Pentastar 3.6 oil cooler failure. What really causes or exacerbates it?

[OldNoob]

Ok so i have one of those 2014 Pentastar 3.6's
So far... everything is going OK..
However, every time i change the oil filter it seems or feels like i'm cranking pretty hard on that plastic housing to unscrew it.
And that makes me wonder if actually doing oil and filter changes might be adding to, or exacerbating, the potential of a crack or failure.
What do you guys think?

 

[The Lube Guy]

I think you should swap out your oil filter housing with one of these, and enjoy life without having to worry about your engine:

Link: https://www.amazon.com/Dorman-926-959-Upgraded-Aluminum-Compatible/dp/B09TRY494C

Get the Dorman unit linked above. Do not get the cheaper knock offs, you will regret it.

 

[dogememe]

If you don't like Dorman, Standard also makes replacements: https://www.standardbrand.com/media/12002/vspg_2024_ofhk_12_23.pdf

 

[The Lube Guy]

If you don't like Dorman, Standard also makes replacements: https://www.standardbrand.com/media/12002/vspg_2024_ofhk_12_23.pdf

So, he should replaces one plastic cooler, with another? How does that solve... anything?

I replaced all the plastic cooler in our Pentastar engines with Dorman units, and they have been trouble free. They work really well.

 

[dogememe]

So, he should replaces one plastic cooler, with another? How does that solve... anything?

I replaced all the plastic cooler in our Pentastar engines with Dorman units, and they have been trouble free. They work really well.

If you read the document you'll see that there are design improvements in the Standard part and I trust Standard's quality control far more than Dorman's. Also, while the Dorman unit consolidates oil filters, the Standard one retains the original oil filter number (although this wouldn't matter in this case since OP has a 2014)

 

[The Lube Guy]

If you read the document you'll see that there are design improvements in the Standard part and I trust Standard's quality control far more than Dorman's. Also, while the Dorman unit consolidates oil filters, the Standard one retains the original oil filter number (although this wouldn't matter in this case since OP has a 2014)

Dorman makes their units in the US, and in Malaysia. Would you care to guess which one is of higher quality?

 

[The Critic]

Dorman makes their units in the US, and in Malaysia. Would you care to guess which one is of higher quality?

IME, a US made item is not a default guarantee of higher quality. If anything, I have experienced far more poorly built US items in the post-COVID world than stuff from Asia.

 

[dogememe]

Dorman makes their units in the US, and in Malaysia. Would you care to guess which one is of higher quality?

COO does not guarantee quality. While I do like to support Made in USA stuff I would never pick a worse product just because it was made here over a better product made elsewhere.

 

[The Lube Guy]

The Made in Malaysia units are higher quality. It's like we almost completely lost our ability to manufacture basic cast aluminum products. I returned several Dormant units that were made in USA because of poor casting and machining.

 

[edyvw]

The Made in Malaysia units are higher quality. It's like we almost completely lost our ability to manufacture basic cast aluminum products. I returned several Dormant units that were made in USA because of poor casting and machining.

We did not lose ability. It is the chase for short-term profits. Once the organization starts chasing that, it is downhill from there until the bottom is hit pretty hard.

 

[demarpaint]

Ok so i have one of those 2014 Pentastar 3.6's
So far... everything is going OK..
However, every time i change the oil filter it seems or feels like i'm cranking pretty hard on that plastic housing to unscrew it.
And that makes me wonder if actually doing oil and filter changes might be adding to, or exacerbating, the potential of a crack or failure.
What do you guys think?

FTR it is a poor design imo. However over tightening it, and hitting the wrench used to take the cap off with the heal of your hand because the cap was on too tight will exacerbate failure. I have a 3.6L in a JK Rubicon, my oil filter housing cap is snugged to about 80" lb. Getting the cap off is quite easy and there are no leaks so far.

 

[KrisZ]

It’s primarily over tightening, but once it gets up in age, even using the recommended torque may cause them to leak.

These do not need to be torqued, once the cap flange touches the housing lip, the oring on the cap will make the seal.

 

[dumkid]

It’s primarily over tightening, but once it gets up in age, even using the recommended torque may cause them to leak.

These do not need to be torqued, once the cap flange touches the housing lip, the oring on the cap will make the seal.

The oring will seal before the cap stops, so if you screw the cap down until it stops then you're good to go. It doesn't really need any torque beyond what It takes to push the oring down

 

[4WD]

It’s primarily over tightening, but once it gets up in age, even using the recommended torque may cause them to leak.

