2014 Dodge Durango 3.6L oil cooler leaking

[wwillson]

I have a 2014 Dodge Durango with the 3.6L Pentastar V6, which I bought new in Jan 2014 and have accumulated 67,000 miles. A couple weeks ago I changed the engine oil in my routine service schedule. A few days later I noticed a spot of oil in the garage where I park. A quick looks showed that it's not the oil filter or the oil drain plug that are leaking. I ignored it and it didn't go away . Fast forward two weeks and now I have a large, maybe 3 feet across oil spot in the garage and I've noticed spots other places I've parked as well. I checked the level a couple times and added a total of about a quart. Today I decided it's time to figure out what the problems is and have found that the oil cooler in the V under the intake manifold is leaking. Googling for "Pentastar oil cooler leak" yields many hits that point to a known design flaw in the oil cooler/filter housing.

Has anyone with a Pentastar experienced the same leak? Any idea how much work is involved with removing the intake? If you did the work to replace the oil cooler yourself, how long did it take? If you had a dealer do the work, how much did it cost?

 

[bullwinkle]

Wayne-wouldn't that be covered by the 100K powertrain warranty? I would talk to a (good) dealer about it.

 

[SatinSilver]

Found a tsb for a leaking oil filter housing:

http://www.carcomplaints.com/Dodge/Durango/2014/tsbs/

Didn't see any complaints for oil leaks.

 

[wwillson]

Originally Posted By: bullwinkle
Wayne-wouldn't that be covered by the 100K powertrain warranty? I would talk to a (good) dealer about it.


It's past 3 years, so I'm not sure that the warranty would apply.

 

[SatinSilver]

The powertrain warranty is 5 yrs/100k miles which it should fall under.

 

[wwillson]

I will call the dealer tomorrow to see if it's still under warranty.

 

[newtoncd8]

68105583AA

Maybe not a direct correlation, and I know this is BITOG and probably redundant, but do you use a torque wrench (18 ft lbs) when you put the oil filter cap on?

 

[wwillson]

Originally Posted By: Curtis Newton
68105583AA

Maybe not a direct correlation, and I know this is BITOG and probably redundant, but do you use a torque wrench (18 ft lbs) when you put the oil filter cap on?


I don't even tighten the cap past contact with the base. All of the sealing is done by the o-ring, so I screw the cap on until the cap just contacts the base and stop there.

 

[hemitruck]

you have a 5 year 100000 mile drive train warranty. are you sure the leak isn't coming from the filter housing ? it was a known issue.

 

[JC1]

Originally Posted By: hemitruck
you have a 5 year 100000 mile drive train warranty. are you sure the leak isn't coming from the filter housing ? it was a known issue.


+1 on checking the filter housing first.

 

[wwillson]

Originally Posted By: hemitruck
you have a 5 year 100000 mile drive train warranty. are you sure the leak isn't coming from the filter housing ? it was a known issue.


Yes, I'm sure, the filter housing is completely dry.

 

[wwillson]

Originally Posted By: hemitruck
you have a 5 year 100000 mile drive train warranty. are you sure the leak isn't coming from the filter housing ? it was a known issue.



I checked the warranty and it says 3 year 100,000 mile powertrain.

"The Mopar® 3-Year/100,000-Mile Powertrain Limited Warranty covers the following Mopar and
Mopar Remanufactured Powertrain products: transfer case assemblies, transmissions, engines
(excludes Cummins) and cylinder heads (excludes Cummins)."

 

[Trav]

Its a known issue since they went to the plastic cooler housing in 14 and have had 5 revisions of this part. Call Chrysler zone and ask for a goodwill repair. Chances are they will do it for you, the dealer service manager will probably just blow it off, they make more money doing retail repairs than warranty.

 

[Mantooth]

You and I have the same year with the same mileage.

Following.

 

[The_Eric]

Not a hard repair. It looks intimidating since the upper and lower intake has to come off but once you get going it's easy enough..

I may have some pictures of one I did in a Jeep if you want something to reference.

 

[The Critic]

Here is a video of the repair process:

https://youtu.be/VabsoNG8m3E

 

[Nick1994]

Wayne, your Dodge Durango does in fact have a FIVE year/100,000 miles powertrain warranty. The quote you posted above is for purchasing a re manufactured engine.

We just got my grandmother's 2014 Dodge Grand Caravan back from the dealership (has the same 3.6L Pemtastar) with 33k miles and it had a minor oil leak. They replaced the timing chain cover gasket and oil pan gasket under the powertrain warranty. I guess in order to take the covers off they also had to remove the valve covers so it got new valve cover gaskets and a water pump gasket.

Below is screenshots from the PDF of the warranty manual for your 2014 Dodge Durango. I will also post below the link to it from Dodge's website.

[deal links removed]

 

[Sunnyinhollister]

The manual also goes on to list the covered parts and the cooler is not one of them. They cover all internal parts of the block and since the cooler is bolted onto the block some dealers have been denying coverage. Very well know issue on the Jeep boards.

 

[Nick1994]

Usually what's explained by service advisors as to what's covered under powertrain warranty, as has been explained to me several times, is the powertrain warranty "covers anything oil touches". So if your local dealer gives you a hard time, explain your situation to the service manager. If they're of no help go to a different dealer that might be able to help.

 

[Trav]

Originally Posted By: Sunnyinhollister
The manual also goes on to list the covered parts and the cooler is not one of them. They cover all internal parts of the block and since the cooler is bolted onto the block some dealers have been denying coverage. Very well know issue on the Jeep boards.


That's why I suggested he contact zone right away not just the dealer. The part is a defect in quality/materials, the fact they have had so many revisions for failures proves that.