FEH. We have it back from the dealer now, re-engined, and running fine. The only thing is, our mileage seems to have dropped from about 30-32 in the city, to around 20-22MPG. :( I'm wondering if we got an Atkinson cycle engine or an Otto for our replacement. Is there any way to tell from an external inspection?

Re: 2006 Escape Hybrid: Catastrophic Engine failure @ 65,000 miles
 

IMO I would be extremely surprised if
they put an Atkinson engine in there.
That'd be a real kick in the behind if
you proved to them that they put the
wrong engine in there.

Re: 2006 Escape Hybrid: Catastrophic Engine failure @ 65,000 miles
 

It's supposed to be the Atkinson engine isn't it?

Re: 2006 Escape Hybrid: Catastrophic Engine failure @ 65,000 miles
 

Yes, but it would be such an easy mistake to make
in the dealers parts department. Also an interesting
exercise in how much MPG savings you get using
the Atkinson engine. This is gonna be

REAL PAINFUL

for the dealer. They gotta make it right. Swapping
out that Otto for an Atkinson is gonna be

REALLY EXPENSIVE

the cost of the Atkinson has gotta be 3x what the
Otto is and he's gonna get it free. Almost easier
to just give'em the swap to Otto for free.

Re: 2006 Escape Hybrid: Catastrophic Engine failure @ 65,000 miles
 

You could try discharging the battery down to the point where battery boost is impossible and see how it accelerates on ICE alone. I tried that with info from a thread here, and the lack of ICE performance without the EV boost was amazing poor. I would think an Otto cycle engine would perform pretty much like a I4 non-hybrid in that condition, with decent acceleration.

Best bet though is to make the dealer confirm by part number what engine went in.

Re: 2006 Escape Hybrid: Catastrophic Engine failure @ 65,000 miles
 

Ford Motor Company has a policy of "only certified Hybrid techs" can work on the hybrid vehicles. If one is going the route of "the parts department" made a serious error, then you need to add the "person(s)" in the service department to this theory. It doesn't make any sense unless you want to go the route of "corrupt dealership".

Can we ask the owner to go thru a month or two of driving (break in?) and reporting back on fuel economy?

Re: 2006 Escape Hybrid: Catastrophic Engine failure @ 65,000 miles
 

Stevedebie:
"@Bill Winney, I had no warning or indicator lights of any sort. If it had gotten hot, wouldn't I have had something light up?"

Of course it has a sensing mechanism for water temps. It just doesn't have the traditional gauge.

Wmmaness: the only difference between the Otto & Atkinson cycle engines is the intake camshaft. I wouldn't expect that dramatic a drop in mileage just from the different cam. There is a learning curve for the software in the engine. Track it for awhile and see if it rises.

Re: 2006 Escape Hybrid: Catastrophic Engine failure @ 65,000 miles
 

This whole thing about getting the Atkinson changed to an Otto in an FEH is silly. The Otto can't bolt to the One-Way Clutch and the eCVT. There is a lot more than just a camshaft that is different about the Atkinson, what about the compression ratio? What about the programming in the PCM? It would be easier making a cow into a bull then expecting the other cows to get pregnant by that bull.

GaryG

Re: 2006 Escape Hybrid: Catastrophic Engine failure @ 65,000 miles
 

That's a good idea. I'll drive it for a month, do a manual MPG calculation, and see how it does. It drives just fine. I'll report back at the end of March.

Re: 2006 Escape Hybrid: Catastrophic Engine failure @ 65,000 miles
 

I did not say it doesn't have a mechanism for water temps. It calculates the temperature based on the CWT. If there were a water temperature sensor, I'm sure the SGII would read it.

If anyone has a shop manual that indicates a water sensor, please feel free to step in any time...

Re: 2006 Escape Hybrid: Catastrophic Engine failure @ 65,000 miles
 

Does the FEH Atkinson ICE have a traditional water pump? That
being buried behind the timing chain at the front of the engine?
I've not heard anyone reporting any problem with such a thing.
Tradition Otto engines have them and they are always something
that goes bad at the worst of times.

Re: 2006 Escape Hybrid: Catastrophic Engine failure @ 65,000 miles
 

How about looking for evidence of mounting bracketry for either a starter or an alternator? The FEH motor would have neither.

Without looking at an I4 Escape (in person or a shop manual) I wouldn't know where or how they mount. Just know that the FEH doesn't have them

Re: 2006 Escape Hybrid: Catastrophic Engine failure @ 65,000 miles
 

I think, I think they way it's done is the dealer would buy
what's called a "box engine" or "short block". It comes on
a wooden palate. Accessories like alternators and starter
motors would not be included. To me it's just such an
easy error to make. Somebody told the parts manager
to get a Duratech I 4 for an Escape and that's what
he/she got. As mentioned here the only difference is
the cam. It will be really interesting to see how this
all plays out.

Re: 2006 Escape Hybrid: Catastrophic Engine failure @ 65,000 miles
 

There are so many changes during the factory assembly the parts person has to go my your VIN in order to find a parts match. Most likely a Atkinson long block which included the heads and cams was ordered as a perfect match. The blown Atkinson long block was sent back to the re-manufacturer or a core charge of at least $250 would have been added to the bill. A Parts Manager would never order a long block without it matching your VIN.

GaryG

Re: 2006 Escape Hybrid: Catastrophic Engine failure @ 65,000 miles
 

After looking at the pictures of that block, I don't think there's any core value other than recycling price for a hunk of aluminium. :(

Re: 2006 Escape Hybrid: Catastrophic Engine failure @ 65,000 miles
 

WMManess: the way I track fuel is I get the print out receipt from the gas pump & write the odo number on it. Then put this info into a spreadsheet & have the s/s calculate the mpg. Thus I have a long term s/s set of numbers telling me the health of my engine.

Done this for 432,000 miles on my Suburban & 254,000 miles on my Mustang... Gives me a good idea of what's up inside the engine.

Re: 2006 Escape Hybrid: Catastrophic Engine failure @ 65,000 miles
 

Regarding the temperature sensing mechanism issue:
you have entirely missed the point.

One of the crankshaft bearings is "far away" from any kind of temp sensing mechanism and just wouldn't give any warning of impending failure. Similarly the failure mechanism is fast and would happen so quickly that any warning would be just recounting history.

So even if the warning light came on in the instrument cluster it wouldn't have served any useful purpose since the damage would have been done.

Of course my use of "far away" above is in a relative sense.

Re: 2006 Escape Hybrid: Catastrophic Engine failure @ 65,000 miles
 

I keep mine in a spreadsheet - on my phone. While I fill up the tank, I fill in the basic information. Then when the pump shuts off all I have to do is fill in the gallons and the mileage before I drive off.

Re: 2006 Escape Hybrid: Catastrophic Engine failure @ 65,000 miles
 

none of the computors are covered at any milage even the one that runs the green mode at 500+$ make sure the coolant containers are full at all times there is a special one for the engine(larger one) and one for the computor module in the engine bay left side (passngr)