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As @asavage said, the coolant delete manifold can't be installed on Model S/X without removing the drive unit, as the subframe side rail is in the way. At my shop, I normally quote about 6 hrs of labor (~$1000) for a coolant delete install. Even in a shop environment with lifts and all the tools...

Yep, on the RAV4 EV it is VERY easy to install. Mercedes B-Class is the next level up, as the "frame" rail is in the way, but by removing the side mount and lowering the motor you can get the manifold to fit without removing the drive unit. Both Model S/X of course require the drive unit to be...

I would recommend calling the shop directly to talk to Tony (message/email are not always the best way to get ahold of him...). I know that supply was running low last I spoke with him, so they might be out. Another batch of the manifolds is being built, and should be finished in about a week...

Since you're still under warranty for some time, I would say not to worry too much about checking it, but if the coolant was low, and it didn't leak on the ground, then it had to have gone somewhere....

I'm the guy in that video ;). ONLY Large Drive Units are affected by this issue, so no worries when it comes to your Model 3. LDUs were only used in: - Almost all RWD Versions of Model S (apparently with the exception of some later versions of S60, though I haven't confirmed this 100%) -...

This is a VERY common problem area for these cars. Early Large Drive Units (LDU for short) were very prone to noise issues due to the use of steel rotor bearings, which would end up becoming the path of least resistance for energy built up in the rotor to dissipate to the case (e.g., literal...

Yeah, unfortunately this is a heavily location dependent issue... Many service managers run the service centers like their own personal fiefdoms and make up their own rules. Officially if it is listed as an over the counter part on EPC, you *should* be able to walk into a service center and get...

You can certainly try to get in touch with someone higher up at Tesla, but I'd say the chances of a successful outcome are pretty slim (at best, you may be able to get them to sell you a New battery for the cost of a Reman). A 3rd party repair (from a shop like mine, or ReCell, etc.) is likely...

I'm sure both this battery, and the last were probably remanufactured packs (Tesla's reman packs don't seem to have a good track record when it comes to longevity). You have a few options: a) purchase another remanufactured battery through Tesla, which will come with a 4yr 50k warranty. b)...

I'm not going to defend Tony's lack of communication here (he's certainly not the easiest to get ahold of at times). I will say though, that for most of the month of December, the shop was shut down for moving/setting up at a new location, and of course nobody was there over the holidays. I...

Pretty much. Personally I wouldn't bother with it, unless for something like a LDU used in a high performance conversion or racing application, or maybe something where higher power is needed for extended periods of time. But the provisions are there for anyone who wants it.

Yes, retrofitting it with the oil cooling later would necessitate pulling the motor and removing the manifold so that the seal and tube could be installed. I don't have an exact timeline for when the oil cooling parts will be available, but likely later in the spring. For the vast majority of...

FYI folks, QC Charge's first batch of production rotor cooling delete manifolds are in. These allow for a complete elimination of the rotor cooling seal that is the cause of so many failures on these drive units. Pricing starts at $599 for the manifold. For shops or people doing a lot of...

Currently our only location is in the San Diego area, with more shops opening in the western U.S. over the next couple years (I myself am moving to Portland and will be opening a shop there early next year). If you can find another 3rd party shop that is willing to install the delete manifold...

You can put in an order on our website, that way we can get in touch when they are available. DON'T PAY via the "Amazon Pay" option, just hit the "Cash, Check, Money Order" option, that way we can send you an invoice when we actually get them in stock...

BTW, our "pre-production" unit showed up yesterday. Had to make a few small revisions for the first production batch, but it's looking pretty good!

With our solution you can do either NO rotor cooling (like the Rev U Tesla LDU), or as an option oil cooling can be added on. Our manifolds will be backwards compatible, so if you put it on without cooling and you change your mind, the cooling can be added on later (the drive unit would need to...

Indeed, we expect to have production units ready for sale in January! Our newest version has a few changes from our initial idea, and has a couple of options. 1. Rotor cooling delete (just like Tesla's new "U" revision LDUs). 2. Oil cooled rotor conversion (our initial idea). The base version...

Oil likely doesn't have enough heat transfer capability to properly cool the inverter, and even the stator could be a potential issue for heat buildup. Unlike the oil cooled SDUs, which run oil directly through the windings in the stator, the LDU relies on heat transfer through the resin and...

The "U" version will have a "factory rotor cooling delete", so the condition of the sealing surface on the rotor shaft becomes irrelevant. The issue right now is that Tesla doesn't offer the delete manifold as a standalone part, so the only way to get it from them is to buy the whole drive unit...

We've got a new aftermarket manifold option we've been working on at QC Charge. It can be used either for a complete rotor cooling delete, or to split the rotor cooling to a separate circuit, which can be oil cooled. Hopefully we will have them available starting in January after we do some...

Coolant and/or brown rusty sludge. If you find the latter, your drive unit is likely on it's last legs before imminent failure... If you find some grease, don't worry too much about that, as that is fairly normal.

We are actually currently working on a solution to do just that. We are currently in the prototype phase, and plan to put it on a "test mule" soon. The setup we're using will only replace the water cooling for the rotor with oil (the rest of the drive unit will remain water cooled).

I'm a bit unclear on what exactly you're trying to do. Swap your original inverter onto another motor or vice-versa? What issues are you having exactly? There are a number of different factors that play into rebuildability... If you're planning on buying a used drive unit, make sure to give it...

We are actually working on a kit which would convert the rotor from "water based" cooling to oil cooling. It would effectively separate the rotor cooling to it's own separate circuit, and hopefully have a couple benefits: 1) Keep the rotor seal in good working order for a longer period of time...

