Do The Transmission and PTU Share Fluid?

[Doctorsmack]

I am new to the forum as we just purchased an explorer last year with 100,000 miles on it. It is a 2013 sport with the eco-boost motor all-wheel-drive. It began making a severe clunking noise in the passenger side front while my wife was trying to drive out of a parking lot. I went and checked on it and found the passenger side CV axle had a lot of wobble to it and assumed it was the only problem. I towed it home, replaced the CV axle and still have the clunking noise that also jerks it in and out of gear. I am not 100% sure whether it is the PTU or the transmission, but while I’m in there poking around a question came up. Does the PTU share fluid with the transmission? Because when I swapped the CV axle, it dumped about 2 quarts of fluid. I made sure to measure it and pour the same amount back in the top of the transmission. After doing the 1/8 mile test drive and still having a clunk, I pulled right back into the driveway and I’m questioning my intelligence about how these things work. I started wondering if by adding 2 quarts back to the transmission, I had overfilled it. Obviously an 1/8 mile drive is not enough to blow up the transmission, but, I just want clarification so that I don’t make any mistakes. It is 50-50 as to whether it is the transmission or the PTU, but I have no check engine lights or codes stored so I’m leaning PTU or should I say I’m crossing my fingers it is just the PTU. From my knowledge, the PTU only has about a half quart of gear oil, not transmission fluid.

 

[ProjectSHO89]

Do The Transmission and PTU Share Fluid?​

Not supposed to....

From my knowledge, the PTU only has about a half quart of gear oil, not transmission fluid.

Correct.

Put the thing up on jackstands, have someone "drive" it while you 're under there listening. If the PTU sounds like a box of rocks in there, it's toast.

 

[1sicbronconut]

No they don't, odd seal that can leak transmission fluid or the 75w-140 from the PTU. It sound like your PTU might be bad, does it kind of sound like a bunch of rocks in there? There's a drain for the transmission and I always drain 3-4 quarts out before I work on or remove the PTU.

 

[peterk9]

I am new to the forum as we just purchased an explorer last year with 100,000 miles on it. ..........................................

Welcome to the Forum.

Peter

 

[Doctorsmack]

Thank you for the replies and the welcome. Like I said before, 2 quarts of what appears to be transmission fluid came out when I removed the CV for the swap. I added 2 quarts of Mercon LV before yesterday’s test drive. This morning, I pulled the CV axle and again 2 quarts of transmission fluid came out. I’m pulling the PTU off shortly to investigate.

 

[1sicbronconut]

Thank you for the replies and the welcome. Like I said before, 2 quarts of what appears to be transmission fluid came out when I removed the CV for the swap. I added 2 quarts of Mercon LV before yesterday’s test drive. This morning, I pulled the CV axle and again 2 quarts of transmission fluid came out. I’m pulling the PTU off shortly to investigate.

It's kind of a big job, I'd hate doing it on the ground having the eco-boost makes it a little easier exhaust wise. There's a drain on the bottom of the transmission will be easier mess wise if you drain some of the transmission fluid first.

 

[Doctorsmack]

Yeah, the worst part about the house that we are currently in is that it has a two car garage, but it has two 7 foot wide garage doors. The explorer only fits in there at a slight angle with the mirrors folded in. But it’s very inconvenient to work in. So I’m doing everything on the driveway at the moment. I have it jacked up about a foot in the air all the way around on stands and it is what it is for now.

I took the PTU down and could not turn the driveshaft yoke by hand as it felt like everything was locked up. I split the cover expecting to see exploded gears. Instead, I find no gear oil whatsoever but a gear paste that is almost a gelatin like substance. Now that the cover is off, I can turn everything by hand, but I’m wondering if the paste was acting almost like a glue at this point and stopping everything from turning. See the pictures, I did not drain any fluid out whatsoever…this is what it looked like once I split it. I can see damaged teeth marks and small metal flake. I’m pretty sure this is my only problem, but I’m still worried about the transmission. Since it takes so much to tear it down, I would hate to throw everything back together only to find the transmission has an issue also. But, I can’t think of a way to test the transmission without buying a new PTU and installing everything. I thought about putting the driver side CV axle back in and putting a makeshift cap on the passenger side where the PTU normally mounts up and putting it through the gears on jack stands with just the front driver tire spinning(with a catch bucket for any transmission fluid that makes it through the plug I install on the passenger side of the transmission where the PTU used to be). But, I started thinking that ‘test’ may just create a whole new set of issues and I should just bite the bullet and install the new PTU and go from there. worst case scenario if that doesn’t fix it, I have the experience to remove everything much quicker now.

