Fram PH3600 cut open - 6000 miles

[jeepman3071]

Fram PH3600 off neighbor's 2006 Jeep Commander 3.7L. Was in use for 6000 miles with Supertech 15w40. This engine only has 130k, but it drinks oil, like a quart every 2 weeks.

Filter looked good, pleat spacing a bit wide near the seam but no tears. Rotella 15w40 and same filter went back in.

 

[fantastic]

I agree it does look good. Did the 3.7L overheat anytime in its life?

 

[JavierH19]

Looks great. And wow that's a lot of oil, I'd use 20w-50 instead.

 

[zrxkawboy]

Isn't 15W40 plenty thick for your climate? I'd try some Maxlife 10W40 myself.

 

[KCJeep]

PH 3600s usually look very good, thanks for the excellent cut and post!

 

[paulri]

Agreed this one looks good. If every PH3600 I've seen here looked this good, I wouldn't have upgraded to the TG3600.

Fram PH3600 off neighbor's 2006 Jeep Commander 3.7L. Was in use for 6000 miles with Supertech 15w40. This engine only has 130k, but it drinks oil, like a quart every 2 weeks.

Filter looked good, pleat spacing a bit wide near the seam but no tears. Rotella 15w40 and same filter went back in.

 

[Kira]

a quart every 2 weeks.

What do the plugs look like? Does it smoke or leak?

Tanks for the autopsy.

 

[jeepman3071]

Isn't 15W40 plenty thick for your climate? I'd try some Maxlife 10W40 myself.

15w40 is plenty thick for the climate, but this engine burns and leaks oil like it is its job. I'll probably be stepping it up to a 20w50 next change just because I only drained about a quart out of it this time around. This neighbor is a mom with 3 little kids so quite busy and while she does check it and add oil I think it is drinking it faster than she adds it.

What do the plugs look like? Does it smoke or leak?

Tanks for the autopsy.

The plugs definitely look like they are in an engine that burns oil, but it doesn't foul them out... yet. No visible smoking, and it leaks a bit from the oil pan.

 

[jeepman3071]

I agree it does look good. Did the 3.7L overheat anytime in its life?

Not that I know of. She bought it used, and it has been consuming oil ever since she owned it. When she bought it, it actually had the opposite problem and the thermostat was stuck open and it threw a code for not getting up to temp. I replaced the thermostat which resolved that issue and improved fuel mileage a bit. The cooling system looked okay from what I could see and the coolant actually looked pretty good. It never consumes any coolant.

 

[jeepman3071]

Looks great. And wow that's a lot of oil, I'd use 20w-50 instead.

Yeah these engines are kinda known for burning oil along with the 3.8 V6. A friend's dad has an 07 3.8L Wrangler and his burns a ton of oil too with only about 120k miles. He runs 15w40 and a quart of Lucas in it though.

 

[Kira]

You say she got it used and you didn't state the odo.
Could this vehicle be a candidate for a ring-soak job?
The timing could be just right for Spring given you've just done an oil change.

 

[jeepman3071]

You say she got it used and you didn't state the odo.
Could this vehicle be a candidate for a ring-soak job?
The timing could be just right for Spring given you've just done an oil change.

It has ~130k now, she bought it 3 years ago with ~80k.

 

[Sayjac]

Looks good, and significantly better than the TG3614 recently posted here. A quart every two weeks, yikes. Surprised no visible smoke. I might have missed it, any guesstimate on how many miles that might be in two weeks?

Thanks for c&p.

 

[JavierH19]

Yeah these engines are kinda known for burning oil along with the 3.8 V6. A friend's dad has an 07 3.8L Wrangler and his burns a ton of oil too with only about 120k miles. He runs 15w40 and a quart of Lucas in it though.

15w-40 with lucas? that hurt to read.

 

[jeepman3071]

Looks good, and significantly better than the TG3614 recently posted here. A quart every two weeks, yikes. Surprised no visible smoke. I might have missed it, any guesstimate on how many miles that might be in two weeks?

Thanks for c&p.

Good question and I honestly have no idea. It varies since she works two jobs and the kids have complicated sports schedules. I did advise her that I only drained a quart out of it when it should have 5 in there, so she will be buying 20w50 for top off. The vehicle was bought used as a place holder until she can get a newer vehicle. It honestly looks and drives pretty well besides the oil burning issue considering the age. It definitely wasn't neglected.

15w-40 with lucas? that hurt to read.

Yeah luckily he doesn't drive it in winter, but I always chuckle a bit to myself when he comments on how quiet it runs thinking how the molasses in the oil pan muffles the lack of lubrication going on.

 

[We're Metals]

Maybe we dont need to buy expensive extended use oil filters for normal use?

 

[paulri]

Absolutely agree. With this filter still costing $3.88 at WM, if all you're going is 5-6K on a filter, why pay any more?

we dont need to buy expensive extended use oil filters for normal use?

 

[jeepman3071]

Maybe we dont need to buy expensive extended use oil filters for normal use?

I agree. The cheap ST and Champ filters look pretty good for the price and perfect for normal 5-6k intervals, same with orange cans like this.

My *only* gripe with the orange can is that the can itself seems a bit thin, and having seen some pics on this forum of rusty ones, that is a bit concerning to me living in the rust belt, especially for a car like my mom's Honda Fit where the filter is mounted low and it may take an entire year to go 5-6k miles.

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

My 07 Subaru has original faulty HG still and weeps some on the bottom of the heads where the oil return channels are. It doesn’t leak “much”, maybe 4oz over a 5k OCI, but it drips right onto the exhaust so every drop makes quite a stink when sitting still. The Pennzoil Euro 0w40, and Delo XLE 10w30 (sometimes spiked with some Motul 4100 Power 15w50, which brings the result close to your 15w40) have seemed to control the leak and minimize the stink.

Have you thought about trying a Kreen or Berryman’s B12 soak over a weekend to try to minimize burning? Don’t know how hard it is to get to those plugs since it’s not a 4.0.

Filter looks fine, thanks for the C&P

 

[jeepman3071]

Have you thought about trying a Kreen or Berryman’s B12 soak over a weekend to try to minimize burning? Don’t know how hard it is to get to those plugs since it’s not a 4.0.

I have, but then again it isn't my vehicle, and it is kind of hard to explain to someone you need to hold their vehicle over the weekend for a procedure that you read about on the internet that *might* help. The plugs aren't super easy to get to, and I don't really want to take much more apart on this thing than I have to. If it was my own car, sure. For now she is perfectly content adding oil.