Just Finished Drivetrain Fluid Swap

[racerx78]

Just finished up the ATF, and i'm a bit surprised at what i saw. Let me first say the car has less than 26K miles on mostly highway, with 2 or 3 AutoX days on it. The transmission fluid was mostly brown but clear instead of the red it should be. I had the local dealer change the PTU and rear diff fluid. Then tech said the rear diff fluid was fine and clear but the PTU fluid was darker than it should be. I swapped all the fluid with Amsoil ATF, and their diff fluid at the factory spec weights. I also added the '13 tranny cooler recently so that is some added protection. I'll probably change the ATF fluid annually, and the PTU and rear diff every other year.

 

[frankashaw]

WTF is a PTU?

 

[SHOdded]

Power Transfer Unit, I think the Transfer Case in old 4WD lingo. A sample TSB on similar unit problems: http://way2evil.com/tsb/tsb09-25-07.pdf

 

[itguy08]

I wonder if that's by design with the factory Mercon LV. Apparently it's low viscosity and the transmission is designed to run hotter for better fuel economy. Did it smell burnt?

I'm not sure the color is a good indication of the state of the fluid:
http://www.fordforumsonline.com/forum/ford-escape/3052-mercon-lv-fluid-color.html


An interesting read about the 6f55 is here:
http://www.autoblog.com/2009/02/18/ecoboosts-best-friend-ford-unveils-new-6f-55-six-speed-automat/

 

[SHOsc]

Is there a front Differential/ serviceable on our SHO's. I have had PTU issues in the past on my SHO. Answering my own question, there has to be a front diff since its AWD. Has anyone had this fluid serviced?

 

[compcons]

I hate to bump an old thread but I figured it was worth the note. I just had all the fluids on my 2013 non-PP changed. It has under 36k miles on it and I don't track the car and don't drive it hard. I picked up the car from my local mechanic and there was something they wanted me to see. The tech had transfer case (PTU) fluid in a cup. It has so much metal in it that looks like liquid graphite. He said the trans fluid was almost black as well. The tech said that the transfer case only holds about 1 quart of fluid and felt it seems like its not an adequate amount of fluid for that job. I would have never thought of doing these services this early but BG Lubricants provides a warranty if you switch to their stuff prior to 36k miles. Now I am glad I did. I was hoping to get this car past 100k miles but I have a strong feeling it wont be making it that long. I am now regretting trading in my perfectly running 2007 M35x in on this thing last year.

In any case, change your fluids early and often and see if you can keep it on the road. I would go complain to the dealership, but the ones around here seem a bit lame.

EH

 

[SHOdded]

Yeah, the PTU can be a real Pain in The *****! For better or worse, Ford is not alone in this problem with AWD setups. It's the whole "lifetime" illusion.

Trans fluid looking black ... it will do that over time, especially with the LV spec fluid. You can see this video on YT here for an example:

I'd change out the trans fluid also if you haven't already just so you know your starting point. You wouldn't have any idea how the car was driven before you got it ...