Here's what the rotor and stator end up looking like on a seizing up motor:

I highly doubt that the issue has anything to do with the axles. What seems more likely to me is a seizing drive unit. This is not uncommon on drive units that have had a SLOW rotor coolant seal leak, which ends up creating a bunch of corrosion in the stator housing. The buildup of corrosion...

The pack does not need to be removed to take out the rear drive unit (though the rear subframe which the drive unit is bolted to DOES need to be removed). You could buy a used motor to swap in, but there is a high risk that a used drive unit either already has a leaking rotor seal, or could...

Which version of the Model S do you have? The service guy is right about the front drive unit not being an issue, and the rear is only an issue on RWD and/or Performance models (regular dual motor, non-performance doesn't have the LDU in the rear). As far as "fluid on the floor" though, that...

Your car is new enough that it should have had ceramic bearings from new, so your milling noise was likely not a fault of the bearings themselves, but rather the coolant intrusion causing rust formation on the bearing races. I haven't done enough looking at the part numbers on the drive units...

From my experience it's pretty rare to see FDU issues, but not impossible. My own personal car had one replaced according to the service history I have for it (though I estimate it was probably replaced at ~375k mi, so it's well outside of "normal mileage" that most of these cars have). In the...

There are a few other things that can happen too... And depending on how severe the leak is, it may never start to make noise before the car starts to have isolation faults or other electro-mechanical problems. The thing that will cause noise is not so much lack of grease in the bearing (at...

Sorry for the long delay in replying, I didn't check in here all weekend... To answer everyone's questions as to what upgrades the Q motors have, they do all have the ceramic bearings, and as far as I know, they all have the single lip seals (or at least I've never seen one with a triple lip...

I haven't heard of anyone getting a replacement that way personally. I think they do typically require there to be codes present, extremely noisy, a "seizing" motor, or an outright total failure to qualify for replacement under warranty. However, checking the speed sensor does a few things for...

There's not much they can do apart from use a higher quality seal. Even doing that though, problems are still inevitable at some point down the road as the seals are, and always will be a wear item (which is why we also install a drain kit when we rebuild them). They obviously didn't...

As far as I know, pretty much all LDUs put into cars anymore are remanufactured (I've heard rumors they quit making them, but can't confirm). All of the drive units since ~2015 use the same inferior single lip seal that is more likely to wear out prematurely. I've pulled apart a few LDUs that...

Yes, but only if it's a Dual Motor car (70D, 85D, 90D, LR, etc.). All RWD S's on the other hand use the same motor as the Performance in the rear (only difference is Performance has a higher powered inverter).

It's pretty simple to do with just basic hand tools, but if that's still outside your capabilities, any competent shop should be able to do it for you (or if you're in our area, we will do it for free at our shop). There's no need to disconnect the HV for the speed sensor check procedure, and it...

Q revision drive units are basically the "newest", though that's not saying much as they first started using Q's a few years ago. Based on the LDUs I've seen, not even all Q's are the same in terms little things, and some of the newest ones even have different differentials in them. It honestly...

That's a totally separate issue from what we are talking about here, which is an internal leak inside the drive unit due to a worn out seal. In these instances, no coolant leaks out externally, instead it "floods" the inside of the motor and will often show no warning signs until the drive unit...

As I explained in a reply to @NewbyMaybe's comment, the reason for Dual Motor (non-performance) models having fewer issues is that the Small Drive Units that are used in them are a COMPLETELY different design than the Large Drive Units used in RWD or Performance versions of the S/X. In fact, on...

Not sure, but maybe the seals hardening up due to a lack of cycling/movement? It's mainly just an observation I've made, not sure how accurate it is, but I work on a lot of these motors... Most of the seals I've seen go bad at low mileage were in cars that were not driven very often (e.g...

It's not really that the workload is shared, it's that the Small Drive Units are a COMPLETELY different design than the Large Drive Units. In a Dual Motor Model S/X, the front actually does most of the work except when accelerating hard. The failure mode actually has nothing to do with workload...

The drive unit would need to be removed from the car to replace the rotor coolant seal at a minimum. If caught early enough, you can mitigate the risk of damaging the rotor bearings, but usually at least the one on the end gets the grease washed out of it and would need to be replaced. If the...

The drive unit has to be removed from the car, and partially disassembled to install the drain kit (which involves drilling holes in some of the parts, and other parts need fabrication work done). You have to be extremely careful not to damage the inverter when removing and installing the cover...

Hi Mark, For a Model S, a standard rebuild is $4,750 (assuming there's no catastrophic damage inside, error codes, etc.). You can reach our shop at (760)-798-0342. Just so you're aware, we are pretty backed up on cars for repair right now, so it would be quite a while before we could get to it....

Has your drive unit ever been replaced (particularly after 2015)? If not, then the "milling" is a very common issue on older drive units. If it has been replaced, then there's a high likelihood that your coolant seal has started to go bad, and has washed the grease out of the rotor bearings. If...

We make a new silicone rubber gasket to replace the old paper one, and then we glue it in place and seal up the holes using permatex gasket maker.

It is a definite issue for sure, and unfortunately your plight is not at all uncommon. The problem is, short of changing to a completely different drive unit design, there's not much that can be done. In the case of a Performance Dual Motor car, it would theoretically be possible to swap the LDU...

Yes, that's correct. One of the modifications when we rebuild them is we try to seal up that passage as well as possible, as well as add "drains" before and after the case split.