Revival of the '94 Escort...
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Originally Posted By: DBMaster
I used to do regular pan drops for filter changes. There were no separate ports for the differential. It's actually a Mazda transmission.
If you want to change the fluid it looks like Mercon is OK. Something like Valvoline MaxLife or Mobil 1 synthetic ought to be fine. I do not recall there being a drain plug on this car's transmission pan so you would need to loosen the pan bolts and remove the pan for draining. I don't recall seeing the hex bolt you are talking about, but mine was a 893 Escort purchased new in June of 92 and they may have made changes.
Great thread. I loved my 92' Escort i had form 97-99 that was sadly T-bonned & totalled. Humble but solid little car, inexpensive to operate and surprisingly comfortable driver seat for my then-6ft 245lb frame, everything easily within reach and no crowding from massive center consoles or protrusive door trim which has no place in small cars.
The the famous Ford CC Delam is just a convenient excuse to dip the car. I'm thinking Cyan, Teal or Orange with gold metalizer...
Mine was white and the paint was in great shape. I traded the car in 2001 when purchasing a used Honda Odyssey. My wife wanted more space once the second child came along. I put 140,000 miles on the car in nine years. It was very reliable and reasonably comfortable, but the vibration at idle while sitting in traffic or at lights was awful. I replaced the motor and transmission mounts which didn't help a bit. Out of desperation I took it to the Ford dealer who said it needed a new harmonic balancer because mine was "broken." I did not get it at the time, but maybe they were right.
I still drive my 1995 Escort LX. At 237K miles, it still has it's original automatic transmission. I use and recommend this transmission fluid:
Except I sometimes use the high mileage version on mine. Anyway, with that low mileage you probably need to do nothing to it, but once you get more mileage I recommend applying this TSB:
http://www.feoa.net/threads/atratb039-02-01-1991-a-t-g4a-el-4eat-low-pump-pressure.61690/
Which will boost transmission oil pressure at low RPM's (which will make a difference on cold starts in the winter).
And if you haven't already visited http://www.feoa.net please do so. Lots of Escort drivers are there.
Except I sometimes use the high mileage version on mine. Anyway, with that low mileage you probably need to do nothing to it, but once you get more mileage I recommend applying this TSB:
http://www.feoa.net/threads/atratb039-02-01-1991-a-t-g4a-el-4eat-low-pump-pressure.61690/
Which will boost transmission oil pressure at low RPM's (which will make a difference on cold starts in the winter).
And if you haven't already visited http://www.feoa.net please do so. Lots of Escort drivers are there.Originally Posted By: DBMaster
It was very reliable and reasonably comfortable, but the vibration at idle while sitting in traffic or at lights was awful. I replaced the motor and transmission mounts which didn't help a bit. Out of desperation I took it to the Ford dealer who said it needed a new harmonic balancer because mine was "broken." I did not get it at the time, but maybe they were right.
Originally Posted By: Darris
Originally Posted By: DBMaster
It was very reliable and reasonably comfortable, but the vibration at idle while sitting in traffic or at lights was awful. I replaced the motor and transmission mounts which didn't help a bit. Out of desperation I took it to the Ford dealer who said it needed a new harmonic balancer because mine was "broken." I did not get it at the time, but maybe they were right.
Does it have an aftermarket PCV valve? The Motorcraft one really does work better and makes it idle better. Go to FEOA.net to look up some of the common problems.
Originally Posted By: zzyzzx
Does it have an aftermarket PCV valve? The Motorcraft one really does work better and makes it idle better. Go to FEOA.net to look up some of the common problems.
Well, I promised pictures, and I forgot...
Here is the almost finished product
The kids don't know what to do with this... 
Or this...
Believe it or not, that's original milage, backed up by the service history and CarFax
It's hit the road, I've put about 100 miles on it
Burned all the stale winter blend gas out of it (Vapor Locked so bad on it)
Screwed 4 new plugs into it
It needs a balance and rotation, and an alignment after I do both outer tie rod ends, and steering rack bushings
I've got the missing piece of bumper, I might stitch it on with some zipties
Other than that, it lives to die another day
I'd call it a station car, but it's slightly better than that
Ice cold factory '94 134A A/C, and hot heat thanks to the new core
That concludes the revival of the '94 Escort LX
But it'll be back...
They always come back 
The kids don't know what to do with this...
Or this...
Believe it or not, that's original milage, backed up by the service history and CarFax
It's hit the road, I've put about 100 miles on it
Burned all the stale winter blend gas out of it (Vapor Locked so bad on it)
Screwed 4 new plugs into it
It needs a balance and rotation, and an alignment after I do both outer tie rod ends, and steering rack bushings
I've got the missing piece of bumper, I might stitch it on with some zipties
Other than that, it lives to die another day
I'd call it a station car, but it's slightly better than that
Ice cold factory '94 134A A/C, and hot heat thanks to the new core
That concludes the revival of the '94 Escort LX
But it'll be back...
They always come back That's actually pretty clean for a mid-90's car from the northeast, despite the accident damage and clearcoat.
As said above www.feoa.net will be your friend lol. They've saved my butt many, many times with my '97 Tracer.
Wow, blast from the past!
If I saw something that clean for cheap I'd try to pick it up for a fun little project.
Originally Posted By: copcarguy
That's actually pretty clean for a mid-90's car from the northeast, despite the accident damage and clearcoat.
Fond memory, I inherit one from my inlaw that was poorly maintained, with non working AC and bad struts. End up junking it for "save the air" deal that gave me $1k.
It is actually fun to drive in the winter, but in the summer with no AC, I'd rather take the bus.
Originally Posted By: DBMaster
Originally Posted By: Darris
Originally Posted By: DBMaster
It was very reliable and reasonably comfortable, but the vibration at idle while sitting in traffic or at lights was awful. I replaced the motor and transmission mounts which didn't help a bit. Out of desperation I took it to the Ford dealer who said it needed a new harmonic balancer because mine was "broken." I did not get it at the time, but maybe they were right.
Eh, an update for the fun of it
People over at FEOA have had the patience of a saint with me, and been uber helpful
Got the wheels balanced at Costco ($23 for a rotate, balance, and Nitrogen conversion isn't a bad deal)
It got it's poly steering bushings and OEM outer tie rod ends to tighten it up
New sway bar links to kill the clunking
Serviced the Clinton era Transmission fluid, only snapped two pan bolts in the process
Put the pump valve kit in it, now it's shifting right
New thermostat and radiator cap kept it not overheating (gotta do the cooling fan relay mod)
By some miracle I didn't snap the 3 bolts that hold the thermostat housing onto the cylinder head (CVH owners know what I'm talking about)
The more I drove it, the better it got, couple of tanks with a couple of bottles of B12 Chemtool cleaned it out, and I cleaned the TB and MAF
Solved the unintended acceleration with a NOS Motorcraft IAC and TPS (It craves those luscious OEM parts)
Still needs an alignment, and probably shocks/struts, and it's got a bent rim (still balanced out though)
It was returned to it's owners, who tool around town with it, and are quite pleased
It needs to come back for a check up, but soon we can get to the fun projects we originally planned for this car
Power locks/keyless/remote start
Maybe Plastidipping it flat black
Who knows...
It will forever be known as Project Escort 
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