Saw a thread on BITOG addressing a fluid change for a Ford PTU. Did not know it needed to be serviced and the owner manual does not have it in the maintenance schedule. Bought a quart of Motorcraft 75w85 hipoid oil (EXPENSIVE) and changed it in wife’s 2020 EcoSport at 132,170 miles. Drained, and it was black as tar, the new is clear. Only takes a little less than 1/2 qt. Also flushed out the Ford orange coolant and refilled with Prestone Cor-Guard (yellow).
PTU fluid change
- Thread starter dgc76
- Start date
Do these have a clutch pack or just a 90 degree gearset and bearings? I think they run hot for whatever reason and that's why the fluid looks so dark. I saw the same thing on my Saturn Vue with the NVG900 PTU.
You'll probably want to do it again soon. I think they call for the heavier 75W140 in them as well.
Tiny amount of fluid, lots of gears thrashing around in there, and little cooling just beats the bejesus out of that fluid.
And yes, the newer versions of it call for a 30K service and have drain plugs on them, as well as enhanced cooling.
Tiny amount of fluid, lots of gears thrashing around in there, and little cooling just beats the bejesus out of that fluid.
And yes, the newer versions of it call for a 30K service and have drain plugs on them, as well as enhanced cooling.
I believe in 2019 they switched to a 75w85 .
I service my daughter's 2013 mkx and my 2011.
I drilled and tapped her ptu at 82000 miles absolutely nothing drained out I have flushed it twice now and it comes out black as tar.
I did mine at 30000 miles about 15 oz came out and it was also black.
refilled with severe gear 75w140 hopefully I caught hers in time ?
Yea, those PTU's are one example I give when people say
'I trust the engineers that designed the car'
Yep, those same engineers that made that thing with 1/2qt capacity and no drain plug a 'lifetime fill'
Sometimes they don't even make it out of warranty.
Yes another example of planned obsolescence and penny pinching manufacturers .
Utterly stupid and inexcusable design ! the position they are installed in should have at least two quarts of fluid and a factory drain plug.
The water pump what can I say ! they ruined a gem of an engine with it.
Utterly stupid and inexcusable design ! the position they are installed in should have at least two quarts of fluid and a factory drain plug.
The water pump what can I say ! they ruined a gem of an engine with it.
The PTU fluid on my awd 2010 Fusion at 43k miles was pretty dark, glad I changed it. It was a nuisance to extract from the fill port, irritating that there is no drain plug. Exhaust is routed pretty close to the PTU and fluid capacity is less than 1/2 litre , no wonder the fluid gets cooked.
4wd
$50 site donor 2026
Had a 2015 Explorer - exhaust so close to the PTU that you could not remove the drain plug - and of course you only had a tiny vent tube to gurgle in the new gear oil. Well, worse - it had the monoxide problem with no TSB - so we turned it into the 2017 Tahoe in signature …
I guess we got lucky with getting the 2.3 EcoBoost instead of the 3.5, except for the lousy 6F35 transmission which came with the 2.3 EB . This PTU uses 23oz of 75W-140 vs ~13oz with the 3.5. It does have a drain plug which many of the 3.5's do not have. And the fill plug is easy to access vs the 3.5. As a bonus you do not have the anywhere near the heat surrounding it and baking the fluid. I had the dealer do the first change at ~10,000 miles then every ~25,000 miles I had my indie change it with Amsoil SVG 75W-140. The magnet has always come out clean and the fluid is amber, not black. Is it a "Life Time" fluid, NO! So far at 111,000 miles the PTU is quiet and functions perfectly. I just had it changed again and it was just fine, clean magnet and amber color.
