Leaking oil?

[Glockman]

Picked up our 2023 ST. on April 21, smelled buring oil on the drive home. Turns out it is the left side turbo oil feed tube. Finally got it into the dealership for warranty repair Tuesday this week.

I had a similar issue, but mine was apparently the oil return line on the passenger side turbo. 2024 ST on the 2nd day of ownership with 150 miles... Got it fixed after some frustrating interaction with Ford, but it kind of takes the shine off of a purchase like this.

 

[Jose131]

Yes, you have the FADA leak. They won't care about the tune... it is a known issue. Definitely get it fixed before powertrain warranty ends. Try to get them to do the FADA TSB and not just replace the faulty O-ring.

I do have fenfabb catless downpipes as well. I can install catted downpipes before going to the dealer if thats a problem

 

[Cdubya]

I do have fenfabb catless downpipes as well. I can install catted downpipes before going to the dealer if thats a problem

shouldn't be a problem. Has nothing to do with the problem. Besides, the stock cats were flawed and you can just say you went aftermarket because of that.

 

[Tommyc]

Well, I am joining the leaking FADA! 2021 only 24K miles. Very slight as the film was just around the drain plug. I did check the diff fluid level, and it needed 6 oz. Maybe underfilled from factory but who knows. I will make an appointment with my dealer. I have only brought the truck in for recalls but they do a nice job. Al Packer West in Palm beach FL. The fill port T50 is on there! I am wondering if the major problems came from the oil leaking out to the point the diff failed. Still have 1 more year on the powertrain warranty so let's see what they suggest. I saw some posts about oil return lines. Just smell the fluid. Gear oil has a very distinct smell compared to motor oil. Taste, well, let's not go there.
Tommy

 

[Drweldin]

Can someone verify if the oil is drained during this service? Reason I ask, I am in the middle of an oil change (50K) and found out I have this leak, of course...Obviously if they are going to drain and replace the oil, I won't bother. I should be covered under Ford GOLD warranty I got when I bough it a year ago. Thanks guys

 

[Cdubya]

Can someone verify if the oil is drained during this service? Reason I ask, I am in the middle of an oil change (50K) and found out I have this leak, of course...Obviously if they are going to drain and replace the oil, I won't bother. I should be covered under Ford GOLD warranty I got when I bough it a year ago. Thanks guys

Yes, if they replace the FADA or if they just replace the O-ring of the FADA, they will spill most of front diff oil and will refill it at the end. Not sure if they do a proper drain and fill tho

 

[Drweldin]

Yes, if they replace the FADA or if they just replace the O-ring of the FADA, they will spill most of front diff oil and will refill it at the end. Not sure if they do a proper drain and fill tho

Sorry, I should have been clearer. I meant the engine oil, not diff oil. Thanks

 

[Zeush]

Sorry, I should have been clearer. I meant the engine oil, not diff oil. Thanks

I just picked mine up today for this issue. 2020 57k and PT warranty covered it. Replaced the FADA with intermediate shaft. My invoice says 6qts of engine oil.
Can call and ask to be sure.

 

[Drweldin]

Here's what I'm dealing with. No codes.

 

[justin32089]

So Im outside my powertrain warranty, how bad is this bill going to hurt?

 

[justin32089]

Can yo overfill it or will it run out of the whole when its full like the rear end of an older pickup?

Motorcraft® SAE 75W-140 Synthetic Rear Axle Lubricant. Not inexpensive.
Front differential fill hole is on the passenger side. Torx T-50 (+ breaker bar if it's never been opened). Just top it off slowly until it starts to dribble out.

Front diff fill hole. Remove passenger wheel. Follow where the axle shaft inserts. It's right in front of that.
View attachment 17877

 

[Stone17]

No leak here. Just a big hole.

 

[Flyman]

Isn't there a TSB for this item? I believe maybe discussed in this thread.
If so, Ford should cover the repair.

 

[Eljaber]

TSB does not mean it is automatically covered under warranty. It is just documented as a known issue and if the vehicle is under warranty, then it is covered. They will replace the seal only if it's just leaking and not throwing a code.

 

[Zeush]

TSB does not mean it is automatically covered under warranty. It is just documented as a known issue and if the vehicle is under warranty, then it is covered. They will replace the seal only if it's just leaking and not throwing a code.

