PTU Fluid Change - Lincoln NE

[Lincoln SHO]

I'm trying to do pretty much the same thing as Waleed Ahmed's post below me.

I've been reading online about the recommendations for the PTU fluid replacement every 30,000k miles, and my 2013 SHO (non-pp) just turned 140,000 without ever having that done.

I took my car to the dealership, they quoted $70. Got a callback today and they say it's a non-serviceable part. Is there anywhere in the Lincoln/Omaha Nebraska area I can have this done? Looking through the youtube videos, this seems like a pain to do myself - and would be my first experience changing fluid of any kind on my car.

 

[luigisho]

I don't have that answer but, if/when you find a place and they do a good job, post it up for others. Do you have a network of friends or neighbors that recommend service places?
It's not always accurate but it couldn't hurt to start calling some of these places here? https://www.yelp.com/search?cflt=autorepair&find_loc=Lincoln,+NE

 

[Waleed Ahmed]

I'm trying to do pretty much the same thing as Waleed Ahmed's post below me.

I've been reading online about the recommendations for the PTU fluid replacement every 30,000k miles, and my 2013 SHO (non-pp) just turned 140,000 without ever having that done.

I took my car to the dealership, they quoted $70. Got a callback today and they say it's a non-serviceable part. Is there anywhere in the Lincoln/Omaha Nebraska area I can have this done? Looking through the youtube videos, this seems like a pain to do myself - and would be my first experience changing fluid of any kind on my car.

Seems like a pain but thinking the only way to do it is urself at this point. I have an uncle who’s a mechanic here but he mainly focuses on older low budget cars. I’ll have to watch the video throughly and just walk him through it.

 

[luigisho]

Seems like a pain but thinking the only way to do it is urself at this point. I have an uncle who’s a mechanic here but he mainly focuses on older low budget cars. I’ll have to watch the video throughly and just walk him through it.

You're in the car capital (well used to be). There have to be independent shops that can do this. Not that you should not DIY, if you can you should. It's part of SHO ownership from the very first ones. That's how I started doing it. No money for all the dang repairs.

 

[Lincoln SHO]

The search is actually making me angry now. I'll just try it myself.

Called a few smaller shops in town. One actually asked "What's a PTU?". The rest said they wouldn't do it due to the ford service manual listing it as a lifetime fluid.

 

[luigisho]

I totally get it. DIY. You can do it. General advice on doing things for the 1st time: Be methodical, and budget way more time than you think it's going to take.

 

[SM105K]

If you have a 2013+ PP this is the easiest way to change the fluid.

What I did, what I used, and how I did it. You can do it yourself, or you can have a shop do this.

I would buy some Redline Lightweight Shockproof fluid off Amazon, 2 and a half feet of 1/4 id rubber fuel hose, some aluminum foil, and this thread to them below.

https://www.ecoboostperformanceforum.com/index.php/topic,8081.msg144207.html#msg144207

Use aluminum foil to cover the downpipes and 02 sensor. Drain the PTU fluid and have them catch the fluid in a pan. Measure to see how much comes out, and the how bad shape the fluid is in. See if there are any chunkies in the fluid. Metal shavings on the magnet drain plug are normal. It is a direct gear drive system with the PTU. The aluminum foil will protect everything and clean up will be a snap. Clean and re-install the drain plug. If you can reach the fill plug pull it out. This will be the vent for when you fill it.

Route the hose down from near the brake booster. Then tell them to remove vent hose/filter from the top of the PTU and slip that 1/4 inch fuel line hose onto the vent ******. The hose will be snug and should not slip off. Use that to fill/refill the PTU with fluid. This will take some time. The PTU holds roughly 18 oz of fluid. Remove the hose, put the PTU vent hose back on. Screw the fill plug back in. It's that simple. Should take less then an hour.

 

[luigisho]

The search is actually making me angry now. I'll just try it myself.

Called a few smaller shops in town. One actually asked "What's a PTU?". The rest said they wouldn't do it due to the ford service manual listing it as a lifetime fluid.

