bangster Posted October 5, 2019 Share Posted October 5, 2019 2012 Fusion Sport AWD 115k miles, unlikely PTU fluid ever replaced (I meant to do it but it got to be 110 degrees and it is no fun working outside on a car like that...) I normally park in dirt, but the carport was open so I parked there for a couple days. Started seeing these fun little drops (top 2 are quarter sized): Mainly when I drive it hard (which is every time I drive it...). Wife can drive it and there is only a small drop, but when I get back from a spirited run and park it it seems to spit out a decent amount. Not sure what I am in for, but it is viscous enough to be PTU fluid. I thought it was power steering fluid when I saw a drop of it earlier but nope. Gonna do the rear diff as well. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twiggy144 Posted October 5, 2019 Share Posted October 5, 2019 Does your 2012 AWD not have an electric power steering system ? If so, does it yet have oil contained in the system? Probably not. If so, the leakage you have cannot be power steering fluid. I concur the leak you have points to PTU fluid. Replace the filler plug washer, if exists, or apply some sealant on the threads of the plugs. ref: https://auto-recalls.justia.com/ford/fusion/2012/15v340000/ 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangster Posted October 5, 2019 Author Share Posted October 5, 2019 Sport still has hydraulic power steering, not EPAS like all the others. The reservoir for it is above this mess. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangster Posted October 5, 2019 Author Share Posted October 5, 2019 Not what I was expecting to see. It is clean above and below the fill plug and axle shaft (yellow writing means it is a junk yard one, they didn't write on them from the factory, right?) It all seems to be from the bottom bolts where the two halves of the PTU are bolted together. Axle shaft, if leaking, would be transmission fluid I think anyways, not gear lube: Nothing from the output shaft (I am not used to working on rusty cars) 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangster Posted October 5, 2019 Author Share Posted October 5, 2019 I am sure as most people thought, it is spewing globs of it out of the vent on top. Makes sense because it is when I abuse it and I am sure it is hot from extended higher RPMs. So now to get it drained (I failed last attempt using the brake bleeder from Harbor Freight but I think I understand why now, so trying it again, and will try to find a pump that goes on the gear oil bottle. I didn't see a clear path to the top, but I found that I could finally reach around on top (coming from the back not the sides or the engine compartment) and was rewarded with: took some phone magic and a timer and luck and lots of attempts to finally get an idea, since I felt an open hole and thought it was missing the vent, but both exist on the top hole(s) vent: I wish my PTU looked like this one, but it did help me find it instead of blindly feeling around all day. Now to clean it up somehow... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangster Posted October 5, 2019 Author Share Posted October 5, 2019 Can see it from the top, between the battery and the brake master cylinder. Can't really get pressure washer in there since it is too long, but will do something to try to clean it up. Can't get phone to focus on it and this does show that I have had a mess in the past from a battery that wasn't apparent until I took the picture, gotta clean it up. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twiggy144 Posted October 6, 2019 Share Posted October 6, 2019 if its leaking from the top, could it had been overfilled? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangster Posted October 6, 2019 Author Share Posted October 6, 2019 That is the usual reason I am sure for this, but I have put 9,000 miles on it since buying it. I did take out the fill plug and attempt to remove some early on but failed to be able to get any amount of fluid out (it had gear lube, but what I used to try to siphon it out didn't work), so I didn't do anything else with it. I have not added fluid, and it didn't really start doing this until the last week or so. I don't think that there is water in the fluid from the vent (it is dark black and viscous not emulsified with water), and I don't think there is transmission fluid in it (I don't think it is possible for that to happen). I should get to the first of a few fluid swaps today, so we'll see what I find. I had hoped to get to it yesterday but life got in the way. The car really didn't have great maintenance done on it previously. The seller said it was "all up on maintenance" but it was overdue for quite a few things, and just in time for others. PTU isn't something that has a scheduled maintenance item for. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drolds1 Posted October 6, 2019 Share Posted October 6, 2019 Have you seen this thread? Your fluid looks nasty, as in the video. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangster Posted October 6, 2019 Author Share Posted October 6, 2019 Yeah, I have seen most if not all of his videos many times, even the new ones. I got 6 ounces of new fluid pumped in before it starting coming out the fill hole. I am going to drive it around and then try to drain it again (I haven't gotten more than a teaspoon worth out of it, I got a 3/8 inch hose, might need to try to adapt a 1/4 inch to my brake bleeder or the bulb siphon. I used the bulb siphon to fill it, worked better than a tube on the bottle. Not much gunk stuck to the magnet, not even 1/8 inch in the indent in the middle of it. While the new fluid is much more translucent, I forgot how dark this stuff is. Much darker than I remember, I think I used Royal Purple last rear I did and it was darker than what I drained out. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangster Posted October 18, 2019 Author Share Posted October 18, 2019 Still getting some pushed out the vent, and it isn't the nice new translucent flowing 75w140 I put in, but still the viscous dark stuff. I am hesitant on using some kind of flush like brake cleaner to get it liquid enough to get it sucked out, but I guess any days I have free I will put it up on ramps and keep trying to get it all out. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeepxjsf Posted December 4, 2023 Share Posted December 4, 2023 (edited) bangster What did you figure out with the overflowing PTU Fluid. I have 2012 Ford Fusion SEL 3.0L AWD and have the same problem (super dark gear lube continually draining onto the ground. Wonder if the fluid is overflowing based on gunk left inside unit (mixing and overflowing) or if transmission fluid leaking into the PTU causing the overflowed condition. Edited December 4, 2023 by Jeepxjsf 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WKelley Posted December 5, 2023 Share Posted December 5, 2023 Usually when you have oil venting from transfer cases/manual transmissions and such the vent itself is likely at least partially clogged. There is not supposed to be any real pressure inside the PTU. Heat is causing the fluid to expand and causes the pressure build up. It may already be too late, but it would be a good idea to pull that vent off the PTU and change it or clean it out. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drolds1 Posted December 5, 2023 Share Posted December 5, 2023 https://www.justanswer.com/ford/6tesn-ford-fusion-sel-hello-2007-ford-fusion-3-0l-awd-automatic.html 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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