3.6 oil cooler fail

[Lost1wing]

Unfortunately the cooler won't fail but you would have the same Cheap-o-rings. Imagine replacing with that aluminum Dorman from Amazon and it failing 6 months later .

I wonder if the Dorman oil cooler that Mopar is selling has Mopar seals or the same seals that you get when ordering from Amazon.

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[firemedic2714]

I had the same 3.6 in my 2015 JKU that I have in my 2020 JT. The plastic oil cooler was a known issue then. I put 70k on my JKU and I'm at 70k on my JT. I'm going to reiterate what other commenters have said. The filter cap needs no more than a simple snug tight where it moves 1-2 mm tighter with a socket after it's contacted the filter housing. Just enough to keep it from unscrewing itself between oil changes.

 

[Maximus Gladius]

I’ve always put a torque bar on mine to 18 ft lbs and have put some oil on the threads too. I come into the end at 18 controlled and slow and that’s it. I don’t want to come in fast and shock it, just ease it there and stop.

 

[Stan H]

My guess is the O-rings from the Amazon kit is the same. They are just being another vendor for Dorman.
The Orings thatvI looked at were black and looked like any other O-ring I ever seen. I dont think it would be hard to literally go to Napa and bring the cooler and flattened O-rings and get a match pretty quickly. I wouldn't just order some Chinese kit from Temu or Amazon but yeah.

 

[Sandevino]

My $.02…. If you’re going to tear the to end down to replace a few O-rings, you might as well replace the housing as well.

 

[Lost1wing]

My $.02…. If you’re going to tear the to end down to replace a few O-rings, you might as well replace the housing as well.

On my 5 speed TDI engines, there is a glowplug coolant manifold bolted to the end of the cylinder head. It is made of aluminum and no one ever sees a leak there. The Automatic TDI engines don't have coolant glowplugs, so the chose to use a plastic coolant manifold. It will leak if you mess with anything around it. It will leak just sitting there.

So I can see me going to the Dorman oil cooler the next time I get that deep.

 

[JTGuy]

It's a lot of work. Just replace everything with Mopar factory parts. That cooler has been revised many times so get the latest one. On the JK forum this is a big thing. Never use an oil stop leak unless you are trading it in next week. Using the thick oil could boost oil PSI up a lot and cause the O rings to leak.

 

[Judd]

It's a lot of work. Just replace everything with Mopar factory parts. That cooler has been revised many times so get the latest one. On the JK forum this is a big thing. Never use an oil stop leak unless you are trading it in next week. Using the thick oil could boost oil PSI up a lot and cause the O rings to leak.

Blue Devil isn't thicker oil nor does ir have solids in it. It's simply makes hardened seal pliable again and slightly swells them.

I will not be replacing with factory MOPAR parts because those are the same shit parts that failed. If the seal sweller doesn't work, I will pay the mechanic to use the dorman aluminium replacement.

 

[Judd]

But I’m not sure the OP is talking about the “O ring” as in the cap we screw down. I think (I could be wrong) he’s talking about the cooler leak where the multitude of seals are where the cooler bolts down to the block. Are these “lip seals” like a rear main seal. I’d like clarification from the OP what he’s referring to when he says “O ring” seal.

I was referring to if and when there are leaks coming from the oil cooler, where is the leak coming from? A cracked housing/cooler interface or the orings that seal the plastic housing.

Let's guess and say the housing cracking or interface isn't an issue and it's the seals getting hard. A seal swealer might well work for awhile.

If the leak is at the oring interface is it due to hardened seals or the clamping pressure loosening over time due to heat cyling effecting the plastic housing? Once again, a seal sweller could be of use in this case even if just tempory.

But if the housing or cooler interface is actually cracking, no, seal sweller will not work.

As far as seal sweller working too good and excessively swelling other seals. Sorta doubtfull since it will be gone at the next oil change.

The stuff is of use at times. I've used it several times and it simply depends on the oil leak failure mode which is the reason I'm asking.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Blue Devil isn't thicker oil nor does ir have solids in it. It's simply makes hardened seal pliable again and slightly swells them.

I will not be replacing with factory MOPAR parts because those are the same shit parts that failed. If the seal sweller doesn't work, I will pay the mechanic to use the dorman aluminium replacement.

The problem with products that "swell seals" is that they generally won't fix the real issue and worse yet, they can often lead to leaks and problems elsewhere. They are only to be used as last resort on high miles engines where the mains are leaking.
They aren't going to do anything on an oil cooler leak.
Worse- you have seals in these engines that you do NOT want swelled or changed in any way - and such a product is asking for trouble. there are seals all over in and on these engines

the revisions on the oil cooler have changed the design of the seals, and our JTs should have that revised seal design already.

I'd make a bet now that "seal sweller" won't resolve your oil leak, and I hope it doesn't lead to a rear main leak or failures of other seals inside and outside the engine. . Once you swell them, you change the wear pattern, and as they age on, they are less able to hold the oil back.
Once you start such a thing, you are stuck.
I never recommend such things except for high miles engines, seals like front or rear main, and only then if you are just trying to get by.
They are not a fix, they are a "this may work for a while, but now you are stuck using it" thing.

 

[Judd]

They aren't going to do anything on an oil cooler leak.

It very could depending on the failure mode which is exactly why I asked what the failure mode generally is. If it's a crack in the housing, not, won't fix. If it's leaking o-rings due to heat cyling, damned well could. If it leaking due to heat cycling resulting in less clamping pressure, it could adress that also if only temporarily.

the revisions on the oil cooler have changed the design of the seals, and our JTs should have that revised seal design already.

