FYI - you have to Log In to the forum to see the photos -Decided to tackle the PTU change on my 2016 XSport. My truck has 16,521 miles today. Got motivated around 9:30pm to do the job. Its now 2am as I type this. I went very slow and was deliberate about everything. Had several resets on the PTU vent hose routing. Tightening the hose clamp was a bit of a bear. Like an idiot I wasted 30 minutes and wicked hand cramps trying to tighten it with a straight blade screwdriver before I switched to a socket setup (DUH). I learned a few things and came up with a trick or two I hadn't seen yet. I'd like to thank this gent for putting up the YouTube Vid on how it looks in a '14 Police Interceptor.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2t2YR1LVN3s A few things changed since the '14 and they are:
1. The Hex PTU Drain Plug is 1/4" (not 8mm or 3/8 drive) on 2016. This was HUGELY convenient for reasons you'll see in a bit.
2. The PTU Vent Hose has a different clip that you see in the Video Clip above for the '14. It pulls out easily. The hose looks shorter as well. It pulls off the PTU nipple very easy by the way.
3. The hose you should purchase is 5/16 i.d. Fuel Line (not the clear vinyl crap, get the good stuff) as pictured below. 2 feet is perfect, you'll end up trimming off approx 6 inches when complete.
A couple Photos of the OEM Piece next to the 5/16 fuel line.
This is approximately what is poking out when properly routed (of 2ft 5/16id fuel line)
To orient you here, on the bottom right of the photo is the top of the PTU and you can see the new PTU Vent hose (Fuel Line) hanging with the Hose Clamp. The top of the photo is the firewall shielding. I'm laying in a creeper nearly fully rolled under the truck (I'm 6' 2") looking up to get this view from behind the PTU. On top of the PTU you can see two aluminum coolant lines (think that's what they are) running parallel to one another. Behind that is where the nipple is. Taking the factory vent hose off, putting the new on one and tightening it down is a 100% blind operation. It can only be done from the ground working up. Don't even attempt it from the top on the explorer, there is no way to get to it. I tried. (trust me)
I managed to get a photo of the nipple you'll be installing the fuel line on. (it was tricky)
...Here's where about an hour of head scratching and thinkin' came to bear. I knew as soon as I pulled the plug the casted races on the PTU under the drain plug would fill and oil would find multiple pathways away to the ground. I really didn't want that. I filled the indented races with foam like you'd seal a window or door with and ensure it was in there pretty solid. You can see that pictured here.
Then I used duct tape to build a dam and predictable drain race for the oil once the plug came out. Next few photos is me building it. One of the O2 Sensors in the Cat is RIGHT FREAKING UNDER the drain plug, the photos do a poor job of demonstrating just how close and just how dead-nuts center that darn O2 Sensor is. I knew if I dropped the plug it'd end up all.over.my.exhaust. I just freaking didn't want the mess. Without further adieu... My solution.
Solution worked beautifully! Here's a video for a little more perspective with the gear oil draining down the duct tape - (Is there a way to embed the video??)
http://youtu.be/SDMiz-6NJGwHere's what ended up in the bucket. I allowed the drain plug to fall down the duct tape chute and lie in the bottom of the fluid in the white bowl till it slowed way down. Took about 45 mins for the fluid to slow to a very slow drip. When I got ready to take the photo of the oil and the plug, I used a neo magnet to pull the plug up out of the oil so I could grab it. ...and lookee yonder... It has a little "hair" on it. There was quite a bit of metal in the fluid I show that in a couple of the fluid photos. You can see the sheen of the steel shavings. I was able run that powerful magnet under the bowl and see the steel change in reaction to the magnet. More metal than I'd like.
I also show the plug up close along with the color of the fluid as drained on the paper towel next to the black crap from the magnet. Fluid looks clean'ish while draining, but in the white bowl, looks a little darker -
Notice the sheen in the oil, that's steel folks -
Now for a neat trick, since the drain plug is 1/4".. You can use any of your fancy drill accessories with a 1/4" socket to help give you possibilities on how to attack the drain plug. I began removing the plug using two different lengths 1/4" hex keys. That crap got old quick. Then I got my kung-fu together.. (that, along with a stubby socket wrench..)
In the end, heres the tools I used to remove/reinstall the PTU Drain Plug.(all 1/4")
Draining the oil into an old Mobile1 Bottle so I could measure what I caught. You can see where the drain plug was -
I ended up catching about 12 ounces. I put 3 ounces in the Blackstone Labs bottle and saw around 8 in the Mobile 1 Bottle. I ordered both tests on the PTU Oil. Looking forward to seeing how it comes out. I refilled about 15 ounces just to ensure it wasn't under-filled.
When refilling from the top, it takes a while! about an hour or so. The oil drains slowly down the tube, gets hydrolocked then bubbles then drains some more. I recommend having a bit of space in funnel as there are times when it gurgles quite bit and pushes some of the fluid back up as it occurs. Here's one of the bubbles... and finally the 5/8 i.d. fuel line with the ford vent inserted in it.
It was kind of a pain, but now that I know how to do it I could probably do the work in about an hour. Cheers gents, hope this helps someone - my plan is to drive it a week or so and drain/refill again. Might wait till I get the Blackstone Report and do a flush with the drain plug out.
Lex -
