oil filter housing breakage

[chorky]

I wouldn't trust any shop that lays down the liability scare, and your dealer is lying too.

This right here. Companies keep kicking the can because nobody is holding them accountable for poor workmanship. But consumers keep buying too....

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[GeneralMaximus]

So no other Jeeps with the 3.6 PUG use that?

Its a common issue(as common as any other manufacturer that uses plastic oil housings) in the Wranglers. Just hop over to the wrangler forum and do a search. We just haven't seen that issue since our trucks are all relatively new.

 

[bd100]

Twist it on by hand just hard enough to run it down to the end where it stops, and leave it there. Tension on the O ring keeps it there. And I choke way down on the 1/2" drive to avoid over tightening. Been working fine for several vehicles for several years now. Meanwhile the one time I had it leak was when a (non Jeep) dealership did it during warranty work. O-ring wasn't on right. So when done check for leaks before driving off.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Its a common issue(as common as any other manufacturer that uses plastic oil housings) in the Wranglers. Just hop over to the wrangler forum and do a search. We just haven't seen that issue since our trucks are all relatively new.

And it's common because of the internet - the internet/forums are like funnels that take the few and concentrate them into one area making them look like many (at least that's how it works most of the time)

 

[GeneralMaximus]

And it's common because of the internet - the internet/forums are like funnels that take the few and concentrate them into one area making them look like many (at least that's how it works most of the time)

I get what you mean but this particular issue is common because its plastic. Ive personally experienced the same thing with two other vehicles(German cars) in the past ten years. These are cars that have had zero mechanical issues and their only commonality was, the oil changes were done by dealerships.

 

[whiteglad]

One failure mode was the o-rings used to seal the housing to the block in earlier 3.6 engines. They were upgraded and the new o-rings seem to be good.

 

[Maximus Gladius]

The $1000 charge is a sign of internal dealership inflation. They have to do this to deter people from shopping there. If no one shops there, inflation comes down, right?? There’s no other way to lower the price.

 

[Reddog]

Dropped my '21 off at the local shop that normally does my oil changes only to get a call from them telling me they wont be liable if the oil filter housing breaks.

Apparently this is a common issue on 3.6 liter and they've broken a couple recently and the cost replace is over a thousand dollars.

I called around to 3 dealers in the area and all 3 deny this is an issue and they've never heard of it. A quick google search says otherwise. It's a seemingly well known issue with the engine across every platform its used in due to the part being plastic and getting brittle over time.

Is anyone failure with this issue and have a suggestion on a fix?

Using a little care when changing the oil and not over tightening it, there is nothing wrong with the oil filter housing other than, in my opinion, the location which should be at the bottom of the engine. Techs get paid based on their work output. They are in too big a hurry and resort to power driven tools much too often. If your vehicle was ten or more years old perhaps there would be an argument about age related polymer cracking but not here.

 

[jac04]

One failure mode was the o-rings used to seal the housing to the block in earlier 3.6 engines. They were upgraded and the new o-rings seem to be good.

I'm glad you mentioned this. I have a JK and I am also on the Wrangler Forum. There are a lot of reports of oil filter housings leaking on JKs. People are quick to say that the plastic housing cracked, but I don't think that I've ever seen anyone post proof of an actual housing crack. I have seen a few pictures of failed o-rings though. It seems the 'cracked housing' is one of those things that keeps being parroted for some reason unknown to me.

Now, with that said, I have done every oil change on my 2014 JK since new, and I have always used a calibrated torque wrench to tighten the cap. IMO, 18 ft-lbs is way tighter than needed, so I now use about 100 in-lbs.

I replaced my JK oil filter/cooler housing assembly at about 24k miles due to a faulty oil pressure sensor. Every bolt holding the housing to the engine was barely finger-tight, and the o-rings had started to 'weep' oil. I was very surprised.

 

[firemedic2714]

I do the same thing bd100 does. I hand thread it on until the rim of the cap meets the rim of the housing (the seam between the two pretty much disappears). I then tighten it with a ratchet just a tad over hand tight (maybe, one millimeter clockwise). I use the ratchet because I have more control and there's less of a chance I'm going to stress the housing by wiggling it up and down while I'm trying to tighten it with my hand left to right. I tighten it that last little bit just to avoid it vibrating loose. It seems to me that the cap's O-ring does all of the sealing. I buy good quality name brand filters and they've all come with a new O-ring and it gets replaced every time. Pay attention to where it goes when installing a new one. Other than the four free changes I got when it was new, I've done it this way without incident. I did all the oil changes on my 2015 JKU with the exact same engine the same way for over 70k miles.

 

[RHINO79]

The only way to know it is torque correctly is to do it yourself 100% of the time and then you can expect a decent service life out of the oil filter/cooler housing assembly. Done by anybody else to include the dealerships, all bets are off and risk grows exponentially of having a cracked housing . Not an inevitability but it is still there as a increased possibility.

Playing Devil's Advocate, the shop might have been bitten by other customers who happen to have their vehicle serviced elsewhere for oil changes stressing the part, and that shop had the bad luck of being the last to touch it when it finally broke and customers point the finger at that shop since they are last to touch it.

Absolutely ?

 

[BourbonRunner]

This is an issue with plastic and heat cycling causing it to become brittle but generally over a long period of time. It is a known issue on the Germans, especially BMW as mentioned before. But the majority of the time an oil change jockey over tightens it and causes a crack. Shitty design regardless.

Standard operating procedure on BMWs is to immediately replace the factory plastic with an aluminum version. On my e46 it is from ECS Tuning. They make a variety of sizes that may swap onto the Pentastar if you compare specs. https://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/oil_filter_housing/

 

[Rockabillyroy]

My experience is may be different than others. My vehicles tend to be low mileage. I also don't live in extreme temperature.
But I've changed my own oil starting with my 2013 JKU and currently my 2021 JT.


After driving the truck around the block.
I use a socket and ratchet to loosen the cap. When it comes time to put the cap back on, my hand is directly over the ratchet head so there is no addition torque from lever. When it stops, I give a tiny push on the end of the ratchet. Maybe barely 1/16 of a turn.

Like the folks above said, the o-ring does all the work. And always oil the o-ring.

Good luck.

 

[Gizmo]

That's what people have to look at when "Googling" for issues - the Wrangler didn't get the 3.6 upgrade engine until 2018 - the JL/JLU. So anything Wrangler before that may not count.
The Gladiator didn't come out until 2019 for the 2020 model year and yet didn't the JL use the same engine (basically........) for 2018?

2012 JK had the 3.6, Plenty of time to fix this if really needed to be but they do have a torque so they are covered you could say .

 

[ShadowsPapa]

2012 JK had the 3.6, Plenty of time to fix this if really needed to be but they do have a torque so they are covered you could say .

But not THIS 3.6.........the upgrade engine. Wrangler didn't get this one until the JL.

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