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2007 AWD suspension refresh - help with parts


shumax

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Things can get confusing. The wabble you talk about. Does it occur 1) When accelerating 2) when decelerating 3) when coasting 4) when braking 5) when not braking 6) when turning right at highs speed 7) when turning left at high speed. Many questions and many symptoms associated with this. Were tires remounted to balance? Were snow tires installed? if so were they installed in the rotation required by the manufacturer. Also did this wabble occur after a snow fall? IF so the most common thing is snow or mud dirt in the wheels and a simple power wash at the car wash would fix that.

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I can not help but come back to the snow tires. What brand and type? Just to be certain on this. Keep in mind the tires you buy can make a world of difference in the ride and handling. Also note snow tires are not high speed performance tires for the most part and this is especially true the cheaper you go in price.

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Car was taken to the mechanic on OEM rims and Bridgestone Aleza Plus tires with approximately 6k of wear. Even wear and rode smoothly up to 85mph, which the car never sees when my wife drives. Even then, it only shook a tiny bit.

 

Had all of the above suspension work performed and drove home on the same tire (Bridgestone) and wheel (OEM) setup. Noticed a slight shimmy in the wheel at 55mph, but it went away after 10min. I think the tires had flat spotted just a bit. Once home, I removed the stock tires/rims and installed my other set of rims that have the snow tires on them. Drove to have the alignment performed and noticed that the steering wheel would shake around 70-80mph. The odd thing is that it would come and go. I.E., I could set the cruise at 72mph and, over the same smooth road, it would shimmy for 5-10sec. and then slowly stop and stay smooth for 10-15sec. Then it would repeat. Again, this went on for 10-15miles on smooth interstate travel on my way to have the alignment set.

The separate rims/snow tires were road force balanced to around 17lbs on both front tires. The rear are higher - around 22 and 30lbs. What's odd is that I don't feel anything in the seat of my pants. After the balancing was done, I noticed the vibration in a similar speed range - maybe now it's 72-80mph. Still, the condition persists - driving along the interstate on smooth roads and for 10-15sec. you can see the steering wheel shake a bit. It's not horrible, but you can see and feel it. Then, it goes perfectly smooth. This "cycling" will go on and on.

 

There is no debris on the wheels/rims, I looked. The only thing that really changed here was the suspension work. I suppose I could throw the Bridgestones on and see what I get. If it continues to vibrate, then that certainly would point to it NOT being a wheel/tire issue.

Does this detail help?

Shumax

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The snow tires are General Altimax Artic. I've run Blizzaks, and still do on my Explorer; however, these were highly rated and got good reviews around the web, so I gave them a try. I can tell you that when we ran them last year, I did not have an issue with a shaking steering wheel. Now, they were rotated around this time, so that could have exposed a bad tire, but I have a hard time believing it when the road force figures are 17lbs in the front and there is little weight on the rim. One rim in the back drivers side has nearly 5 oz of weight on it! WOW!

Shumax

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I guess we'll see if your theory is correct, MAC! :) I just called Discount Tire, where I got the General's from. Told them what's going on and they are taking them back. Even paying to ship them back. They sold me a set of Blizzak's DM V2's for $100 more. Not thrilled about the $100, but I've never run across a bad Blizzak before! ;)

Have to wait until after New Year's for them to arrive. Stay tuned...

Shumax

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  • 11 months later...

Bump

 

I drove our 2010 AWD with just shy of 111,000 miles this morning and noticed the steering wheel is off center to the left and is pulling to the right, guess its time to rebuild the suspension I changed the shocks and struts over the summer and had an alignment done at the same time.

 

What else should I look for and change during this process?

 

Thanks

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Bump

 

I drove our 2010 AWD with just shy of 111,000 miles this morning and noticed the steering wheel is off center to the left and is pulling to the right, guess its time to rebuild the suspension I changed the shocks and struts over the summer and had an alignment done at the same time.

 

What else should I look for and change during this process?

 

Thanks

Lower Control Arms and ball joints most likely

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  • 4 weeks later...

Lower Control Arms and ball joints most likely

 

I took it to two different shops, both said everything is tight and looks good, the left rear was a few degrees out of alignment. We did hit what I thought was a small pot hole a few days before I noticed the steering wheel and alignment issues. Can these parts look and feel normal but need changed?

Edited by boiler662
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If they were able to align the front and rear with out issue then the parts may be in good shape. However I have had alignments performed with bad ball joints on the lower control arms and the shop said everything is good. Trust but verify the ball joints and check the bushings in the lower control arms for deformations or cracks. Check swaybar links for broken links and sway bar bushings. Struts and shocks are pretty much worn out by 100K miles so changing them will provide a better platform for alignment.

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  • 6 months later...

Bump sounds like the right front CV joint is on the way out, starting to pop under full lock to the left and when I hit bumps hard enough.

 

Here is my list of parts so far for our AWD 2010

 

Moog front end rebuild kit

Inner tie rods (2)

Left and right outer tie rods

left and right lower control arms with ball joints

sway bar bushings (2)?

sway bar links (2)

 

For the CV joints I noticed a lot of suppliers on rock auto with a variety of prices with Motorcraft being the most expensive, what brand has everyone been using?

 

Are there any other parts large or small I am missing? Should I also replaced the rear sway bar links at this time?

 

Thanks,

 

Andy

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  • 2 weeks later...

How many miles on that 2010? Some parts would be needing replaced some i would not, but I do not know the condition of your Edge to say.

 

I have never replaced a rear sway link or bushings in any Edge. Mine do not seem to wear much in my driving conditions.

 

Inner and Outer tie rods is also another item I have never had to replace. Again condition of the old parts would be a hands on check.

 

Axle - I would strongly recommend an OEM axle, but maybe the aftermarkets are getting better. Again never had to replace an axle either.

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How many miles on that 2010? Some parts would be needing replaced some i would not, but I do not know the condition of your Edge to say.

 

I have never replaced a rear sway link or bushings in any Edge. Mine do not seem to wear much in my driving conditions.

 

Inner and Outer tie rods is also another item I have never had to replace. Again condition of the old parts would be a hands on check.

 

Axle - I would strongly recommend an OEM axle, but maybe the aftermarkets are getting better. Again never had to replace an axle either.

Almost 122k

 

The typical front suspension rebuild is sway bar links, control arms and shocks (which I did last year)?.

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