Zapper2003 Report post Posted May 13, 2017 Has anyone successfully cleaned out a gunked up PTU? The girlfriends 2008 Edge Limited AWD has 122k miles on it, and last oil change (120k) I topped off the PTU, and it seems like the internals are gunked up with jellied, baked fluid. I know this usually leads to failure, but before it goes that far and gets expensive, I'd like to get it cleaned out. I know a lot of people say to keep exchanging fluids until they clean up, but I'm going to be there a lonnnng time before that ever happens. I used a sucker-gun and got about 1/3 of the total capacity out today and exchanged with fresh fluid, but I know that's a feeble attempt. I have the factory service manual, and I know it says nothing internally is servicable, but that's not my concern. I just want to take it out, install a drain plug, split the case and clean the internals, seal it back up and reinstall with new seals. I've done quite a bit of googling, I see lots of pictures of cooked PTU's taken apart showing how gunked the internals are, but never found any threads leading me to my answer. Also, would popping the cap off the vent and running a hose up into the engine bay solve some of the 'puking' issues? My fear is that it's already on its way out, as the car has started in on a random 'thud' (very seldom, at this point) while turning a corner at any speed, randomly, for no apparent reason. Seems like it's coming from the PTU/driveshaft area. I took a look at the roll restrictor mounted below the PTU and it looks weird, but I've never seen another one to compare. Best I can tell from looking at pictures online is that it looks goofy even when new, so I doubt that the mount could be causing the sound, as I would think it'd be more often than during a random turn at speed. Any insight would be awesome and greatly appreciated. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
macbwt Report post Posted May 14, 2017 We have a member on MACTFORDEDGE that took his completely apart and cleaned I am sure he would be able to step you through the process. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zapper2003 Report post Posted May 14, 2017 I just watched a MacT video on youtube yesterday. I'll check it out. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chefduane Report post Posted May 14, 2017 I don't know if I would tackle actually taking the thing apart and cleaning it out. Too big of a job for me expertise-wise. I've gone the drain, re-fill, drive, drain, re-fill, drive... etc routine until I knew I got clean fluid in there. The plan is to then change out fluid every 20k miles. Maybe overkill on the interval but its easy enough to do. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
omar302 Report post Posted May 14, 2017 This post might be of some help. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zapper2003 Report post Posted May 14, 2017 The mechanics of it do not bother me a bit. I know its sludgy in there. I did a mity vac type of fluid exchange yesterday, and I know that it's gunky inside just by the feeling shoving the hose in there and with what has come out of the unit. When I was first aware of the problem, we had the puking vent/slight leak under the car. Checked the fluid level and came out dry, except for some sludge on my piece of wire that I used to check level. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zapper2003 Report post Posted May 15, 2017 That's what I've been thinking. The kero flushes you're talking about, after drain plug install, are you simply draining fluid, adding kero and running a mile or two, draining, and topping off again? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
akirby Report post Posted May 15, 2017 Not a mile or two! Just a few feet to allow the gears to rotate a little. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zapper2003 Report post Posted May 15, 2017 Ok, Not a difficult thing to do lol. I would probably just lift the car and let the tires rotate without actually rolling. Too much work to put it up and down a bunch of times. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zapper2003 Report post Posted May 15, 2017 We have a member on MACTFORDEDGE that took his completely apart and cleaned I am sure he would be able to step you through the process. I just joined the page on facebook. Thanks for the add. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tacyon Report post Posted July 23, 2017 The kerosene flush is a very old trick. I learned this back on the farm with engines from the then "ole timers". If you do it while the engine is warm it works better as well. Amazing the life you can breath into old machinery by cleaning it up and applying some new/better lubricant. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WWWPerfA_ZN0W Report post Posted July 23, 2017 How is your recovery coming along, Tacyon? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tacyon Report post Posted August 23, 2017 Thank you Perf .. very well. I've escaped with only a minor hitch in my step. I'm fine for about a block or two and then I get a muscle pack over my right butt cheek where I took out the center console starts to burn like a muther. I slow down and push thru it and keep going. The scar on my noggin from the 15 stitches is barely visible. Thank you very much for checking in. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WWWPerfA_ZN0W Report post Posted August 24, 2017 Glad to hear! Just make sure there is no scar tissue buildup in/near the muscle. The impact of that is felt further down the road, best not to let it happen/grow. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
macbwt Report post Posted August 24, 2017 The kerosene flush is a very old trick. I learned this back on the farm with engines from the then "ole timers". If you do it while the engine is warm it works better as well. Amazing the life you can breath into old machinery by cleaning it up and applying some new/better lubricant. I changed all the fluids in my Old ranger when I bought it and this brought it back to life with full power. New fluids work wonders. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
