Check your PTU fluid level! | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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Check your PTU fluid level!

Dre

Elite Explorer
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Year, Model & Trim Level
2015 FPIU
We should do something like -->October is the "Low PTU oil level awareness month"<--

Just a reminder people - check PTU oil in your vehicle often! I procrastinated and kept driving even though I have noticed pick-up in vibrations from the driveline of my 2013 Utility - decided to do the oil change last night and guess what? PTU in my rig was bone dry! Vent tube was disconnected too! I did refill it with new oil but am not sure if the PTU didn't sustain permanent damage - vibrations have subsided a bit but still. I am replacing tranny fluid today and shall see - might have to prepare for PTU replacement. Look at how much fluid I was able to drain!

received_347944379885283.jpeg
 



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Go for a 2nd (maybe even a 3rd) drain & refill after a few hundred miles to allow the new fluid to mix well and remove any balance old fluid/gunk.
 






Woh wow
 






Yup, did mine at 25K and only pulled out 12oz. Supposed to be 18oz.

Double check that what used to be gear oil didn't just turn into black crisco by sticking a wire or something in there to see what comes out.

Your fluid looks pretty bad, keep in mind, the gear oil that goes in is virtually clear when its new. Go with something reputable. I used Amsoil Severe Gear Oil, but heard that Redline Shockproof is also the cats meow. I also concur with doing another change very soon to flush out more of the emulsified aluminum and metal particles that are likely floating around in there.

And do the vent fill mod if you can, makes future changes easier.

Write up I did on it:
 






Yikes, not much fluid and it looks dark....although the pan could be making it look darker than it is.

I changed mine @ about 60k miles and it was in fairly good shape. Blackstone analysis didn't show anything of concern.
I don't remember how much fluid came out, but I think it was closer to 18oz.
I used Amsoil Severe Gear in mine just because it seemed to get good ratings.
I plan to do another change in the spring when it hits around 100k miles (along with rear diff).
 






I did the "vent tube mod" but it's pretty tedious filling this thing up through a quarter inch hole - will definitely change oil again, sometime soon... and possibly another time for good measure within a month - think that if those are not satisfactory I might even go with filling it up with diesel fuel and drive it around the block and then do two refills - sort of a good flush out of the PTU - just not sure if that would be safe for the seals. Oh well, Changed transmission fluid as well - it was not as bad as suspected but still.
 






I did the "vent tube mod" but it's pretty tedious filling this thing up through a quarter inch hole - will definitely change oil again, sometime soon... and possibly another time for good measure within a month - think that if those are not satisfactory I might even go with filling it up with diesel fuel and drive it around the block and then do two refills - sort of a good flush out of the PTU - just not sure if that would be safe for the seals. Oh well, Changed transmission fluid as well - it was not as bad as suspected but still.

I've entertained the diesel cleaning idea myself, but lean against it, as you'll never get all of it out and when you fill it with the gear oil, will end up cutting that gear oil. Not sure what ramifications that could have...maybe nothing. Same thing with kerosene...it's a great solvent and cleans well, but the residue may affect the oil that needs to be in there negatively. And since there is already so little of it (only 18oz), I personally felt it wasn't a risk worth taking.
 






We shall see - gotta drain it again sometime soon to see if any of the sludge inside dissolved...
 






I've entertained the diesel cleaning idea myself, but lean against it, as you'll never get all of it out and when you fill it with the gear oil, will end up cutting that gear oil. Not sure what ramifications that could have...maybe nothing. Same thing with kerosene...it's a great solvent and cleans well, but the residue may affect the oil that needs to be in there negatively. And since there is already so little of it (only 18oz), I personally felt it wasn't a risk worth taking.

Have you ever had an oil analysis done on your PTU fluid to see what starts wearing first?
 






I did the "vent tube mod" but it's pretty tedious filling this thing up through a quarter inch hole - will definitely change oil again, sometime soon... and possibly another time for good measure within a month - think that if those are not satisfactory I might even go with filling it up with diesel fuel and drive it around the block and then do two refills - sort of a good flush out of the PTU - just not sure if that would be safe for the seals. Oh well, Changed transmission fluid as well - it was not as bad as suspected but still.
I am going to do the vent tube mod. Did you cut the tube below the vent cap or were you able to pull it out of the tube? Mine seems very tight so I held off for now.
 






I am going to do the vent tube mod. Did you cut the tube below the vent cap or were you able to pull it out of the tube? Mine seems very tight so I held off for now.

The factory vent hose pulls off by hand

Keep the vent cap and throw the old hose away. Put cap on your new longer hose. You want the new hose long enough to fill from above. It takes a while to fill so don't make any plans haha
 






I am going to do the vent tube mod. Did you cut the tube below the vent cap or were you able to pull it out of the tube? Mine seems very tight so I held off for now.
 












This can be used to pump in oil pretty quick through an extended breather hose.
Amazon product ASIN B000G72U0K
Do NOT use this via the vent hose, unless you have removed the fill port plug. It's fine to use if you are injecting it into the existing fill port.

Using this via the vent hose will pressurize the case and can potentially push oil passed the seals if you've not provided for the pressure to escape elsewhere. This is a vented case and not designed to see pressures, the seals are not rated for that.
 






Didn't realize there is a fill port. I was pressing in about 3oz then letting air out, didn't realize this was dangerous. I saw it recommended on another ecoboost forum and it seemed to work well. Never mind don't do this.
 






I dont know if the Ptu and transfer case are considered to be kind of the same thing, mine is AWD not 4 wheel drive so i assume that makes them slightly more alike any way. I change mine every 3rd oil change if i can more or less. I figure its not much more than a quart and its easy to on the 96 but being on all the time always working and not having alot of fluid in it to keep the temps down and soak up and trash that may get into it before becoming overly filthy its cheap insurance.
 






Didn't realize there is a fill port. I was pressing in about 3oz then letting air out, didn't realize this was dangerous. I saw it recommended on another ecoboost forum and it seemed to work well. Never mind don't do this.
For some it "works", but I don't think people realize the dangers of pressurizing a case that isn't designed to see pressures....risk is too high to damage a seal. It only needs to fail once, then that seal is done...you'll need a new one and they aren't easy to change out.
 






So far, my PTU hasn't shown any leaks. I drained it anyways. Oil looked decent and there was enough of it so I'm not concerned. I replaced with the 75W140 Royal Purple gear oil. Hopefully it will last a long time now and resist heat better. I'm going to check it with trans every 30k miles.

I decided to do a full fluid overhaul after discovering my trans was missing 2 liters quarts of trans fluid and it was blacker than dirt at 80k miles. I had to flush it a few times to make it pink/red again. All fluids that are not engine oil (every 5k) are getting check at 30k miles now.
 






I don't believe it is normal for the transmission fluid level to drop. Especially not 2 litres. Was it ever at the full mark? You may have a leak somewhere if it was.

Peter
 



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I don't believe it is normal for the transmission fluid level to drop. Especially not 2 litres. Was it ever at the full mark? You may have a leak somewhere if it was.

Peter
Apologies, I meant quarts. I bought it used from a buick dealership. They told me they did a top to bottom maintenance on it, including all the fluids/oils, etc. Well, that was a lie.

It was a fleet vehicle before I bought it. I can only assume someone didn't change the trans fluid properly. I've been watching for leaks and I can't find any. It's been about 10k miles since I changed it and the level is coming up the same on the dipstick.
 






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