PTU Failure and Turbo Down Pipe Leak

[expertshot]

I have a 2013 SHO with 73,000 miles on it. I drive almost exclusively highway miles, racking up about 60,000 of those miles in the past two years on the highways.

Long story short, I started smelling something. Dealership told me it was probably spilled oil. After it continued and I found a small puddle under my car I took it back. Now they said my PTU has failed and needs replaced. They also found a turbo down pipe leak. To fix both issues, it's going to cost me a whopping $2,000 or more.

I called Ford and asked for assistance. I explained the situation to them, including that I bought my SHO brand new on May 31, 2013, so by years it would have ran out of warranty this past May. I also explained that these are highway miles and that I've had no other issues with the car. Ford is not going to give me any assistance because its out of warranty. The best they could do was tell me to save my receipts in case there is a recall in the future on that part.

Obviously, I'm a bit shocked that this happened. What's more surprising is that Ford isn't going to do anything to help me, even after they know how many vehicles we have purchased from them. In fact, I'm trading the 2013 SHO in for a new one in May of 2017 (that was the plan at least). Still, they won't help me out. It should go without saying, but I'm now skeptical of buying a new SHO in May considering I'm going to rack up a ton of miles on it long before it's 3 years old. I understand things fail, but a PTU shouldn't fail at 73,000 miles, just over three years old, and almost all highway miles, right?

Has anyone had a similar issue with their SHO? Does anyone have any advice on getting any help from Ford? Thoughts?

 

[SHOdded]

Sorry to hear! The PTU and the rear turbo can be issues on these cars. You should try a different dealership tho. I guess you are out of power train warranty also

 

[krewat]

Out of curiosity, does it have the Performance Pack?

 

[SilverSH0]

What's the split between the turbo/downpipe repair and the PTU and what exactly is a turbo downpipe leak (which turbo)? Meaning, is it a leaking turbo oil/coolant? downpipe leaking exhaust? or the turbo to downpipe interface leaking exhaust?

I don't think PTU failure is super common. Has the fluid been changed in the past? From what others have said, the fluid can get pretty thick.

 

[SHOdded]

Do you have a copy of the estimate that you can post?

 

[itwonder]

You could put a used PTU on it, live with the downpipe leak, and trade it in May per your plan.

 

[expertshot]

Out of curiosity, does it have the Performance Pack?

No, I don't have the performance package on it.

 

[expertshot]

What's the split between the turbo/downpipe repair and the PTU and what exactly is a turbo downpipe leak (which turbo)? Meaning, is it a leaking turbo oil/coolant? downpipe leaking exhaust? or the turbo to downpipe interface leaking exhaust?

I don't think PTU failure is super common. Has the fluid been changed in the past? From what others have said, the fluid can get pretty thick.

Come to find out, the turbo isn't leaking at all. The service manager told me that over the phone, but then when I spent a half-hour under the car with the technician he said they just want to replace the rubber seal when they replace the PTU. He said they have to take the piece off to do the repair, so it will need done at that time. It's like a $30 part, which I'll spend the money now to save later.

The car is leaking PTU fluid. It's dripping down onto the exhaust, which is how I originally figured out something was wrong. It started smelling, then I began to notice a drop or two on the floor of my garage. I had the oil changed from the Ford dealer at about that time, they thought it was spilled oil. It has gotten progressively worse. The technician explains that basically the PTU fluid got too hot and started splashing through the PTU vent.

I have pulled all of my maintenance records for the car. On October 14, 2014 I had the half-shaft inspection recall done. They removed and replaced the intermediate shaft. Could that have anything to do with the problem I'm now having with the PTU?

 

[expertshot]

The fluid is coming out the vent then running down. The seals are still holding.

 

[SHOdded]

Yes it very well could. Particularly if it looks like the PTU fluid is contaminated with transmission fluid. Then you know the intermediate seal is compromised.

Good on ya for following up with the tech directly.

 

[SilverSH0]

The fluid is coming out the vent then running down. The seals are still holding.

If fluid is coming out the vent it could be multiple issues. Like SHOdded stated, it could be the intermediate seal. Check your transmission fluid level, it should be low if that's the case.

It could also be that the fluid sludged up and clogged the air/oil separator and is now puking it out the vent. I have seen a picture from an Edge when they removed the PTU of all the sludge that formed and blocked the separator. If you have the PTU replaced or taken off, make sure they implement the PTU vent TSB.

http://revbase.com/BBBMotor/TSb/DownloadPdf?id=171259

 

[Alloygt]

I bought a 2015 in August, with 21,700 miles. After a couple of weeks, I noticed it seemed like the brakes were on sometimes when backing up. My fiancee even mentioned that she was backing up towards the garage and when the parking assist started beeping, it felt like the car was applying the brakes. About a week later, I was backing into the driveway and the car bucked hard, emitted a huge squeal and really foul smelling smoke started pouring out from under the hood. It smelled so bad our neighbors up the street called the gas company thinking there was a leak. It spewed about a quart of nasty black oil all over the driveway. I had to get it towed into the dealer. Catastrophic failure of the PTU, bad enough to crack the case. Thank goodness for the warranty. I love the car, so I'm definitely going to have to get an extended one.

It had pretty low miles on it for such a failure. From the condition of the rest of the car, I don't think it was abused.

 

[itwonder]

I'm curious; do the police interceptors have these problems with the PTU? OP, maybe you could find a used PTU, and that could get you through until you trade it in the spring.

 

[SHOdded]

Yes, PIs continue to have issues with the PTU despite continued redesign by Ford. The maintenance interval on them is 30,000 miles, IIRC, and the warranty coverage is better also.

 

[RAYJAY]

Yes, PIs continue to have issues with the PTU despite continued redesign by Ford. The maintenance interval on them is 30,000 miles, IIRC, and the warranty coverage is better also.

what is the maintenance on the ptu change oil every 30 k ?

and to the OP thats why most members on here buy the extended warranty, from ford

 

[SHOdded]

Correct, ptu fluid change every 30k.

 

[RamAireTransAm]

ptu was replaced on my 13 mks eb with 46k on it . It was a florida car and a company car . So i assume lots of easy driving and not much use for the awd. The ptu is a pos and doesnt have enough fluid in it .

 

[SilverSH0]

ptu was replaced on my 13 mks eb with 46k on it . It was a florida car and a company car . So i assume lots of easy driving and not much use for the awd. The ptu is a pos and doesnt have enough fluid in it .

Keep in mind, that's Florida where it's hot. So even with easy driving, the climate would make it much harder for it to cool down. Since overheating is ultimately the issue with the PTU, I would call a Florida car more harsh conditions for the PTU (AWD use won't matter because the PTU is always turning even when AWD is not engaged).

 

[Bill Capeless]

On a 2013 non-PP, Is it possible to replace the PTU with one from a PP or PI? I just noticed something leaking oil toward the front right side of my car. I can't tell exactly where until I get it in the air. Lots of snow on the ground now.

 

[Sgtmeatsauce1]

Can you access the drain plug on the ptu (13 +pp car) from the passenger side with the wheel off and a bunch of extensions. Plan to refill through the vent tube. Newer ptu, was replaced at 44,000 miles has 63,000 now.....