jlkansascity

They tell you to replace the plug because it's a part where they have 200% markup and they can sell a lot more of them... I've never understood that either. I can see replacing every 10 times, or something like that, just to make sure it's not leaking, but every time seems crazy.

pedro2u; what did that cost? I would be curious. That is essentially what they told me; it's the PTU, now give us $1,600.00. I said "no thanks" and started changing the fluid with synthetic ever week for 4x, every month for 4x now change it every 6 months. The grease dribbling from the vent has cleared up and it no longer drips. I've put 20,000 miles on it since they wanted to replace it for $1,600.00. One thing that bothers me, is that every time I change it, the fluid level seems to be low, but it's not leaking and I don't understand where the fluid goes. But at any rate, I now have over 160,000 miles on it and it's still running. Probably going to trade it off in the next 6 months.

13EdgeSport; Correct, and they will charge you roughly $1600.00 if your vehicle is out of warranty. They will not do it as a warranty or known issue replacement. The internet is rife with accounts of owners getting screwed over by Ford's reaction to this known issue. It seems to depend a lot on the dealer. I have read accounts where a dealer replaced it without much ado, and then I've seen dealers just not consider that option. I myself went into my dealer and they said basically; "yeah your PTO is totally shot and needs to be replaced and that will cost $1600.00". SOL. So then I started on the suction out the old / refill cycle which has basically saved my PTO unit and it's still running 20,000 miles later.

macbwt, you point out many of the same frustrations I have had. One more thing; there are actual Ford DEALERS selling dozens, maybe hundreds, of these PTO units on ebay and other online sites. It seems kind of unethical to have a known problem from the manufacturer, and the dealers with what is essentially a side business selling the parts to resolve it. I'm in the market for a new SUV, but my experience with this issue has really left me with lots of concerns. Overall, it's been a good vehicle, if Ford would just man up and handle this issue. jlkansascity

Brian K; I have probably changed my fluid by suction device and refill about 8 times and it's still pretty black. This black tar type grease is some of the nastiest, stickiest, dirtiest stuff I've ever seen. Yeah, the vent is UP when the PTU is in the vehicle.

Thanks for the great photos! JL

I'm sure you're done with the brakes by now, but you don't need to loosen the ebrake if the rotor is loose already. If the rotor is not loose and wont' come off, find the rubber plug in the rear rotor, pull it out, and turn the hole to 12:00 (straight up). If you look in there with a light, you can see the typical drum brake adjustment wheel. JL

I don't know if you're holding out for a video, I couldn't find one but I just did the brakes on my 2007 yesterday. It has 150k on it and they weren't even half worn out, but a lot of dust clogging everything up. Did all new rotors and ceramic brakes. On the rears, you pull the rubber plug out. Then you line it up with the hole at the top (12:00). Look in there and you can see the adjustment wheel just like on drum brakes. However, you don't need to do this if the rotor is loose. One of mine came right off. The other I had to loosen the e-brake and hit it with a hammer. Jonathan

Brian, if the vent was plugged, you would know because it would be bubbling the black snotty grease / oil out of it. Actually here is a good photo of the vent from forum member genius the_Natrix hope he doesn't mind; http://s159.photobucket.com/user/the_natrix/media/Ford%20Edge%20PTU/KICX5250_zps24f9b30f.jpg.html?sort=3&o=2

sleddude Mine leaked from the VENT. I think that's most common. Mine has 150k miles now and the axle shaft seals have never leaked. I did the flush and refill a bunch and it seems to have cleared the vent. I am always concerned though because when I do the refill, the level is generally low and IDK where the oil goes. If your mechanic changed all the fluids through, I would just drive it a bit to see if maybe it was just a bit overfull and the dripping might stop if so. Jonathan

That dealer has some sort of personal bias. Legally, they cannot require you to use their brand name oil. It's called Magnusson-Moss Warranty Act. Think about it; how would it go over if they told you that you could only use FORD batteries, wiper, wiper fluid, tires, air fresheners, floormats etc. It's a misguided position for the dealer and technically not legal. They are allowed to specify criteria, and then any lubricant that meets that criteria (Amsoil does for their gear lube in this case) would work. It depends on the dealer. My daughter has two Fords; a 5 year old Escape and a 2015 Mustang. She has ALWAYS brought in her own Amsoil and had the dealer install it, engine, trans, transfer case, differentials, and the dealer doesn't mind at all...

