Oil Leak

[Tim]

I first replaced the factory installed updated mopar assembly with a Dorman which leaked badly next dat i think it laster a few miles because the area its in looks to hold about a quart before it shows on the ground. Then i said to hell with dorman and ordered a Mopar Which is holding so far according to dip stick as nothing is showing yet. None leaked where the MOPAR upgrade took place always at the bottom. All said and done it cost me $155. For cooler and the cost of new oil. It comes with a filter installed

So, this sparks a little more discusion. When I removed my oil cooler, the valley didn't seem to have nearly enough oil in it to leak down the back of the block. Unless I missed something, all the gussets would hold the oil in the spaces between them and they would all have to fill up and spill over for the oil to make it to a place where it could leak down the back of the engine. There was some oil there but it could only be described as damp. There weren't puddles of oil present. When I replaced the filter housing/cooler I didn't drain enough coolant so those spaces filled up with coolant that I had to suck out prior to installing the new cooler. Even at that, the coolant never made it down between the engine and transmission.

As I said before, there was no "smoking gun" when I inspected the oil filter housing/cooler after removing it, and I'm pretty sure I replaced a unit that was fine. It's been about 3 months since I first noticed a little oil visible on the bottom of the engine/transmission and during that time I drove cross-country and back and racked up about 3,500 miles. The level on the dipstick never dropped at all, not even a little bit.

That all makes me wonder if I have a weepy rear main seal. It's not enough to even drip to the pavement. I simply noticed the oil stain on the bottom of the engine where it meets the transmission.

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[Gizmo]

Must be why i read on a post that the dealer would not change it unless he saw a puddle under the truck. I would of done a lot more research if the dip said not low. My dip stick said Nothing because it was about two quarts low

 

[Freems]

So, this sparks a little more discusion. When I removed my oil cooler, the valley didn't seem to have nearly enough oil in it to leak down the back of the block. Unless I missed something, all the gussets would hold the oil in the spaces between them and they would all have to fill up and spill over for the oil to make it to a place where it could leak down the back of the engine. There was some oil there but it could only be described as damp. There weren't puddles of oil present. When I replaced the filter housing/cooler I didn't drain enough coolant so those spaces filled up with coolant that I had to suck out prior to installing the new cooler. Even at that, the coolant never made it down between the engine and transmission.

As I said before, there was no "smoking gun" when I inspected the oil filter housing/cooler after removing it, and I'm pretty sure I replaced a unit that was fine. It's been about 3 months since I first noticed a little oil visible on the bottom of the engine/transmission and during that time I drove cross-country and back and racked up about 3,500 miles. The level on the dipstick never dropped at all, not even a little bit.

That all makes me wonder if I have a weepy rear main seal. It's not enough to even drip to the pavement. I simply noticed the oil stain on the bottom of the engine where it meets the transmission.

So, this sparks a little more discusion. When I removed my oil cooler, the valley didn't seem to have nearly enough oil in it to leak down the back of the block. Unless I missed something, all the gussets would hold the oil in the spaces between them and they would all have to fill up and spill over for the oil to make it to a place where it could leak down the back of the engine. There was some oil there but it could only be described as damp. There weren't puddles of oil present. When I replaced the filter housing/cooler I didn't drain enough coolant so those spaces filled up with coolant that I had to suck out prior to installing the new cooler. Even at that, the coolant never made it down between the engine and transmission.

As I said before, there was no "smoking gun" when I inspected the oil filter housing/cooler after removing it, and I'm pretty sure I replaced a unit that was fine. It's been about 3 months since I first noticed a little oil visible on the bottom of the engine/transmission and during that time I drove cross-country and back and racked up about 3,500 miles. The level on the dipstick never dropped at all, not even a little bit.

That all makes me wonder if I have a weepy rear main seal. It's not enough to even drip to the pavement. I simply noticed the oil stain on the bottom of the engine where it meets the transmission.

Tim, How much coolant should be drained before replacing this oil filter housing based on your replacement? Like your thinking about the rear main seal, it’s the first place I put a scope on when this started with mine…it was as dry as a bone.

