So PTU changed. Cleaned it some more. Not sure if it's leaking from that center shaft seal still. I have royal purple in there now so if I see purple smears I will know. Very little metal shavings came out. Very little oil did too but it looked rather good. About 1/2 the bottle went in. I used a hand fluid pump.


garbage

Looks like that. Didn't work very well. Would not recommend. I think it might be easier to remove the center shaft and pump it out that way actually. I see a drill and tap in my future if the transfer case is good.

 

FTM (I know, I know!) actually has a video where he drills and taps one. He removed the side plate on one of them to find a suitable location on the casting to drill & tap a drain plug hole. He actually drills two holes, I guess on a "dead" unit to test both locations. If the FEH PTU is similar you could drill in the same location(s). Around 2:15 here:

 

Looks similar, would have to check. There are a bunch of videos of people doing it on youtube. They were usually drilling on the bottom.

 

Yeah, he talks about his reluctance to drill into the bottom because he's worried it might affect the structural integrity of the case, as opposed to the side cover, and also because he is "following Ford's lead on this." But I think a relatively small hole that's drilled carefully in the bottom of the case would not affect the structural integrity enough to matter. If this was a 500 horsepower car and 250 of it was going through the PTU, that's a different story. This is a ~180 horsepower vehicle and it's highly unlikely that more than 90 of them will ever be transferred through the PTU to the rear wheels.

As long as the hole is clean, and drilled so that it doesn't fracture any of the surrounding metal, with a nice, sharp, new drill bit and some drilling oil, and good workmanship on the thread tap, I think the case integrity wouldn't be affected much. Any time you make a hole in metal that is structurally important, you need to make sure it is *smooth*. Also any metal filings should tend to flow out the hole that was drilled. I think he's off a little here, or at least being very conservative. Good luck! If you do it use good thread sealer and clean it off and then inspect the case for cracking and leaks periodically.

But wow what a mess inside they can be. That really bad one he shows is gruesome.

 

So a funny thing happened. The A/C works. I had shot some sealant in when I first tried to see what was going on but it was still low. Added some refrigerant and it is cooling at least down to 60f while in motion. The pressure looks ok too.

So I bought all these replacement parts and maybe I should keep them in case it dies out again. Already know that condenser looks like crap and the valve in the compressor is starting to stick. I get 10 degrees more cooling in motion. I think I can save the overhaul for a bit. If you get a set of gauges, order a can tap. The ones in the store all have the wrong connector and they don't sell adapters.

Getting 26.1mpg now. How much does the A/C take away and if I turn off the a/c in the cabin will the battery still start it on it's own when necessary? I know in 10+ it won't (no longer separate) but for the 09 and below I'm not sure how that works.

 

It's working but 60F in motion is still quite high. It should be below 50 degrees. I would still do the valve and really check the amount of refrigerant.

Honestly, it should be in the mid-upper 40's low 50's at most in recirc once the cabin temps. drop a little, in motion or not. I'm not saying this to rattle your cage, I know this is an expensive job, and I would definitely keep the parts.

Tomorrow I'm going to the store for a couple of items and I'll pick up an A/C thermometer for the dash and measure my temps. I took it out today for a while in 89 degree direct hot sun weather outside, interior temp. at least 95 when I started (I haven't busted out my windshield shade yet, I guess now's the time) and within a few minutes on MAX AC with RECIRC the air coming out of the vents was **COLD** as in "inside the refrigerator" cold. After about 6-7 minutes ** I ** was getting chilly and turned off MAX and went to fan level 3, 72 degrees on the ****.

 

The temperature at which the car will still start is something I do not know. I know that it disables EV mode when the battery box temperature is over 100 degrees F. Some people have said the A/C comes on automatically on the < '10 cars. In other words: I don't know.

Power? Some people say 3-4 kilowatts or approximately 4 to 5.4 horsepower. ~746 watts = 1 horsepower. Automotive A/C systems are quite powerful, in the 30,000 - 40,000 BTU range or higher, much more powerful than a standard small room air conditioner. Then you have to add the blower motor fan if I'm not mistaken, which is at least another 500-750 watts. This guy did back to back dyno runs with a late '00s Lexus and arrived at a 10 horsepower difference with that car. So it should definitely be in that range on the FEH.


Even with the Hybrid system recouping as much kinetic energy as it can from regenerative braking, that's a significant amount of power. It has to shave a few MPG off. I realize these are ballpark figures, I haven't measured.

One thing I don't know is whether the EPA estimate is done with MAX AC on and what kind of accessories, but the A/C is definitely drawing significant power. Since all the energy to move the car ultimately comes from gasoline, you have to burn more of it.

One more thing: If your A/C refrigerant is actually OVERFILLED, the A/C compressor will work *harder* for *less cooling* and be *less efficient*.

 

It's not overfilled. I used manifold gauges on both sides. Under 50 in motion and around 60 when sitting. Which actually would correspond to what I set it to. If I change the valve I might as well change all of it as it requires a drain and fill.

My P2650 is starting to make an appearance again too. And the book was supposed to show monday but is missing in action. I'm more interested in MPG loss from A/C. 2MPG? 5? You have the electric A/C I think which make it a bit better on that end.

 

This is a difference on our cars. The only thing I know for sure is that the 2009 requires the ICE engine to run whenever the A/C is on, which is not the case with the '10 and its electric compressor, and you're right, as a result the '10-12 may be a little more efficient since the electric conversion is more efficient. Also, I have read here on the forums that the computer automatically turns on the A/C on a 2009 whenever the battery box temperature rises to 95 degrees. So that forces the engine to run.

I have not documented this behavior on my '10 - it may do it, but I don't know. I just turn it on myself whenever it's warm/hot.

In the end, we're talking at *least* 5 horsepower whenever the A/C is on, and maybe as much as 10 like that Lexus (at the peak), one way or the other. That has to make a difference! It probably takes < ~25 horsepower to push the whole car down the road at 60, even with the frictional and aerodynamic losses.

I would say your MPG is "in range" especially with 4WD. Maybe a little low but not much!

 

Have to do a few more fills and count it that way since the dash undercounts... but on the honda a/c was a 5mpg loss so a non-starter in terms of using it. When I had a crown vic, I did the a/c delete and it would hit 30mpg on the highway counted with fill/replace. Similar weight but a v8.

The A/C is belt driven so the ICE has to run to spin it. I think I have a second evaporator in the back for the battery.

My top guesses for P2450 are something electrically wrong at the valve in the front even though it was replaced or fuel filler or some lines are bad. Maybe I should build the smoke machine: But the book was going to tell me where to look first.

I found a replacement for the capless filler somewhere but it was OOS. It would change it to a normal capped. I also went around that key lock cap with some RTV and when it dries I'll see if that helps.