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When did your factory oil filter housing fail on your 3.6 JK?

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How long did your factory oil cooler housing last on your 3.6 JK?

20K views 98 replies 39 participants last post by  Pressurized  
#1 · (Edited)
Mine still going @ 49,500k
Debating on whether I will change it out with the PCV Valve and coolant flush in the spring (which is about 6 weeks or so away).
 
owns 2004 Jeep TJ Rubicon
#3 · (Edited)
The life of the Jeep again so far at least :)
i went 140k miles with my 13 JKU never changed the oil filter housing, OCI's whenever the oil change reminder said so, so could be 6-8k miles
my current 18 JKU has 48k miles on the stock unmolested oil filter housing. still changing the oil when the reminder oil light says so.
You should add a "I haven't experienced any issues with.." in the options.
 
#5 ·
A new Dorman aluminum housing wont address the seals failing. I am guessing this thing should be a maintenance item like the PCV Valve.
 
owns 2004 Jeep TJ Rubicon
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#10 ·
90,000 and no issues.
 
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#16 ·
owns 2004 Jeep TJ Rubicon
#18 ·
I changed mine at 110K but only because the water temp sensor went out. The cooler was fine but I figured if I had to pull it all apart to replace the sensor, I was converting my 12 cooler to the 14+ Dorman unit with new sensors.
 
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#22 ·
I had my '14 in to the dealer for them to tear apart the dash and replace the HVAC gate motors. They informed me I had a read main seal leak, that it wasn't urgent but to keep an eye on it. That was at 100k or thereabouts. At 110k I started getting occasional codes about the oil pressure sensor.

I then had some oil smoking from underneath while climbing steep grades on trails. I figured the rear main seal leak had finally gotten to the point of needing to be done. Took her in to a transmission shop, as they do these more often, on every job, basically as they are dropping the trans out. The shop told me it wasn't the rear main seal but the oil cooler, which sits in the valley of the V, and the leak eventually rolls off the back, down past the rear main seal and onto the trans housing. The cooler is something the shop doesn't do.

So I gathered up my courage and took it on myself. There are a number of youtubes about it, and also changing spark plugs, and between them you get to see it all, as both jobs require pulling the upper manifold, which is the most troublesome - although simple - part of the job.

The Dorman was out of stock but I bought another aluminum unit off the A.

Long story short, the oil cooler was easy enough. The valley has pockets that were 3" deep full of oil and coolant. I extracted with a large syringe, then stuffed paper shop towels into each pocket. Did that a few times to soak it all up, hit the whole thing with brake cleaner (per the Chilton book) and soaked that up with shop towels again.

I didn't find any cracks, but the seals were mashed oddly flat in a few spots, so I presume that is what leaked. I'm happy to have changed it. It came with new sensors.

In the process, I discovered a previous "repair" had been done on one coil pack - it had no wiring connector and was spliced directly from the harness. I am guessing that the plastic connector broke, or was chewed on, and instead of replacing the connector, they chopped into the coil pack and spliced it all and then wrapped in tape.

I spliced in a new connector, then replaced the coil pack. While I was there, I replaced all the coil packs, and the spark plugs, since I didn't know whether/when they had been done (it was new to me at 90k). When I pulled the fuel rails I saw a modest amount of fouling on the injectors, so I did those as well. OEM through Mopar they wanted $250+ each, but I got Bosch parts for $50 each.

I was unable to effectively reach the PCV screws with any leverage at all, so I abandoned doing that at this time. I'll wait until it starts showing symptoms, then decide whether to try again myself or let a shop handle the "simple, 2 screw" job.

The extent of my previous engine work was replacing a carb on my lawn mower. If you are at all handy with tools it is doable.

The best tool I bought for the job was a topside creeper, which allowed me to have comfortable and safe access to the entire engine bay. If you have the space for it, worth every penny of the $250.
 
#23 · (Edited)
I didn't find any cracks, but the seals were mashed oddly flat in a few spots, so I presume that is what leaked.
Yes that is exactly what I found. The seals lost their elasticity and got completely flattened out flush with the bottom surface of the housing so they no longer had the ability to exert force against the block. This allowed the 40 PSI+ oil flowing through the gallery to force past the seal and leak into the valley. I have had the old housing with seals sitting on my bench now for a couple weeks, and the seals are still flattened out the same as they were as soon as I removed it. I thought they might slowly return back to somewhat of their original profile, but it has not happened. The seal that leaked on mine was on the large diameter oil gallery at the back of the housing, but there was absolutely nothing wrong with the housing itself that I could detect after 8 years and 122,000 miles.
 
#25 ·
Replaced my wife's at about 40,000 miles. Bad seal was the problem.
Good luck replacing the PCV valve, I struggled with hers for over an hour and the replacement that I bought is still sitting on my workbench :mad: I couldn't get it out even with the intake and filter housing off.
Mine is showing no signs of leaking at 65,000 miles but I do have a spare Dorman housing and new gaskets and seals ready to go!
 
#28 ·
Mine was in the 120k range. I lucked out and it blew just after retuning home from a ten hour drive (one way) arriving home from SMOOR. I was under my rig to inspect the damage I had done on the trip just before heading home, everything was dry. Just two days later the trans was covered in coolant. Thankfully the nearest parts store had a Dorman sitting there.
 
#29 · (Edited)
Anyone have the provided Dorman oil cooler seals fail on them? The oil cooler seals not the housing seals.

Image
 
owns 2004 Jeep TJ Rubicon
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#34 ·
Anyone have the provided Dorman oil cooler seals fail on them? The oil cooler seals not the housing seals.

View attachment 4571558
Just curious as to your verdict on these Dorman units, in particular these O-rings which apparently aren't available as a separate SKU. I had my oil filter housing replaced a few months ago by a mechanic, and it's leaking again... I bought a Dorman unit, but now I'm freaked out that it won't resolve it. Are these O-Rings the weak point? What is your recommendation? You seem to have a great deal of knowledge in this area!

Thank you!
Neil
 
#42 ·
@vanhalo
It's coming from the top of the engine (looking at it from the rear), and leaking down to the bell housing of the transmission.
you should do it yourself. I bet it won’t leak.
 
owns 2004 Jeep TJ Rubicon