These are the Tools and Parts I Recommend: PTU Fluid- amzn.to/2VXReqC Filler Funnel- amzn.to/35tgWGp Thread Sealant- amzn.to/2KT6Llf 5/16" Hose Barb- amzn.to/2KVrrsH 5/16" Tubing- amzn.to/3fqwSOu As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
This guy is the best of the best ! Pls support him and subscribe. I can't begin to tell you how valuable he is to all of us diy ppl. He has the experience and knowlage that you cant find anywere. His videos are great quality and he takes his time to show us step by step details on just about everthing you would need. This is not a place to bag on ford or the the engeniers. Lets face it none of us have the education or Means to build vehicals in a production environment and every car maker has issues. So insted of talking crap lets look at the valuable information being provided for us for free, who does that . this guy runs a buissness and makes time to inform us on work arounds that he uses. What more could you ask for ? Just want to say thank you for you time and effort brother . we appreciate you !!
Finally! Need to do this on our 15 ExSport. Been procrastinating since she hit 30k on the clock. Just hit 36k and this video pops up on my feed. Perfect timing.
Thanks for showing us how to take care of our Fords! I've had lots of Ford and presently have a 2017 Explorer Sport, 2015 F350 Lariet 6.7, and a 2007 GT500 and I do all the work on them thanks to you!!
Definitely a great tip! To the non believers: remember, this vehicle only has 30k on it. imagine what those exhaust bolts and other bits will look like after a few good winters, especially in the rust belt.
Thanks for the great content. As a seasoned campaigner (read "old"), I go here for my 1st pass at all our family Ford/Lincoln maintenance. The only challenge I see here is the vent is not able to "vent" when used for filling with a high viscosity fluid, no ability to burp. Slow and steady is the only way, I would not recommend using the plunger to "force" fluid as it could very possibly push the syringe(funnel) out of the line and make a huge mess. Additionally, it could damage a seal as you are, in effect, pressurizing the PTU case. It is a great option for future servicing but there is no magic way to get 75W140 hypoid to flow quickly enough to not try your patience. Thanks!
If that was me plunging in the fluid, the tip of the syringe would have exploded out of the hose with a mess quickly following😅. So yeah, patients lol. Great channel and content. Thanks for posting.
Kind of like watching grass grow. Can't you expedite the fill process from bottom . Get a pipe thread nipple fitting to thread in where the drain bolt goes attach a long fuel hose and bring to top of vehicle . Pop the cap off vent and fill by gravity with a small funnel from on top. Take low air pressure to push the remaining 6 feet of lube in hose into the diff and then pinch off the fill 2hose as close as you can to the drain. Pinch off the vent hose .Unscrew the pipethread nipple with hose from drain. (Gear oil won't rush out with vent hose pinched off from above). Reinstall the drain plug. Unpinch the vent hose and put the vent cap back on. Gear oil will flow in much faster if the air has somewhere to go other than burping back through the lube you are trying to get in from the top. Just get it in from the bottom drain plug hole like filling those dipstick tubeless transmissions
Another great video! I do have what i consider an improvement on the vent tube extension. Instead of extending the original hose, Just get your arm down in there, twist the hose around a few times to break it loose and yank it off the stainless steel barb fitting on the PTU. Then get about 3 feet of 5/16 non-fuel injected fuel line (this is the more flexible fuel line) and stick it on the PTU vent barb. Run it up by the brake fluid reservoir and your done.
6 of one, half dozen of the other. I think his extension idea is easier. What if you go to rip the hose off down there and it breaks, leaving a hunk of hose on the barbed fitting? With his extension that can’t happen, nor do you have to reach down as far. Less trauma on your arms and lower back.
You can reach the barb on the PTU from below if you lay under the car and stick your arm up past the left cat. I had to do this on my 2019 explorer as we bought it and I discovered that the entire breather line and filter was gone… no other option but attach a hose right to the fitting.
I have a 2015 AWD Edge with a 3.5ltr. My PTU has a drain plug, but no cooler or temp sensor. I managed to follow your directions and completed this task in about an hour or so. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and expertise.
Beautifully demonstrated, I've shared your videos with members of a Ford Taurus/Sable, MkS, etc to help them keep their cars running longer and stronger. Great video!
This is one of the best videos, picture wise and the explanations are clear and easy to understand. My only wish would have been to watch you take the vent cap off and insert the barb into the PTU vent hose. I am a fairly big guy 6' 200 lbs and I could not remove the cap despite many tries. My wife with small hands tried as well but could not get it to come loose. Finally she suggested to run the engine at temperature and that with the help of channel pliers allowed me to finally get the cap off.After about an hour of fighting to insert the barb, I finally was able to get it all the way in...
so i had to fight it as well. my advice is to get some small channel locks, and channel lock the vent hose a few inches below the cap, this allows you some leverage. then what i did was take a box cutter and just cut the hose below the cap. careful not to lose the hose! i did because i used the channel lock idea after cutting off the vent. the channel locks also allow you enough leverage to shove the barb into the hose. otherwise the hose might be too short to get any grip on it.
I recently purchased a 2013 Police Interceptor Sedan and the PTO/PTU was one of my concerns. I have been looking for a service procedure and this makes it clear as day and easy to under stand. I went on my lunch today and got the stuff to do this. Thank you for your knowledge.
Crazy dude... I just figured this out 2 days ago after watching your other videos about it. Also the concern about clogging is because the PTU is sealed and the only vent hole is being filled with fluid. If your fluid is sludge this could cause a problem. My plan was to put a little fluid in the vent hose while the drain was open to make sure the vent hose wasn't clogged. if it is, compressed air.
Thanks for the video. I could not pull the vent cap off the PTU vent hose for the life of me. Tried using a little flathead to pry it loose but no luck. So I thought why not just cut it off with about an inch of the vent hose then used a razor blade to slice the remnant hose piece vertically and it comes off easily. That's what I did and I don't see why that wouldn't work. Thank you for the instructions, I would have no idea where to start and what to do without your video!