Mine didn't throw a code, the tech doing the oil change noticed the leak. The service advisor ordered the intermediate shaft that day and said it was covered under the factory power train warranty. I also have an extended warranty covering me until 100k miles. He said it would have been covered under that warranty if the factory was up.

 

[Cdubya]

So Im outside my powertrain warranty, how bad is this bill going to hurt?

You have codes or just the leak? If just the leak, seal it externally if you are out of warranty.

 

[DaHuntah]

So Im outside my powertrain warranty, how bad is this bill going to hurt?

If you have to pay out of pocket it going to sting! I would push them on the TSB and try to get the FADA delete.

 

[Eljaber]

Mine didn't throw a code, the tech doing the oil change noticed the leak. The service advisor ordered the intermediate shaft that day and said it was covered under the factory power train warranty. I also have an extended warranty covering me until 100k miles. He said it would have been covered under that warranty if the factory was up.

The same thing happened with my 2020 ST. I went for an oil change, and they noticed a leak of some kind and told me to bring it back. I went on vacation and came back to an oil spot on the garage floor. I took it in, and they replaced the seal. It was covered under the powertrain warranty as well.

 

[Tbishop]

I have this exact issue on a very new to me, 2021 Explorer ST, Canada and just over 45,000km. Thanks to this forum and thread I was able to be informed of potential issues with the vehicle to make an informed purchase, however never did I expect that on day 1 of bringing it home this week I'd look underneath for the first time and notice 3 drops on the floor.

Finger smell revealed gear oil, and I called the dealer and voiced my suspicion then brought it back in, they said right away they will take care of it. They confirmed quickly that it was the leaking FADA and that will perform the procedure to remove the FADA, replace the O-ring, and put it all back together as-is with the same parts and new O-ring. This is not what I want, from previous experience with mechanical work and on the advice/consensus of this group I am pushing for the dealer to refer to TSB 23-2114, TSB 23-2174, and replace with the re-engineered intermediate shaft, TCU program, and new half shaft to permanently correct the issue. Although the procedure is 90% the same for O-ring or replacement of the parts, they won't do it - they say their hands are tied to follow an entire TSB at my request (which is fully billable) or, to just do the O-ring and the process is completely free under powertrain.

The main issue seems that although there is are TSB’s for a failing FADA, there is no TSB for simply the FADA leak. Therefore, this is up to dealer discretion to which they have said their hands are tied under the powertrain warranty, and to talk to Ford Canada, or pay for the whole job on my pre-owned vehicle out of pocket.

I spoke to another dealer locally for a sanity check and they said that Ford's directions are consistent with what my dealer described, but here I see that about 50/50 some dealers have gone to O-ring only, while others do the improved fix using the latest and greatest revised parts (Intermediate shaft N1MZ-3A329-A, New driver side Axle TX1309/N1MZ-3A427F, New Axle nut LB5Z-3B477A) etc.

I am stuck here and I spoke to Ford Canada and they said Dealers are locally owned and operated and work with your dealer. My dealer said they aren’t enabled for flexibility, ie they cover the labour and I buy the revised/improved parts to fix it per the recommendation, and that Ford has put this restriction upon them.

A case where both are pointing to each other and leaving the customer to arbitrate and manage the actual repair, has really worn the luster off this purchase in 24 hours.


I am very mechanical and can do this work with parts in my garage, but with two little girls and this being day 1 of purchase I didn’t anticipate this, plus I cannot do the TCU programing required (Ford can) and the truck is in their shop currently which makes the most efficient sense.


Has anyone recently/successfully convinced a dealer to do a full-measure fix under powertrain? In Canada? I hate half-measure fixes, I know this will buy 2-3 years and then the FADA will go. I want to do this all at once so that the truck is bulletproof going forward, but they don’t want to see it this way. The other option I have is requesting they buy it back or taking it to another dealer for a different "interpretation" of the warranty solution, and if I get out of the vehicle look for a 2022+. I should note that this was not documented on the inspection they provided which was 5 months and almost 10,000km before I bought it, and it was obviously an oversight.

I love the vehicle otherwise and I want to see a way through this but need some advice and help and want Ford to step up to resolve it fully and properly so I can have confidence in the vehicle, OEM, platform, and future support.

Thanks.