Wrap exhaust near PTU?

[DRbillZ]

Thoughts?

[DRbillZ]

After thinking about this, the best idea I can come up with is wrapping the metal 'heat shield' Ford put on it.

[akirby]

I don't think external heat is the problem - it's internal heat. But it certainly won't hurt.

[WWWPerfA_ZN0W]

Not a big fan of wraps on more expensive parts, but for an easy to get to, cheap to replace part, sure. Wraps can hold moisture in over time, eventually causing the part to rust out. Coatings avoid that problem, but also not really DIY either, and more expensive.

[Waldo]

After thinking about this, the best idea I can come up with is wrapping the metal 'heat shield' Ford put on it.

 

The point of wrapping is to hold heat in, the heat shield doesn't generate heat, so wrapping would do nothing but add just a little bit of mass to act as a heat sink. You could more effectively achieve that by slapping a bunch of magnets on the shield.

[DRbillZ]

Well, gee thanks.

How about this there smarty pants. How about the heat held in by the shield once you shut the car down? That's the heat I'm more worried about. The shield will certainly be hot sitting next to the exhaust.

While the car is moving air movement will suffice.

Edited May 18, 2016 by DRbillZ

[DRbillZ]

You have to admit this is certainly more interesting than yet another..... HID or floor board lights or accent lighting posts.

Edited May 18, 2016 by DRbillZ

[Waldo]

The shield is mainly there to deflect radiating heat from the exhaust, not to act as a heat sink. When you turn off the car there is no more hot exhaust, so the pipes cool quickly and don't radiate any more. The shield is very thin and is designed specifically to not hold heat; as I said above, wrapping it is just going to add more mass and cause it to hold more heat, not less.

Edited May 19, 2016 by Waldo

[Brian K]

I don't think adding magnets to the shield would work. It feels like it's a dual layer aluminum to me and that is not magnetic. I saw a post where someone added an extension to the shield to keep/deflect keep from radiating to the PTU and that looks reasonable to me. Wrapping the exhaust with anything will probably promote rust faster than it rusts now. Maybe adding more heat shield like what is near the muffler might work too but there isn't much room to get anything in there.

[akirby]

None of that stops the internal heat from the PTU itself which is the main problem.

[Brian K]

I see the new PTU's on some new vehicles have a temperature probe. It would be interesting to see what 'our' PTU's temperature gets up to. To me the PTU is very similar to the rear differential - no clutches but just gears (I think) so I wonder why that is a source of heat - ie why would the PTU generate more heat than the Diff. I recently changed my diff fluid also (while adding the PTU drain) and the diff oil was like new - golden and clear and it has never been changed (till now). The PTU on the other hand was typical - like grease and still black after a few drain and fills. Makes me wonder where the heat is actually coming from - internal or from the exhaust. There is a heat shield protecting the PTU from the exhaust for a reason. I also read on other places that on police vehicles that are AWD and have a PTU, Ford installs a cooler for the PTU.

Now that would be an interesting mod - now that I have a drain and fill port, all I need are 2 hoses, a pump and a cooler!

[WWWPerfA_ZN0W]

Most of the work is done by the PTU, not the RDU. The Edge is a FWD platform, AWD comes on when needed.

 

The amount of fluid in the PTU is 30% of the quantity in the RDU.

 

Easy to see why the PTU fluid will suffer.

 

The cooled PTUs still blow out. But they also have a drain plug and (in police applications) a regular service interval.

[Brian K]

Yeah you're right - minimal oil and some torque from switching between FWD and AWD will generate heat. What brainiac came up with this design. I'm surprised the cooled ones fail too. Heat is an oil killer. Hopefully regular drain and fills will make a dramatic difference and make it last forever LOL.

[Brian K]

I was wrong in my previous assumption that the heat shield was aluminum. It looks and feels that way but I had it off yesterday and tried a magnet on it and it stuck - so it is ferrous metal and a magnet will stick to it.

 

I also added about 3" of extra shielding to the OEM heat shield along the top so the PTU is now completely shielded from the exhaust. Also - I thought I'd share - my mileage seems to have increased after numerous drain & fills' of the PTU now that I have a drain. Shifting feels smoother too and the vehicle somehow feels like there is less drag when driving - maybe my imagination but my wife noticed it as well. Was the oil so thick that is was a load on the engine and made things tougher to run and shifting harder? That would generate heat for sure.

[EdgeCustomSport]

Dorman has an improved design Power Transfer Unit Assembly 600-234XD

with fluid service drain plug and incorporates a heat shield not found on the factory part that reduces heat transfer to the gearbox lubrication by up to 30 degrees Fahrenheit to prevent thermal breakdown. Fits the 3.5L 

 

for the 3.7L they only have the OE design 600-237  but are working on making an OE Fiix design, if you have the 3.7L Sport and want them to make the OE Fix upgrade design version 

 

send a message https://messenger.providesupport.com/messenger/dorman.html or send a message via https://www.dormanproducts.com/pages/forms/support.aspx to Tech Support saying you want a 600-237 in the XD OE Fix

[NeuroBeaker]

On 1/30/2023 at 12:03 PM, EdgeCustomSport said:

Dorman has an improved design Power Transfer Unit Assembly 600-234XD

with fluid service drain plug and incorporates a heat shield not found on the factory part that reduces heat transfer to the gearbox lubrication by up to 30 degrees Fahrenheit to prevent thermal breakdown. Fits the 3.5L 

 

for the 3.7L they only have the OE design 600-237  but are working on making an OE Fiix design, if you have the 3.7L Sport and want them to make the OE Fix upgrade design version 

 

send a message https://messenger.providesupport.com/messenger/dorman.html or send a message via https://www.dormanproducts.com/pages/forms/support.aspx to Tech Support saying you want a 600-237 in the XD OE Fix

 

I've been looking at this.

 

I have a 2015 Ford Edge Titanium 3.5L NA-V6 AWD, with a build date of 18th July 2015.  The Dorman website says that this part is good on the Lincoln MKX (which I accept as mechanically identical) up to a production date of 05 July 2015.  So it seems like it's applicable to the first generation cars but, for some reason, doesn't fit the second generation cars.  I'm not sure if they're just being cautious with the website or if there's a fundamental difference between this unit on a 3.5L NA-V6 AWD car from Gen 1 (e.g. 2014) to Gen 2 (e.g. 2015-2018).

 

Any thoughts?

 

All the best,

Andrew.

Edited February 6 by NeuroBeaker

[DILLARD000]

Have here a 2008 V6~3.5L~DOHC with AWD PTU.

Using 50ft roll of FibreGlassWrap +12ea MetalZipTies (kit available on Amazon\Ebay\...),

wrapped exhaust YPipe from both CatCon flanges to the common FlexJoint,

as an attempt to provide additional HeatShielding from the YPipe for the PTU &  EngineOilPan & Transmission.

It's subjective how much good it does, though after several months I'm happy with the result & whatever shielding it does provide.

If anyone chooses to use this FibreGlassWrap, do dress in LongSleeves+Gloves+FaceMask while handling+installing this very itchy stuff.

For better access during install, It's relatively easy to remove the 4 nuts at the CatCon flanges, assuming rust isn't too bad.

then lower the YPipe with the FlexJoint still connected; allows for easier wrapping than if left in place.

I opted to "seal" the FibreGlass using a rattle can of ClearCoat SprayPaint,

before re-bolting the YPipe back onto the CatCons;

be sure to use antosieze on those bolt studs.

 

Edited February 13 by DILLARD000