Durango oil filter/cooler housing leaking again :-(

[wwillson]

You won’t need to disconnect the fuel rails, but you will want something to sop up the oil and coolant mess in the valley. It will be filled with goop. I used a battery driven fluid pump I got at Menards to suck out the mess and pigmat to dry it.

I have a Mityvac vacuum extractor, which is an awesome tool. After a discussion with @Trav I will be replacing the injectors as well. They aren't that expensive and since I've got everything apart I might as well replace them.

Yep, and the spark plugs even if they're within 50k miles of needing replacement.

The spark plugs have 106k, so they are getting replaced.

Keep us posted please.

Will post photo evidence.

 

[RAR]

Good plan… they will be out and easy to swap. Pull out and press in.

 

[D60]

Crazy it's a dorman part! But.. I'm keeping an open mind, the reviews looked awesome that I found.

It was made in the U.S.

Not sure if they still are?

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

These plastic housings are so frustrating. Sometimes it's a crack in the plastic. Sometimes one of the glued in plugs on the base of them leak or they leak through the sensor mounts. Other times the leaks seem to originate from the O-ring seals at the base, but you can't tell for certain because of their location.

I would like to think aluminum would be more stable, thus preventing the O-rings from shifting, or distorting in such a way that they fail.

Keep us posted please.

Historically BMW has used aluminum yet the gaskets always harden then leak around 45-55k miles. It's just part of the maintenance regimen. In the BMW world one has to make sure they buy Viton gaskets. The other material (can't remember) just doesn't last.

Current composite housings crack and leak as well.

 

[researcher]

It was made in the U.S.

Not sure if they still are?

I did see that in the reviews. It'll be interesting to see how this plays out..

 

[wwillson]

It was made in the U.S.

Not sure if they still are?

 

[jjf729]

I upgraded my 2011 Town and Country to an aluminum housing back in March. The Dorman part was out of stock at that time, so I opted to use the SKP brand aluminum housing from Rock Auto. The SKP looked to be well made and has been leak free for 8,000 miles.

Another benefit of the SKP is that it comes preassembled and includes new sensors.

 

[D60]

View attachment 187566

Wow, my brain almost can't compute "Made in U.S.A." next to the Dorman logo.

The next thing you know Harbor Freight's Chicago Electric tools will actually be made in Chicago.

And water will flow uphill.....

 

[jjf729]

I upgraded my 2011 Town and Country to an aluminum housing back in March. The Dorman part was out of stock at that time, so I opted to use the SKP brand aluminum housing from Rock Auto. The SKP looked to be well made and has been leak free for 8,000 miles.

Another benefit of the SKP is that it comes preassembled and includes new sensors.

Here are unboxing photos of the SKP.

 

[The Critic]

Wow, my brain almost can't compute "Made in U.S.A." next to the Dorman logo.

The next thing you know Harbor Freight's Chicago Electric tools will actually be made in Chicago.

And water will flow uphill.....

I have found that C.O.O. has little impact on quality.

Especially in the post-COVID world.

 

[D60]

I have found that C.O.O. has little impact on quality.

Especially in the post-COVID world.

Nah, it's not quality. Typically Dorman's ethos is the lowest quality part at the lowest price. It's difficult to achieve the latter paying Americans, even at minimum wage.

 

[t1snwrbrdr12]

I hear the included gaskets aren't any good

Plan for alternatives

We use the dorman kit now. One sensor (oil pressure) typically has the be shaved down (has a raised portion on it that makes it not slip into the female connector). Easy with an angle grinder and scotch pad, razor blade, file, etc.

It would be wise to replace the coolant hose as someone else stated, as oil usually soaks it and makes the hose deteriorate a bit.

The gaskets dorman includes don’t fit great, but haven’t had one come back yet either. Take that for what it’s worth.

 

[Kira]

80 days later....
My pal's 2017 JGC is now pouring oil. It's the cooler.
So, he needs E-Torx sockets, a wee torque wrench, a Fel-Pro or Mopar gasket set and a Dorman or SKP replacement?

 

[t1snwrbrdr12]

80 days later....
My pal's 2017 JGC is now pouring oil. It's the cooler.
So, he needs E-Torx sockets, a wee torque wrench, a Fel-Pro or Mopar gasket set and a Dorman or SKP replacement?

Coolant temp and oil pressure sensors. Intake plenum and manifold seals. The coolant hose that comes off the oil cooler is usually oil contaminated and swollen if the leak is that bad, I just always get one and replace it. Jug of coolant if you’re going to drain it. Oil for an oil drain afterwards. Sometimes two of the upper intake plenum screw heads are really rusty, but I think this is only a promaster thing. I just get 2 with every job I do.

 

[Kira]

^^Super thanks for that.

 

[Nick1994]

Knock on wood but the '14 Grand Cherokee that I had, now sold to my aunt and I maintain, still hasn't had any trouble with it. 156k miles. We bought it at 102k but I didn't see any service records about it.

@wwillson figured I'd update, got a P06DD on the Grand Cherokee the past couple months off and on, would put it into kind of a limp mode, wouldn't go into passing gear on the freeway. Pulling over, turning it off and back on, it would run fine for a bit. Clearing the code and it would be fine for a couple weeks until the code set again.

I took it to a mechanic and they said the oil pressure switch was going bad and that the oil cooler housing was leaking oil. They replaced both and so far so good, but it's only been a week. They said they replace at least 3 Pentastar oil cooler housings a week and go OEM. She's not keeping the Grand Cherokee forever so that was fine with us.

While the intake was off we had them toss in new spark plugs, last ones had 50k but might as well. No extra labor charged.

 

[wwillson]

While the intake was off we had them toss in new spark plugs, last ones had 50k but might as well. No extra labor charged.

Once you have the intake off, the Pentastar has a really easy top-end to work on.

 

[t1snwrbrdr12]

^^Super thanks for that.

5149077ab coolant temp
05149062ab oil pressure
6512338aa upper plenum screw
68057473ac is the coolant hose I was talking about
05184562ac plenum seals
05184431ac lower intake manifold seals

Occasionally the part numbers have superseded but in Chrysler world that usually means the last two letters just change up the alphabet. Our system at work just uses the original part numbers and never updates but this is my list from the job I’m trying to finish up today.

We’ve gone back to the oem filter housings because the Dormans are unavailable again from whatever our source has been the last couple months.

 

[jjf729]

I upgraded my 2011 Town and Country to an aluminum housing back in March. The Dorman part was out of stock at that time, so I opted to use the SKP brand aluminum housing from Rock Auto. The SKP looked to be well made and has been leak free for 8,000 miles.

Another benefit of the SKP is that it comes preassembled and includes new sensors.

Update: After 11 months and 11,000 miles, the SKP is leaking big time. It’s still under warranty for a few more weeks but I don’t think I want to put another one in.