Some age-old rules of thumb still make sense today. Regular fluid changes do wonders to extend the life of the vehicle. I have a healthy skepticism when it comes to lifetime fluids, 10k mile engine oils changes, etc. Oil is cheap compared to replacement parts. Definitely a DIY project,thank you for sharing!! 🙂👍
alright so to help others who are having trouble heres what i did: i removed the airbox first step (mostly to fill the transmission fluid) but i also used a small pair of vice grips to gain leverage on the hose as mine was pretty short. grip it a few inches from the vent, then grab a boxcutter, be careful not to cut yourself while you cut off the vent cap along with like half an inch of hose. the vicegrips not only keep the hose from dropping into a hard to reach position but they also allow you enough leverage to push on the new barb and hose extension.
I watch all ur video i learned a lot am a Ford guy. Me and my son fix his 05 f150 4.2 intake look. Like it had grease black sticky stuff cleaned it replaced EGR and bushings on the IMRC levers the butterflies in intake were stuck after cleaning intake they work truck runs great now it has power
These videos from this utuber are my go to for all my fords they are great and saved me thousands$ I share these videos on Facebook groups all the time when people ask questions.
Just chenged fluid in my explorer that way ( almost ). I used another tube3mm/5mm ( inside/outise ) and insert it inside of 5/16" main tubing. Then using 100ml syringe pushed oil almost directly in to ptu. It was not possibel to put pipe inside of ptu ( probably hole inside of ptu casing is much smaller than 5mm ). It took us 30 minutes to fill device. Great channel run by real PRO. thanks!
Great video and information ... I ended up pulling down the vent hose and making the connection with the brass barb from the bottom - as hard as I could I could not get the vent cap off of the hose when reaching from the top. I do have a lift and a long pliers which helped immensely. I was then able to thread the hose back up. Thanks Again
Hi Butch. Great idea. I have a 2017 platinum explorer. Is that your vehicle as well? I can touch the vent with my fingers but don't think I can pull it off. I have looked from underneath the vehicle, but with the cooler, I can't seem to see the vent tube from under the vehicle. If you do have a 2017 platinum, any suggestions would be helpful.
@@thomasbenko4246 No that is not my Explorer, mine is a 2018 but like I mentioned going from under the vehicle worked great, it is hard to see but it is there, when I reached up with the long nose pliers I was able to pull it down and actually the cap fell off?? As much as I tried I could not get the cap off from above either.
Thank you for making this video after seeing your previous videos about the PTU I inquired at my local Ford dealership and they esesanley told me it is a non serviceable part. And then when I looked to do it myself I could not find a fill plug thank you so much for your experience that you pass on to the masses.
Dude you just made the value of that vehicle go up lol. I was laying under my 2014 Taurus P interceptor I just got yesterday wondering how the heyl to do this without taking off the cat and I found you man I Glade you did this vid. I will go try this tomorrow. Thanks!!!!!!
2017 Explorer 3.5L EcoBoost with 50,500 miles. We had to use an allen wrench with pipe to break the drain plug loose. The oil was just a bit dark, but smelled normal. Moderate metal on the drain plug magnet. Getting the drain plug back in was a major PITA. Very awkward position and only finger room to maneuver the plug into the threads. On the top-side, We couldn’t get to the vent and hose from above with more than the fingers on one hand. We got under the drivers side and pulled the vent hose down enough to cut the vent off. I fished the new hose extension with the brass barbed connector down from above and connected to the existing vent hose. Had enough room to get two hands on the hoses so pushing them together was very doable. Pulled the excess hose up into the engine compartment and secured it with zip-ties. Of course, adding the gear oil, pressure locked everything about halfway through refilling the PTU. I put a heat gun under the PTU which increased the air pressure and gently burped the system to normalize the pressures and oil flowed again. It took several burps to allow all the oil to flow into the PTU. Hope this method helps someone who needs to change the PTU oil.
Thanks for showing us this great work around for a very poor design by Ford. I bought a used 2016 sport with 42,000 miles. I immediately drained and replaced the fluid. It was nice and golden. I was happy to see that at 42,000 miles. Fast forward 20,000 miles..... PTU smoked. Light came one and the god awful stench of burnt gear oil. Of course the wife was driving to get groceries and I was out of town. I tow a 6x10 trailer with 2 dirt bikes half dozen times a year. I have always watched the PTU and trans temps on my phone through an OBDII adapter. Pulling mile long hills at 65mph the PTU would run around 95-110 degrees F. I drained it last night. It was blacker than coal but still liquid. The smell was awful. Drain plug was pretty fuzzy. Refilled and have put another 50 miles on it. So far no overheating. I understand it's life is short but at least it's drivable until the shop can get it in. Think it's time to trade it for a truck. Loved the car and the acceleration of the Twin Turbo. But if it can't pull a trailer without self destructing It has to go.
Thank you for this video, I just changed the PTU fluid in my 2014 Police Interceptor Utility. It's a lot easier with the 3.7, less hoses in the way once you take off your air box. The drain plug is still a (you know what) to get to though.
Your content is absolutely amazing! I really gotta say that's a smart idea to put a dedicated cooler on them, as well as adding extended vent hose...great 💡
My second comment... Is there a way to add capacity to the unit, much like an automatic, with a big cooler and pump? My gears are turning on the prospect :)
I did similar to that but used a universal coolant reservoir mounted to the fender and removed the top of the put vent valve , removed the valve parts and clamped a high pressure air hose to it and ran to the tank . After I drilled the ptu and refilled the ptu to spec I added a half quart of fluid to the tank I installed and it worked great as it would bubble out when it got hot and suck what it needed back . Never could run low as the puke was always captured and sucked back in but still let the air out.
You send a picture of that and I'm assuming you said you drilled the P TOY because you wanted to leave the existing brain in place because it had a magnet and the magnet is the only way to catch the metal debris so basically you drilled and tapped the PTU and you added a coolant reservoir and more oil but only a 1/2 a quart of oil why not a bigger or larger capacity
I was thinking about almost your same exact idea of running a reservoir in a hose directly to the drain pbut I would lose the magnet so I'm assuming that's why I guess you left that in place
Thanks for the video!!! I used this exact method one difference, I refilled the PTU using a marine lower unit oil fill pump and threaded the fitting directly into the extended vent tube. Filled 18 ounces of warm 75w140 in 3 minutes using the pump. 👍👍
Brilliant, but why doesn't Ford include this conversion as standard in any PTU service? For grins, I asked my Service Tech to include it in my drain service appointment this morning. He was clueless, as was the manager.
