Brian K

No evidence that maintenance prevents failures????? One failure story does not make a pattern and certainly should not persuade people not to do regular oil changes on their PTU if they have the know how. There always will be few that fail prematurely regardless of maintenance intervals. After installing a drain plug and draining and filling mine about 10 times, my vehicle does feel smoother and the oil is getting cleaner - but is still pretty dirty. I also added more tin to the heat shield that is there to hopefully prevent as much heat soaking of the PTU from the Cat. I just used a piece of tin siding and screwed it to the little OEM shield. It is a bit of a battle to get out, but once I learned what to do, it is much easier now. You have to admit - new clean oil in the PTU can only help prolong it's life and not adding/topping up/changing will most certainly reduce it. That is just common sense.

I was looking through the owners manual and noticed that it said the PTU took 12 oz. (0.35 liters). Then I looked in the Ford Factory Service manual and it said 18 oz. (0.53 liters). I wondered if the liter conversion and numbers of .35 L and .53 L could have been a typo and the 12 and 18 oz. could have been a conversion from liters - so I took both manuals to the Ford service department at the local dealership and asked the service manager which was correct. He asked a mechanic who said the Factory service manual would be more accurate and that more oil is better. I told them I had installed a drain so I could change the PTU oil and they said that was a great idea and kind of rolled their eyes when they talked about Ford's lack of a drain and no recommendation on servicing it and that they change lots of PTU's.

Time to top it up. There is only 0.53 liters (a little over a cup) if it actually was full to begin with. It is easy to do. Just get some 75W140 fluid and a little hand pump that screws into the oil bottle with some plastic hose and refill it via the 1/2" fill plug on the passenger side. A 3/8" drive ratchet removes the plug. Could be when you fill with new fluid it will run a bit cooler and not leak - maybe. Worth a try so you don't have to buy a new PTU. PTU seals are changeable too but if you're not seeing any fluid on the ground or smelling it burning on the exhaust then not much is leaking.

++1 John and Akirby. As far as changing the design as the years go on, isn't that one reason why you should generally not buy the first of a new model year - so you give them a chance to get the bugs out. However Ford doesn't seem to want to do that even after 10+ years with this problem - I guess as you pointed out that means liability. Still though - Rear Diff's can get the fluid changed by sucking them out with a vacuum and re-filling. Why not do/say the same for the PTU and put that in the owners manual. Then the onus shifts completely to the owner to maintain it. Seems like a "no brainer" to me. I guess the 'Design of the Vehicle' project gets closed so no new changes or charges can be accepted and of course Manufacturing doesn't want to accept re-design costs either so nothing is done. A friend once said "Companies are built by Engineers and Technical people, then run (into the ground) by Accountants, then shut down by Lawyers". I see some truth in that life cycle everywhere I look. Of course then there are the bonuses that people get paid to keep costs down and profits up - in the short term anyway. I also added a heat shield extension to the one that is there - about 3" x 5" above the exhaust pipe. Hopefully that helps. I wonder if anyone has correlated PTU failures to location. The hotter the climate - the more failures? I'm in Canada with much colder winters than in the southern US. Cold weather keeps the bugs down lol. Maybe it also keeps the PTU bug from biting as much too.

No not really. I understand parts breaking after the warranty period is over - wear, abuse or whatever and if it is not serviced as recommended, then the onus is on the owner to repair obviously. But when there is a known design issue that they refuse to acknowledge and correct, that is what is annoying. The PTU is very good example. They continue to use the same design of this device and refuse to service it (easily and inexpensively) when a simple drain and service interval would correct the 'flaw' as well as an improved heat shield to minimize the cooking of the oil. Yes it does last for most beyond warranty, but simply maintenance would make it last far longer (IMO) but of course that is not in Ford's and their dealers economic interest. Recently I changed the RDU oil and PTU oil. Similar designs - the RDU oil looked pristine after 90,000 miles (probably because of no heat source nearby) and the PTU was horrible. Which do you think needs a design mod?

