2002 Ford Escape FWD V6 3.0L XLT
CD4E - 4 Speed Automatic Transmission
204,000+ miles on it.

I had the head gaskets and a lot of other work done on the car about a month ago. It doesn't leak anywhere, even while running. My problem is that it's running warmer than normal and has once started to go up more. I shut it off before it goes anywhere near max temp. There is a new MotoRad fail Safe thermostat, Temp Sensor, Water Pump, and Hoses as well other parts on the engine. It also has no power while driving up hill, but does go on flat surfaces slowly building up speed. It sounds as if I'm flooring it but I'm not and then when I take my foot off the gas it shifts just fine (on flat surfaces), no hard shift though. However, I've noticed strange noises from the transmission as well it feels like it is going to stall and is shuddering. I've been readying a lot online and thought it might be the Torque Converter. I know there are a bunch of other things that could be causing these problems, but I'm not sure what. Oh, I did check the radiator hoses and the top and bottom are getting hot after about 5 or so minutes. Oil is new and has no signs of coolant and coolant has no signs of oil (both very clean). I did burp the system to get the air out after working on the cooling system. Also, I noticed if I try to get it to go faster the temp indicator does go up a little above normal, but I can hear the fans on.

Can a bad Torque Converter that is going out or not working properly cause these problems? If not, suggestions please? Thanks

 

I would suggest doing an exhaust back pressure test. Restricted exhaust system can give these symptoms.

 

Thanks, how do you do an exhaust back pressure test?

 

You need the tool that you insert into the O2 sensor location (before the converter) get the engine up to about 2500 rpm. rdg should be below 2 lbs press.
You can also try to connect a vacuum gauge to the intake and rev up the engine. If vacuum drops (instead of 17-19 in vac) down to lower # exhaust is restricted..

 

Ok so it was my cats that were causing the lack of power. I got all three replaced as well as one of the mufflers. It has power and is running really good now. My only problem is it will overheat if I go 65 or faster. Once I slow down to 55 or slower it cools down to normal temp. The heater works and gets hot so I'm assuming it's circulating the coolant correctly.

These are the steps I've taken;
New thermostat
New temp sensor
New water pump
New hoses
Blue devil radiator flush (it really helped)
New coolant

Any ideas as to why it only starts to overheat going above 65mph?

 

At this point we don't know if the gauge is correct or if the engine is really getting ready to overheat.

The question that comes to mind is; why did you replace or have replaced the head gaskets. Was it because of the overtemp problem?
If there is a warped head or possible crack in one of them were the heads checked for that while off?

What we sometimes do is remove the belt and thermostat. Then fill the cooling system to the top of the thermostat housing. Then start and rev the engine to see if there is any compression coming into the cooling system. If there is you will see the bubbles coming out of the neck of the thermostat housing. You can only do this for a very short time because there is no water pump working.
Also what is the condition of the radiator itself?
Last but not least , do you know if the spring is still inside the lower radiator hose?
It should be there to prevent the lower hose from collapsing when the water pump is pulling coolant from the radiator at hi RPMs.

 

I had the head gaskets replaced due to an oil leak from the right rear head (near the firewall). The PCV valve housing was also leaking so I just decided to do the head gaskets and other work at the same time. Yes I had the head's checked and there was no problems there. I did have it checked for any codes and it came back with v1073. I'm not sure if that is the culprit or not? The spring is still in the lower radiator hose. It does run just fine in town but not on the highway, that's when it starts to overheat. I've flushed the radiator after all the work was done and there was no oil in the coolant; There's no water in the oil either. The radiator is probably 4 years old. It doesn't look bad, no dents or dings or flattened fins.

 

Will the gauge go high if you hold the engine RPM up when parked?

If it does , I would try to have someone with a temp gun verify that the actual engine temp is the same as the gauge reading.

There is a possibility of some other cause than actual overheating.
There is also the possibility of an exhaust restriction that was missed.

What would happen if you removed the thermostat and ran the vehicle?
Just because parts are "new" is no guarantee that they are working correctly..