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Grease covering torque strap/mount

Turkeyhead

New Member
Joined
March 20, 2013
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City, State
Southern Kentucky
Year, Model & Trim Level
2011 Ford Explorer 4wd
Hi everyone. My wife and I bought a 2011 Explorer Limited 4wd, 3.5l V6 two weeks ago. We noticed a little spot of dirty grease under the engine area of the vehicle, so last night I crawled under there and looked around. The culprit is what I call the torque strap, connecting the bottom of the engine to the main body so the engine doesn't twist all over the place. I am sure it is not called a "torque strap," but I have Googled just about every other description I can think of for what it might be, to no avail. It is the only heavily greased part under the vehicle that I've seen, and I don't know if it supposed to be that way, or if we have a leak. It has a rubber piece that simply slips over either end of the metal connecting piece via a slit in the rubber. I'm including the pictures I took of the part...if anyone has some insight into what the part is and if there is a problem, we would appreciate it very much. Thank you! (pictures are looking towards the front passenger side area)
011.jpg

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Hi everyone. My wife and I bought a 2011 Explorer Limited 4wd, 3.5l V6 two weeks ago. We noticed a little spot of dirty grease under the engine area of the vehicle, so last night I crawled under there and looked around. The culprit is what I call the torque strap, connecting the bottom of the engine to the main body so the engine doesn't twist all over the place. I am sure it is not called a "torque strap," but I have Googled just about every other description I can think of for what it might be, to no avail. It is the only heavily greased part under the vehicle that I've seen, and I don't know if it supposed to be that way, or if we have a leak. It has a rubber piece that simply slips over either end of the metal connecting piece via a slit in the rubber. I'm including the pictures I took of the part...if anyone has some insight into what the part is and if there is a problem, we would appreciate it very much. Thank you! (pictures are looking towards the front passenger side area)
Welcome to the Forum Turkeyhead.:wavey:
I'm guessing that you may have bought this vehicle as 'pre-owned'?
In any case, it should not be dripping any fluids at all. Perhaps there was some work done to this particular area before it was put up for sale if it wasn't a new Explorer. You could always just wipe down part of that area and the wait and see what happens or go back to the dealer and ask a few questions there.
Good luck.

Peter
 












Thank you, Peter. Yes, we bought it Ford-certified, with 26,000 miles on it. There aren't any odd smells, no oil burning, and the engine compartment above and around that area is clean and dry. The grease seems to just be from that one part/area. I need to contact the dealer about the rattling A-pillar issue that I just read about (after my wife mentioned the noise) to have that repaired, and I'll see if they can figure out what is causing the grease to leak. There's no performance decrease, and everything else appears to be working great, so for the moment I'm not sure what it could be. Once I find out I'll pass the info along. Thank you all.
 






Wish you the best of luck Turkeyhead; and hopefully it will be a minor problem as it is hard to tell from the photo where it could possibly leaking from.
 






Wish you the best of luck Turkeyhead; and hopefully it will be a minor problem as it is hard to tell from the photo where it could possibly leaking from.

Thank you :) Without getting the vehicle on a lift and being able to really examine it, I couldn't tell if there was anything immeditely above that was leaking, or if it was just that part itself. A Ford mechanic or at least one familiar with these vehicles should be able to find the specific problem area. Hopefully soon :(
 






Finally made it to the dealership. Turns out it is the power transfer unit. It's like a transfer case (sort of); it's what sends power to the rear wheels when needed, since it's an on-demand 4wd system. The oil-like fluid has been dripping more frequently since the last time I was on here. The service guy said that unfortunately there isn't a seal or anything they can replace, so they have to put in a whole new unit (which is fine by me), covered under warranty. He said it would take a day to a day and a half. They're also going to replace the A-pillar applique pieces after I mentioned the noises that were coming from that area during crosswinds (I had the TSB and vehicle build sheet with date printed out and ready to go just in case), also covered. Parts should be in next week.

My wife had mentioned the A-pillar rattle, but I hadn't hear it...until I was driving home from the dealership, in a crosswind, and the passenger side piece started rattling like a Spanish maraca player. Well maybe not that bad haha.

Thanks for the support!
 












Crystal, it is back home and working like a champ! The dealership took care of the unit, the A-pillar trim, and gave us a second vehicle key (there was only one when we purchased the vehicle), all covered. Took one day to do all of the work, which is how long they estimated.

Overall a good experience, and I feel much better knowing the "weak link" is gone!
 






Crystal, it is back home and working like a champ! The dealership took care of the unit, the A-pillar trim, and gave us a second vehicle key (there was only one when we purchased the vehicle), all covered. Took one day to do all of the work, which is how long they estimated.

Overall a good experience, and I feel much better knowing the "weak link" is gone!