Ford doesn't seem to stand behind their design screw-ups nor do they admit there is a problem. My 07 Mustang has an issue with 2 piece spark plugs that break off in the head and they actually came up with a Broken Spark Plug Removal Tool to extract the broken parts. This problem is the same in 05,06,07 Triton 4.6 and 5.4 liter engines. Then they changed the design. A dealer quoted me up to $1000 to replace the plugs if they all broke and laughed. Thanks to forums I did it myself, took it really easy, and none broke. Fortunately Champion makes a 1 piece plug that doesn't break off. Then there is the aluminum hood corrosion issue which was due to steel filings or some contamination in an aluminum fold on the front lip of the hood which eventually causes galvanic corrosion - and of course because it is not perforation but kind of a surface cancer, they don't cover it under warranty. I think there is a problem brewing for all those "military grade aluminum F-150' owners. It seems they go out of their way to pi$$ off their customers. Seems 'Built Ford Tough' has gone by the wayside and the light bulb has burned out. Just my 2 cents...

How do you measure or check the pattern with gear marking compound? Everything is very black and sludgy inside so cleaning it out will be a royal PITA - more than a few flushes with new gear oil or tranny oil could ever possible accomplish. Perhaps brake clean will do a good job of it but there really isn't much point in cleaning it out for the fun of it. The gear lash I was talking about was easiest to feel by turning the rear output shaft to see how much it turned before it turned the input shaft on the Drivers Side. It was barely noticeable but there was just a bit - I know that is not technical enough - but I'd say 3-4 degrees of movement. It sure was interesting to see just a few gears and bearings inside and nothing really damaged.

I asked at a local tranny shop to save an old PTU that they removed so I could have a look at the inside myself. I got a call yesterday that they had one so I went to pick it up. It appeared to me that the reason for failure was that the oil was venting so the owner wanted it replaced. $2200. I turned the input/output shaft by hand and it felt smooth with very little gear play and in line with what I expected and would consider normal. I drained what oil was left and got about 175 ml. These things take 530 ml to fill to the bottom of the fill port so it was obviously near empty. It didn't appear that the seals were leaking. So I took it apart. Sure enough as in other pictures posted by others, the thing was full of black greasy sludge all over the place including the vent area. My impression of what happens (and to verify what others have said here too) is that heat is cooking/burning the oil over time and turning it into a sludge although nothing smelled burnt. Then as the liquid oil level gets lower and lower because the sludge gets stuck to the PTU walls and crevices, the gear turning causes oil to froth and spray up into the vent area and get pushed out the vent, rather than getting dragged around the gears and bearings, thus lowering the oil level even more. The bearings appeared to be still quite smooth in this PTU and I didn't feel any roughness when turning the gears individually. There was black thick oil on all the bearings and the gears didn't show signs of wear. My overall impression of this PTU, was that with oil changes, it could have been saved and kept in service. Thus , to me, this really validates regular oil changes to keep the PTU in good shape and I'm happy that putting in a drain and changing PTU oil regularly should keep it running well for a long time. Even if multiple oil changes are done and the greasy substance isn't cleaned out completely by regular flushing and diluting the sludge, adding oil and keeping it full enough not to spray out the vent area and keeping the bearings in oil at the proper level should keep this lasting indefinitely. There was no obvious wear and there was no grit or evidence of filings in the sludge either - the sludge was just cooked oil almost like grease. So based on my observations, if you change/add oil even after you first notice drips on the driveway, you should have some hope in keeping your PTU alive. Ignore it and low oil level will eventually result in bearing/total PTU failure. For the life of me, I can't understand why anyone is there right mind (Ford Engineers) would have called this a lifetime fill. Shame on them. Perhaps they forgot that this thing is so close to the hot exhaust. A higher temperature oil spec might have helped too - but who am I to know - I'm only an electrical engineer not a mechanical engineer LOL

I see no one replied. Try Rockauto to see if they sell something. I don't know if it is a specialty bearing but perhaps if is it a 'stock' SKF or Timken or something like that, there will be a number on it and you could source it that way.

