Ford Taurus X PTU 75W-140 FF Kinda

[threeputtpar]

When I purchased the Taurus X in November, I had noticed that there was gear lube on the lower crossmember right below the PTU and I knew that I would have to deal with some type of leak. What I didn't know when I took it in to have the PTU fluid serviced was that there was no fluid left in it, just sludge from what used to be the factory fill. This was at 118k miles.

So I had them fill it with the house brand 75W-140 (brand unknown) and I drove it as is. A week later, I had a small puddle on the garage floor of nasty black oil. The oil separator was gunked up and could not properly separate air from oil so it was forcing the new lube out of the vent on top, which was pretty common on those PTUs not serviced.

Long story short, I drilled and tapped in a drain plug to make it serviceable for me in my garage and I caught a sample of the fluid that was now carrying some of that sludge. Here are the results:

Code:


Cu 310

Fe 826

Cr 16

Al 8429

Pb 3

Sn 2

Si 1296

Na 14

K 3

Mo 5

Ca 109

Mg 23

Zn 104

P 398


It was also positive for water.

Somehow, the PTU is not making any noise. I think I was quite lucky to catch it when I did, and now am doing weekly fluid changes until I start seeing the fluid coming out clean. Then I'll fill with Schaeffer's 170 and run that 20-30k miles and test.

I should have another sample this weekend and will do another UOA next week. Crossing my fingers.

 

[panther427]

The breather is probably plugged up too. I believe there is an updated part.
At least remove and clean it

 

[Ojustracing]

Wow I'd give you the high Iron and Copper. But look at that Alum reading!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[threeputtpar]

I should have mentioned that in the OP, but I did pull the breather filling and clean it out. I also installed the updated extension hose, but it's not making much difference yet until most of the sludge in the separator has been cleaned up.

 

[threeputtpar]

The housing is aluminum, so I suspect that something is/was rubbing against the inside of the housing. This is why I'm surprised that it's not making any noise.

 

[threeputtpar]

One question that I didn't think of right away - with such a low amount of Ca in the lube is it wishful thinking that repetitive oil services will clean anything?

Is there an additive that I can spike the 75-140 with to increase the dispersants?

 

[Ojustracing]

I guess this couldn't hurt.

Product Information
A PRODUCT OF THE VALVOLINE COMPANY
A DIVISION OF ASHLAND INC.
VALVOLINE PERFROMANCE SYSTEM DIFFERENTIAL & TRANSFER CASE
CLEANER
•
100% Solvent Free
•
Removes Harmfull Deposits From The Driveline System
•
Prepares The Gear Box And Transfer Case For New Fluid
Valvoline Performance System Differential & Transfer Case Cleaner
is a safe and effective
detergent/dispersant based cleaner that quickly helps remove harmful deposits from the driveline
system.
When using
Valvoline Performance System Differential & Transfer Case Cleaner
always carefully
follow the instructions provided on the label.
Technical Data:
Appearance
Clear Amber Liquid
Flash Point, F,
TCC
201
Specific Gravity
0.88

 

[CT8]

That is the Factory fill .The water may be from condensation

 

[bullwinkle]

That 1296 Si is impressive too, dirt is getting in there somehow!

 

[Colt45ws]

Originally Posted By: bullwinkle
That 1296 Si is impressive too, dirt is getting in there somehow!

My thought is it might be part of the Aluminium alloy the case is cast from.

 

[earlyre]

since you mentioned water...
according to the workshop manual, those units are supposed to be replaced if submerged. (you know like stupidly driving through a flooded road way)

also around 120k it is not uncommon for the Haldex rear end to fail/need replacing. My sister just did this on her 2005 Freestyle, cost about $2k at her local indie shop.

just saying...

 

[zeng]

Originally Posted By: Colt45ws
Originally Posted By: bullwinkle
That 1296 Si is impressive too, dirt is getting in there somehow!

My thought is it might be part of the Aluminium alloy the case is cast from.



This makes sense.

Does copper indicates bronze bush bearings,and not needle roller bearings, inside PTU?

 

[DoubleWasp]

I'm still wondering just how this fiasco got past R&D.

 

[Ojustracing]

There isn't a hole in the case? That would explain a bunch of stuff.

 

[threeputtpar]

There's not a hole in the case, just a flexible reed valve on top to vent when it gets hot.

It would be very difficult to get any dirt in the PTU, so I think that the aluminum and silicon are from the case.

 

[metroplex]

It's like half a quart of 75W-140 too, and the factory fill has a fairly low flash point compared to Amsoil and Redline.

I read that the PTU cooler installed on the 2013-newer SHO Perf Package and Police Interceptor reduces the temperature by 75F. I'm not sure it is enough because there are reports of Police Interceptors blowing up the PTUs by 60k miles.

The PTU is shared between the Flex/MKT, Explorer, and Taurus/MKS.

 

[metroplex]

Where did you drill and tap the drain plug? I know there are pictures floating on the Internet, but i was hoping someone had made a template by now

 

[threeputtpar]

If you want a precise placement of the drain plug, fordedgeforum.com has a thread where the_natrix showed how he measured his while it was out of the vehicle.

As I said in the thread you started regarding fluid recommendations, I just eyeballed the center of the flat spot and drilled and had no issues.

Here is his photobucket account of all his work:

 

[threeputtpar]

As promised, here's a follow up UOA after 500 miles of commuting with Valvoline High Performance 75W-90 in the PTU:

Code:


02/26/16 03/23/16

Cu 310 66

Fe 826 292

Cr 16 4

Al 3429 1949

Pb 3 1

Sn 2 1

Si 1296 302

Na 14 7

K 3 2

Mo 5 2

Ca 109 82

Mg 23 9

Zn 104 47

P 398 578


The notes said that both times the oil was too dark to perform a particle count, which was unfortunate as I wanted that number for the shock value alone. This time there was no water detected, which is good, but they still think there's dirt in the fluid from the Si and Al numbers.

They suggested I resample after 25k miles, which gave me a chuckle. They must have learned that from Blackstone. Maybe she meant 2500 miles? The refill was the same Valvoline conventional 75W-90 lube.

One noteworthly observation is the Mo number from the first UOA - it's internet rumor that these PTUs come from the factory with a high Mo lube in them to try to get them to be a fill for life fluid, thus why they are so dark black even when drained at low mileage. A few Edge owners years ago did D&Fs on theirs at less than 30k miles and reported that the fluid was very black and smelled terrible, which was attributed to the Moly additive rumored to be in there.

Since my first UOA was essentially the factory fill plus a little new fluid to start washing out the sludge, there should have been a high Mo count if the rumor was true. Looks like that was not the case in my PTU at least.