I asked about it once and was told that it couldn't be serviced. I have an SHO with the performance package, so I think that mine is like this. If I can get the car safely in the air, I may do this myself a couple of times.
Why? Great question and I have no idea, but I'll bet it was the same engineer who thought removing the Trans dipstick tube and placing a thumb stick 3 inches from a 14 million degree Cat pipe was a great idea.
I'd be curious to see if Amsoil Severe Gear 75w-140 could extend the service interval of that unit. The stuff holds up extremely well in preventing thermal runaway. I use it in all my vehicles. I've exceeded the towing capacity of my truck by ridiculous amounts using their 75w-110, and the oil never let me down. My spider gears did ('07 Silverado - pre-bailout GM product, so no wonder) ... but that's another story for another day, lol. Great tip as always, Brian - much appreciated!!
Ive always had really good luck actually using the full syringe, sucking up the oil, drawing a vaccum, and that helped get oil where you need it to be! Great mod regardless!
Keep in mind those same engineers got paid a buttload of money, far more than a lowly technician like Brian will ever see, to come up with this stupid crap. It's absolutely sickening & embarrassing what passes for engineering nowadays! I don't see how any self-respecting human with an engineering degree could sign off on some of this junk. I'd be ashamed to show my face!
Amazing thinking out of the box sir! I would've just added 16 oz instead of 15 oz, due to all the fluid that dripped and stayed on the cat, etc... Great job!
Thanks, the dealer just replaced my PTU under warranty (3 days in the shop) but I'll be changing the fluid from here on out to avoid a expensive repair in the future.
your are the man thats what i did it took forever to bleed in small hose in maine winter. i took it to my dealer at first to have all fluids change and they told me it couldn't be done on a 18 explorer at all that it was sealed and it was a life time fluid, so now i do all my fluid changes myself lol. that PTU is smack dab on top y pipe and beside that CAT and its like a oven cooking that PTU and with only having like 16 oz of fluid that turns to glue over time.
I did this a couple months ago on the GFs vehicle(2017). I made huge mess. So had to get creative on the refill amount. Funny i used the same syringe and put an extended hose on also. Surprisingly w/46k at the time the fluid looked good.
I’m getting ready to do mine and I am deathly afraid of what you just said! If a guy does spill everything everywhere is the safe bet just to put the amount back in that he did in this video? What did you do?
2:50 It is nice they included a drain Plug .... So on this modern cars I feel lucky when I dont have to drill a hole to drain the oil LOL The Fiesta sold here in the mid 90s it came with a manual transmision that it was supposed to be "sealed for life". Early version of Focus did the same. To change the oil you need to suck it from a vent port .... So they were confident enough that no seal wre gona to fail no water instrussion .... very positive thinking. Guess it is good for 50K miles, then hope for the best. Nice vid.
Great idea but one thought. Filling through the vent means its a sealed system once you put fluid on top. There's trapped air in the PTU and it would be easy to apply too much pressure with a plunger and have it in return belch lube back out of the vent hose. I'd let gravity do it's thing.
Yes gravity is best or plunger it very slowly as shown, the space inside the ptu is large compared to the fluid you are introducing one vile at a time so it would be hard to apply too much pressure especially if it has time to vent between doses.
This is a great idea, very well done, I am not here bashing Ford, but why didn't they at the factory have this hose installed for easy access. everyone knows the PTU problems you will have if you do not change the fluid. I don't understand these companies, it just seems to me they want the cars to not be serviceable, so they break and you throw them away. again, great job on this, well done, love the channel.
while a diff ford and diff service, this reminds me of the challenge of my '14 escape read diff unit. no way to do that job w/o a decent syringe pump - both for evac and refilling. i got one on amazon that has a 'locking' hose so when you plunge, it wont come off and splatter fluid all over. btw brian, your vid was the reason i even knew to change the fluid in my escape ptu.. i figured it was lifetime. on my 2014 escape, the ptu fluid change is super easy. ty for all you do!!
I'd be tempted to fill from the bottom up like an outboard motor or sterndrive. Drain fluid, measure, flush, fill+1 pump, close top vent, close bottom drain, unplug top vent line
Great video! Appreciate the advice, I had a PTU explode on my 2016 Explorer Sport on the freeway @ 38,000 Miles. Ford took care of me, but I am going make sure this service is done.
Heh no shoot.. I tinker with those mud mowers those kids build. I'm surprised I haven't seen one of the kids use one of these for something on some crazy air cooled lawnmower engine based creation. Seems like that's all the power they could handle.
@@mikeg3529 Yea that too. The wife said the other day : go buy a new rider because you hate using the self propelled push mower. I do, but I hate new junk more. The rider needs some attention and I set it to the side last year. Time to fix it up again.
For those who are planning to do this in cold weather, heat up the fluid. First time I do this was summer, I just hooked the oil bottle up and let it slowly drip overnight and done. This time, however, the temperature is around 30F at night so all the oil is still in the bottle when I checked it this morning.
G.B.Stein said "silent gratitude isn't much good to anyone". with that, I say thank you sir. Also Fyi Instead of allowing gravity to work the new fluid down the new extension tube, I plunged it down the syringe , as it was quicker, however that was enough pressure to pop off the other end of the tube from the ptu unit and as a result make a big ol mess. It is very tight in there and it is not easy to reattach the tube but it can be done. Patience has never been a friend of mine, hopefully next service I will have learn my lesson. Patrick
Saw a pic of a duct tape "chute" that directed the fluid off of the exhaust. Because it's tape, the edges stuck to the parts around there. He used the non-sticky side for the fluid chute. Two layers of tape, sticky side to sticky side. No a single drop made it to the exhaust.
Very clever method. To save time I think I'd try to seal & tighten the fill plug only after the refill to allow venting. I also like Tim S's idea below, of using a second tube as a catheter for venting. Either way, Ford should've thought of this, and hopefully will integrate your idea into their design.
Thank you for this video I'm about to do this on my 15 explorer sport and was not sure how to go about it since my 10 lincoln mks had the older version and does not have a drain plug.
He mentioned a tip I used when filling with that 75w140. I set the jugs in the hot sun for several hours. Makes that syrup flow better. But if its winter, well..