I know you said the Freon is full, but are you sure? When monkeying around with an A/C system on another vehicle that wasn't working, I recharged it and then the compressor and fans turned on, but there was a leak in the system and after the pressure dropped below a pressure switch setting it all stopped again. Sounds like what yours is doing. I used a small refrigerant bottle and those hoses with a gauge on it to see the pressure raise when I was filling it and drop off and I could hear hissing where the leak was. I tried a leak sealer but I guess the leak was too big and it didn't work. Please let us know what the problem was.

For years I tightened bolts by 'feel' because I didn't have a torque wrench - including wheel lug nuts. Then I got a 3/8" & 1/2" torque wrenches for Christmas and I love them. It just feels right to use them.

Check to see if the transmission oil is the right level. Usually if it is low, you will feel a jerky start and the engine over revving before catching and off you go. I've also found that my drive system feels smoother after changing my PTU fluid. It just seems to have a smoother feel.

If I ever take my vehicle to a dealer, I specifically say NOT to change the cabin air filter or engine air filter. Those are pure money makers for them. The filters are pretty cheap at autoparts places and changing them occasionally is easy. The hardest part of the cabin air filter change is taking the crap out of the glove box. Look on Youtube if you aren't familiar with where it is. I usually write a date on the filters so when I check them, I can see when they were last changed. I find they are generally good for a year then they start to look dirty. For many years, there were no such things as cabin air filters and every thing worked well. However they do keep dust and other crap out of the heater/A/C coils so is a good thing to have and change occasionally. Fram makes a Febreeze cabin air filter which is supposed to help eliminate odors.

Eventually one learns that it is cheaper to change oil than parts.

If the vehicle is up on a lift, removing the fill plug, sucking out the pint (0.53Liters) of oil and filling it should only take a short time - I'd guess less than 1/2 an hour. The only difficulty and possible time delay is if the exhaust is hot, because you have to get your hands up to the PTU and your arms could touch the exhaust pipe. Sucking the oil out should be no problem if it isn't too gummy and is generally the way rear diff's are serviced by many shops so this procedure shouldn't be new to anyone and they should have a suction tool. Good luck finding a shop that can think for themselves and do what you request. I did go to one shop and asked them to save an old PTU for me so I can have a look at the vent and the guy said I wasted my money changing the oil because at 90,000 miles the PTU was probably just about ready to fail. To me, since the oil change, the vehicle sounds and feels much smoother (hopefully not just my imagination LOL).

What I like to do with other vehicles is at least take the pan off and have a look to see if there is any crap in the bottom, clean off the magnet and pan, then change the filter and what ever fluid I can. And if I can, I install a tranny drain plug so taking the pan off doesn't involve a bath in tranny fluid (after the warranty is over). With these tranny's though, that is nearly impossible for a DIY'er. The 3X drain and fill is really easy to do and is an easy DIY procedure - just the cost of 5 quarts of fluid * 3. Fortunately Ford installed a drain and we still have a fill port that many tranny's don't have now - so points for Ford on this one. So drain, fill with 5 qts, drive bit, are repeat 2 more times. I do this about every 20k (every summer) because it is so easy and is WAY cheaper than taking it to the dealership. My local dealership posts a charge of $319.95 for a Transmission Tranxaxle service and of course plus taxes and that money maker - shop supplies. Ford recommends this 3x D&F procedure in a service manual too I believe. There are many opinions on many forums discussing the pros and cons of a true flush (which may push crap into the tranny and cause problems). This drain and fill procedure falls under heading of "the solution to pollution is dilution". For your quiet enjoyment here are what my dealership posts as charges for other services: Fuel Filter - $149 every 50,000 miles Cooling System Flush - $200 every 60,000 miles plus parts Differential Services - $200 every 60,000 miles plus parts Transfer Case Service $150 every 30,000 miles (some vehicles extra - probably not valid for our PTU's) Spark plug Tune-up $200 every 60,000 miles (variable by engine) Brake Fluid Flush - $150 as needed

You could also try some tranny shops. They would be familiar with changing the PTU and probably wouldn't be afraid of sucking out the old oil and adding new and they wouldn't have to do it by Ford's book - which does say that the PTU has to be removed - and it seems the Ford guys can't think outside the Ford box.

