Mountain Ripper

2014

Ford

Escape

White

SE

Bought used in bad condition with 68,000, but fixed it up DIY style! Most work was done myself. Right now it has 77,000 miles. It came with tons of issues and it was difficult to figure out what was caused by the previous driver, and what was a manufacturer defect. Largest manufacturer defect was transmission clang shift when accelerating uphill, but that has since been repaired. Largest owner-caused defect was a chewed up front bumper.

Replaced air filter with green air filter. Upgraded all plugs, coils, and wires. Replaced fuel filter. Regular oil changes. Flushed transmission upon receiving the car. Flashed PCM and TCM (including long term storage of driver-specific shift profiles) to repair clang shifts when accelerating on highway. Replaced rear motor mount with electric FE mount.

Upgraded all interior lights to LED - footwells are ice blue to match the dash lighting. Replaced grab handles (more expensive than I thought it would be). Replaced seatbelt. Repaired rear seatbelt receptacle. Repaired internal fan motor. Added Maxliner mats in front, back, and cargo bay. Wrapped steering wheel in leather to get rid of wear marks from previous owner.

Blacked out grill, trim, and side vents with matte vinyl. Added OEM roof rails. Added Thule feet and cross bar package + Thule pulse carbo box. Replaced all stock exterior lighting with higher color temperature Sylvania lights and/or LEDs if it wasn't a main light. Replaced front bumper (ouch). Tinted windows. Added hitch + hitch basket for hauling coolers. Added black exhaust tips when repairing exhaust pipes.

None - still working on getting rid of line noise. Will upgrade when I am 100% certain a new system won't amplify noise.

Bought 17" black wheels and AT/3 tires. No rubbing and grips the gravel roads much better.