Vehicle: 2007 Ford Escape, 2WD, V6-3.0L VIN 1, Automatic Transmission/Transaxle

Mileage: 175,633 miles

Problem: The Escape was in the shop because the water pump had failed. The technician replaced the water pump and thermostat and vacuum-bled the system. The vehicle came back two weeks later with a complaint of overheating at 80 mph.

Case Details: The technician went on a test drive and found that, at 70 mph or below, the vehicle did not overheat. Once it was driven at around 80 mph, the vehicle would overheat. The low and high fans were operational. The technician tried flushing the system with a coolant flush, then ran water through the radiator and the engine the best he could. He also replaced the thermostat with a higher-quality one and bled the cooling system. The overheating at 80 mph issue persisted. A call went out to ALLDATA Tech-Assist for some diagnostic guidance.

The ALLDATA Tech-Assist consultant suggested doing a combustion leak test, suspecting a possible blown head gasket.

Sure enough, a combustion leak test confirmed that there was combustion gas getting into the cooling system.

Confirmed Repair: The head was removed, and a visual inspection confirmed there was a bad head gasket. The technician replaced the head gasket and test-drove the vehicle. At all speeds, the engine ran cool. Problem solved!