Leaking Engine Oil from Transmission

[HDNash14]

Hey y'all,

I have a 2024 JLU sport, and am looking for some guidance here.

After a routine oil change I went to start my car and clean up all the tools I was using and I noticed I was leaking fluid from the transmission. I started mopping it up and realized it was oil. Checked the dipstick and it was completely dry so I went to the internet and saw that it was most likely a cracked oil filter housing which could happen if the oil filter was tightened too much. I do recall giving it between a 1/4 and 1/2 turn with a wrench after threading it on with my hand so I thought that definitely could be the problem.

I purchased the Dorman oil filter housing and removed both intake manifolds and found a large pool of oil. I thought that this confirmed my suspicion that this is what had cracked and installed the new housing. I put it all back together and added another 5 qt container of oil since I had drained all of it the last time. I started it back up and immediately started pushing out oil in the exact same spot and a much quicker rate. I stopped the car and cleaned it up.

I am now wondering if anyone has any insight into why this would be worse than it was before. I am thinking that maybe the housing is not torqued down correctly? Or that the housing wasn't the problem and it was a rear gasket seal? I would much rather work on the car myself as well but I just have basic tools in my garage, so I am also looking for opinions if this is an at home repair or if I should take it to a shop or the dealer?

Thanks everyone, and opinions and ideas are much appreciated.

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[NJJeep Guy]

Likely you are within warranty. Just take it to the dealer.

 

[mwilk012]

You diagnosed correctly, repaired wrongly. Do it again.

They never crack by the way. So tired of hearing this.

 

[HDNash14]

You diagnosed correctly, repaired wrongly. Do it again.

They never crack by the way. So tired of hearing this.

If they don’t crack what does happen to them that causes leaks?

 

[mwilk012]

If they don’t crack what does happen to them that causes leaks?

Gaskets fail, or are installed poorly.

This is what a cracked housing looks like. The pentatstar housing never does this.

 

[Rubi SoHo]

Probably just a bad seal under the housing, I agree with mwilk012. But man, invest in a torque wrench and use it when doing stuff like this, they can be had cheap and in my opinion are invaluable for this type of work. There are going to be torque specs for the filter housing bolts when you re-replace it. Designed to ensure an even and adequate pressure across the gasket surfaces to create a proper seal, and to prevent over-tightening and damaging them. Follow those specs.

 

[Old Dogger]

Why not factory warranty the first time? Now, since you have changed out the housing, your Dealer won't warranty it..

 

[kah.mun.rah]

The Dorman kit comes with two different o-rings for the front seal. Are you sure you used the right o-ring in this location?

 

[mwilk012]

The Dorman kit comes with two different o-rings for the front seal. Are you sure you used the right o-ring in this location?

I don’t know about the Dorman, but the factory part has both o-ring sizes included. One red, one black. Instructions and picture printed out very large and stuck right to the top of it.

 

[alphawolff]

Hey y'all,

I have a 2024 JLU sport, and am looking for some guidance here.

After a routine oil change I went to start my car and clean up all the tools I was using and I noticed I was leaking fluid from the transmission. I started mopping it up and realized it was oil. Checked the dipstick and it was completely dry so I went to the internet and saw that it was most likely a cracked oil filter housing which could happen if the oil filter was tightened too much. I do recall giving it between a 1/4 and 1/2 turn with a wrench after threading it on with my hand so I thought that definitely could be the problem.

I purchased the Dorman oil filter housing and removed both intake manifolds and found a large pool of oil. I thought that this confirmed my suspicion that this is what had cracked and installed the new housing. I put it all back together and added another 5 qt container of oil since I had drained all of it the last time. I started it back up and immediately started pushing out oil in the exact same spot and a much quicker rate. I stopped the car and cleaned it up.

I am now wondering if anyone has any insight into why this would be worse than it was before. I am thinking that maybe the housing is not torqued down correctly? Or that the housing wasn't the problem and it was a rear gasket seal? I would much rather work on the car myself as well but I just have basic tools in my garage, so I am also looking for opinions if this is an at home repair or if I should take it to a shop or the dealer?

Thanks everyone, and opinions and ideas are much appreciated.

You most likely missed removing the old gaskets, or failed to verify your new housing has gaskets, or failed to properly install said gaskets. Or just didn't tighten it properly. Same shit.

You need to repeat the repair. I'd strongly suggest buying an OEM new housing over the Dorman. The design was updated to prevent this failure in the future. They leak from the o-rings under it, not the housing themselves. Originally dealers were replacing entire housings as the gaskets weren't available separately, which led to the myth of cracked housings. There's an o-ring kit available, but since they've just outright updated the housing and gasket design we're back to just recommending entire coolers again which helps proliferate the myth even longer.

 

[HDNash14]

Probably just a bad seal under the housing, I agree with mwilk012. But man, invest in a torque wrench and use it when doing stuff like this, they can be had cheap and in my opinion are invaluable for this type of work. There are going to be torque specs for the filter housing bolts when you re-replace it. Designed to ensure an even and adequate pressure across the gasket surfaces to create a proper seal, and to prevent over-tightening and damaging them. Follow those specs.

I installed it twice following the torque specs given in the instructions with the dorman unit and checked with the OEM torque specs and it is still leaking.

 

[HDNash14]

You most likely missed removing the old gaskets, or failed to verify your new housing has gaskets, or failed to properly install said gaskets. Or just didn't tighten it properly. Same shit.

You need to repeat the repair. I'd strongly suggest buying an OEM new housing over the Dorman. The design was updated to prevent this failure in the future. They leak from the o-rings under it, not the housing themselves. Originally dealers were replacing entire housings as the gaskets weren't available separately, which led to the myth of cracked housings. There's an o-ring kit available, but since they've just outright updated the housing and gasket design we're back to just recommending entire coolers again which helps proliferate the myth even longer.

I may try to reinstall the OEM housing with a new set of o-rings. I bought a set of felpro o-rings for the dorman housing because I saw some folks had problems with the ones dorman supplied. I am going to see if those will fix the old housing

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