I have seen people with 2024 models bitching about oil cooler leaks. Did Daddy Stellanis just forget to put the new uber improved cooler on those or do they save them up for those of us needing replacement parts only? Maybe that's why I often hear people bitching about the housings on backorder????

No, it will be an aftermarket, cast aluminum oil cooler housing for me if or when. Not buying anything Stellanis is dishing again if I can help it. They have had years, damned near a decade to address the oil cooler housing, no anti drainback filter design and wiped cam issue and they have not addressed any of it. They just sell us fundamentally flawed engineering and then sit on their hands hoping the warranty runs out.

 

[Tim]

I'm curious as to the failure mode as well, allbeit for a different reason. Mine just started leaking but I won't have time to fix it for a couple weeks. If it's just a slow weep from a seal or less clamping pressure that's one thing. If the whole housing is cracking that's quite another. I don't want to drive around too much and have a catastophic failure and piss all the oil out...

As far as the replacement goes. Every single Advanced Auto near me has the the Dorman aluminum oil cooler in stock. They must be selling a lot of them to have such a part on the shelf in every location.

In any case, I'm going to replace the stock unit with the aluminum one and throw the Baxter spin on adatpter while I'm at it. Solves the plastic engine part problem and hte anti-drainback problem.

 

[Maximus Gladius]

It very could depending on the failure mode which is exactly why I asked what the failure mode generally is. If it's a crack in the housing, not, won't fix. If it's leaking o-rings due to heat cyling, damned well could. If it leaking due to heat cycling resulting in less clamping pressure, it could adress that also if only temporarily.


I have seen people with 2024 models bitching about oil cooler leaks. Did Daddy Stellanis just forget to put the new uber improved cooler on those or do they save them up for those of us needing replacement parts only? Maybe that's why I often hear people bitching about the housings on backorder????

No, it will be an aftermarket, cast aluminum oil cooler housing for me if or when. Not buying anything Stellanis is dishing again if I can help it. They have had years, damned near a decade to address the oil cooler housing, no anti drainback filter design and wiped cam issue and they have not addressed any of it. They just sell us fundamentally flawed engineering and then sit on their hands hoping the warranty runs out.

What’s your plan of attack? We now enter the realm of science. There’s only a couple of options I see.

The cheapest, initially out the door is to pour in the seal treatment and give it a go and see if it slows or stops the leak. The second is to deep dive and change out the cooler for your choice.

The failure I’ve read about from some who have gone with the Dorman have experienced their leaks after a year and have blamed the seals. I’ve not researched “types of seals” but perhaps the Dorman unit is not the problem but the seals they come with so ordering OE seals from Mopar is in the cards. ?? Maybe Dorman is using the green or blue OE Mopar seals already in the kit, . Perhaps the people installed wrong?? Is it imperative to apply some kind of seal grease or sealant to hold them in place to seat the unit down and this step was missed? A lot of maybes here.

Op, I feel your pain concerning the plastic parts and wish I could time warp back the past when all aluminum was a thing.

 

[JTGuy]

Just trade for a new jeep that comes with no leaks.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

What’s your plan of attack? We now enter the realm of science. There’s only a couple of options I see.

The cheapest, initially out the door is to pour in the seal treatment and give it a go and see if it slows or stops the leak. The second is to deep dive and change out the cooler for your choice.

The failure I’ve read about from some who have gone with the Dorman have experienced their leaks after a year and have blamed the seals. I’ve not researched “types of seals” but perhaps the Dorman unit is not the problem but the seals they come with so ordering OE seals from Mopar is in the cards. ?? Maybe Dorman is using the green or blue OE Mopar seals already in the kit, . Perhaps the people installed wrong?? Is it imperative to apply some kind of seal grease or sealant to hold them in place to seat the unit down and this step was missed? A lot of maybes here.

Op, I feel your pain concerning the plastic parts and wish I could time warp back the past when all aluminum was a thing.

No way in hell I'd use a "stop leak" for a newer engine when there are solutions out there - like either a new OEM setup, or a Dorman setup.
I'd not risk all of the other seals and rubber or neoprene parts in these just to avoid fixing a cooler than leaks.
That stuff is for last resorts and I'd never accept it being put into anything I have, new or old, unless I planned on dumping it off on someone else really soon.
That stuff is crap.
Good grief - go get a new piece and new seals and be VERY VERY careful with the install, making sure the seals don't shift and that you torque things down EVENLY, and a bit at a time.
I'd suspect some of the failures are owner-induced - meaning at least some of the failures of the new parts are due to DIY people making a mistake.

They have had years, damned near a decade to address the oil cooler housing, no anti drainback filter design and wiped cam issue and they have not addressed any of it.

What antidrainback issue? you mean the one that doesn't really exist except in some marketing materials?
What a hoot.

As far as the cooler - from what I've seen one some forums, I'd bet at least some of those are self-induced by DIYers.
I've seen where people who do their own oil changes totally screw up on the o-ring bit - that's a owner issue, one of the "I can do anything, this is simple, instructions? I don't need no damned instructions" type believing because they think they can, that they should. Naw, some should just keep hands off such things. believe me, the stuff that gets sent to me for repairs is so often self-induced issues - I look at some things when I open the package and say to myself - yeah, this wasn't wear or normal breakdown, he tried to fix it himself, and now he's paying me to correctly fix it.

Yes, the design isn't great because the materials respond to heating and cooling cycles by aging and eventually getting brittle and failing. The solution would be an aluminum housing.
The o-ring seals themselves should not be any issue for years - why are o-rings not failing in large numbers elsewhere?

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