 

[Tim]

Must be why i read on a post that the dealer would not change it unless he saw a puddle under the truck. I would of done a lot more research if the dip said not low. My dip stick said Nothing because it was about two quarts low

Most of the research I did indicated the RMS was the least likely culprit. The oil cooler has been a hot topic since the 3.6 started going in the JKs. I could see a sheen of oil around the filter housing before taking anything apart. Since I was approaching 100k miles I needed to replace spark plugs and I wanted to replace the coils. I knew I'd be taking the intake off, etc., so replacing the filter housing/oil cooler wasn't much more work.

Edited to add: I also wasn't aware of the gussets in the valley of the engine. I didn't realize how much oil has to leak before it can drip down the block. Had I known that before seeing it with my own eyes I wouldn't have bothered with the filter housing/oil cooler. Much of what I read indicated it didn't take much to cause a visible leak and I was trying to be proactive before things deteriorated.

 

[Tim]

Tim, How much coolant should be drained before replacing this oil filter housing based on your replacement? Like your thinking about the rear main seal, it’s the first place I put a scope on when this started with mine…it was as dry as a bone.

I drained a little less than a gallon and it was almost enough. I think draining a gallon or maybe a gallon and quart would be sufficient.

Yeah, I should have popped one of those little plugs out and taken a look at the RMS. I can still do that. Buuuuuut, if it is the RMS, I won't be fixing it in my driveway.

 

[Tim]

Disclaimer: This post isn't really relevant to our trucks at all, but it does fill in some backstory as to how I ended up in the frame of mind to replace the oil filter housing/oil cooler. Some of you guys might find it entertaining.

Back in early December my wife, son and I went out for dinner on a Friday night and took the Gladiator. When we returned home was when I noticed an oil stain on the street in front of my house where I always park. It was fresh and not exactly insignificant. Now,I have to point out that I keep my shit nice. Our vehicles are well maintained and this is first oil stain to ever appear on my street. It was out of place and immediately noticeable. I crawled under the Jeep and noticed the stain between the engine and transmission. I immediately hopped on the forums and started searching for likely causes. I actually started out thinking it was the rear main seal due to location of the oil "leak" under the truck.

I am priveledged to be able to drive a company truck to and from work and most of the time my Gladiator is parked at work. Often I will bring my Gladiator home on weekends to keep it moving a little and for family stuff as I really shouldn't use the work truck for non-work purposes. Anyway, I drive my Gladiator to work the following Monday and park in my usual spot. I look on the ground. Bone dry. Not a single drop of oil. I check a few hours later...nothing. Now the wheels are turning in my head. Based on the amount of oil on my street, which showed up in a very short amount of time, there should have been at least some oil under the Jeep. So I go and check under my work truck and there is oil everywhere. That truck had the oil changed a few days prior (not by me) and the filter wasn't snugged down enough. It was down over a quart of oil. Honestly, I think we dodged a bullet on that big time as my commute is about 60 miles round trip. I don't even want to think about what it would've cost to replace a 2025 7.3L "Godzilla" motor.

So that's how this whole thing started. Basically a "bait and switch" but not in the traditional sense. Now, I knew the oil on the street was from the F-350, but I did observe the oil stain on the underside of the engine and transmission on my Jeep. So I figured I had just caught the problem with the Jeep in the early stages, just by coincidence. I also had a whole weekend of researching and convincing myself that the oil filter housing/oil cooler was leaking. I had already bought the Dorman oil cooler from my local Advanced Auto Parts store and everything. I was already resolved to replacing it when I got around to the plugs, etc. That's also the reason I let a few months go by before getting around to actually replacing it. I knew it wasn't urgent and the weather was horrible, etc.

So yeah, that's a long story but I suppose the takeaway is that it can be really hard to unconvince one's self of something once one is "sure" of it. Honestly, I feel better about having the aluminum oil cooler in there, anyway. Hopefully Dorman doesn't live up to it's sometimes questionable reputation. At the very least I learned a bunch and accomplished my 100k service.

