DunePearlEdge

Thanks again you two. Does the steering fluid ever need to be flushed/changed on the Edge or does it last the life of the vehicle? When I buy new tires I plan to keep 1 of the old tires and mount it a steelie to use as a full size spare. Is there a good place to buy a steelie? It always looked like the first generation Limited Edge came with a steelie with a chrome wheel cover glued to it. Finally, when the tires are off, is it a good time to change the tire pressure monitor sensor batteries or replace all the sensors?

Does the car ride firmer or equal to stock?

WWWPerfA_ZNOW: Thanks, that's what I'll order. We bought the car used at 51K, now it's at 98K, do tires last that long? There is cracking in the non-tread area. I don't know how to tell if there is low tread depth, do tires come with any sort of depth markings on them? I couldn't find one. macbwt: Will do, I plan to do the spark plugs this weekend. I notice the shuddering in the drivetrain is getting worse quickly and was trying to determine the culprit. When shops sell new tires I know it typically includes mounting and balancing. Does it also typically include a realignment?

Of the 4 PCV parts you've listed I assume I only have to order the 2 Motorcraft Parts. When I hit bumps the front driver wheel will sometimes create a shudder. I removed the wheel and the tie-rod and ball joints look okay. I did notice a leak where the drive side axle inserts into the transmission (see first picture). Could this be the source of the shudder sound whenever hitting a bump? Additionally part of the steering rack looks wet (second picture) but I assume this is from the oil leak mentioned earlier. Finally, I noticed the tires have a rib that extends sideways between the grooves (third picture). The tire appears to have some life left but where this rib occurs the depth is very little. Do most tires have this ribbing? Is it time to replace the tires?

By the way, macbwt, you make some damn good instructional videos!

Pictures fixed and moved to later post

Thanks again! The car also exhibits a low thumping rumbling noise when accelerating from 15-25 mph. Hopefully that's fixed by the alignment. Do you guys ever jack your Edge up at the front radiator core support?

Thanks again guys. I should clarify; I do change the filter about once a year and when I got the car I did take it in for the automatic transmission output shaft TSB and they changed the auto trans fluid then so it's about 45K old. Having never purchased spark plugs before I didn't know they come closed, I guess you use the feeler gauge to push them open? I'll have to order a feeler gauge as well. Is it best to install a new PCV as opposed to cleaning out the old one? Per your reply above I'll purchase only the heated PCV (Part EV261) as my Edge is a 2007. About 15 years ago when swapping the intake manifold on my civic I cleaned it out with carb cleaner. Because the Edge manifold is plastic, I assume this can't be done. Is it wise to clean the MAF sensor while doing all this work?

Thank you WWWPerfA_ZN0W and macbwt. WWWPerfA_ZN0W: My Edge is a 2007 with 98K miles (we purchased it at 51K miles 4 years ago) and the only maintenance I have ever done is brakes and oil. I'll try the spark plugs/PCV this weekend. Is there any brand/type of spark plug that is recommended by the wise folks here? I normally park in my asphalt driveway in the same space so Ill look for a leak on the surface although it will be hard against the dark blue/black asphalt. Underneath the car I see a lot of dripping from the shiny foil heatshield foam pad in the driveshaft tunnel area, I assume all this water is from the A/C system. Macbwt: that is very high mileage, which is reassuring. Did you ever have any major failures during that time or just routine maintenance? If we could do it again I too wish we had bought an FWD model for better mpg, and no PTU headaches. To be honest, I cant tell when AWD is active and I wonder if it ever turns it on at all. I notice you live in Davenport which I assume is snowy, do you change to winter tires each winter and do you have keep them on a second set of wheels? As these cars age are alignments are needed more frequently? I ask because some alignment shops offer unlimited alignments for three years for a little more money than a one-time only alignment.

Again, you guys are great! With this much help Im tempted to just keep the car running for a long time. Macbwt: Ill check your youtube channel when I get home this evening. Oil: I'll follow your recommendation and wait until the next oil change to move to synthetic high mileage. I assume going another 7500 miles is okay as long as I keep an eye on the oil level via the dipstick. Spark plugs: Does changing the spark plugs require any special skill or tools? My socket set has a spark plug socket which Ive never used. I know you have to remove the windshield cowl to reach the rear cylinder bank set, is removing the intake manifold necessary? I've changed oil, brakes, engine bolt-ons, EVAP system, and coilovers (in my import tuner youth days) in the past. Would this make one qualified to change spark plugs? PCV: WWWPerfA_ZN0W: I assume PCV = positive crank vent and this is just a tube on one (or both) of the cylinder heads that dumps into the intake manifold. Do I just pull this apart and look for a blockage and is this hard to get too? Are there any other components that are worth changing while things are apart? Suspension: I assume the best approach is to start from the bottom (cheapest) option and move up which in this case would be an alignment. Is it better to get the alignment done at the dealer or an independent shop like NTB? Is the dealer more likely to tell me if other suspension components need remedy or replacement than a small independent shop? Do wheels ever need rebalancing over time if the tires are not changed? Next would be suspension components. For ball joints are these checked mainly by looking if the rubber boot is ripped and devoid of grease? The last car I did work on was my little cousins Acura RSX; I installed coilovers and noticed that his ball joint boots on the steering tie-rod ends were slightly ripped and starting to push out grease. Im a little reluctant to change the front struts because my wife loves the smooth ride but I will if the bouncing isnt fixed by the realignment. I assume Ford branded struts is the best bet? In my youth Honda days it was possible to get aftermarket shocks (Koni) that could be adjusted to be even softer than stock, almost Grand Marquis like. It would be great if this was possible for the Edge. Macbwt: Is changing the front lower control arm a good idea or was that done just because it came with the ball joint? Wheel bearing: Macbwt: does the wheel bearing change pitch change pitch because youre momentarily reducing the weight on one tire when changing lanes? It seems like the noise is coming from the rear. A colleague has an automotive press in his garage (I was there when he recently used it to reassemble a manual transmission for his old 4Runner), is it possible to change a wheel bearing on ones own using just a press? Can I jack the car up using the front lower radiator core support or rear tow hook to get one entire end of the car in the air, I assume this will make it much easier to push/pull or rotate the tires to get a feel for play/movement in suspension components. PTU: This is what I dread being the most. The staining/wetness on the bottom of the car doesnt appear to be brown. Are there any good picture tutorials on how to check or refill the PTU? Looking under the car it looks like the exhaust will make working on the PTU difficult. I really like the EDGE and was considering buying another one but these recent issues are making my wife question that idea. Im excited because fixing these problems would really help assuage her fears.

