2017 first PTU oil change and Mod

[Elfiero]

Yesterday I changed oil in my PTU for the first time. First thing I noticed was it had no drain plug. So, I quickly went to youtube for a solution. I added a drain plug 1" to the rear of the bottom-most bolt "reenforcement", and 2" to the right of the parting line of the case haves. that put the hole almost perfectly under the "Y" in the exhaust pipes. The case is about 1/2" thick at that point, so there is plenty of meat for threading it 1/4"NPT. The oil was very brown- but no sludge yet. I removed the level plug from the side(not easy) and there wasn't a whole lot of metal on it yet. I did the extended vent hose, and tied it off to the side of the brake master cylinder. I refilled it with 90w140 full synthetic Valvoline until it ran out of the bottom of the side fill plug hole. It took approximately 16 ounces. I am going to repeat this process next spring, and then every fall after that. Once you have a drain plug, it's a piece of cake!

 

[JAPeterson]

Knowing Ford and their thing for voiding warranty's that plug may of cooked your goose on a future repair on the PTU.

However it would be a nice mod to have.

 

[Elfiero]

I figured since I was already done with the 3/36, I might as well go ahead and modify it. Since I bought it used,and without ANY extended warranty,there would be no way Ford would cover it WHEN it failed. So why not try and make it last as long as possible? Way back in another life, I worked in several different stealership service depts( including Ford), and I can say with a lot of certainty, if there is any way at all out of paying for non- covered repairs, the dealer WILL find it. Heck, they can usually find a way out of paying for covered repairs, if the vehicle owner irritates them. Don’t believe me? P-off your service advisor real good, and watch what happens. It doesn’t matter which brand we are talking about, they are all the same. I figure if I can make this POS transfer unit last about 100k miles or 15 years, I will be in an old-folks home or dead, so I won’t care any more.

 

[peterk9]

I figured since I was already done with the 3/36, I might as well go ahead and modify it. Since I bought it used,and without ANY extended warranty,there would be no way Ford would cover it WHEN it failed.......

The PTU is covered for 5 years, 60K miles.

Peter

 

[Elfiero]

You are correct sir. However, things tend to get a little more problematic when you present it for warranty work after you bought it second-hand. That alone is enough to make some dealers refuse it "honor" the warranty. So like I told the sales-squid when I bought it- this is the last time Ford will ever see this Exploder, unless you are going to give me something for free, and we agree to it ahead of time.

 

[peterk9]

I can't see how an authorized Ford dealer can refuse to do warranty work on any Ford vehicle regardless if it is a 'second hand' one. It is Ford that pays for the repair, not the dealer. If that were to occur, then a call to Ford or the district manager should straighten that out. As for the "give me something for free" part, I don't know exactly what that refers to. They are obligated to fix/repair the vehicle but not give something for free.

Peter

 

[whimsey]

I'm surprised your 2017 Limited doesn't have a drain plug for the PTU. Is yours an EcoBoost? Our 2017 XLT with the 2.3 EB has a drain plug on the PTU. For mine it's an easy 20 minute job if you have access to a lift. I had my mechanic do it, he charged me $30, I supplied the fluid.

Whimsey

 

[KayGee]

I can't see how an authorized Ford dealer can refuse to do warranty work on any Ford vehicle regardless if it is a 'second hand' one. It is Ford that pays for the repair, not the dealer. If that were to occur, then a call to Ford or the district manager should straighten that out.

Peter

Well, it happens more than you may think. Just talk to an attorney that specializes in lemon law/warranty breach cases. It is usually their specialty and they tend to do quite well and remain quite busy. If you ever want to start learning about some of the wackiness that unfortunately goes on, you can simply start by googling Steve Lehto...