Great series! Learning a lot about Explorer 3.5 Eco-Boost while shopping for a used Sport. Question: What year did Ford update the PTU to include the drain plug, sensor, cooler/cold air induction? It appears to be 2015(?). Thanks. I'm now a subscriber and believer.
Service Techs: "The old PTUs overheat and destroy themselves. We need a redesign." Ford: "We're listening - here's your redesign!" Service Techs: "But...it's stupid-ridiculous to service, and it still doesn't have enough cooling!" Ford: "There's no pleasing these crybabies..."
@@shartingkhumbubbles7169 you may not always have the vehicle yourself, service techs may not know what it is, or the next owner doesn't. An ID tag is a reasonably good idea.
Not only is this way easier than dropping the catalytic converter as ford recommends for changing the fluid, but you easily and effectively added a diff breather to the PTU so it won't suck water if you were submerge the vehicle past the PTU vent hose! Brilliant! Can you please work for Ford design department so they can start designing things with common sense in mind and I won't have to rely on your excellent videos to keep my escape in running condition? Joking/not joking.
I just picked up a 2017 Explorer FPIU so this is one of the first modifications I will be doing. Thanks for the great content and tips @fordtechmakuloco .
Thank you for sharing your knowledge! What are some tricks to isolate the issue at the PTU if no propane, egg smell or puking at the vent tube. I am experiencing a grind but no surge or slipping etc.
That is going to smell delicious on start-up. This video gives me another incentive to get a newer RWD base Explorer... as it has to be either different or be much more accessible
Try using a catheter to give the air a way out. Pull the vent, put on the syringe/funnel, shove the catheter down through the catheter ito the PTU, then pour the lube in
Have you tried using a mityvac? Put the fluid in the bottle and pull a vacuum and it will suck the fluid in. Thats how I do fluid changes on harley air shocks. If the hose is soft it might just collapse the hose though.
On the Fusion Sport (17-18), properly drained is almost a full quart. Drain plug easy accessible, to top fill is not too bad if you use a brass reducer on the tip of a hand pump extractor/filler. I do it at every 12 miles and strictly use Amsoil 75w140.
Very nice! Looks like I'll be doing this as soon as the weather improves here in Michigan.. My local Ford dealer refuses to change the fluid in my PTU and rear diff saying it's not necessary..
I have a 2013 3.5 L Ford, Explorer and have not changed the oil, I was concerned that after 181k miles it should have been changed. I was told there is no fill plug only a drain plug. It seemed like Ford have improved, but would have to replace my PTU. One U-tuber bored a hole in PTU and drilled and tapped a fill plug. He had to remove PTU to do that. They said it cost about $1500 parts and labor for a new one.
Dorman makes a coolant overflow bottle that would be perfect to permanently mount on the car for your fill bottle and install the vent to the top of the bottle then you could just fill it and let it drain into the ptu.
From Leo: I think you made a good technique for working around the problem. I think Ford's engineering staff has continued to make a comedy of errors with the entire design.
Love your video. Have a Ford 6.7 diesel question for you. Do you know if i can install a NOx sensor on my F 250 and then take it to ford to flash it , and program the pcm. Wasnt sure if i would damage the new NOx sensor by driving it to the dealership to reprogram the new one. thanks so much!!
It looks like Ford changed the PTU setup on the 2020 Edge ST again. Feel like doing an update? I was going to do the fluid swap this weekend but I am not confident messing with the changed setup....
Enjoyed the video, as usual. In my opinion, the procedure spelled out by Ford means that if you bring it into the dealership for the service, there's a good chance they will tell you it was done when it wasn't
Great video thanks! I was able to remove and add new fluid with this video. About the Vent though, which I don't have. What connects the vent hose to the PTU? I have one vent hose and cap coming in tomorrow from Ford parts.
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This guy is the best of the best ! Pls support him and subscribe.
I can't begin to tell you how valuable he is to all of us diy ppl.
He has the experience and knowlage that you cant find anywere. His videos are great quality and he takes his time to show us step by step details on just about everthing you would need. This is not a place to bag on ford or the the engeniers. Lets face it none of us have the education or
Means to build vehicals in a production environment and every car maker has issues. So insted of talking crap lets look at the valuable information being provided for us for free, who does that . this guy runs a buissness and makes time to inform us on work arounds that he uses. What more could you ask for ? Just want to say thank you for you time and effort brother . we appreciate you !!
I overfilled my PTU I think I about 27 ounces. Should I drain it and only put in 16?
Does your name imply that being a Ford Tech will make you loco. If so I understand, I too was a Ford Tech
What a great way to save time and headache's.
@@Three9sfine.: Totally agree!!! Brian puts out amazing, high quality content!!! I have learned so much from watching his videos!!!
Finally!
Need to do this on our 15 ExSport. Been procrastinating since she hit 30k on the clock. Just hit 36k and this video pops up on my feed. Perfect timing.
Thanks for showing us how to take care of our Fords! I've had lots of Ford and presently have a 2017 Explorer Sport, 2015 F350 Lariet 6.7, and a 2007 GT500 and I do all the work on them thanks to you!!
Definitely a great tip! To the non believers: remember, this vehicle only has 30k on it. imagine what those exhaust bolts and other bits will look like after a few good winters, especially in the rust belt.
Thanks for the great content. As a seasoned campaigner (read "old"), I go here for my 1st pass at all our family Ford/Lincoln maintenance. The only challenge I see here is the vent is not able to "vent" when used for filling with a high viscosity fluid, no ability to burp. Slow and steady is the only way, I would not recommend using the plunger to "force" fluid as it could very possibly push the syringe(funnel) out of the line and make a huge mess. Additionally, it could damage a seal as you are, in effect, pressurizing the PTU case. It is a great option for future servicing but there is no magic way to get 75W140 hypoid to flow quickly enough to not try your patience. Thanks!
If that was me plunging in the fluid, the tip of the syringe would have exploded out of the hose with a mess quickly following😅. So yeah, patients lol. Great channel and content. Thanks for posting.