These do not need to be torqued, once the cap flange touches the housing lip, the oring on the cap will make the seal.

Yep - I just use a T-handle - snug and no leverage from a ratchet …

 

[t1snwrbrdr12]

We’ve used the Dormans off and on for awhile now. Many of them are leaking and being replaced again now.

Severe service / highly abused fleet, but still…not much better than oem in our experience.

 

[The Lube Guy]

We’ve used the Dormans off and on for awhile now. Many of them are leaking and being replaced again now.

Severe service / highly abused fleet, but still…not much better than oem in our experience.

Let me guess: the seals at the bottom started leaking?

 

[JTK]

Ok so i have one of those 2014 Pentastar 3.6's
So far... everything is going OK..
However, every time i change the oil filter it seems or feels like i'm cranking pretty hard on that plastic housing to unscrew it.
And that makes me wonder if actually doing oil and filter changes might be adding to, or exacerbating, the potential of a crack or failure.
What do you guys think?

We've discussed this a bunch over the years here.

It's pretty rare you'll find with 100% certainty where your oil leak came from on a pentastar filter/cooler assembly. Access to it requires totally disabling the engine, so you can't "test" it. Visual to it requires an endoscope cam and actually being able to see anything with one once a leak is identified is impossible, because the engine block valley is going to be full of oil from the leak, which submerges and hides the base of the filter/cooler assembly.

Watch any of the Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep mechanic channels and they will confirm this. Cracks in the plastic is rare. Some claim to have seen leakage out of the "glued" in plugs on the housing, or leaks from where the oil temp or oil pressure sensors thread in. The rest of the leaks seem to originate from the O-rings seals on the bottom of the unit, that get sandwiched between the unit and the engine block.

My theory is movement of the plastic over time causes the O-rings to fail. Be it thermal movement or possible degradation of the plastic over time in the sealing areas. Just like the plastic cooling system components that leak on these engines, I'd rather mate up a chunk of aluminum to an aluminum head/block, than try to bolt a piece of plastic to it.

 

[The Lube Guy]

My theory is movement of the plastic over time causes the O-rings to fail. Be it thermal movement or possible degradation of the plastic over time in the sealing areas. Just like the plastic cooling system components that leak on these engines, I'd rather mate up a chunk of aluminum to an aluminum head/block, than try to bolt a piece of plastic to it.

Plastic can deform over multiple heat cycles. I think the leaks in the system come from the seals at the bottom. As for the many Mopar mechanics on YouTube: 'Online Mechanic Tips' is one of the sloppiest and least educated regarding causes of failure, repairs, and fluids. It’s difficult to believe he has any following. Then again, with YouTube, you get what you pay for. Those seeking confirmation bias and reinforcement of their own beliefs and repair methods will follow him.

 

[tnt_motorsports]

Ok so i have one of those 2014 Pentastar 3.6's
So far... everything is going OK..
However, every time i change the oil filter it seems or feels like i'm cranking pretty hard on that plastic housing to unscrew it.
And that makes me wonder if actually doing oil and filter changes might be adding to, or exacerbating, the potential of a crack or failure.
What do you guys think?

These units are prone to leaking because they warp under heat. My wife’s started seeping about a year ago and progressively got worse. I changed it last weekend along with the PCV and spark plugs. Job took about 3-1/2 hours. The van is a 2014 and has 95k on it.

I think you should swap out your oil filter housing with one of these, and enjoy life without having to worry about your engine:

Link: https://www.amazon.com/Dorman-926-959-Upgraded-Aluminum-Compatible/dp/B09TRY494C

Get the Dorman unit linked above. Do not get the cheaper knock offs, you will regret it.

View attachment 217784

These are very nice units and the quality was pretty good IMO. I’m glad I picked the aluminum one. I don’t regret it at all.

Just my $0.02

 

[t1snwrbrdr12]

Let me guess: the seals at the bottom started leaking?

Maybe, I haven’t had one to repeat the job yet personally. We have a shop of 20+ guys servicing hundreds of them so I just see the trash on the work benches sometimes.

The quality of the Dormans isn’t confidence inspiring though. They come packaged and protected well but the seals don’t fit well, the aluminum flanges is chipping away and looks like garbage straight out of the box sometimes. The hardware changes from one box to another, might be torx, the next one might be torx plus