 

[Gizmo]

Makes sense with the mileage ya have alone and the fact you were changing plugs i would of did the cooler just because I was that far into it for $150. More. At my age and only putting roughly 3500 miles a year I hope to never see the intake apart again. If i end up with a RMS leaking it will have to be awful bad before i F with it after living with a few TJs that liked to mark territory and probably still do. Its all part of owning a jeep i always felt. If ya dont like working on a jeep ya probably shouldnt own one. I like understanding how things work. It must come from never having the money to pay people to do the work when i started buying jeeps back in the 70’s

 

[Tim]

Makes sense with the mileage ya have alone and the fact you were changing plugs i would of did the cooler just because I was that far into it for $150. More. At my age and only putting roughly 3500 miles a year I hope to never see the intake apart again. If i end up with a RMS leaking it will have to be awful bad before i F with it after living with a few TJs that liked to mark territory and probably still do. Its all part of owning a jeep i always felt. If ya dont like working on a jeep ya probably shouldnt own one. I like understanding how things work. It must come from never having the money to pay people to do the work when i started buying jeeps back in the 70’s

Yeah, I'm pretty similar, just a little younger. When I was a kid I would take apart my toys and put them back together. That curiosity translated into an appreciation for tools. I started working on my car at a young age to save money. Mostly basic stuff like oil changes, brakes, accessories, etc. Now with the internet, YouTube, etc., there is so much information out there that I'll tackle even more complicated projects. For the most part, I enjoy it. I can only imagine how much money I've saved over the years. It's also nice that my Jeep is no longer my daily driver. There's no worse feeling than taking something apart on a weekend and running into a snag and wondering how to get to work on Monday.

 

[WILDHOBO]

Yeah, I'm pretty similar, just a little younger. When I was a kid I would take apart my toys and put them back together. That curiosity translated into an appreciation for tools. I started working on my car at a young age to save money. Mostly basic stuff like oil changes, brakes, accessories, etc. Now with the internet, YouTube, etc., there is so much information out there that I'll tackle even more complicated projects. For the most part, I enjoy it. I can only imagine how much money I've saved over the years. It's also nice that my Jeep is no longer my daily driver. There's no worse feeling than taking something apart on a weekend and running into a snag and wondering how to get to work on Monday.

You and I sound exactly like in this area. From beginning to end. Basic maintenance stuff In the beginning to save money in my 20’s. But now there’s not much I wouldn’t tackle. With the exception, so far, of body work.

 

[Tim]

You and I sound exactly like in this area. From beginning to end. Basic maintenance stuff In the beginning to save money in my 20’s. But now there’s not much I wouldn’t tackle. With the exception, so far, of body work.

Yeah, body work seems like a dark art. lol. That and differential gears. Other than when my fuel pump died 500 miles from home while on vacation, I've done everything on my Gladiator myself. I never even used my Jeep Wave oil chages. I'm not about to go to the dealership and waste half a day for something I can do in less than 30 minutes in my driveway. I've done all my basic maintenance like servicing my transmission fluid, diffs, transfer case, etc., installed my lift, bumpers, lighting, bed cover...the list goes on.

I'm getting the diffs regeared in a couple weeks. While that is getting done I'm having the ball joints, drag link, and tie rod upgraded. That will be the first time anyone else has done anything major to my truck other than the fuel pump.

 

[WILDHOBO]

Yeah, body work seems like a dark art. lol. That and differential gears. Other than when my fuel pump died 500 miles from home while on vacation, I've done everything on my Gladiator myself. I never even used my Jeep Wave oil chages. I'm not about to go to the dealership and waste half a day for something I can do in less than 30 minutes in my driveway. I've done all my basic maintenance like servicing my transmission fluid, diffs, transfer case, etc., installed my lift, bumpers, lighting, bed cover...the list goes on.

I'm getting the diffs regeared in a couple weeks. While that is getting done I'm having the ball joints, drag link, and tie rod upgraded. That will be the first time anyone else has done anything major to my truck other than the fuel pump.

I’ve finally already done gears on mine. Had a pinion gear failure in the front, and paid someone to help me regear the front. Such a good experience. I’d absolutely do it again myself now.

 

[Tim]

I’ve finally already done gears on mine. Had a pinion gear failure in the front, and paid someone to help me regear the front. Such a good experience. I’d absolutely do it again myself now.

Someday I aspire to have a garage with a hoist. I would be much more willing to attempt something like gears if I could get the truck off the ground. Laying on my back in the driveway isn't a good time when shit gets heavy and awkward.

 

[WILDHOBO]

Someday I aspire to have a garage with a hoist. I would be much more willing to attempt something like gears if I could get the truck off the ground. Laying on my back in the driveway isn't a good time when shit gets heavy and awkward.

I definitely wouldn’t have done gears at the old house in the driveway. No way.

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