turbosig

Pretty straightforward. Only thing you might have to watch out for is the possibility of a bolt at the bottom of the radiator that needs to be removed before the fans will come out. Also, flush out the Specialty Gold coolant. Replace with Motorcraft Specialty Green OR an extended life universal coolant from Peak, Prestone, Zerex, etc. Should meet the specification stated in the owner's manual for the coolant. Specialty Gold coolant has been found to cause cooling system corrosion, that is why Ford has a procedure in place to replace it with Specialty Green.

 

Specialty Gold, RIP.

 

2011 Edge, but yours should be very similar

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9P63Ju2B78

Thanks for the video and coolant advice. I was able to check the car yesterday, and it was definitely the fans. No movement at all. I will be ordering the part and replacing this ASAP. Of course it has to happen during a heat wave this week!

2009 Ford Edge AWD Limited. I have the same issue: AC is cold while car is moving. No overheating issue as of yet (fingers crossed). I think I will first troubleshoot the fan issue. I already refilled the refrigerant last summer and used AC Manifold Gauges to confirm pressures. So I am narrowing it down to the fans or the ac clutch. Any tips or advice as to replacement of the fans?

Tried to siphon a little more fluid today. Barely got any out. Added an additional 4 ozs ontop of the 8 I already did. Hopefully that is enough to get things sloshed around and drained out the next time. So either way there is only 12ozs in there.

Great to hear, keep us posted I did the first R&R with Royal Purple a month back. Had 85K miles prior to it, and definitely felt the car shift smoother. Spark plugs changed too. I feel the acceleration might be a little sluggish but none of that bump and misses on slow turns at inclines, etc. Fair amount of puking after the overfill as the fluid sloshed around for a week, and seems to have settled in. Might do another one or two R&R and see if I can get more of the sludge out.

Thanks! It was relief to drive it again without any noise or vibrations. So it seems that you got the bump, misses and clanking too at low speed turns. Good to hear I'm not alone on that. Misery loves company. I will do another flush and repeat this weekend and hopefully it will be good to go.

Got a chance to get under the car. Inspected the sway bar and end links, no play or damage on any of them. So I will keep my eye out for them in the future. I did start the PTU flush. That was a pain - I was unable to siphon any of the old "oil" out, meaning it was completely sludged up. I did the zip tie test and the PTU was literally bone dry or as others have stated the sludge was splattered to the inside of the PTU housing and because there was no "liquid -like" oil left, I was unable to get a good measurement using the zip tie.

So I started by adding only 8 oz. of Royal Purple 75w-140. I didn't want to overfill it as the PTU oil expands as it heats, so I figured by putting in less then half of the recommend 18ozs I could start slow, warm the car up for a few cycles, and siphon, add, repeat with our worrying about extra oil spitting up from the vent. After adding the 8ozs, the drivability was immediately noticeable; no more vibration/shudder from stop to start, no noise when turning the vehicle slowly and no vibration or sounds at speed. I will be doing another change this weekend and will keep you all posted.

I'll be go under the car tomorrow to check the sway bar links, tie rods and cv boot. Also, gonna fill the PTU with some Royal Purple to start the flush/change cycle. I will keep you guys posted. Thanks for all the input!

Check the fluid level, at a minimum, but would definitely recommend a complete fluid R&R. Keep the old fluid for review, maybe even send it in to Blackstone Labs for testing. They can tell you if there's reason to worry or not. The PTU is a simple gear drive, no clutches nothing. So either bearings or gears will wear/fail.

Interesting. Yes, I have a new Blackstone container I was going to use for my M3 oil analysis, but this takes precedence since it is our car we use to drive the kids. Still confused on where the low MPH noise comes from when turning in a parking lot. The whining noise from 0-10mph is definitely the PTU but the clanking at less than 5MPH has me confused. Tranny fluid is full and in good condition too.

Got a chance to get under the car today....what a way to spend Super Bowl Sunday...I digress. I was surprised to not find a vomit of black goo anywhere! I checked the vent on the PTU and there was no residue or black goop. The seals are fine. Needless to say this suprised me as I was expecting to see the same images that we all see on these boards with PTU failures. I did take off the fill plug and it was exactly what I thought it would be, gunky goop. Attached for your viewing pleasure.

Not quite cement yet, but I noticed fine fine metal particles. I'm assuming this is normal gear wear as the car has 80k miles. Do you guys think the PTU is toast? I have no idea where the PTU oil went as the seals are completely clean and the vent is completely clean as well. Any ideas?!?

I'm a little, or a very late to this PTU party. '09 Edge Limited AWD with 80k on the clock. Wife's car, but I drive it mainly taking kids to and from school. Long story short, when we bought the car used with about 42k I was aware of the PTU leak from the shaft, I inspected it to confirm it was replaced before we bought it. Fast forward to 2 weeks ago when accelerating the car would shudder slightly but still accelerate and make a whiny noise. I thought it was a bad wheel hub which is what it sounded like. The shudder got progressively worse throughout last week which finally made me think it wasn't the wheel hub. Today, when driving it in a parking lot at low speed (less than 5mph) and turning to the left, the car shuddered, made a very loud clunky noise, almost like a banging, but kept driving. I'm pretty sure this is the dreaded PTU failure.

My question to you all, is the PTU toast (meaning a trip to dealership for replacement) or do you think I can replace the fluid like in all these diy's and get the car operating better? Car drives fine at speed, just made that noise today and I immediately drove home and parked it.

Great thanks for taking the time. I appreciate it. I'll keep you posted. I usually do all the service myself, but this looks like I may need a lift to do this job properly and not on my back.

Thanks for that. Yeah, I'm reading more and more about this. It's definitely the PTU. I also noticed a smell, but my smell was similar to natural gas. Is this the smel everyone is talking about! Also, is it possible for me to inspect it for leaks with the car on jacks?

2009 Ford Edge limited AWD - 80k on the clock. I'm having the exact same issue. Any solutions to this problem? I noticed it too in a parking lot going less 5mph. On,y happened when I made a left turn at low speeds. Almost sounds like a fan blade was hitting something. Very clunky sound and I'm getting the vibration as well on take offs. I thought maybe a wheel bearing issue, but the clunky and noise from the turn got me thinking otherwise.