Outstanding news, Turkeyhead! Don't hesitate to contact me if you need any assistance in the future. :)

Crystal
 






My wife's 2013 Limited Explorer started leaking out of the transfer case today. I guess we'll take it in to have the transfer case replaced. Links to pictures of the leak are below. It's coming from the passenger side cover on the case and possibly one of the bolt holes that holds the case together.

20140909_2013explorer_transfercaseleak_2.jpg


http://fawbush.org/images/2014_9_9_leak/20140909_2013explorer_transfercaseleak_1.jpg
http://fawbush.org/images/2014_9_9_leak/20140909_2013explorer_transfercaseleak_2.jpg
http://fawbush.org/images/2014_9_9_leak/20140909_2013explorer_transfercaseleak_3.jpg
http://fawbush.org/images/2014_9_9_leak/20140909_2013explorer_transfercaseleak_4.jpg
 






Ford says it's not the original part and will not warranty it. They want $1100 to "fix it" whatever that means. No more schitty front wheel drive fords for me. This is the second one that I have had with drivetrain issues. Ford Customer Care backed up the dealership based on a visual inspection.
 






Have you owned it since it was new? If so, then the fact that it isn't an original part is Ford's problem. If you didn't buy it new, then they may have a case since it could have been replaced previously. There isn't much Customer Service can do if based on the mechanics finding that it is not an original part.

Peter
 






Directly from the ford service manager, the transfer case is an unserviceable part. It's $875.16 + $225 labor (pretty easy job). It comes with a 2 year unlimited mileage warranty.

The service department says the part has writing all over it indicating it was used and not original. I'm not happy about it, and I can predict we will not have this car more than two years.
 






Directly from the ford service manager, the transfer case is an unserviceable part. It's $875.16 + $225 labor (pretty easy job). It comes with a 2 year unlimited mileage warranty.

The service department says the part has writing all over it indicating it was used and not original. I'm not happy about it, and I can predict we will not have this car more than two years.

In a previous post you say:
"No more schitty front wheel drive fords for me. This is the second one that I have had with drivetrain issues"

Forgive my mechanical ignorance, but why would you have a transfer case on a FWD vehicle? I thought the transfer case was a part only on 4WD models? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transfer_case
 






You haven't indicated that you've had this Explorer since it was new. My post 13.

Peter
 






I have not owned the explorer since it was new, but ford has no evidence that this transfer case is unoriginal other than a visual inspection. I am talking to someone inside ford now about whether or not this was done on the assembly line. Why would anyone replace the transfer case out of pocket when it's under warranty? I have had this explorer from 31,300 miles until now. The odometer reads about 41,000 miles.
 






I understand your position but since you haven't had it all along, it would be very difficult to say 100% that it wasn't replaced previously for whatever reason and why it would not have been done under warranty. Perhaps the vehicle had at one time been modified in some way and the previous owner was afraid it wouldn't be covered. Perhaps it was a DIY replacement. Who knows for sure. I doubt the assembly line would use a non OEM unit. In any case, good luck in your attempt to get this resolved.

Peter
 






In a previous post you say:
"No more schitty front wheel drive fords for me. This is the second one that I have had with drivetrain issues"

Forgive my mechanical ignorance, but why would you have a transfer case on a FWD vehicle? I thought the transfer case was a part only on 4WD models? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transfer_case

I refer to any car with a transverse engine and side mounted transmission as FWD, because that's what it is. Without wheel slip or low speeds and a twist of the button on the console it's only going to drive the front wheels. Most transfer cases on these FWD cars are not rated for continuous operation at a significant load. It's nothing like subaru's AWD or ford's RWD layout with transfer case to the front axle.

I understand ford fans on a ford forum are not going to be happy when someone gripes about their bad experiences with ford products. However, I have bought three new and two used fords in the last 11 years. I have spent over $75,000 on new ford cars in the last decade. I take care of my cars. I don't try to take advantage and make false warranty claims.

My other FWD ford experience was a leaky transmission seal on a 2012 Focus with the 6 speed automatically shifted manual transmsission. It's well known that the seal on the input shaft to the transmission often leaks and contaminates the dry clutches on the transmission resulting in severe clutch chatter when starting from a start under gentle acceleration. My wife's focus exhibited these symptoms for about 30,000 miles, but the ford dealership wanted me to pay for the clutch changeout. I bought this explorer for my wife while I sorted that out. A couple weeks ago I got a letter in the mail from ford extending the drivetrain warranty on my Focus to 5 years or 100,000 miles for this specific problem. Too late, that car is already sold.
 



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I understand your position but since you haven't had it all along, it would be very difficult to say 100% that it wasn't replaced previously for whatever reason and why it would not have been done under warranty. Perhaps the vehicle had at one time been modified in some way and the previous owner was afraid it wouldn't be covered. Perhaps it was a DIY replacement. Who knows for sure. I doubt the assembly line would use a non OEM unit. In any case, good luck in your attempt to get this resolved.

Peter

It's an OEM unit, but they think it's not the one from the factory. The assembly line makes changeouts on new vehicles more than you know.
 






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