flymore Posted March 16, 2019 Report Share Posted March 16, 2019 (edited) After reading the many posts here I talked to the service guy at the dealer about my new to me CPO Ford Edge PTU with nearly 29k miles on it. Not sure if you can see from the picture but there are paint marks on the drain and fill plugs so if one were to service this unit themselves it would probable void the warranty. I asked the service guy if it would be a good idea to change the fluid with summer driving coming up, he assured me no service was necessary on the PTU before 100,000 miles. He explained the most important thing was too keeping my tires rotated. Tires of different size would put a strain on the PTU. Thought this was interesting since my tire pressure was 34 psi left front, 32 right front, 30 left rear and 29 right rear. I adjusted all tires to 35 psi. Anyway I'm enjoying my new Edge. Cheers Edited March 16, 2019 by flymore Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TourGuide Posted March 16, 2019 Report Share Posted March 16, 2019 That sounds like the standard corporate line from Ford. I wouldn't believe it if I were you. Then again - it may be unimportant to YOU - if you are not planning on keeping this ride long term. Since I am planning to buy my Edge out at the end of the lease - I put this oil in the PTU at around 12,000 miles: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000CPI5YG/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 It also may be unimportant to you if you are planning to purchase a Ford ESP warranty. In either of those cases - pfft - who cares? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onyxbfly Posted March 16, 2019 Report Share Posted March 16, 2019 Why would changing the PTU fluid void the warranty? I wouldn't believe that at all. The tech is just telling you what Ford Corporate tells the service manager to tell the techs to tell the customers. The fluid is not life long. The fluid should be drained and filled at least once a year, or every third oil change depending on how you drive etc. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1004ron Posted March 16, 2019 Report Share Posted March 16, 2019 The green paint marks are a factory quality check indication to the inspector that the plugs have been tightened/torqued - no way they can be used to tell if the plugs were removed - the orange color is a thread sealant. The salesman is talking BS about the tires putting the PTU at risk, seeing at the Rear Drive Unit uses a clutch to engage it, and he's also bullshitting about running the oil in the PTU to 100K miles. I changed my PTU oil to a good quality synthetic at 5K miles and will do so every 20-30K miles. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flymore Posted March 16, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2019 So why didn't he just agree to change the fluid? Something like, "Yea I can change it for you. It'll cost you $xxx" was what I was expecting. Uhhh me customer? I mentioned how close the catalytic converter was to the PTU, and he said I could talk to one of his experts but it's good for a 100,000 miles. Guess I could try another Ford dealer. Not sure I want to do this myself, it's really tight in there. There was a post around here somewhere saying they changed their PTU on a 2017 AWD and the fluid looked fine at 29000 miles. I never know how long I'll keep a vehicle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1004ron Posted March 17, 2019 Report Share Posted March 17, 2019 4 hours ago, flymore said: So why didn't he just agree to change the fluid? Something like, "Yea I can change it for you. It'll cost you $xxx" was what I was expecting. Uhhh me customer? I mentioned how close the catalytic converter was to the PTU, and he said I could talk to one of his experts but it's good for a 100,000 miles. Guess I could try another Ford dealer. Not sure I want to do this myself, it's really tight in there. There was a post around here somewhere saying they changed their PTU on a 2017 AWD and the fluid looked fine at 29000 miles. I never know how long I'll keep a vehicle. Sounds like you have a decision to make, accept the advice of the folks here, the dealership service advisor (not a qualified mechanic), or your own gut feel. Changing the fluid is an easy job, and there's many reports here of dealerships doing this oil change for customers. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flymore Posted March 17, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2019 What is the torque spec on the drain and fill plugs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WWWPerfA_ZN0W Posted March 19, 2019 Report Share Posted March 19, 2019 The fill plug, spec'd at 33 ft lb. the drain plug, no idea. Ford does not officially acknowledge the drain plug in Gen 2 PTUs, and many dealers are likely unaware of it as well. If you insist on the fact it has both a drain and fill plug, it is meant to be drained, you will likely be able to get their trans tech to service the ptu. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onyxbfly Posted March 19, 2019 Report Share Posted March 19, 2019 7 minutes ago, WWWPerfA_ZN0W said: Ford does not officially acknowledge the drain plug in Gen 2 PTUs, I get what you said, but can you please explain the context? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WWWPerfA_ZN0W Posted March 19, 2019 Report Share Posted March 19, 2019 Not sure what there is to explain? The experience of many owners when asking their gen 2 ptus to be serviced by the dealer is one of suprise by service advisors and techs at the mention of the drain plug. So, the conclusion I draw from that is that it is likely that they have not been briefed on this feature during sales OR service training by Ford. The manual DOES make mention of the drain plug (33 ft lb now that I check) in the draining and filling section, so I do not understand why that is an issue at the dealership, other than Ford policy/training. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onyxbfly Posted March 19, 2019 Report Share Posted March 19, 2019 I was stuck on "Ford does not officially acknowledge the drain plug in Gen 2 PTUs" After I read your post in its entirety it made sense. Thanks for the clarification. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WWWPerfA_ZN0W Posted March 19, 2019 Report Share Posted March 19, 2019 I would be glad to see proof of a rebuttal that Ford is indeed making the dealers aware. Lincoln dealerships seem to be more on the ball with things, again, I do not know whether that is due to official training, or due to their generally higher level of customer service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
omar302 Posted March 19, 2019 Report Share Posted March 19, 2019 (edited) There is a Ford procedure for draining & refilling the PTU foe Gen 2. Install the PTU drain plug. Torque: 33 lb.ft (45 Nm) Transfer Case Draining and Filling.pdf Sorry, @WWWPerfA_ZN0W, didn't see your post with the torque specs. By the way, our Dealer here is aware & they spec the drain/refill every 32k km. But it is probably because our region had higher failure rates that prompted the drain plug to be factory equipped from 2013 Edge models and also the extended 1 time replacement warranty for previous years with a drain plug equipped PTU. Edited March 19, 2019 by omar302 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WWWPerfA_ZN0W Posted March 19, 2019 Report Share Posted March 19, 2019 Yup I think you originally posted the CSP regarding the Middle East PTUs IIRC. Stateside, you will still get a "blank stare" if you ask about servicing gen 1 or gen 1.5 PTUs at a Ford dealership. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flymore Posted March 21, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2019 (edited) Mine is the 3.5L PTU, probable similar to the 2.7L except the drain plug is not on the bottom but the side and it's smaller than T50. Hard to see what the fill side is don't think it's Torx. Still getting tools together for this. When I put the car up on ramps, it won't be level and not sure I can fill it properly. Temperatures here way cooler than middle east, was about 14F when I picked up the car couple weeks ago. thanks Edited March 21, 2019 by flymore Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flymore Posted April 24, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 24, 2019 It was a nice day, about 60 degrees so I decided to crawl around under my new car. After a couple of short trips the temp of the PTU case was 196 degrees. The drain plug appears to be 1/4inch hex. I think someone posted it was 8mm, no way. 7mm way to big and 1/4 fits well with just a tiny bit of play. Do they make 6.5mm or is that to close to a 1/4? I don't have a 6.5mm in my set. It's really tight in there and still not sure I want to do this myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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