Gifted a 2007 Fusion, what preventative maintenance?

[AZjeff]

Some may remember I posted this car a while ago, a 2007 Ford Fusion 2.3 with 48k miles owned by my next door neighbor. I've been maintaining/preserving it for her for a few years to prevent the annual wallet flushes the Ford garage was doing. She's been telling me when her license runs out and the last 5 year registration is up she was going to give it to me. Sadly 5 weeks ago she found out she has advanced stage cancer in her abdomen and the outlook isn't good, she's likely not going to make her 77th birthday in the fall. She insisted I take ownership of the car now while she still is doing okay instead of later when she's not. We've had fun over the years with the car, she's amused how I work on things and fuss over this and that, her late husband had no mechanical ability. I'm not a sedan guy, haven't owned one for at least 25 years but this is a bit special to me. It was serviced at the Ford garage and I have all the records and while some things were over serviced others were overlooked IMO. Not getting into that.

My question is what should I replace proactively in this almost 20 YO car instead of waiting for a failure? The serpentine belt has never been replaced so that to me is obvious even though it looks great. The hoses look perfectly fine and are soft but I'm leaning toward changing them as well. PCV valve. Plugs? All fluids except the power steering fluid are up to date and I'm doing drain/fills in the reservoir now. Suspension is fine. Anything else I should think about? We want to use it around town and on short trips out of town and I need to trust it. Thought about taking it to Phoenix today but didn't.

For you salt belt guys, the only rust is on the exhaust hangers.

 

[hemitom]

Makes me sick looking at that LOL cleaner than most cars driven one winter here !
No good deed goes undone ! she was lucky to have a good neighbour and friend like you..
well done.
I would tackle belts and hoses and pop one plug to have a look .

 

[Leo99]

First priority are things that could leave you on the side of the road like the serpentine belt or maybe coils, but coils can be expensive. If the gas mileage is fine, I'd assume the PCV is fine. Does it have a timing belt?

 

[Snagglefoot]

It sounds like you have things covered but has the transmission had a pan drop in the last 50,000 miles? It probably has Platinum plugs good for 50,000 miles. Coolant, if not done in last 5 years.Brake fluid, with full reservoir to bleeder replacement. Does it have rear drums? Time to get them off to check the brakes. Looks Ultra clean.

 

[Egg_Head]

What a gratifying connection for everyone you have with your neighbor thru wrenching. I'd get some proper floor mats and Rhino ramps first.

 

[Marcozi]

Floor mats!

 

[ClutchDisc]

Does it have a timing belt?

Timing chain on the 2.3 4 cylinder.

 

[IndyIan]

The only thing that actually stopped my 2007 Focus, was the alternator. And then I learned with my 06 Focus, is that if the alternator has quit charging, it's likely the "smart charge" system failing, so I pulled voltage sensing fuse, and it worked fine as a "dumb charge" system.
The alternator is buried (removal is a car on ramps job, with rear engine mount unbolted) and even to unplug the control wires is most easily done with the alternator half out.
Other than that, there isn't doesn't seem to be any common failure points. I still have most of the original hoses on the 06 even now with 215k miles.

The only real noticeable difference under the hood between the Fusion and the Focus, is the air duct back to the alternator I assume? I Maybe get a scanguage of some sort so you can monitor the voltage in real time and see if anything funny is starting with that? Also then you can see actual water temp too, fuel trims, timing advance. Set some alarms to warn you of things starting to go wrong way before its a big enough problem to stop the car.

I don't know anything about the ATX, but rest of the drivetrain is pretty good IMO.

 

[trd1zz]

A family member had one of these. Transmission went out on them at only ~100k. Car started bucking like a rodeo bull while driving in the airport pickup line. Not good.

They junked the car and bought a Camry.

 

[zzyzzx]

Serpentine belt. How old are the tires?