 

[Rick]

Wow, that sure looks ugly. I'm sorry I don't have an answer regarding testing the transmission with the PTU removed. That poor thing was eating itself to death.

 

[Doctorsmack]

It seems as though the teeth were damaged enough to cause the noise I was hearing, it’s just that it felt like I should have seen fully exploded gears in there for the jumpyness of it. When I test drove it after the cv axle replacement, it felt like it was jumping in and out of gear. I guess that could have been the PTU gears locking up and requiring more power to push them. Here is a very short video from the night it all started. It kept saying the file was too big so I cut it down.

 

[javaleo]

Your pic of the PTU is why that fluid (Gear Oil) should be changed every 30,000 miles. IDK want Ford says about "life time" fluid.
There is a seal between the PTU and Transmission. Make sure you replace that too. Not sure if it comes with a new PTU.

IS yours a cooled PTU, It would have a cooler lines to the side where the drain / fill plug is. If it is not, look at adding a drain plug to the new PTU before you install it. There are a bunch of You Tube Vids on this and will make changing the fluid MUCH easier. The non cooled PTUs need to have the fluid "sucked" out of the fill plug/hole.

 

[texsn95]

Refill with about 18oz correct?

 

[Doctorsmack]

Your pic of the PTU is why that fluid (Gear Oil) should be changed every 30,000 miles. IDK want Ford says about "life time" fluid.
There is a seal between the PTU and Transmission. Make sure you replace that too. Not sure if it comes with a new PTU.

IS yours a cooled PTU, It would have a cooler lines to the side where the drain / fill plug is. If it is not, look at adding a drain plug to the new PTU before you install it. There are a bunch of You Tube Vids on this and will make changing the fluid MUCH easier. The non cooled PTUs need to have the fluid "sucked" out of the fill plug/hole.

Yeah, I’m debating on whether to pick one up from Ford for $1900 or to order a Dorman unit for $950. I think I would prefer the Ford unit but in all honesty I’m not sure that one is better than the other considering they all have failures. I can’t believe none of the manufacturers have added a drain and fill plug yet. whichever unit I buy, I will definitely be adding a drain to it so that it makes my life easier in the future. Has anybody had experience with the Dorman unit?

 

[peterk9]

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[Doctorsmack]

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Is there a promo code or how do we use it?

 

[peterk9]

Is there a promo code or how do we use it?

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Benny has been very helpful.

Peter

 

[javaleo]

My thoughts on Dorman. I bought a hood switch for my 2018 Explorer. Push it down and close the circuit. The Dorman one would not work. It is just a switch and they could not get it right. Bought a Ford one, worked first try. IMHO Get the Ford PTU and put in a drain. If you have a cooled PTU from Ford, it does have a drain plug. Problem is the Fill plug/hole is used for a temp sensor and you need to remove the Cat to get it out, Also the Turbo if you have a Turbo engine (3.5 Ecoboost) FordTechMakuloco has a Vid on filling the Cooled PTU via the Vent hose. I have done it to my 2018 Explorer Palatium and it Works Great, slow to fill.

 

[Doctorsmack]

Yeah, I called my local dealer and he told me to go onto ford.parts.com and select them as my pickup dealer. They quoted me $2023 retail, but offered it for $1847 over the phone. The ford.parts.com website gave it to me for $1465 plus it is free to pickup from my local dealer. On top of that, they offered a $150 promo code for no reason at all. Beyond happy with the result even though it is more than the Dorman. Now I just need to cross my fingers that this is my only issue and that I didn't hurt the transmission.

 

[Doctorsmack]

Your pic of the PTU is why that fluid (Gear Oil) should be changed every 30,000 miles. IDK want Ford says about "life time" fluid.
There is a seal between the PTU and Transmission. Make sure you replace that too. Not sure if it comes with a new PTU.

IS yours a cooled PTU, It would have a cooler lines to the side where the drain / fill plug is. If it is not, look at adding a drain plug to the new PTU before you install it. There are a bunch of You Tube Vids on this and will make changing the fluid MUCH easier. The non cooled PTUs need to have the fluid "sucked" out of the fill plug/hole.

Are you referring to this seal? It is on the PTU from what I can tell, but when I go pick it up, I'll double check.

 

[javaleo]

Where the PTU and Transmission mate up. The Axle goes through there. Again, it may come with the new PTU.

 

[1sicbronconut]

I'd be wary of Doorman, I haven't used any of their PTU's but have had horrible luck with their replacement intake manifolds. I'd be tempted to put a drain in your new PTU but that might be a problem if you ever need to warranty it, I did the mod on my wife's Flex and it was pretty simple to do, there's quite a few how to videos out there. How did you like that burnt gear lube smell, probably a good thing that you did the work outside.