Well we put a new Dorman Aluminum oil filter housing (due to the original going bad as they do) on a 2013 Jeep Wrangler 3.6L. This was done about 3 mos ago....Today I get a call from the customer saying he has low oil pressure - I said bring on over its probably the oil pressure sensor and I'll replace it under warranty. They pull up and first thing noticed is the orange dorman filter cap has been replaced with a dorman black one and there are codes set for low pressure, vvt codes etc all related to oil pressure. The customer said they just had an oil change and they cracked the cap and replaced it. Then when he drove off had low oil light on so went back - they redid the oil change with thicker oil saying his motor needed thicker. That's when he called me. I take the replacement cap off and see immediately that they installed the wrong filter cap and wrong filter! The filter came out twisted and smashed with a crack in the NEW cap they installed- the Jeep WAS actually low on oil pressure because of this! We all know that 2013 and prior use the older style filter cap and filter with the 2014+ using the revised styles and they are NOT inter-changable. The Dorman unit uses the 2014+ style for ALL years. So this quick lube (Valvoline) failed 2 ways - one they broke the original bright orange cap that has a HUGE metal tag on it that reads that this vehicle has a retrofitted oil filter housing and shows which oil filter part #'s to use They never read it. I get the confusion but didn't they notice the filters were different? Didn't they notice the cap had to be forced on because the filter didn't fit? I gotta think with all the Dorman retrofits out there that they have to know about them and seen them before. This could have really turned ugly had the owner not came in today! Here is a picture of the filter!!
Quick Lube Strikes Again!
- Thread starter GMBoy
- Start date
I had a '13 Charger come in with low oil pressure a few months back with the same issue, Crushed early filter in a Dorman housing by, You guessed it....A quick lube joint.
As I don't work on a lot of Chryslers & even fewer 3.6L's....I didn't know what was going on at first but figured out it takes the '14 & up filter.
Dorman isn't completely innocent here, They need to send a decal stating it takes a different filter than the vehicle calls for. You can't expect the average underpaid LOF jockey to catch this.
As I don't work on a lot of Chryslers & even fewer 3.6L's....I didn't know what was going on at first but figured out it takes the '14 & up filter.
Dorman isn't completely innocent here, They need to send a decal stating it takes a different filter than the vehicle calls for. You can't expect the average underpaid LOF jockey to catch this.
I agree Dorman took a risk here BUT the original cap that comes with the new filter housing is bright orange and has a metal tag on it explaining that this is a retrofit unit and what filter to use. I put a label under the guys hood that simply says "Use 2014 model oil filter only". They prob won't read that either.
One of the things my Dad taught me is to not force things when working on a car or most anything else. 70 years later it is still good advice.
The Charger had a black cap on it with nothing but the torque spec. Maybe the quick lube joint broke the orange cap?
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Stay away from Dorman
They did in my case - probably your case as well. I think they both (your case and mine) grabbed the wrong filters based on model year and broke the orange caps by forcing it on.The Charger had a black cap on it with nothing but the torque spec. Maybe the quick lube joint broke the orange cap?
Now, who is going to pay for the proper cap? I would at least get the quick lube place to do that.
YEP! That is the cap they broke and never read.
I charged for the repair as it was not my fault - but only charged them the price of a new cap and filter. I did also make them an invoice to give the quick lube shop that included my regular part markup and labor for around $95. They said the manager would not pay or do anything - even with them showing him the cap and filter they installed. Poor service all around.
That is a true statement however this product is actually decent - it was the Quick lube's fault. I do feel that Dorman could have made it a little more simple had they just made 2 versions to match 2013 and prior and 2014+ so nobody would put the wrong filter in when looking up by actual model year vs the retrofitted housing that doesn't take the "called for" filter part #.
True but that's classic Dorman. They make parts that work or almost work way too often. Best to just stay away
My take,
This one's not on Dorman, and I hate Dorman
They've only made a couple million of these Pentastars, it's not release day on these coolers either
They should know about them by now, especially with it being bright orange with a label
The filter industry has been known to publish a warning or alert about a possible incompatibility
I believe I've procured footage of the lube "tech" if we're gonna call him that
Where do they get these mouth breathers from?
The offending shop should pay IMO
This one's not on Dorman, and I hate Dorman
They've only made a couple million of these Pentastars, it's not release day on these coolers either
They should know about them by now, especially with it being bright orange with a label
The filter industry has been known to publish a warning or alert about a possible incompatibility
I believe I've procured footage of the lube "tech" if we're gonna call him that
Where do they get these mouth breathers from?
The offending shop should pay IMO
dnewton3
Staff member
I don't understand why the oil pressure would be low for this condition described.
The filter is mangled; sure. But how does that stop oil from flowing? Are there some mechanical interference issues inside? Because I can't understand how some wavy pleats stop oil from flowing in a PD fed system.
The filter is mangled; sure. But how does that stop oil from flowing? Are there some mechanical interference issues inside? Because I can't understand how some wavy pleats stop oil from flowing in a PD fed system.
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A quick lube jockey is going to put whatever filter the work order printed out. You really can not expect them to do much else. They were not hired for their problem solving abilities, they make minimum wage, and they can't get fired for doing what the work order says.
Question - why did Dorman change the filter size on the housing? Could they not build a corrected housing with the proper filter size?
Question - why did Dorman change the filter size on the housing? Could they not build a corrected housing with the proper filter size?
The Pentastars took a different filter starting in (I believe) 2015. Dorman simply makes one style of housing, which takes the later filter. So if you install that on an earlier vehicle, you need to be sure to use the later filter.
Deleted. Too many questions on this one for my original comment.
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Who knew changing a filter could be so challenging.
