Infamous 3.6 Pentastar oil cooler strikes

[Jaredjw90]

Have you pressure tested the cooling system? As mentioned the coolant is going somewhere, it could very well be the heater core. If it's a slight leak from the heater core it could take a long time to find w/o pressure testing the cooling system.

Haven't yet. It wasn't at the local auto parts store when I called. Calling again today.

 

[demarpaint]

Haven't yet. It wasn't at the local auto parts store when I called. Calling again today.

Good luck!

 

[kschachn]

If it’s not leaking on the ground, the engine is burning it.

Which if is the case here can sometimes be detected through inspecting the spark plug condition or using a borescope to look at the tops of the pistons.

Or by smelling the exhaust, as long as you don't do that for long stretches of time.

 

[Jaredjw90]

Which if is the case here can sometimes be detected through inspecting the spark plug condition or using a borescope to look at the tops of the pistons.

Or by smelling the exhaust, as long as you don't do that for long stretches of time.

Exhaust smells normal. Haven't pulled the plugs, haven't had time to pull the upper intake manifold yet

 

[JTK]

Jaredjw90, sorry if I missed it, but are you asking if engine coolant could be leaking from the oil filter / cooler housing assembly? It could and it't possible the leak is slow enough to burn off every time you use the vehicle. The block valley under the oil filter housing is cavernous. It can hold almost two quarts of fluid before it even starts leaking down the block.

 

[manicrodder]

Which if is the case here can sometimes be detected through inspecting the spark plug condition or using a borescope to look at the tops of the pistons.

Or by smelling the exhaust, as long as you don't do that for long stretches of time.

We're not supposed to do that for long? Made me think of Joey on Friends, "You mean I'm supposed to leave when using the bug bombs!" or similar.

 

[The Critic]

Side note, these oil coolers are on serious backorder right now. 68105583AF, that is. If you need one, you could be waiting for a while.

 

[sloinker]

Side note, these oil coolers are on serious backorder right now. 68105583AF, that is. If you need one, you could be waiting for a while.

Factory coolers may be on backorder but there are a myriad of Asian imports available for much less money. The OE's still haven't been improved enough to fix the problem it seems. It is truly a shame that FCA has not fixed this issue these many years later. I think they use this and other known problems as a revenue stream for their dealers. I'm a Mopar fan boy but I have probably bought my last one. BTW, that cooler change is easy and only slowed by the huge greasy mess you have to clean up.

 

[Kira]

I posted on this thread 7 weeks ago.
I was following the thread 'cause a pal bought a 2019 leftover DGC with the 3.6l.
Since then his Dad bought a 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee with that engine.
I'll peer down into the valleys when next I see their vehicles.

What a dopey part to design....could be why I feel the fool whenever I say the word, "Pentastar".
It's that 'extra care in engineering; Chrysler, Plymouth and Dodge'. Anybody remember that from the '70's?

There's a leak free "oil to coolant" cooler on the backside of each of my Volvo 5 cylinder engines.

 

[Ram02]

Hey y'all. First post here. I'm suspecting my oil cooler module to be the fault of my coolant mystery. I'm losing about a half cup of coolant every time I drive, even just a few miles. I can't see any white smoke, the oil isn't milky, no oil in the coolant, no leaks (put uv dye in).

When this part fails, is it ever a slight leak? Or just mass failure.

Any other thoughts on what might be the issue?

Thanks

Take that car to the dealership ASAP

 

[gavin q88]

This is an Army town. Everything is over priced in Army towns. But yeah, $600+ for the labor, $300+ for the oil cooler, $200+ for the 12 gaskets, $20 in coolant for the bleed, the $70 oil change, tax- it added up quick. Yes, I could have probably gone out and paid for everything myself, but I only purchase OEM when I do work myself, so it would have cost me pretty close to the same in parts. The only thing I would have saved on is labor. I didn't have to lose a days work to fix my kids Jeep, so I guess it balances out...

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