Does anyone know what the service interval is for the oil in the PTU? For example, change every 5 years or 50K miles etc.
It's not listed in the owners service guide or the helm inc service manual.
Thankyou
I believe you may be referring to the oil in the RDU. You get a dash warning when its time to replace the engine oil or RDU fluid. There is an oil reset procedure for the engine oil and RDU oil in the helm inc service manual, but there is nothing for the Power Transfer Unit oil. Which leads me to believe that you don't get a dash warning or indication when you need to change the PTU oil.
According to this video every 30k miles so ~50k km. I don’t know if it applies to us, but having the cat and turbo in close proximity to it will definitely provide a lot of heat, which he says is the main cause of failure. Could explain why there have been so many members with PTU leaks, although I think they were at even lower mileage so probably unrelated. None the less, cheap insurance right? I’d rather change the fluid more often then have to get the car torn apart at the dealership to replace it under warranty, I don’t think they have a fix besides replacement.
Hi StoddRS, thankyou for responding.
I believe the RS PTU has a water-cooled heat exchanger. Also, it has a drain plug to allow servicing, unlike the car in the video.
According to the "Ford Training - technical service training manual" pg 56 - "to enable greater heat dissipation at the transfer case and support higher torque input, a water-cooled heat exchanger and a temperature sensor have been installed into the transfer case".
I have contacted three Ford dealerships in Australia - none of them know when you are supposed to change the PTU oil.
There is no scheduled oil change interval for the PTU the same for the RDU Bevel gears(not the clutch packs which are sealed filled for life) for road driven car. The RDU bevel gears require oil replacement after 800 track klms OR you get a message AWD system oil change required.
Gearbox oil change is required every 12 years OR 180,000 klms.
Forget the manufacturers shelf life, thats to cover their asses, we aren't flying air-planes here.If we were I'd get interested in oil shelf life in a sealed container same as I did for 40 years as an aircraft engineer.
All the scheduled maintenance list requires for both the PTU and RDU is to inspect for leaks periodically.
Personally, considering how little oil the PTU and RDU bevel gear cavity actually hold I'd be replacing them at regular intervals. If you are going to own the car for 3 to 5 years as a DD then put the issue out of your mind. You would only be affected if you get a leak.