Kind of like watching grass grow. Can't you expedite the fill process from bottom . Get a pipe thread nipple fitting to thread in where the drain bolt goes attach a long fuel hose and bring to top of vehicle . Pop the cap off vent and fill by gravity with a small funnel from on top. Take low air pressure to push the remaining 6 feet of lube in hose into the diff and then pinch off the fill 2hose as close as you can to the drain. Pinch off the vent hose .Unscrew the pipethread nipple with hose from drain. (Gear oil won't rush out with vent hose pinched off from above). Reinstall the drain plug. Unpinch the vent hose and put the vent cap back on. Gear oil will flow in much faster if the air has somewhere to go other than burping back through the lube you are trying to get in from the top. Just get it in from the bottom drain plug hole like filling those dipstick tubeless transmissions
1FNJO
L0l
Another great video! I do have what i consider an improvement on the vent tube extension. Instead of extending the original hose, Just get your arm down in there, twist the hose around a few times to break it loose and yank it off the stainless steel barb fitting on the PTU. Then get about 3 feet of 5/16 non-fuel injected fuel line (this is the more flexible fuel line) and stick it on the PTU vent barb. Run it up by the brake fluid reservoir and your done.
6 of one, half dozen of the other. I think his extension idea is easier. What if you go to rip the hose off down there and it breaks, leaving a hunk of hose on the barbed fitting? With his extension that can’t happen, nor do you have to reach down as far. Less trauma on your arms and lower back.
You can reach the barb on the PTU from below if you lay under the car and stick your arm up past the left cat. I had to do this on my 2019 explorer as we bought it and I discovered that the entire breather line and filter was gone… no other option but attach a hose right to the fitting.
I have a 2015 AWD Edge with a 3.5ltr. My PTU has a drain plug, but no cooler or temp sensor. I managed to follow your directions and completed this task in about an hour or so. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and expertise.
Beautifully demonstrated, I've shared your videos with members of a Ford Taurus/Sable, MkS, etc to help them keep their cars running longer and stronger. Great video!
This is one of the best videos, picture wise and the explanations are clear and easy to understand. My only wish would have been to watch you take the vent cap off and insert the barb into the PTU vent hose. I am a fairly big guy 6' 200 lbs and I could not remove the cap despite many tries. My wife with small hands tried as well but could not get it to come loose. Finally she suggested to run the engine at temperature and that with the help of channel pliers allowed me to finally get the cap off.After about an hour of fighting to insert the barb, I finally was able to get it all the way in...
same here. Cannot get the cap off, dropped it down into the engine. Couldn't get the replacement on.
so i had to fight it as well. my advice is to get some small channel locks, and channel lock the vent hose a few inches below the cap, this allows you some leverage. then what i did was take a box cutter and just cut the hose below the cap. careful not to lose the hose! i did because i used the channel lock idea after cutting off the vent.
the channel locks also allow you enough leverage to shove the barb into the hose. otherwise the hose might be too short to get any grip on it.
@@jimster1111 i believe you are meaning vise grips as channel lock pliers do not stay closed
I recently purchased a 2013 Police Interceptor Sedan and the PTO/PTU was one of my concerns. I have been looking for a service procedure and this makes it clear as day and easy to under stand. I went on my lunch today and got the stuff to do this. Thank you for your knowledge.
Any update how’s it been? I got a 15 sedan
I'm curious myself, how did it go ?
Just changed the fluid on my new PTU at 23,000 and it was pretty black. Def shoot for 20,000 on my next fluid change. Thanks Brian! You’re the best
Crazy dude... I just figured this out 2 days ago after watching your other videos about it. Also the concern about clogging is because the PTU is sealed and the only vent hole is being filled with fluid. If your fluid is sludge this could cause a problem. My plan was to put a little fluid in the vent hose while the drain was open to make sure the vent hose wasn't clogged. if it is, compressed air.
This makes me happy I don't have an Explorer but that is a brilliant solution for maintaining this system.
Thanks for the video. I could not pull the vent cap off the PTU vent hose for the life of me. Tried using a little flathead to pry it loose but no luck.
So I thought why not just cut it off with about an inch of the vent hose then used a razor blade to slice the remnant hose piece vertically and it comes off easily.
That's what I did and I don't see why that wouldn't work.
Thank you for the instructions, I would have no idea where to start and what to do without your video!
thanks for the advice this is what i did. plus i used some small channel locks for leverage to shove the barb in the vent hose
Well, i found mine empty 😂 dang! I never even know about that ptu thingy.. thanks man, ur video about the ptu is the most professional video out there
Some age-old rules of thumb still make sense today. Regular fluid changes do wonders to extend the life of the vehicle. I have a healthy skepticism when it comes to lifetime fluids, 10k mile engine oils changes, etc. Oil is cheap compared to replacement parts. Definitely a DIY project,thank you for sharing!! 🙂👍
alright so to help others who are having trouble heres what i did: i removed the airbox first step (mostly to fill the transmission fluid) but i also used a small pair of vice grips to gain leverage on the hose as mine was pretty short. grip it a few inches from the vent, then grab a boxcutter, be careful not to cut yourself while you cut off the vent cap along with like half an inch of hose. the vicegrips not only keep the hose from dropping into a hard to reach position but they also allow you enough leverage to push on the new barb and hose extension.
I watch all ur video i learned a lot am a Ford guy. Me and my son fix his 05 f150 4.2 intake look. Like it had grease black sticky stuff cleaned it replaced EGR and bushings on the IMRC levers the butterflies in intake were stuck after cleaning intake they work truck runs great now it has power
These videos from this utuber are my go to for all my fords they are great and saved me thousands$ I share these videos on Facebook groups all the time when people ask questions.
Just chenged fluid in my explorer that way ( almost ). I used another tube3mm/5mm ( inside/outise ) and insert it inside of 5/16" main tubing. Then using 100ml syringe pushed oil almost directly in to ptu. It was not possibel to put pipe inside of ptu ( probably hole inside of ptu casing is much smaller than 5mm ). It took us 30 minutes to fill device.
Great channel run by real PRO. thanks!
Great video and information ... I ended up pulling down the vent hose and making the connection with the brass barb from the bottom - as hard as I could I could not get the vent cap off of the hose when reaching from the top. I do have a lift and a long pliers which helped immensely. I was then able to thread the hose back up. Thanks Again
Hi Butch. Great idea. I have a 2017 platinum explorer. Is that your vehicle as well? I can touch the vent with my fingers but don't think I can pull it off. I have looked from underneath the vehicle, but with the cooler, I can't seem to see the vent tube from under the vehicle. If you do have a 2017 platinum, any suggestions would be helpful.