Wow, thanks for the great help! I had been changing the oil every 7,500 with full synthetic 5w20, which is what I used during this past change when I noticed the leak. Should I keep this in there and just add oil if it looks low on the dip stick or shall I change it again and put in synthetic with oil sweller (if synthetic is available with sweller)? Very rarely I notice a slight burning smell while waiting for a stop light, could this be related to the oil leak or it landing on the hot exhaust pipe? Also, I've recently noticed a speed dependent humming noise has developed. It's not rough but the pitch changes with speed. Could this be related to this leak? Could this be the due a to wheel bearing or the dreaded PTU? And finally, I have to hold the steering wheel slightly crooked when driving on the highway to keep the vehicle moving straight. And when holding the wheel at one particular angle the left front wheel seemed to have a very slight bounce to it (more audio than feeling through the wheel). Could this be related to the leak?

Many of the folks here on the forum are more mechanically inclined than I am. While doing an oil change I noticed the back of the trans on my 98k mile 2007 3.5 AWD looks very wet. The first picture is from the front underside of the car looking rearward and the second picture is a close up of the rear engine/trans mount. I checked the trans fluid after the car had been parked overnight and it is near max on the stick and very red in color. I noticed the car now has a slight vibration. Any idea what this is? It looks like a lot of fluid, is it possibly just condensation from the A/C unit?

If you replace the stock filter box with an aftermarket cone filter will the noise increase? I too noticed no noise increase from removing the stick silencer box.

What products and techniques work best for cleaning the cloth seats? I have tan cloth seats in my 2007 Edge and they have some small stains from when I spilled water in the car. Because the seats are lightly colored the stains are very obvious. I tried scrubbing in one area and it only abraded the fabric and made it look worse with affecting the stain.

About two years ago I installed a tow harness from eBay. One of my taillamp bulbs went out so I opened taillamp to replace and I saw the black bulb harness in the attached picture. I assume this isn't normal?

Thanks guys. I'll definitely be replacing everything. What is the best aftermarket pad? Also what do you mean "shoot for the warranty parts" on this?

About 2 years ago I replaced the front pads & rotors on my 2007 AWD edge with the upper end generics from Advance Auto. Lately I noticed the driver side seems to be sticking a little bit. I took apart the driver side brake caliper last night thinking all I would need to do is regrease the sliders (which worked – seemingly the brake stop sticking during my morning commute). However, I noticed something very strange, the inner pad has a long curved section that isn’t wearing down (see the first attached picture). The area that isn’t wearing is creating a large notch, or peak on the inner pad. Correspondingly, this notch is creating a deep groove in the rotor itself (see the second two attached pictures). Have any of your folks seen this before? It’s happening on both sides of the car. The pads and the rotors have plenty of life left, but I’m worried about what happens when this groove cuts down and exposes the rotor vents themselves. In the future I maybe it’s better to stick with Motorcraft than with Advance Auto brand?

Any idea on how to remove these clamps?

Thank you wwwperfa-zn0w! Are both holes the same size, it looks like the rear hole is smaller. One question, I've never seen these clamps that hold on the silencer. How are they removed? I added a picture of the clamp. I am a little afraid to drive to Lowe's or Home Depot with the silencer holes open as the engine will be sucking in unfiltered air that hasn't passed the MAF sensor. Maybe it's best to take it off, measure it and then put it back on (or tape over the holes) for the drive over.

3 hours eh? You must not have a salty environment!

It was suggested in another thread that the stock intake silencer can be removed to gain that nice intake sound. In the link below, the top box has two large openings or connections with the intake tube, what did you use to plug these two openings? Similarly, on the smaller attached picture, there is a small tube that protrudes from the stock intake. If you removed this, how did you close the opening? http://www.fordedgeforum.com/uploads/monthly_10_2013/post-23566-0-19479500-1382221531.gif

Thank for both of your replies macbwt. How do you clean your filter? Do you have to periodically oil it and will that effect the MAF sensor?

What is the best drop in filter for a 07-10 edge? Does it matter if I go with cheap auto part store brand, ford motorcraft, or with a performance brand drop in like K&N? I would love to be able to hear the intake sound but that won't happen with a drop in filter.

Are there any good options for supporting an iPhone at near the radio? I use mine for navigation frequently and find that taking it it in and out of the cup holder is tedious and dangerous.