Loss of Power and Bad smell while driving

[vaughisa000]

Good Morning,

I have a 2011 Ford Taurus SHO. It has 108,000 miles on it. I was cruising down the highway going 60 and thought the car was doing something weird. I have my cruise control set but it felt like it kept turning on and off. It would seem to stop accelerating for a 1/4 second then turn back on creating a sort of lurch. It was not very noticeable so I thought I was crazy. I went to get off the highway and was slowing to a stop to turn. When I started to move a bit creeping towards the stop sign there was a noise like I was going over a rumble strip. It did this twice but I still was not 100% sure it was my car or not. Then when driving down the road I noticed the lurching for sure while I was driving without cruise. Then when I was going around a bend there was a very bad set of lurching almost like it was seizing up. I dropped speed and started paying a lot more attention. It did not lurch the rest of the way home but I babied it.

I was smelling like a natural gas smell once I went to get off the highway and did not realize it was my car until I was not around any other vehicles. When I got home I popped the hood and let the car sit for about 45 minutes. I checked the dipstick and the oil looked fine and filled to the proper level. I also checked the coolant and it appeared fine too. My first thought was the water pump because I know that is a known issue. I tried looking under the car and did not notice any fluid or dark spots. I could not get under the car well and plan on getting some ramps to drive up on to to check. From some searching here I read about PTU issues. But did not see many mentions of the loss of power/lurching/seizing I had on the way home. Any help is appreciated!

 

[luigisho]

binding, grinding, smell usually points to ptu. Maybe the axle. Need to get under there. also see if any codes are stored in the computer

 

[vaughisa000]

binding, grinding, smell usually points to ptu. Maybe the axle. Need to get under there. also see if any codes are stored in the computer

How do I do that with the codes? Every vehicle I have worked on is so damn old I never messed with a computer before.

 

[SM105K]

PTU blew up.

 

[luigisho]

there is an obd 2 port where you plug in a code reader.

plastic interior trim below the steering wheel should have a recessed plug for OBD II scanner/reader

 

[Majestic]

PTU blew up.

Yes, it's toast.

 

[SHOrod]

I'm also betting that the PTU failed. The natural gas odor is rather indicative of a PTU issue, and it could explain the lurching when going around turns.

-Rod

 

[SeanDev]

Yeah when you get that smell, she cooked, probably all oil leaked out, which in turn is a hideous smell while dripping on exhaust. And that lurching might be from the gears being chewed due to lack of fluid. If you replace with non PP, make a drain plug, and Change fluids religiously.

 

[Tbird6]

Was the PTU fluid ever changed?
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.
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[vaughisa000]

PTU blew up.

So I changed the PTU fluid last weekend. I had to suck it out the top and everything. It smelled horrible (of course) and there was some hints of metal but nothing large. I let it sit overnight to see if there were any leaks and the driveway was spotless. The smell has now persisted for a week and today when driving there was lots of noise when moving from a stop and when I tried to back in at work the vehicle would not move. I gave it some gas and it popped in to reverse the smell got terrible. Once I get a chance I will have to take a look at it and see if there is a mess under the car.

 

[SM105K]

So I changed the PTU fluid last weekend. I had to suck it out the top and everything. It smelled horrible (of course) and there was some hints of metal but nothing large. I let it sit overnight to see if there were any leaks and the driveway was spotless. The smell has now persisted for a week and today when driving there was lots of noise when moving from a stop and when I tried to back in at work the vehicle would not move. I gave it some gas and it popped in to reverse the smell got terrible. Once I get a chance I will have to take a look at it and see if there is a mess under the car.

"PTU's don't fail at least not from a power handling perspective. These only fail from lack of maintenance. Spun bearings and galling of the gears from lack of lubrication.

High Heat dries up the lighter oil molecules in the ****, which causes more heat due to lack of lubrication (thermal runaway) which leads to the remaining gear oil turning to thick black paste which clogs up the vent tube in the ptu which cause pressure buildup in the ptu which forces the remaining, non-congealed fluid out past the shaft seals. Now the only left is a thick paste thats easily flung off of the gears, sticking only to the case. After this chain of events, the bearings run dry and begin to fail, next are the gears. Tolerances widen or things begin to sieze. Bearing and gear noise are usually the first signs of mechanical failure.

But the PTU internals are stout. The weakest part of our powertrain is the RDU Atc coupler. (The electronic coupler in the rear differential). At least in terms of tq capacity and power handling."

 

[Tbird6]

I meant BEFORE you had all these problems?
.
.
.

 

[Johnsho2016]

"PTU's don't fail at least not from a power handling perspective. These only fail from lack of maintenance. Spun bearings and galling of the gears from lack of lubrication.

High Heat dries up the lighter oil molecules in the ****, which causes more heat due to lack of lubrication (thermal runaway) which leads to the remaining gear oil turning to thick black paste which clogs up the vent tube in the ptu which cause pressure buildup in the ptu which forces the remaining, non-congealed fluid out past the shaft seals. Now the only left is a thick paste thats easily flung off of the gears, sticking only to the case. After this chain of events, the bearings run dry and begin to fail, next are the gears. Tolerances widen or things begin to sieze. Bearing and gear noise are usually the first signs of mechanical failure.

But the PTU internals are stout. The weakest part of our powertrain is the RDU Atc coupler. (The electronic coupler in the rear differential). At least in terms of tq capacity and power handling."

Dealer told me my 2016 SHO has sealed PTO no Maintenace. This was after it blew up I might add.

 

[SM105K]

Dealer told me my 2016 SHO has sealed PTO no Maintenace. This was after it blew up I might add.

Sounds about right. However.......they are wrong, you found out unfortunately.