 

[Egg_Head]

Could Ford not design a longer or more restrictive looking air intake setup? It looks like it gets air off the radiator, yikes. Cut a hole in the hood and install a custom ram-air, shaker hood scoop.

 

[fantastic]

Being in AZ an A/C freon top up.

 

[Speedy3861]

Check the dates on the tires......replace coolant and hoses, possibly PS fluid.
Brake fluid and Check both lines and brake hoses. Good luck

 

[D60]

Do these get the weird coolant manifold on the back of the engine (pass side) that the 2.0 Focii received?

If so I wouldn't replace but just keep an eye. In time the thin plastic walls at the seals break down, same as the 2V intake manifolds.

 

[Lubener]

Sorry to hear about your neighbor. It was very nice of her to think of you and gift the car to you.

I would concentrate on fluids (coolant , ATF , brake) , filter replacements , belt(s), hoses , fuel filter and brake condition. Ignition components should be fine with only 48k miles especially if it runs good. Platinum plugs are good way beyond 48 k miles. If the tires are original , they should be replaced regardless of condition.

 

[AZjeff]

Could Ford not design a longer or more restrictive looking air intake setup? It looks like it gets air off the radiator, yikes. Cut a hole in the hood and install a custom ram-air, shaker hood scoop.

LOL that's to cool the alternator that sits behind the engine.

It sounds like you have things covered but has the transmission had a pan drop in the last 50,000 miles? It probably has Platinum plugs good for 50,000 miles. Coolant, if not done in last 5 years.Brake fluid, with full reservoir to bleeder replacement. Does it have rear drums? Time to get them off to check the brakes. Looks Ultra clean.

Well with 48k miles it's had a "transaxle fluid exchange" at 30k, "brake fluid exchange complete" twice, "coolant system flush" 3 times including back to back years and last time they didn't bleed it and she got an overheat warning. Rear discs and I had all the wheels off to look at the pads and they probably have 75%+ life. The brake bleeders show no signs of ever being touched by a wrench or have any evidence of fluid around them. I called Ford and asked if they bleed the lines and was told oh yes. Not sure I believe it. I'll do a full bleed.

Check the dates on the tires......replace coolant and hoses, possibly PS fluid.
Brake fluid and Check both lines and brake hoses. Good luck

PS fluid exchange being done now. All brake hoses and lines seem fine. Remember there is NO rust underneath.

All things mentioned will be considered and I've added a couple to the must-do soon list. The PCV valve is buried under the intake manifold and can wait for 100k that won't happen while I own it. Tires have been replaced twice so far due to age-out and scare tactics. AC blows ice cold faster than anything I've ever owned. Car has been garaged it's whole life but that will change sometime this summer. I'm going to get the windows tinted to preserve the interior.

 

[panthermike]

Sorry to hear about your neighbor, sounds like a really kind lady.

I think your list is a good start. Are you planning on keeping it?

 

[xspeedy]

This engine is in my 2009 Mazda 5. It is a very reliable unit. I would suggest fluids. Brake, transmission, coolant. I wouldn't worry too much about the belts and hoses now if they look good. Same for coils (mine are original at 170K). The things that have failed on mine after many miles are the radiator, thermostat, the oil cooler to filter mount gasket, engine mount, starter, and suspension stuff. And we are hard on our car.

 

[LowMilesLesabre]

My gosh, that is one clean automobile. Maybe this level of cleanliness and low wear is where the old term “a real creampuff“ came from . My Dad owned a Ford Ranger that I believe had the same, or similar Mazda engine in it. It had over 325,000 miles on it without any major service issues when he sold it before he stopped driving.

 

[02SE]

I'm sorry to hear about your friend. Modern medicine and a positive attitude can go a long way. My Dad made it a bit over 5 years after being diagnosed with Stage IV kidney cancer.

I'm not a big fan of Ford, having made a good living rebuilding their transmissions at one time. That said, I'd maintain and drive that car until it doesn't make sense to continue to do so.