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Drive with bad PTU


apensity

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I haven't seen an answer to this yet, so brining it up again. Please, no guesses or snide remarks as this is a serious issue. My family has a ton of medical bills from my wife having cancer and my youngest daughter having SJIA, so $1800 to replace right now just isn't happening (and it is out of warranty by 8,000 miles - 2013 3.5L). I grew up in an auto shop, so I know cars, but newer items like the PTU are above me. I know the PTU has been leaking recently and it is now humming/clicking when driving. THe trans is fine, fluid topped off and good color, but the "natural gas smell" is there and the all-wheel drive turned off this weekend when driving up a steep switchback section or road. So i am guessing it is the PTU. I can't replace it yet, but wanted to see how long people have driven theirs after finding out the PTU needed replacing. Also, what would I expect for "failure" from the PTU? Total undrivability? Smoke? or maybe just smell? Just wondering as I am going to have to try and get another few weeks out of it at least. Thank you for your input.

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Soryry to hear about the family issues and can understand your position. Unfortunately I have no concrete info to give you. But I would suggest trying to salvage it. Some people have had some luck with frequent "flushes." Since the fluid is cheap it might be worth a shot.

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The humming/clicking will turn to grinding soon enough. So first thing to do is figure out how far it's gone. For that, you need to get under the Edge and extract the fluid. If there are metal shavings/pieces in the fluid itself, you have a serious issue. There will be shavings on the plug, not a big deal. But as long as the fluid doesn't look like chunky soup, I'd do what wlepse said. Change/flush the PTU fluid a few times over the next few months. It should get better each time you do a drain & fill because of the frequency of the D&R. So maybe monthly for the first 3 months, then just check to see. By that time, the PTU should be functioning properly, not optimally, but close enough.

 

EBay is probably the cheapest source for a new PTU, or you could take a chance with a junkyard unit if you have to. A non-dealer shop should be able to install for much less, just be sure to get a reputable shop.

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