Transfer case EMPTY at 61K

Gnicetry

2019 CX9 Signature
:
2019 CX9 Signat
WTF. There was NO oil in the transfer case and thin metal shavings on the drain plug. Anyone who has an AWD CX-9 better run to a mechanic and get yours checked out. I didn't have any leaks either. Car ran great too.
 
Whoa, that's very surprising, usually the first symptom is a foul burning oil smell
and slow drip leak from the breather valve on top.

Did you try reaching the top of the transfer case and see if there was any oil on top?

Also did you use the tiny 1/4" diameter round tube of the electric pump to try to suck out the oil,
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you have to really get it in there, it's about 4-5 inches to get to the bottom of the transfer case.

The oil will not be instantly evident when you remove the plug, you really have to
get the tube into the transfer case as much as you can and angle it downward.
I was only able to get out about half a 16oz bottle the first time I did it.


I'm assuming you never changed the transfer case oil since you bought the car ?
61,000 miles is very low mileage for a 2008, but the OEM oil is 7 years old
and more than likely, the OEM oil turned to sludge like the photos in this link:

http://s159.photobucket.com/user/the_natrix/library/Ford%20Edge%20PTU?sort=3&page=1

You can still try to save it by filling up with new oil and try to dilute the sludge and changing again after 500 miles.

Or if you're mechanically inclined try to disassemble the transfer case and clean it out, but that's way above my skill set.
 
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I was surprised too. No smell and no leaks that I knew of. Mechanic did the fill and he said no leaks also. He said he put an angled screw driver in there and it was not wet at all. The truck is very well maintained and my wife drives it mostly as a grocery getter/kid taxi. I think the fact that the transfer case probably didn't get too hot from long trips or lots of traffic and she is not an aggressive driver coupled with the fact that we really haven't used it much in deep snow or ice probably saved us. Going to change it again next spring.
 
I was surprised too. No smell and no leaks that I knew of. Mechanic did the fill and he said no leaks also. He said he put an angled screw driver in there and it was not wet at all. The truck is very well maintained and my wife drives it mostly as a grocery getter/kid taxi. I think the fact that the transfer case probably didn't get too hot from long trips or lots of traffic and she is not an aggressive driver coupled with the fact that we really haven't used it much in deep snow or ice probably saved us. Going to change it again next spring.

I checked my own transfer case per avidien's guide and sure enough there's an obstacle in the way right after the plug hole. Not really sure an angled screwdriver can even reach the top oil level so your transfer case might not have been empty as described by your mechanic. I can't imagine it completely emptied without you noticing a huge black spot in the driveway, it may be fully sludged up inside but I doubt it, you would have smelled it. Most likely, the mechanic didn't snake down low enough to get to the old oil. Anyway, it's good you caught it in time and refilled with new oil.
 
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Whoa, that's very surprising, usually the first symptom is a foul burning oil smell
and slow drip leak from the breather valve on top.

Did you try reaching the top of the transfer case and see if there was any oil on top?

Also did you use the tiny 1/4" diameter round tube of the electric pump to try to suck out the oil,
https://www.ebay.com (commissions earned)
you have to really get it in there, it's about 4-5 inches to get to the bottom of the transfer case.

The oil will not be instantly evident when you remove the plug, you really have to
get the tube into the transfer case as much as you can and angle it downward.
I was only able to get out about half a 16oz bottle the first time I did it.


I'm assuming you never changed the transfer case oil since you bought the car ?
61,000 miles is very low mileage for a 2008, but the OEM oil is 7 years old
and more than likely, the OEM oil turned to sludge like the photos in this link:

http://s159.photobucket.com/user/the_natrix/library/Ford%20Edge%20PTU?sort=3&page=1

You can still try to save it by filling up with new oil and try to dilute the sludge and changing again after 500 miles.

Or if you're mechanically inclined try to disassemble the transfer case and clean it out, but that's way above my skill set.

I just bought an 08 cx-9 and decided to swap out the transfer case fluid. It had 81k miles on it and I wanted to be safe than sorry. Everything went well, I used the electric pump to suck out the fluid. About two days later the TC started leaking. Any ideas?
 
I just got an 08 with about 55K miles on it. I did the drain myself and you really have to work it around a bit to get to the oil in the transfer case. Even then I only pulled out a few ounces. I filled it up and I am going to do another drain and fill at 60K miles with my next oil change. I guess what I'm trying to say is it can be pretty sludgy around the miles that our CX9s have on them if the fluid hasn't been changed before.
 
I just bought an 08 cx-9 and decided to swap out the transfer case fluid. It had 81k miles on it and I wanted to be safe than sorry. Everything went well, I used the electric pump to suck out the fluid. About two days later the TC started leaking. Any ideas?

Yes, some have said that the breather gets plugged. When you put new fluid in its spits out the new fluid, the good news is that once some of this gets spit out it can sometimes start working again. (the breather) I would keep an eye on the fluid level by adding fluid every couple thousand miles and hopefully it will find its way back into service. I've actually been doing this exact thing to our 2011 CX9 as well. After my last fill up this weekend I have yet to see it leak, this is the third time I have added fluid, so it may be back in service now. Hoping anyway.
 
I just got an 08 with about 55K miles on it. I did the drain myself and you really have to work it around a bit to get to the oil in the transfer case. Even then I only pulled out a few ounces. I filled it up and I am going to do another drain and fill at 60K miles with my next oil change. I guess what I'm trying to say is it can be pretty sludgy around the miles that our CX9s have on them if the fluid hasn't been changed before.

You should probably change this more than 60,000 miles. It can pump itself out the bleeder much faster than that. These cases are problematic, so keep an eye on them and keep them topped off IMO.
 
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