@@thomasbenko4246 No that is not my Explorer, mine is a 2018 but like I mentioned going from under the vehicle worked great, it is hard to see but it is there, when I reached up with the long nose pliers I was able to pull it down and actually the cap fell off?? As much as I tried I could not get the cap off from above either.
Probably one of the best and easy videos I’ve seen this is a project that any ford owner with the damn PTU should do 100 percent thank you
Thank you for making this video after seeing your previous videos about the PTU I inquired at my local Ford dealership and they esesanley told me it is a non serviceable part. And then when I looked to do it myself I could not find a fill plug thank you so much for your experience that you pass on to the masses.
Dude you just made the value of that vehicle go up lol. I was laying under my 2014 Taurus P interceptor I just got yesterday wondering how the heyl to do this without taking off the cat and I found you man I Glade you did this vid. I will go try this tomorrow. Thanks!!!!!!
2017 Explorer 3.5L EcoBoost with 50,500 miles. We had to use an allen wrench with pipe to break the drain plug loose. The oil was just a bit dark, but smelled normal. Moderate metal on the drain plug magnet. Getting the drain plug back in was a major PITA. Very awkward position and only finger room to maneuver the plug into the threads. On the top-side, We couldn’t get to the vent and hose from above with more than the fingers on one hand. We got under the drivers side and pulled the vent hose down enough to cut the vent off. I fished the new hose extension with the brass barbed connector down from above and connected to the existing vent hose. Had enough room to get two hands on the hoses so pushing them together was very doable. Pulled the excess hose up into the engine compartment and secured it with zip-ties. Of course, adding the gear oil, pressure locked everything about halfway through refilling the PTU. I put a heat gun under the PTU which increased the air pressure and gently burped the system to normalize the pressures and oil flowed again. It took several burps to allow all the oil to flow into the PTU. Hope this method helps someone who needs to change the PTU oil.
Thank you FordTechMakuloco for making this video and your other ones as well! It was great and I learned a lot!
Thanks!
Thanks for showing us this great work around for a very poor design by Ford. I bought a used 2016 sport with 42,000 miles. I immediately drained and replaced the fluid. It was nice and golden. I was happy to see that at 42,000 miles. Fast forward 20,000 miles..... PTU smoked. Light came one and the god awful stench of burnt gear oil. Of course the wife was driving to get groceries and I was out of town. I tow a 6x10 trailer with 2 dirt bikes half dozen times a year. I have always watched the PTU and trans temps on my phone through an OBDII adapter. Pulling mile long hills at 65mph the PTU would run around 95-110 degrees F.
I drained it last night. It was blacker than coal but still liquid. The smell was awful. Drain plug was pretty fuzzy. Refilled and have put another 50 miles on it. So far no overheating. I understand it's life is short but at least it's drivable until the shop can get it in. Think it's time to trade it for a truck. Loved the car and the acceleration of the Twin Turbo. But if it can't pull a trailer without self destructing It has to go.
I bet he has saved viewers millions of dollars over the years.
Great idea. I did the exact same thing for the CVT transmission in a Nissan versa which was "not serviceable". Made it easy to flush the transmission
Thank you for this video, I just changed the PTU fluid in my 2014 Police Interceptor Utility. It's a lot easier with the 3.7, less hoses in the way once you take off your air box. The drain plug is still a (you know what) to get to though.
Hi ! Thanks for sharing ! Do you know if there is a PTU vent hose on a Ford Explorer 2016 XLT 3.5 V6 ? I can't found it to the same ! Thanks !
Your content is absolutely amazing!
I really gotta say that's a smart idea to put a dedicated cooler on them, as well as adding extended vent hose...great 💡
Thank you!
Took my husband 3 hours in the cold! But hopefully we won’t have to replace the PTU again!
My second comment... Is there a way to add capacity to the unit, much like an automatic, with a big cooler and pump? My gears are turning on the prospect :)
I did similar to that but used a universal coolant reservoir mounted to the fender and removed the top of the put vent valve , removed the valve parts and clamped a high pressure air hose to it and ran to the tank . After I drilled the ptu and refilled the ptu to spec I added a half quart of fluid to the tank I installed and it worked great as it would bubble out when it got hot and suck what it needed back . Never could run low as the puke was always captured and sucked back in but still let the air out.
You send a picture of that and I'm assuming you said you drilled the P TOY because you wanted to leave the existing brain in place because it had a magnet and the magnet is the only way to catch the metal debris so basically you drilled and tapped the PTU and you added a coolant reservoir and more oil but only a 1/2 a quart of oil why not a bigger or larger capacity
I was thinking about almost your same exact idea of running a reservoir in a hose directly to the drain pbut I would lose the magnet so I'm assuming that's why I guess you left that in place
So basically you still have to remove the drain plug every 30000 miles anyway just to get the debris off of the magnet
So good to have you there :D I got a 2.3L. Explorer , do not have cooler ,but thanks for this video!
Thanks for the video!!! I used this exact method one difference, I refilled the PTU using a marine lower unit oil fill pump and threaded the fitting directly into the extended vent tube. Filled 18 ounces of warm 75w140 in 3 minutes using the pump. 👍👍
Great idea. I have an extra pump sitting on the self with my boat supplies. Thanks!
Innovative idea! I am going to send it to an explorer owner.
Brilliant, but why doesn't Ford include this conversion as standard in any PTU service?
For grins, I asked my Service Tech to include it in my drain service appointment this morning. He was clueless, as was the manager.
Sure glad you finally used the plunger.
I asked about it once and was told that it couldn't be serviced. I have an SHO with the performance package, so I think that mine is like this. If I can get the car safely in the air, I may do this myself a couple of times.
Sgt, i would like to know if you showed this video to them.
Why? Great question and I have no idea, but I'll bet it was the same engineer who thought removing the Trans dipstick tube and placing a thumb stick 3 inches from a 14 million degree Cat pipe was a great idea.
I'd be curious to see if Amsoil Severe Gear 75w-140 could extend the service interval of that unit. The stuff holds up extremely well in preventing thermal runaway. I use it in all my vehicles.
I've exceeded the towing capacity of my truck by ridiculous amounts using their 75w-110, and the oil never let me down. My spider gears did ('07 Silverado - pre-bailout GM product, so no wonder) ... but that's another story for another day, lol.
