2021 Ford Escape - first big problem
- Thread starter dcd
- Start date
Apparently not since shop labor is $150/hr. Don't want to waste time cleaning threads and reusing a perfectly good plug with thread sealer when you can slap in a new one with pre-installed thread sealant. And in the meantime, the shop comes to a screaching hault on powertrain service because plugs are not available. It's a rediculous catch-22.
I don't think I've ever seen any service manual besides Ford showing to use a new drain or fill plug any time they have been removed.
Being an actual competent Mechanic went by the wayside when code-reading, parts-changer 'Techs' arrived on the scene.
I clean all bolts on a wire wheel before reinstalling.
Since when are drain plugs perishable items? Ford's lost it. Or they decided to create a new market sector.
Yeah it strikes me as weird. Maybe they identified a real problem, and rather than change the stamping/molding/whatever, thread locker was the cheapest/fastest/most acceptable solution. On the drawing board end of things, at least. One pandemic later and clearly that seems to have been the wrong choice. Not that I would have deemed it a great solution in the first place, but I get it, sometimes one just kicks a cost down the line (R&D cost versus extra cost to the consumer).
I looked at the 2016 Mustang shop manual and they say to re-use the drain and fill plugs. So wondering what's changed today for them to say to not re-use them for this vehicle. Are they made out of plastic and can only take a one time use or something?
I'm wondering if the dealer is lying and just wants to pad the bill. I'd call around to a few more dealers.
Maybe they are torque to yield drain plugs. I’ve never heard of TTY plugs but wouldn’t put it past Ford if they were 10 cents cheaper per car.
The matched set varies by AWD system. I have owned AWD vehicles for 25 years and honestly never had an issue of matched tires. I change out set but they get rotated. There is slightly more maintenance involved though although none of it was expensive to change $40 fluid with a remove bolt/drain/refill affair.
Delicate balance of customer returns/frustration salvaging parts vs replacing them for slightly more. I have a very competent mechanic who salvaged the breather oil lines on my wife’s old 2005 Subaru Legacy turbo and they still leaked and the thing smoked/dripped at 240k. She moved on.
He was great a welding an exhaust for $50 that lasted 6 years instead of dealer wanting $1200 to replace entire exhaust.
I hope OP gets his stuff solved or the diff craters in warranty.
One of the things I've noticed about BITOG is that people here often change various fluids early, and get an unusually good service life from their vehicles. The fluid change is the only way to remove certain contaminates from the engine/transmission/transfer case/differential/brake system/cooling system.
If the OP has not already done so, I suggest changing the fluid.
If the OP has not already done so, I suggest changing the fluid.
Thanks for the video link. That’s very helpful.
I’m also a believer in frequent fluid changes. This vehicle may be an exception for me. I’ve pretty much decided now not to keep it past the 7yr 100k extended warranty. Last thing I want to do is get my warranty voided somehow for DIY maintenance that may come back to bite me if you know what I mean.
No front wheel drive version of this vehicle will ever have this problem.
He addresses the "new drain plug" Ford nonsense at 4:53.
I was going to suggest, use a magnet for the fill plug too, that much break in and might as well get as much of the metal as possible.
IMO that is a lot of metal! I would think of doing a change at 10k, then maybe 20k, cost be darned. Once the fluid comes out clean, then lengthen OCI.
Looks like to me that Ford shaved as much metal off that plug and skipped on a crush washer, all to save a few cents. Easy to have the plug manufacturer put on sealant, I guess the bean counters figured this was cheaper.
IMO that is a lot of metal! I would think of doing a change at 10k, then maybe 20k, cost be darned. Once the fluid comes out clean, then lengthen OCI.
Looks like to me that Ford shaved as much metal off that plug and skipped on a crush washer, all to save a few cents. Easy to have the plug manufacturer put on sealant, I guess the bean counters figured this was cheaper.
They used pipe threads on the drain and fill plugs. Manufacturers have used pipe threads on diff and trans plugs since... forever.
I don't understand Ford's requirement that the drain plug be replaced, and I don't understand what is so special about the thread sealant that requires the plug's replacement.
Correct and if your use case fits use FWD. I require AWD mainly due to a hobby of skiing in powder. In short I drive with conditions are so poor and travel is difficult due to unplowed roads usually up steeper inclines.
Yep, manual transmission and differential fill and drain plugs have been a pipe thread forever.
Somewhere between 2016 and now, Ford has changed from reusing the plugs to making them "one time use". I think it's essentially to save time, and to ensure the plugs will always be sealed because maybe they don't trust the techs to be able to clean and use sealant on the old plugd for some reason. The 2016 factory service manual says to reuse the plugs, and doesn't even mention cleaning or using a sealant on them after removal ... just to reinstall them. Of course, a good tech would clean and use an appropriate sealant on the threads before reinstalling the old plugs.
I still think that the OP should call after different dealers.
