Pentastar 3.6 recommendations

Something for a lot of you guys to look at. On the Pentastar there's a bolt threaded in up against the oil filter housing. The spec'd bolt they used was too long. When the engine flexes on the motor mounts, the bolt pushes against the housing causing it to pull away from the mating surface. This issue caused oil leaks and it happened on ours. We noticed it right away and made the dealership aware. Nothing a Dremmel wheel couldn't fix in 30 seconds but the dealership was super grateful for us pointing it out as it was a major recall issue at the time. They took care of it under warranty and no issues since.
Any photos of where this bolt is located?
 
I'm sorry I don't know how to circle or highlight areas of pictures but if you follow a sight line directly downwards from the white sticker to the alternator bracket you'll see the threaded end of a bolt that has no business being as long as it is.

In our case the housing was thrust into it as the engine flexed and oil began to leak where the housing mates to the cooler. The dealership installed a shorter bolt that came through just flush with where it came through the bracket, been golden for 9 years since👍👌
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2551562-7ad584cf7b9e0ac7c0e7d21f0387902b.jpg*Sorry for the crappy internet picture I'll try to get around to taking an actual underhood one today that'll illustrate the point a bit better*
 
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I'm sorry I don't know how to circle or highlight areas of pictures but if you follow a sight line directly downwards from the white sticker to the alternator bracket you'll see the threaded end of a bolt that has no business being as long as it is.

In our case the housing was thrust into it as the engine flexed and oil began to leak where the housing mates to the cooler. The dealership installed a shorter bolt that came through just flush with where it came through the bracket, been golden for 9 years since👍👌
View attachment 163072View attachment 163072*Sorry for the crappy internet picture I'll try to get around to taking an actual underhood one today that'll illustrate the point a bit better*
Those photos are so small, it's not possible to see it. I also wonder if you are talking about old 3.6L versus the redesigned one from late 2016 forward?
 
Having worked on these myself I’m not sure what he’s referring to. A bolt near the housing should move along with the engine anyway.
Agree since it is a "unit" at that point. The only way that would be possible is if something on the engine could move independently of the main block.
 
When the engine was cold there was 2/1000ths of an inch gap between the bolt and the housing. When it was warm and running the bolt vibrated against, and eventually cracked the housing causing the leak. The dealership changed the bolt and replaced the housing.

I was wrong, it wasn't leaking where it mated to the cooler, the housing actually cracked. I'll get a pic now, back in a sec.
It's the bolt that's slash cut to give clearance. Hope you can see it. As mentioned this is a 2014 Wrangler Sport.
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YESSIR!!!
The bolt was slash cut afterwards so it wasn't pressed up against the housing. The vibrations from the engine and the alternator eventually wore down and cracked the housing. I had better pictures of the set up before it was repaired but alas, they're on a phone that I dropped and can't access:(

The dealer was very grateful that we pointed it out as it was a fairly common issue at the time. He said they were changing housings for customers and they'd be back in a few months with the same problem. Hasn't dropped a spot of oil in the last 9 years since. Just thought it was worth mentioning as it's a simple fix to a messy problem.
 
That bolt situation is an interesting find!

If you search the countless pentastar oil filter housing replacement videos online, the guys who have done dozens of them will say they've never seen one where the plastic has been cracked from over-tightening the cap.

Most say they've not even seen one with a crack in it in general.

Some suspect they leak at the plugs that are bonded in place towards the base, or they leak from the pressure and/or temp sensor bungs and the rest leak from the O-rings under the base. It seems the #1 leak source is the O-rings on the base.

Problem is, you'll never know or be able to find this out, because you have to yank the upper intake to get at the assembly. You can't run the engine to test and once you discover a leak, the block valley has ~2quarts of oil in it and the majority of the assembly is submerged in the oil pool, so you can't see anything anyway.

I've also seen online where shops don't want to bother with the aluminum doorman part because of various problems they've encountered with those.

I'm not even sure you could get an endoscope cam poked down around the base to try to pinpoint the leak. You'd have to be able to suck out and clean the area with the engine intact and run it afterwards.
 
I think I have printed photos at my Dads that we brought to the dealership to show the techs.
If I find them I'll post them so you can better see how the bolt looked initially 👍
 
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I just changed the oil in a Pentastar. Either of the oils you listed would work and I’d do 5,000 mile intervals. The one I did today the owner will only use Mobil 1 so that’s what I got to put in it.
 
Interesting thread. Just picked my son up a 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee with the Penta star. Transfer case seals appear to be leaking. Front diff too. Thought it was the dreaded oil cooler but I dont see the oil coming off the backside of the engine (yet). A little bit of pooling in front of the filter housing, but that could have been because of me changing the filter.

Used Amalie synthetic 5W30 and a Mopar Filter. Plan on doing 5,000 mile intervals. Unit has 103,500 miles on it, previous owner said he did oil changes every 6,000 miles using a synthetic...didn’t ask him what kind...most people are not bob is the oil guy enthusiast, and what find it strange if I stated asking about base stocks and HTHS ratings. 🤣🤣 When I drained it the oil was around a quart low, no idea how many miles were on the oil but if I had to guess...5,000 or more.

Plan on doing a tranny service (pan drop and filter) soon, not sure what tranny is in this thing, but from what I’ve gathered, Mercedes makes the transmission. Hopefully it takes the ATF+4...I don’t want to go searching for special fluid.
 
Interesting thread. Just picked my son up a 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee with the Penta star. Transfer case seals appear to be leaking. Front diff too. Thought it was the dreaded oil cooler but I dont see the oil coming off the backside of the engine (yet). A little bit of pooling in front of the filter housing, but that could have been because of me changing the filter.

Used Amalie synthetic 5W30 and a Mopar Filter. Plan on doing 5,000 mile intervals. Unit has 103,500 miles on it, previous owner said he did oil changes every 6,000 miles using a synthetic...didn’t ask him what kind...most people are not bob is the oil guy enthusiast, and what find it strange if I stated asking about base stocks and HTHS ratings. 🤣🤣 When I drained it the oil was around a quart low, no idea how many miles were on the oil but if I had to guess...5,000 or more.

Plan on doing a tranny service (pan drop and filter) soon, not sure what tranny is in this thing, but from what I’ve gathered, Mercedes makes the transmission. Hopefully it takes the ATF+4...I don’t want to go searching for special fluid.
NAG1 aka W5A580 aka Mercedes Benz 722.6. ATF+4 is the recommended fluid.
 
That’s partly why I still have my ‘98 Grand Cherokee 4.0 six & ‘07 Grand Cherokee 5.7 V8. Like Wranglers but don’t like that oil filter housing design.
 
i think i read the pentastar v6 has more moving parts than other V6 designs. subject to more shearing.

does the manual still say 5w20 or 5w30? or has it changed ?
 
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