Great tip as always, Brian - much appreciated!!
Ive always had really good luck actually using the full syringe, sucking up the oil, drawing a vaccum, and that helped get oil where you need it to be! Great mod regardless!
Ingenious...leave it to brian to figure out a better way to do what ford engineers couldn't do..thank you for this..Cheers 🍻🍻🍻🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Keep in mind those same engineers got paid a buttload of money, far more than a lowly technician like Brian will ever see, to come up with this stupid crap.
It's absolutely sickening & embarrassing what passes for engineering nowadays! I don't see how any self-respecting human with an engineering degree could sign off on some of this junk. I'd be ashamed to show my face!
Wow, the fluid wasn’t burnt to a sludge like the older Flex you did some time ago.
Amazing thinking out of the box sir! I would've just added 16 oz instead of 15 oz, due to all the fluid that dripped and stayed on the cat, etc... Great job!
Been looking for a video how to change this fluid on my 2016 explorer!! Great tip !! Thanks
Thanks, the dealer just replaced my PTU under warranty (3 days in the shop) but I'll be changing the fluid from here on out to avoid a expensive repair in the future.
your are the man thats what i did it took forever to bleed in small hose in maine winter. i took it to my dealer at first to have all fluids change and they told me it couldn't be done on a 18 explorer at all that it was sealed and it was a life time fluid, so now i do all my fluid changes myself lol. that PTU is smack dab on top y pipe and beside that CAT and its like a oven cooking that PTU and with only having like 16 oz of fluid that turns to glue over time.
I did this a couple months ago on the GFs vehicle(2017). I made huge mess. So had to get creative on the refill amount. Funny i used the same syringe and put an extended hose on also. Surprisingly w/46k at the time the fluid looked good.
I’m getting ready to do mine and I am deathly afraid of what you just said! If a guy does spill everything everywhere is the safe bet just to put the amount back in that he did in this video? What did you do?
2:50 It is nice they included a drain Plug .... So on this modern cars I feel lucky when I dont have to drill a hole to drain the oil LOL The Fiesta sold here in the mid 90s it came with a manual transmision that it was supposed to be "sealed for life". Early version of Focus did the same. To change the oil you need to suck it from a vent port .... So they were confident enough that no seal wre gona to fail no water instrussion .... very positive thinking. Guess it is good for 50K miles, then hope for the best. Nice vid.
Great idea but one thought. Filling through the vent means its a sealed system once you put fluid on top. There's trapped air in the PTU and it would be easy to apply too much pressure with a plunger and have it in return belch lube back out of the vent hose. I'd let gravity do it's thing.
Yes gravity is best or plunger it very slowly as shown, the space inside the ptu is large compared to the fluid you are introducing one vile at a time so it would be hard to apply too much pressure especially if it has time to vent between doses.
Dude you are the the ford man for sure I wish I lived close to you so I cpuld pay you instead of the dealer
This is a great idea, very well done, I am not here bashing Ford, but why didn't they at the factory have this hose installed for easy access. everyone knows the PTU problems you will have if you do not change the fluid. I don't understand these companies, it just seems to me they want the cars to not be serviceable, so they break and you throw them away. again, great job on this, well done, love the channel.
You have a new subscriber.
Well made video. God Bless you and yours.
while a diff ford and diff service, this reminds me of the challenge of my '14 escape read diff unit. no way to do that job w/o a decent syringe pump - both for evac and refilling. i got one on amazon that has a 'locking' hose so when you plunge, it wont come off and splatter fluid all over. btw brian, your vid was the reason i even knew to change the fluid in my escape ptu.. i figured it was lifetime. on my 2014 escape, the ptu fluid change is super easy. ty for all you do!!
Finally a really good informative and viewable video on this Thank you FTM
I'd be tempted to fill from the bottom up like an outboard motor or sterndrive. Drain fluid, measure, flush, fill+1 pump, close top vent, close bottom drain, unplug top vent line
13:58 Bye Bye tossed plunger!!! 15:48 I'm sorry plunger, welcome back!!! 🤪🤪🤪
Were is air venting to while vent line is used to fill PTU?
Great video! Appreciate the advice, I had a PTU explode on my 2016 Explorer Sport on the freeway @ 38,000 Miles. Ford took care of me, but I am going make sure this service is done.
0:52 Maybe Ford was copying Toro. My self-propelled walk behind also held 1/2 a quart of gear lube inside of its PTU assembly.
Heh no shoot..
I tinker with those mud mowers those kids build.
I'm surprised I haven't seen one of the kids use one of these for something on some crazy air cooled lawnmower engine based creation.
Seems like that's all the power they could handle.
Oh, manufacturers cheap out there these days too. My lawn tractor has a plastic gear box, with plastic gears.
Knowing Ford, it is probably the same unit.
@@mikeg3529
Yea that too.
The wife said the other day : go buy a new rider because you hate using the self propelled push mower.
I do, but I hate new junk more.
The rider needs some attention and I set it to the side last year.
Time to fix it up again.
For those who are planning to do this in cold weather, heat up the fluid. First time I do this was summer, I just hooked the oil bottle up and let it slowly drip overnight and done. This time, however, the temperature is around 30F at night so all the oil is still in the bottle when I checked it this morning.
G.B.Stein said "silent gratitude isn't much good to anyone". with that, I say thank you sir. Also Fyi Instead of allowing gravity to work the new fluid down the new extension tube, I plunged it down the syringe , as it was quicker, however that was enough pressure to pop off the other end of the tube from the ptu unit and as a result make a big ol mess. It is very tight in there and it is not easy to reattach the tube but it can be done. Patience has never been a friend of mine, hopefully next service I will have learn my lesson. Patrick
I was expecting you to push the oil in through the drain opening. Aftermarket should make a one way check system to allow such a procedure.
Too much of a mess unless there was a check valve unit.
@@FordTechMakuloco
Problem with a check valve is that it has to be at the bottom where the junk collects.
Luv how basic your vids are, straight to the point!
Saw a pic of a duct tape "chute" that directed the fluid off of the exhaust. Because it's tape, the edges stuck to the parts around there. He used the non-sticky side for the fluid chute. Two layers of tape, sticky side to sticky side.
No a single drop made it to the exhaust.
