Ram 1500 Pentastar 3.6L - Oil deep in valley of engine - How to clean?

[Fordiesel69]

Question, I installed a new o-ring on the oil filter cap and fingers crossed this fixed the oil seep. It was very minor and it was like one drop that just stayed. However there are helicopters, and oil soaked acorns down inside there. Is there any sensors or anything that will be damaged if I simple green it and hose down the surrounding area?

Yes im aware this will need upgraded and replaced soon.

 

[Fordiesel69]

Also is this fitting supposed to be uncapped.?

 

[cptbarkey]

Well, it sounds like you already buttoned everything back up. I would have used a turkey baster or thin tshirts to get the residual oil out. I would take a look at my 14 Caravan but its an hour away collecting dust. If you didnt mark things you disconnected not sure what to say there man. details count.

 

[tnt_motorsports]

Are you sure it was the oil cap leaking? These units are more prone to leaks where the oil filter/oil cooler surface attaches to the engine.

I don’t think I’d be spraying anything in there. I’d use some rags or a shop vac to try and clean it up.

On your hose I’m unsure. Sorry

Just my $0.02

 

[JTK]

Unfortunately, the only way to get down in there to all the nooks and crannies where the oil pools on a pentastar, is to remove the upper and lower intake manifold.

Like @tnt_motorsports suggests, these pentastar oil filter housings tend to leak from the O-ring seals, where the plastic housing mates up to the aluminum engine block. Super common problem. It seemed like the Doorman all aluminum replacement assembly would be the cure to this, but according to the innerwebs, people have had fitment and leak issues with those as well.

I'd be concerned about those acorns as well given rodents probably put them there.

You can generally get by with a leaky pentastar oil filter/cooler housing, until oil fills the block valley to the point it drips off the back of the engine mimicking a rear main seal leak. I've never heard of one catastrophically break, causing all the engine oil to blow out.

 

[Sonny88]

Speedmaster wheel brush or similar, with a plastic friendly cleaner..

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[racer12306]

Unfortunately, the only way to get down in there to all the nooks and crannies where the oil pools on a pentastar, is to remove the upper and lower intake manifold.

Like @tnt_motorsports suggests, these pentastar oil filter housings tend to leak from the O-ring seals, where the plastic housing mates up to the aluminum engine block. Super common problem. It seemed like the Doorman all aluminum replacement assembly would be the cure to this, but according to the innerwebs, people have had fitment and leak issues with those as well.

I'd be concerned about those acorns as well given rodents probably put them there.

You can generally get by with a leaky pentastar oil filter/cooler housing, until oil fills the block valley to the point it drips off the back of the engine mimicking a rear main seal leak. I've never heard of one catastrophically break, causing all the engine oil to blow out.

Ours got pretty bad forcing a repair pretty quick. I don't remember the consumption rate, but it was at the point that if you took too long of a drive (couple hours) we would've lost an engine.


My in laws just took their 5600 mile pentastar in for warranty repair. Oil coming from somewhere on the transmission side of the engine. Haven't heard a verdict.

 

[JTK]

Ours got pretty bad forcing a repair pretty quick. I don't remember the consumption rate, but it was at the point that if you took too long of a drive (couple hours) we would've lost an engine.


My in laws just took their 5600 mile pentastar in for warranty repair. Oil coming from somewhere on the transmission side of the engine. Haven't heard a verdict.

There are plastic plugs bonded into place on the base of the assembly that some online guys like motor city mechanic claim to have seen come loose and leak. A sump emptying leak can happen with them for sure.

The awful thing about these filter/coolers is, you'll never really know the full scope of where the leak source was. You can't get an endoscope cam down in there well enough to see things and by the time they leak, the whole base is submerged in oil. You can't run the engine with the intake, throttle body and injector rail off to troubleshoot it.

 

[t1snwrbrdr12]

You can flood it with water, but in the valley there is at least an oil pressure switch, coolant temp sensor, knock sensors. If the leak appeared to be high up at the filter cap, the cap is usually cracked (not really visible, but we’ve smoked some to reveal the leaks). Typically the whole housing / cooler assembly just needs to be replaced. And that valley area holds a surprising amount of oil. When making the repair, I always shop vac it out, clean the heads and valley as best possible, then shop vac it some more, and once all reassembled I try to flood out the reminants with water (then dry with an air blower). There are 2 screws in the upper intake that hold water and the heads will rust if you let water sit there.

 

[Fordiesel69]

I did not take anything apart. The round oil filter cap had a drop of oil coming out around its permieter. I unscrewed it, then placed a new o-ring on it.

 

[t1snwrbrdr12]

Ours got pretty bad forcing a repair pretty quick. I don't remember the consumption rate, but it was at the point that if you took too long of a drive (couple hours) we would've lost an engine.


My in laws just took their 5600 mile pentastar in for warranty repair. Oil coming from somewhere on the transmission side of the engine. Haven't heard a verdict.

The oil cooler will leak and fill the valley until it spills out onto the transmission bellhousing. That’s usually where it’s first noticed is when it’s leaked enough to spill to the transmission.

 

[Jimmy_Russells]

99% chance the oil cooler and/or the o-rings where it meets the block are leaking. This problem is so common pretty much every Pentastar will have the oil cooler changed at least once.

There is an oil pressure switch and temperature sensor on the back side of the cooler. I wouldn't be too worried about damaging them, they're quite buried in behind.

 

[PontiacHO]

A heavy dose of brake kleen and blow that out with compressed air. Not sure about that fitting but it either needs to be capped off and/or fine what it was attached to. May be live vacuum…

 

[JTK]

The way the lower intake basically covers the valley up, trying to clean it intact is going to do very little but make more of a mess.

 

[MattPersman]

That’s a vent tube not a vacuum line. Don’t cap it unless you are installing some sort of other vent cap on it. It’s for the transmission

We just use water hose down there for quite a while to clean it out after repair

 

[Nuclear_42]

There's nothing wrong with using simple gear or diluted down and brush to clean this mess up. Just use more of a open spray pattern to softly rinse it all off. Be mindful of the air inlet.

 

[KrisZ]

I would stuff rags in there to soak up the oil.
Afterwards monitor that area, you may have an oil cooler leak, they are very common and will fill up the valley with oil.

 

[racer12306]

Quick follow-up about my in-laws issue....


Pinched valve cover gasket from the factory

 

[jkasch]

Quick follow-up about my in-laws issue....


Pinched valve cover gasket from the factory

Wasn't expecting that diagnosis.