[HayaiKuruma]

Is there any reason why we can't change out RDU gear lube with synthetic gear lube??
I know there is no drain plug

IMHO, because you will never get all of the OEM fluid out of the RDU, you would be mixing 2 different fluids. That is usually a no-no. That coupled with the fact that we haven’t seen any issues with the RDU’s on this forum of any significant amounts leads me to believe that your suggestion is unnecessary.

 

[alan_mac]

I just changed my PTU fluid on my 2013 with 59k mile. The old gear oil was dark and there was metallic sludge on the plug magnet. I used redline 75w140 full synthetic gear oil because the flash point is quite a bit higher than motorcraft. My PTU plugs are T50 torx. I recommend partially removing the turbo air tube for good access to the fill plug so you don't strip out the torx. I unscrewed both 10mm retaining nuts on the tube then unscrewed the two tube clamps. Piece of cake and had full access to remove and torque the plug. Then I pulled the tube off at the joint near the fill plug. I drained and fill as others did with a small Mytivac fluid extractor. I torqued both plugs per the Ford shop manual 33 ft-lbs.

 

[Gryffindor101]

That coupled with the fact that we haven’t seen any issues with the RDU’s on this forum of any significant amounts leads me to believe that your suggestion is unnecessary.

I think in the only one on this forum that has to get my RDU replaced

 

[Sheepish]

I think in the only one on this forum that has to get my RDU replaced

Honestly when I changed mine last year, it was very thick, I'd say almost paste but not that bad. It's never a bad idea to replace the RDU fluid after say 30k miles. it doesn't take long and is a lot cheaper than replacing it.

 

[Gryffindor101]

Honestly when I changed mine last year, it was very thick, I'd say almost paste but not that bad. It's never a bad idea to replace the RDU fluid after say 30k miles. it doesn't take long and is a lot cheaper than replacing it.

In the future I will be changing my RDU fluid every year and a half. I don’t want to go through the this again. Was a $3K bill.

 

[nationalwheel]

Had mine done at the dealer while I was there for an alignment check. 31000 miles, cost 78 dollars.

 

[Wolfie_85]

My dealer also said they didn't do fluid changes on the PTU and diff, but as I've said before, I almost never trust anything that says "lifetime" or "100,000 miles til you need to do anything!". Remember GM and the Dexcool fiasco? The "lifetime" or 100,000 mile maintenance interval on it? Yeah...turns out, it ate the gaskets and dumped coolant into the (usually otherwise decent) engine, destroying it before you ever needed a flush! I had a Malibu...instantly put regular green in and did normal intervals. The sub frame rotted at almost 200k miles and the engine still purred with no coolant issues.

Point is, don't believe something that sounds too good to be true too easily. Great write up and pics. Super helpful. When the weather stops being awful, I will definitely have to give this a go. No fault to the dealer, they're saying what Ford said to say. Who you want to believe is owners, mechanics, and enthusiasts who have experience and knowledge.

 

[sojopo]

For my 2014, there is the rear diff fill plug (3/8 drive used) on the back in front of the frame, and a supposed drain plug at the front, on the driver's side, which didn't look lower to me, so I pumped the fluid out through the fill hole

. 140k miles, never changed, plenty of black gunk on the magnetic fill plug.

To get the plug loose, this craftsman 3/8 small breaker bar with no socket got in there ok, but there was no way to get a torque wrench for putting it back on. Hope I did it about right.

Also, to check that it was 3mm below the hole per Ford spec, i fashioned my own tool from good old coat hangar. If you need one, I'lll make you one for $300! The white paint worked great for checking the level. good luck!

 

[Kenshin X]

Hey guys! Greetings from Melbourne Australia

Just to revive this thread, I have a 2018 ZG Escape 2.0L ecoboost AWD with currently 23000kms on the clock. I just checked the rear diff out this morning and could see only two plugs which were removable. As said above, both look like a real PITA to get to. I've pictured them below as well.

What I would try is to use the torx plug drain/level to drain out all the fluid in there by jacking up only the rear right wheel so the oil flows out of that hole? What are your thoughts? I'm not really keen to vacuum unless it's a last resort. Drain is always cleaner than sucking out fluid.

Then I'll just fill from the rear plug which looks like a 3/8" socket wrench. I might use an adaptor that came with my oil filter wrench that makes the socket work with a 3/8" from a 1/2" socket and use a vice grip to crack the bolt.

I haven't looked at my PTU yet to see whether or not it has a drain bolt yet. My uncle has a hoist so that shouldn't be too bad to access. I'll do it on my next service to drain out and replace all the oil from the PTU and RDU with royal purple and not worry about it the rear diff for at least 50,000 KMs and the PTU for 30,000kms.

Another question is that after I drain the oil from the rear diff. I need to get it on the lift so I need to turn the car on to reverse 10 metres on to the lift. I know the transmission and PTU components still move even when the car is stationary, but does the rear diff spin as well? It shouldn't because it's stationary right? Surely moving the car 10 metres isn't going to damage the rear diff without oil...

Thanks for being patient with me. My first post

 

[murcod]

I have a 2018 ZG Escape 2.0L ecoboost AWD with currently 23000kms on the clock.

Welcome to the forum- I live in Adelaide.

I'd be leaving it alone until the warranty expires (2023?) You haven't covered many kms to be concerned about contaminated oil. The bit circled in green I'd mention at your next service- it doesn't appear to be anything to worry about IMHO.