I was just thinking about doing something like this myself
Just dit it today... same style... work perfect, on my 2017 Ford Explorer Interceptor‼️
Thanks for sharing‼️
👍😉😀
Very clever method. To save time I think I'd try to seal & tighten the fill plug only after the refill to allow venting. I also like Tim S's idea below, of using a second tube as a catheter for venting. Either way, Ford should've thought of this, and hopefully will integrate your idea into their design.
Thank you for this video I'm about to do this on my 15 explorer sport and was not sure how to go about it since my 10 lincoln mks had the older version and does not have a drain plug.
Soo Glad I subscribed to the channel, the information shared is Golden! Thank you for all you do brother!
He mentioned a tip I used when filling with that 75w140. I set the jugs in the hot sun for several hours. Makes that syrup flow better. But if its winter, well..
Great series! Learning a lot about Explorer 3.5 Eco-Boost while shopping for a used Sport.
Question: What year did Ford update the PTU to include the drain plug, sensor, cooler/cold air induction? It appears to be 2015(?). Thanks. I'm now a subscriber and believer.
As far as I know (for anyone in the future) the 3.5 EcoBoost is the only one with the cooler. 2016 and up have the drain plug.
Correct me if I'm wrong
@@marinusdedreu3833my 2013 has the cooler on the ptu not sure if it was stock or not but I don’t see any service records for the ptu
This is a V6? I have the 2.3 eco in mine. Hopefully easier to access. Thanks for this excellent presentation!
I found that when trying pressure filling, fluid escaped from the bottom of the vent hose onto the PTU. Gravity filling took approximately 1oz/hr.
Service Techs: "The old PTUs overheat and destroy themselves. We need a redesign."
Ford: "We're listening - here's your redesign!"
Service Techs: "But...it's stupid-ridiculous to service, and it still doesn't have enough cooling!"
Ford: "There's no pleasing these crybabies..."
it's "packaging" - how to get more stuff into the same ridiculously small hot space. Whaddayawant ?
Thank god they went RWD based, at least on the new gen explorer.
Attach a small label to the new PTU vent, showing the purpose of this new feature - prevents someone making a boo-boo!
If your that ignorant and feel the need to pour random fluids into random orifices on your car you DESERVE all that happens afterwards
@@shartingkhumbubbles7169 you may not always have the vehicle yourself, service techs may not know what it is, or the next owner doesn't. An ID tag is a reasonably good idea.
Not only is this way easier than dropping the catalytic converter as ford recommends for changing the fluid, but you easily and effectively added a diff breather to the PTU so it won't suck water if you were submerge the vehicle past the PTU vent hose! Brilliant!
Can you please work for Ford design department so they can start designing things with common sense in mind and I won't have to rely on your excellent videos to keep my escape in running condition? Joking/not joking.
That’s a really neat technique
5:11 I've seen others use a partially cut up funnel to direct fluid where you want it
I just picked up a 2017 Explorer FPIU so this is one of the first modifications I will be doing. Thanks for the great content and tips @fordtechmakuloco .
Thank you for sharing your knowledge! What are some tricks to isolate the issue at the PTU if no propane, egg smell or puking at the vent tube. I am experiencing a grind but no surge or slipping etc.
That is going to smell delicious on start-up. This video gives me another incentive to get a newer RWD base Explorer... as it has to be either different or be much more accessible
Try using a catheter to give the air a way out. Pull the vent, put on the syringe/funnel, shove the catheter down through the catheter ito the PTU, then pour the lube in
Have you tried using a mityvac? Put the fluid in the bottle and pull a vacuum and it will suck the fluid in. Thats how I do fluid changes on harley air shocks. If the hose is soft it might just collapse the hose though.
On the Fusion Sport (17-18), properly drained is almost a full quart. Drain plug easy accessible, to top fill is not too bad if you use a brass reducer on the tip of a hand pump extractor/filler. I do it at every 12 miles and strictly use Amsoil 75w140.
Yeah that's the newest style PTU we are seeing with a totally different design and sooo much easier to service.
I’ve been thinking about a cooler set up like this for a long time . Make a kit for it
Very nice! Looks like I'll be doing this as soon as the weather improves here in Michigan.. My local Ford dealer refuses to change the fluid in my PTU and rear diff saying it's not necessary..
I have a 2013 3.5 L Ford, Explorer and have not changed the oil, I was concerned that after 181k miles it should have been changed. I was told there is no fill plug only a drain plug. It seemed like Ford have improved, but would have to replace my PTU. One U-tuber bored a hole in PTU and drilled and tapped a fill plug. He had to remove PTU to do that. They said it cost about $1500 parts and labor for a new one.
Dorman makes a coolant overflow bottle that would be perfect to permanently mount on the car for your fill bottle and install the vent to the top of the bottle then you could just fill it and let it drain into the ptu.
Would this be a similar procedure for the 2017 Explorer Limited AWD?
Great video! Your content is Awesome. A huge help for the common working man. Thank you so much!
Great tech tip thanks Brian!
From Leo: I think you made a good technique for working around the problem. I think Ford's engineering staff has continued to make a comedy of errors with the entire design.
Any ideas on removing the vent cap? Having a hard time removing on a 2017 2.3l engine. Thanks
Love your video.
Have a Ford 6.7 diesel question for you.
Do you know if i can install a NOx sensor on my F 250 and then take it to ford to flash it , and program the pcm.
Wasnt sure if i would damage the new NOx sensor by driving it to the dealership to reprogram the new one.
thanks so much!!
It looks like Ford changed the PTU setup on the 2020 Edge ST again. Feel like doing an update? I was going to do the fluid swap this weekend but I am not confident messing with the changed setup....
Can I just add the extension hose directly to the ptu and put the vent cap on the other end to make it all easier?
Enjoyed the video, as usual. In my opinion, the procedure spelled out by Ford means that if you bring it into the dealership for the service, there's a good chance they will tell you it was done when it wasn't
Kevin Barry . I’ve yet been able to find a decent ford dealer for service in the Salt Lake City Utah area ... absolute joke.
I always enjoy the help that you provide. Thanks! ! !
Great video thanks! I was able to remove and add new fluid with this video. About the Vent though, which I don't have. What connects the vent hose to the PTU? I have one vent hose and cap coming in tomorrow from Ford parts.