Hi Transplant That price sounds reasonable and the power sucker should have done a reasonable job getting most of the old stuff out and if you can't change it all, then changing some is better than ignoring it, plus you know it is full. You just have to get them to do it at a "Time and Material" rate rather than the prescribed rate which in some cases it is good that there isn't one (sort of). Sounds like your PTU is the same as mine (08). I had the same colour marking on the fill plug too and it is on the left side. I'd do it every year (or maybe two). Cheap insurance. I put in a PTU drain and will change mine myself at every (DIY) engine oil change. Maybe over kill but at a bit over a half a liter - the cost is minimal. I used Lucas 75W140 and it was about $20 for about a liter at Autovalue.

Once I get the oil cleaned up (still black after about 7 oil changes) I'll change it every time I change the engine oil. It's up on ramps then anyway and with the drain plug in the PTU, oil changes are a breeze. My philosophy I learned from a friend is 'It's cheaper to change oil than parts'.

Initially I used something similar to a Mityvac 7400 7.3 liter Fluid Evacuator pump that I had for boat oil changes (I tried to copy the Amazon link but It wouldn't copy into this post). Worked well enough but I was concerned about pushing the somewhat rigid and brittle plastic hose into the PTU and having it break off inside. It felt like it almost immediately hit a gear and I had to bend it down to try and direct it to the bottom of the PTU. I tried smaller diameter hose but because the oil was pretty thick, I didn't get much out so used a larger diameter hose. Also I did this with cold fluid because the exhaust pipe is in the way and I didn't want to burn my arms on a hot pipe just to get the fluid warmed up. This made getting a lot of oil out tougher. In the end I drilled and tapped a drain hole (see other posts).

Mine was jerking and clunking a bit recently. I changed the transmission oil and added some seal conditioner to it which helped - but now that I changed the PTU fluid (numerous times) and I installed a drain, shifting seems smoother and the clunking has been reduced significantly and it seems to cruise better on the highway. Kind of makes sense if your PTU is draggy and getting hard to turn because the oil has changed to grease and not spinning freely. Just my thoughts... I clean my TB regularly but it isn't ever really that dirty.

I agree Jkansascity - unless mine starts to leak, and I'm sure it will be fine, there is absolutely no point in subsidizing them looking with my $$. My PTU is fine - no drips from either the fill or drain plug - or seals. It is comforting having changed the oil numerous times since I put the drain in.

That's interesting. I didn't know that but explains where the Teflon tape went. The fill plug seems to have some red/orange thread locker on it - but I've taken my fill plug out lots now and no leaks and I don't reapply any thread sealant on it. Also interesting that the service manual says to replace the fill plug when it is taken out. I don't know why that would be and mine isn't leaking.

I used Teflon tape the first few times I put the plug in and then tried it without tape and no leaks. I also had a few concerns about the tape getting into the PTU. When I removed the plug (after I put tape on it previously) there didn't seem to be much tape left on it - so the concern about 'where did it go?'. My plug works fine without tape so I won't use it anymore. I don't over tighten the plug but it is snugged up pretty tight. Please let me know if you find a 1/4" plug with a magnet in it. I'm still using the brass bolt head plug just because it is way easier to get out than the female type hex head that my aluminum plug is as I described above. When I think about it, my plug is hollowed out on the inside - so I just might find a magnet to epoxy inside it and have it extend up into the PTU a bit.

I'm trying to post a link but can't for some reason. Try googling Pure water gazette.net and look for "the mysteries of MIP and FIP. There is some good info there on threads.