The zip tie method came from user WWWPerfA_ZN0W on this forum, who seems very knowledgeable. When I went through what you're doing right now, if I filled it to the bottom of the plug, it seemed to always blow some out the venting, making a big mess and leaking all over my garage floor. So, I used the zip tie method and it seemed to work a lot better by keeping the fluid down a little from the plug. I sucked out what I could, re-filled. Did this again every week for a month, then every month a few times. Now doing it every 6 months and it's not leaking or stinking anymore and the fluid is nearly normal looking.

I found the posting on the other board; http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=375439&page=13. They also have a "Official Ford Service Rep" Tricia on this thread, but I don't see any real solution. I've also logged my own experience and gathered all of these links here, I hope it's ok to post an outside link; bit.ly/FordPTOLinks

I agree. I did spend a few weeks contacting class action law firms. I could not find one that was interested in pursuing this. We all know the story about Kearns, who fought the automakers for over 25 years after they ripped off his intermittent wiper design. I don't have that kind of time, after a few weeks of focus I decided to get back to my normal life and publicize the issue as much as possible.

In addition to my longer reply, also PM the user "FordService" on this forum. Apparantly they are some sort of official Ford contact and they track this stuff. http://www.fordedgeforum.com/user/29146-fordservice/

I've performed this same process quite a few times now (8) and never had problems dripping on the flex pipe. One of the reasons is that I use the "zip tie oil filler gauge" as described by this post; http://www.fordedgeforum.com/topic/10914-ptu-leak-failures/page-7.

dadams3210; I have complained and contacted everyone I can think of at Ford. I don't think it's going to make any difference. I did open cases via this form; https://corporate.ford.com/contact-us.html?contactMainTopic=VehicleServiceIssues which seems pretty formal, I.E., you get a case number and they call you back. However, as soon as they realized i was not going to be satisfied with a free oil change, they just ceased all contact. I have done a lot to raise awareness since there are thousands of these on the road, just waiting to blow chunks like yours did. I also contacted several law offices who specialize in class actions, but could not get any interested. They all said they're too busy; lots of class action work going on in the prescription drug industry. Your experience is pretty normal, and that cost is fairly "ball park" as far as costs. One of the things that really troubles me about this topic, is the vastly different experiences some users receive, based on their dealer. I have read where some dealers replaced it free, some are willing to flush/change the oil/grease, and some, like yours and mine, just want the $$$. Luckily, mine calmed down after doing a series of grease flush/replace cycles mine now seems ok, with no smelling and no leaking. This is AFTER the dealer wanted $1600.00 to replace it. I probably changed the oil 6 times in the last 6 months (it's due again now) then I'll probably change it once a year with Amsoil synthetic. I did not drill the drain hole, just sucked it out and replaced it many times. Good luck!

Unless you have the extended warranty (and maybe even if you do) you SHOULD at least change the oil a few times. Some people are doing every year, or every 20k miles, or 40k miles, etc. After a series of frequent flushes/changes (starting with weekly), I'm probably going to change the oil in mine every year going forward, using Amsoil.

Sounds like your dealer actually had some mechanics working there. Mine, at 141k miles, they flippantly told me the PTO unit had to be changed, $1600.00, and didn't seem to care if I was shocked or not. Then, their next sentence was the steering rack was also shot and would cost $1200.00 or something like that to fix. They wanted over 3k to fix these two items. I fixed the steering rack for about $400.00 and resolved the PTO issues with a series of frequent flushes on my own. Jonathan

We have the 3.5 l engine. I did not pull the right wheel, or get any ratchet extension. I was able to pull the plug from the bottom/rear/passenger side by just snaking my arm up there. It gets easier with practice, and now that I've changed the oil about 6 times I can do it pretty easily. Make sure you wear gloves and a wore out shirt; this old oil/grease is impossible to get off of anything. Looks like I replied to the wrong post, I was trying to reply to the person asking what engine I had...

Good one!

I'm a little concerned that you say the rear diff was white or milky, usually that's an indication of water in the oil. But then on the other hand, if it was caused by water, you addressed that by changing the oil, so sounds like you are doing OK.

13EdgeSport; I have been having a back and forth PM conversation with @FordService and I believe it's legit, and somehow part of Ford. I don't know how to prove that, but I have been in touch with multiple people through that account, and it seems to be a formal Ford social media response team of some sort.

Quotes on mine were around that range. I was able to save mine (for now) by just doing 6 oil changes in two months and getting it flushed out. Good luck..