Hello all! I hope everybody is keeping safe.

I have a 2005 FEH AWD with about 220k. For about the past 70k I've had increasingly bad bearing noise coming from somewhere (seemingly right beneath the driver). I previously had somewhat similar noise with my PTU but have already tried changing that out again (twice actually). I just replaced the front wheel bearings and tie rods/ball joints. The problem persists. I have disconnected the driveshaft and it's still there. The noise begins around 35, is loudest at 45mph and disappears above 75mph. It's become so annoying that I'm obsessed with fixing it. I replaced the tires, aligned it, the noise changed slightly but not much. The noise does not differ with steering but does become louder when a downward force is applied on the vehicle (such as coming up a dip).cv

The noise really seems to be coming from the CVT itself, although I'm not sure what a normal one is supposed to sound like. Mine definitely makes all kinds of whines when it's moving (confirmed not the PTU) and when you turn the spindle without the calipers, you can feel that characteristic beady/bally "shot bearing" feel where it feels more like a ratchet than a smooth turn. Again, I'm not sure if this is normal but I suspect not.

At the same time, I don't know much about the internals of these CVTs. I've always replaced the fluid with the specified Mercon and it hasn't seen any abuse. The only sort of "abuse" I can think of is around 100k ago when the tone rings went bad and it was causing it to jerk very harshly when coming to a stop as it activated the ABS unexpectedly. I had to drive it like that for about 1000 miles. And ever since then, there has been a bit more play in the whole drivetrain. You can turn the spindle about 2 degrees each way before it engages something. Again, not sure if that's normal, don't think it is.

So what the heck could it be? Those CVTs are built like a tank so I understand and I can't readily find anyone else having an issue like this. And I'm about to consider replacing the whole thing, but I'd love to know what it is. If it's not something that's going to catastrophically fail, I may just live with it.

Thanks for your time! Hope your FEHs have been as good to you as mine has to me.

Keep well,

Pete

 

Update (next day)

I decided to drain the CVT to inspect the fluid for 'frictional glitter' or some type of indication of damage or unusual wear. I did not see a single glistening speck, no matter on the plugs nor any clear indication of degradation of the fluid. It was as clean as the day I put it back together 70k a ago.

I was planning to change out the PTU fluid while I was down there so I went ahead and drained it at the same time. Bingo. Fully loaded plug and a pint of oil-based silver paint. Off to the Scrapper to buy PTU #4. Definitely going to make a video this time, I think I could do it in my sleep.

The last time I changed it out only for it to get worse; determined the unit I got was bad. Found a different one, installed it, sound got a bit better. Just assumed a wheel bearing was on the way out again or something else. Didn't think I would have the luck of getting two bad ones in a row. It's looking to be the case. People junk these things these days for bad PTUs since I've seen estimates upward of $3,000. (If anyone has one with a bad PTU they'd like to sell, please let me know.)

If this is the case, I guess I'm glad I don't have to mess with the transmission. I'll report back.

 

Have you ever replaced the CV joints (i.e. axles) before? I'm surprised they would last 200k+ miles without a rebuild. Don't know if the FEH has the same axles as other Escapes. Surprised more people just don't pull the AWD relay/fuse when this happens and stay in FWD mode. .

 

This Ford tech from Chicago has some great videos including this one detailed the numerous and ongoing failures of the PTU's on the Escape and related models. Note that many techs recommend a maximum 30000 mile or one year fluid change on these "filled for life" units which most owners are not interested in doing. If an owner is in a warm or hot climate, I would think a PTU is nearly toast by 70000 miles. I didn't catch what fluid he recommends but it should be a high end lubricant to give the PTU the best chance to survive.

 

I thought about changing them out; I changed out the entire halfshafts less than 100k ago and inspected them closely but they are tight with no obvious wear or play. The clanking/play is definitely occurring inside the PTU (closest to the CVT) and I'm thinking the bearing/beady/ratchety feeling is a mismatch of the teeth (most of which seemingly ended up suspended in the fluid).

I've pulled the AWD fuse in the past for diagnostics but the PTU itself is always engaged while the wheels are in motion. The actual clutch that engages the real wheels is in the rear I believe so unless I remove the driveshaft, it will always spin with the front wheels. Otherwise I might have just said "good enough" and lived with it but even pulling the fuse wouldn't seem to be able to prevent a catastrophic failure that could leave me stranded somewhere.

 

Yeah, "life"... ha ha. Quite subjective. You can definitely tell where Ford went shopping in the corporate parts bin on these but I guess I have a small shred of comfort in knowing it's not just us hybrid folks that have this problem (or even just Escapes in general).

I've tried to do it every few oil changes. The fluid metallic oil mixture in there now is about 40k but this thing made noise from day 1 so I'm sure it was already on its way out. I just didn't see as much metal in it last time as now. I live in Phoenix and it spends a good amount of time idling so I'm sure that fluid gets cooked. I use a 75W-140 full-synthetic that was recommended elsewhere (drawing a blank at the brand but I had to order it and it was $30 for the quart) but haven't seen any improvement in service life. I'm just going to start doing it every oil change. Might tap a different drain plug in since the one up there is a bit hard to get to with a hex.

If I want to keep this thing on the road another 10 years, I'm going to have to stock up on PTUs before they all get crushed and melted down. Getting a bit hard to find any with <100k at the scrappers.

 

If an OE or OEM new part doesn't make sense then I would suggest a low km part from a cold state in the NW, N or NE for obvious reasons. This also might be a case where Amsoil Severe Gear oil might be the best match to the operating conditions. Even though we live in Ontario, I am not a fan of 4WD or AWD unless someone drives in extreme conditions like off road or hilly terrain or rotates out of a vehicle within 5 yrs. FWD with winter tires that get high marks is usually fine and the maintenance and fuel costs are always lower.