Here you can find information regarding repairs to the Ford Escape rear end system. These repairs include the
rear leaf spring, the rear differential system torque specs,
the rear diff fluid change procedures, and the axle driveshaft bearing removal and installation. All of these repairs and
procedures include in depth details on how to perform the replacement and or repair. They
also contain all the detailed torque specs needed for each bolt involved in the repair.
Rear Control Arm and Ball Joint Installation
The rear Suspension is much the same as the front end except it does not have a steering component. With this said the rear suspension consists of an upper and lower control arm that
bolt to the frame and ball joints that connect the wheel hub to the arms. The upper control arm uses a bolt and nut to tighten itself to the frame and then a ball joint to
connect to the knuckle. The inner bolt and nut can be tightened down to 129 ft-lbs and then the outside ball joint nut can be tightened down to
As for the lower control arm it has a bolt and nut that holds it to the vehicle frame which can be torqued down to 129 ft-lbs. The lower ball joint nut gets tightened to
46 ft-lbs.
Ford Escape Upper Arm to Frame Torque Spec : 129 ft-lbs
The rear wheel bearing is much the same as the front and will need to be pressed out to be replaced. To do this you will have to remove the
tire and remove the center axle nut from the car. Next you can remove the lower and upper control arm from the knuckle and pull the knuckle from the
vehicle. With the knuckle out you can press the old bearing out and press the new bearing in and reverse the procedure to reinstall. The rear axle nut
gets tightened to 160 ft-lbs.
Ford Escape Rear Axle Nut Torque Spec : 160 ft-lbs
Ford Escape Wheel Speed Sensor Torque Spec : 8 ft-lbs
Rear Differential Fluid change
To check the rear differential fluid on a ford escape you must jack the rear end of the car up into the air and
then remove the diff fill plug using a 3/8's ratchet or breaker bar. The fluid level should be up to the bottom of the fill plug hole.
If the fluid level is low you can fill it using the hole until it comes out. If you want to change the fluid you can remove the
rear diff cover by taking out the outside bolts and pulling off the cover from the diff. When this is done the fluid will pour out
so be sure to have a container ready to catch it from hitting your floor. Once all the fluid is out you can reinstall the cover using some permatex or
silicon sealant and tighten down the cover bolts to 20 ft-lbs. The fill plug can be tightened down to 10 ft-lbs.
Ford Escape Differential Cover Torque Specs : 20 ft-lbs
Ford Escape Rear Diff Fill Plug Torque Specs : 10 ft-lbs
Rear Shock Installation
To replace the rear shocks on a Ford Escape you will need to remove two sets of bolts/nuts. To do this you can jack up the vehicle and then
proceed to remove the lower bolt from the bottom portion of the shock. Next we can move to the back of the car and remove the plastic shielding
and gain access to the top nut and remove that from the car. With that the shock should drop down and be loose from the car. To install the new
shock we can move the upper portion into the hole and hand tighten down the nut to keep the shock in place. Next the lower bolt can be put in place
and tightened down to 130 ft-lbs. We can then go back to the upper nut and torque it down to 22 ft-lbs.