If you do change anything check in your service booklet if there are any Ford specifications the oils need to meet.

 

[Kenshin X]

Hey mate. Yeah I'd definitely use the Mercon LV for the transmission fluid ($26/L) but ford said they do not have any ford oils for the rear diff and the PTU. So they said even they just use Castrol or Penrite.

Actually I drop all my oils early to get rid of the bedding material. I've only owned manual or fwd auto cars with the diff and tranny fluid all in one. I'm quite new to the AWD community and the on-going maintenance associated with them. I do try to keep all my cars as long as possible...

My fiesta ST I dropped the engine oil at 1000km and every 7500kms. tranny fluid at 5000kms and then every 50,000kms after that. I do track my car though and after 130,000km it still drives like I drove it outside ford

 

[Rich gacina]

I just did my rear diff.

I found the torx on top of the rear diff - forget that thing exists. Use the level plug.

I bought this on amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00V3X3NJS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Then I ground down the face of the drive so that I could make it fit. I ended up taking off so much the locking ball fell out, but that made it narrow enough that I could get it into the level plug - without any modifications of the frame or excessive swearing.

After that I used a hose and sucker to suck out the old fluid, cleaned up the gunk on the magnet, and filled it back up.

The fluid didn't look too bad, but the level was low and I had some signs of mild leakage so I'm glad I put more in. 117k miles, took 20 minutes.

Easier to drill a 1/2 hole in the subframe, directly in line with fill plug. Comes out super easy this way. Hole ends up
Being “dead center” in subframe, so zero structural worries. Then just put your 3/8 extension thru and unscrew plug.

 

[HayaiKuruma]

Being “dead center” in subframe, so zero structural worries.

As soon as you drill a hole thru something you have weakened it to some extent. Don’t you think the engineers have made these vehicles as light as possible? If a lightening hole could have been placed in the rear subframe don’t you think they would have saved that weight? All the frames are probably as light duty as Ford could get away with.

No way am I drilling a hole in my rear subframe.

 

[Kenshin X]

Hey guys. Today I did my AWD Escape's servicing dropping the transmission fluid as well as the PTU.

At 30,000kms...

Black sludge on magnet drain plug. Good thing is the oil still smelt like transmission oil and not burnt (therefore not broken down completely).

As mentioned above, T50 was used with a breaker bar to crack the plugs open. Some people mentioned T50 plus is better. The T50 doesn't fit too well and you may end up rounding the plug. Just ensure it's sit ALL the way it straight before to attempt to crack it loose.

So glad to have done this at this time to get rid of the bedding material... Filled it up with Australian made Penrite recommended 80w140 with a manual pump.

I'd probably leave it until 50,000km before I'll change it again and then every 50,000kms after that.

Thanks Ford, for thier "lifetime fluid" marketing. They didn't even have the genuine fluid for it at the counter! They did say just use Castrol/Penrite equivalent.

The car's real happy now with new fluid. Revs so much smoother and no harsh shifting on cold starts as well. Also the gears don't make a "clunking" noise when you shift from D to R (at stand still) and accelerate.

as for that RDU...

this is the only fill/drain plug which has a clearance of 2-3cm from the rear frame.

No way I can get to it unless I angle grind off a 1/4 breaker bar and use that to break that plug.

There is this plug on one side of the RDU...

Maybe I'd just jack up the car on the rear right and loosen this one to drain out the fluid and fill up again?

Well... At least I don't have to worry about this until 100,000kms.

Moral of the story. Change the damn PTU fluid at least at 30,000kms.

Peace out.

 

[HayaiKuruma]

Maybe I'd just jack up the car on the rear right and loosen this one to drain out the fluid and fill up again?

I believe that plug is lower than the plug on the rear by the sub frame. I wouldn’t remove that one until you can get the fill plug out. I tried taking that side plug out on an old junk unit and completely stripped the plug it was so tight.

 

[chrisgb]

I believe that plug is lower than the plug on the rear by the sub frame. I wouldn’t remove that one until you can get the fill plug out. I tried taking that side plug out on an old junk unit and completely stripped the plug it was so tight.

Try CRC Brakleen. Works pretty well to as a penetrating lubricant and also will dissolve red Locktite, Permatex, etc. Spray it on the bolt and let it sit for a few hours. In addition you can heat the bolt with a small Bernzomatic-type butane torch. Tap the bolt or area around the bolt while applying loosening force to the wrench, or use an impact wrench.

 

[Kenshin X]

I believe that plug is lower than the plug on the rear by the sub frame. I wouldn’t remove that one until you can get the fill plug out. I tried taking that side plug out on an old junk unit and completely stripped the plug it was so tight.

I didn't even think to put a torx bit to see which one would fit. But those plugs from ford were super tight! They do look like they are the same height though. That's why I think lifting one corner may help with draining the fluid out of there. You may only want to loosen it while it's connected on the car, you can get more leverage and ensure the bit is all the way in before you attempt to crack it open? But it's a bit late for that now, isn't it?

 

[HayaiKuruma]

Yup. Thanks. I‘m pretty familiar with the RDU since I have dissected one.

 

[Kenshin X]

Nice pictures! And there is an upper fill plug???
What was wrong with your old RDU?

 

[HayaiKuruma]

Nice pictures! And there is an upper fill plug???
What was wrong with your old RDU?

Nothing at all. I picked this one up at a junk yard to see if a drain plug could be installed.