How to: PTU Oil Change (Tons of Pics) 2016 Explorer Sport

[bigdude2468]

Easy task as long as you have the right tools and a drain plug is already installed.

My 2014 Ex does NOT have a drain plug. Only way to do it is to suck out about six or seven ounces by putting a tube down through the fill port. Then refill knowing you are only changing about 1/3 of the fluid.

I do have a question. If I were to raise the vehicle on all four corners (securely) could I siphon out as much as possible, refill, start engine and put in drive for say 30 seconds, drain, fill, repeat a couple of times.

 

[Mr Pink]

My 2014 Ex does NOT have a drain plug. Only way to do it is to suck out about six or seven ounces by putting a tube down through the fill port. Then refill knowing you are only changing about 1/3 of the fluid.

I do have a question. If I were to raise the vehicle on all four corners (securely) could I siphon out as much as possible, refill, start engine and put in drive for say 30 seconds, drain, fill, repeat a couple of times.

That would be a pretty lengthy process.
You could always drill and tap the ptu and install a plug

 

[bigdude2468]

I have thought about doing that but as the drill makes the final penetration I have to think a small quantity of metal will deposit itself inside the case. Also as you turn the tap there will be some small metal particles that could fall off. Get that flowing around and in a bearing and you could cause a failure. Anybody try loosening the bottom bolts and just prying the case open a smidge and letting the fluid drain out over a day or so?

 

[KayGee]

Anybody try .......................................................................................?

Please don't do that. Maybe delete it so no one else attempts it either.

 

[Jacob Thomas]

Hey y'all. I decided to drain and fill my PTU today and it was an experience to say the least. I'm a mechanic full time so that helped a lot with finessing stuff lol.
I got a suction pump from AutoZone zone and a quart of Royal purple 75-140 gear oil. I also got a smaller hose from Lowe's and the Included hose was a half inch and would not have been able to go down into the PTU to suck the fluid out . I drained the fluid and it was not that bad looking but I did notice a decent amount of of gunk and fine particles on the drain plug though .I filled the PTU by snaking a new length of hose up through the engine bay and slow filled it with the bottle and used not quite half of the bottle. It took about an hour to fill the ptu using this method and I filled it till a small amount of old fluid came out and I let it drip for a bit as well. I then cleaned up the oil as best I could and put the fill plug back in and test drove it around the block then I checked for leaks . Im not sure if it was a placebo effect or not but it seemed to pull harder at wide open throttle but I was going down a slight hill lol.
Oh and I only have 50k miles on my Ex btw .

 

[Skullcandy]

This is awesome. I am doing this right now and literally took 15 min to get the fluid draining without a mess and I was able to reach up from underneath and pop the vent line off. Fluid looked ok I guess but the metal on the plug damn. And not a lot of fluid came out! Thats not acceptable at all !!!! I am wrapping that cat to help keep the heat off the PTU as well.


Thank you!!

 

[613GT500]

This is awesome. I am doing this right now and literally took 15 min to get the fluid draining without a mess and I was able to reach up from underneath and pop the vent line off. Fluid looked ok I guess but the metal on the plug damn. And not a lot of fluid came out! Thats not acceptable at all !!!! I am wrapping that cat to help keep the heat off the PTU as well.


Thank you!!

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That's the cleanest PTU oil I have see...ever!

 

[Skullcandy]

103500k on the Vehicle. I’m assuming they never changed it based on how much came out.

 

[peterk9]

103500k on the Vehicle. I’m assuming they never changed it based on how much came out.

I think you meant 103.5k.

Peter

 

[Skullcandy]

Lol yep

 

[Skullcandy]

Took quite awhile to refill. Here’s my refill setup.

 

[Skullcandy]

Tryin a heat mitigation technique.

 

[KayGee]

I used a pump that you screw on the gear oil bottle like a soap/lotion dispenser. Add a piece of clear hose to reach the ptu and it fills the ptu pretty quickly.

 

[JAPeterson]

For quick filling and removing oil out of a area without a drain I'll use a large syringe such as this one from Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/Sealey-Syrin...&qid=1542321867&sr=8-2&keywords=200mm+syringe

 

[Lexingtonian]

I just changed my PTU Fluid again after roughly 38,000 miles since the last change. I wanted to add the Pics taken so you could see the wear metal differences vs the pics at the top of the thread. The plug magnet was still saturated but there was much less metal in the oil. Still more than I'd like but some metal appears to be "normal" for this design.

And the latest Oil Analysis to go with it -

 

[KayGee]

To me, that seems like a lot of particles/metal in that oil. Did the sample you sent in contain large visible particles like the pics above in the catch pan?

 

[Lexingtonian]

To me, that seems like a lot of particles/metal in that oil. Did the sample you sent in contain large visible particles like the pics above in the catch pan?

Yes it did. Take a look at the oil pan in the first photos at top of thread versus the ones above here. Huge difference in suspended particles. Enormous frankly. Also look at the oil analysis I posted right above the particles of iron are less than half. That’s why it’s so vital to drain this transfer unit early and its life cycle because there’s so much loose iron.

 

[KayGee]

Yes it did. Take a look at the oil pan in the first photos at top of thread versus the ones above here. Huge difference in suspended particles. Enormous frankly. Also look at the oil analysis I posted right above the particles of iron are less than half. That’s why it’s so vital to drain this transfer unit early and its life cycle because there’s so much loose iron.

All that "loose iron" is not naturally occuring - it is from wear. My 2 PTUs changed at ~15K miles had quite a few particles on the drain plug, but did not have the levels of visible "loose iron" in the remaining oil as yours. I would not want to see that much "loose iron", so even though the analysis may justify a longer change interval, I would prefer to change earlier before all the "loose iron" being generated overwhelms the drain plug magnet and the excess "loose iron" is allowed to circulate and accelerate wear. My personal opinion is that cleaner fluid is better than dirtier fluid - no real science or emotions behind it.

 

[Lexingtonian]

All that "loose iron" is not naturally occuring - it is from wear. My 2 PTUs changed at ~15K miles had quite a few particles on the drain plug, but did not have the levels of visible "loose iron" in the remaining oil as yours. I would not want to see that much "loose iron", so even though the analysis may justify a longer change interval, I would prefer to change earlier before all the "loose iron" being generated overwhelms the drain plug magnet and the excess "loose iron" is allowed to circulate and accelerate wear. My personal opinion is that cleaner fluid is better than dirtier fluid - no real science or emotions behind it.

Thanks for setting me straight. Truly appreciated. Sorry for providing low-value content and information. Cheers. All the best this holiday season.

 

[KayGee]

Thanks for setting me straight. Truly appreciated. Sorry for providing low-value content and information. Cheers. All the best this holiday season.

I didn't set you straight. I just wouldn't want to see that many large particles and it would concern me. If I saw that in my PTU fluid, I personally wouldn't consider extending the drain interval just because a report said I could. If you want to do that, you are free to do so and I wish you the best of luck with that strategy.

No harm, no foul.