It's my understanding that Ford has changed their recommendations regarding PTU fluid changes.

That being said, there is also write ups about installing a drain plug on non-PP PTU's. Unique ( i forget how he spells it on here) has a DIY drain plug video and there are some write ups about it. If you have the cajones to do it. Just an idea.

 

[Lincoln SHO]

It's my understanding that Ford has changed their recommendations regarding PTU fluid changes.

Any link to this? I'd love to send it over to the dealership and just have them take care of it. I'm taking my car back on Tuesday anyhow.

 

[Lincoln SHO]

If you have the cajones to do it.

LMAO

Yeah. I'm not going to start drilling holes in my car on the very first self-service attempt

 

[luigisho]

Any link to this? I'd love to send it over to the dealership and just have them take care of it. I'm taking my car back on Tuesday anyhow.

This is off the top of my head. Johnbigdog or someone with Ford service access could give a more informed answer.

 

[Sho_Ride]

@Lincoln SHO, I wasn’t sure this was a job I wanted to take on either about 2-1/2 years ago. But with the advice and encouragement from this community I was able to do it fairly easily. Scale of one to ten in difficulty I would say a 4. I have since done it about 4 more times and recently drilled a drain plug, again with a lot of help from this forum. If you have the time you can get it done fairly easily. Good luck!

 

[Sho_Ride]

It's my understanding that Ford has changed their recommendations regarding PTU fluid changes.

That being said, there is also write ups about installing a drain plug on non-PP PTU's. Unique ( i forget how he spells it on here) has a DIY drain plug video and there are some write ups about it. If you have the cajones to do it. Just an idea.

here’s the video

 

[Frostbrosracing]

It's my understanding that Ford has changed their recommendations regarding PTU fluid changes.

That being said, there is also write ups about installing a drain plug on non-PP PTU's. Unique ( i forget how he spells it on here) has a DIY drain plug video and there are some write ups about it. If you have the cajones to do it. Just an idea.

@Iqoniq

 

[luigisho]

@Iqoniq

That's the one. I knew his screen name had some q sounding syllables in there. I saw 2 of his vids. Very good.

 

[Lincoln SHO]

here’s the video

******** he makes that look easy!

well. Not easy. But doable.

I’ll sleep on it. I want this car to last as long as possible, and feel guilty that I haven’t been proactive in these “hidden” maintenance items.

Anything else I should keep my eyes on?

 

[Sho_Ride]

******** he makes that look easy!

well. Not easy. But doable.

I’ll sleep on it. I want this car to last as long as possible, and feel guilty that I haven’t been proactive in these “hidden” maintenance items.

Anything else I should keep my eyes on?

Here’s a pic from another ptu tap video. It shows the location of the hole you will be tapping. WARNING, I used this only as a guide because I felt (because of the curvature) the location should be centered in between the ribs. The procedure itself is easier than you think, just take your time marking the pilot hole with a punch and if possible get someone to “spot” you while drilling to make sure your drilling it plumb (straight up and down)

 

[luigisho]

Anything else I should keep my eyes on?

Your cajones.

No guts, no glory!

Easy to be brave with other peoples property and bank accounts.

I would do it if it were my car, but I've already had to do jobs that I thought were way over my head regarding experience. It all comes down to your tolerance of drilling into something expensive.

 

[Zpak]

Your cajones.

No guts, no glory!

Easy to be brave with other peoples property and bank accounts.

I would do it if it were my car, but I've already had to do jobs that I thought were way over my head regarding experience. It all comes down to your tolerance of drilling into something expensive.

Exactly right. I just had to tell myself, you’re just tapping a hole, what’s the big deal. Never mind it’s in a critical gear box on your daily driver.

Whenever I start a scary job or am cussing in the middle of a project. I just remind myself, someday I just be a guy who has this done.

 

[Lincoln SHO]

Whenever I start a scary job or am cussing in the middle of a project. I just remind myself, someday I just be a guy who has this done.

Yeah, except for the fact that I can't get anyone else to do it.