Oil Cooler Replacement (and upgrades)

[CarbonSteel]

I'm sold nice

Let me guinea pig it for everyone before calling it a solution. The Dorman aluminum filter housing is a replica of a bad design by FCA and I am going to try and improve it by finishing the base of the oil cooler itself. It is not flat and as a number of dings in it. I plan to wet sand with 400 and then 800 grit to smooth it but still leave a texture for the "figure-8" seals to grab.

Driving home a bit ago, I was thinking about having a plate machined that would go between the oil cooler and the main housing. The plate would have a figure-8 machined into one side and the other would be flat so that a "real" gasket could be used between the cooler and the plate.

What is needed is to know where these things leak--is it between the oil cooler and the main housing or between the main housing and the block or are some of the plastic plugs on the main body leaking.

Overall, a super $hitty design by FCA. They should have borrowed some design work from Daimler/MB when they owned Chrysler.

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[Petey]

Let me guinea pig it for everyone before calling it a solution. The Dorman aluminum filter housing is a replica of a bad design by FCA and I am going to try and improve it by finishing the base of the oil cooler itself. It is not flat and as a number of dings in it. I plan to wet sand with 400 and then 800 grit to smooth it but still leave a texture for the "figure-8" seals to grab.

Driving home a bit ago, I was thinking about having a plate machined that would go between the oil cooler and the main housing. The plate would have a figure-8 machined into one side and the other would be flat so that a "real" gasket could be used between the cooler and the plate.

What is needed is to know where these things leak--is it between the oil cooler and the main housing or between the main housing and the block or are some of the plastic plugs on the main body leaking.

Overall, a super $hitty design by FCA. They should have borrowed some design work from Daimler/MB when they owned Chrysler.

should have been made with aluminum in the first place=.

 

[CarbonSteel]

should have been made with aluminum in the first place=.

Here is what I am going to clean up-- note the roughness and dings.

It's not flat--edges are higher than the center, i.e. it is resting on the center:

 

[CarbonSteel]

Thanks ...I'm sold ...nice ...where do you get the correct thread sizes and lines to plumb it?

I am having them made. -10AN fitting size (7/8"-14) should be more than large enough to allow for oil flow. There are a ton of DIY hose kits on the market, but at the 80PSI the 3.6L produces above 3K RPM, I want the ends to be hydraulically crimped and pressure tested. I have a another thread on this project, so I'll start updating there - https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...e-filter-derale-fan-driven-oil-cooler.109767/

The remote mount is this one - https://derale.com/product-footer/f...71133946423/remote-filter-mounts/35709-detail

The filter is a Ford FL-1A or FRAM PH8A size which has a bypass and is a 3/4-16" inlet size. I am using a Donaldson filter due to full synthetic media and an efficiency rating of 22um @99%. The FRAM Ultra would have been my first choice, but FRAM recently cheapened the filter media in the Ultra line. However, a Walmart only FRAM Endurance (which has the media the Ultra used to have) is now available so I will switch to them after I use the Donaldsons.

 

[Nvdardx28]

Not doing the coils at this time.

I am custom building the remote filter system using this in the oil filter housing:

https://www.baxterperformanceusa.co...er-mr-202-bk-cartridge-to-remote-adapter.html

I will add a fan driven Derale 18 row cooler between the remote filter mount and the return line to the adapter.

RIPP Modifications has a nice set, that I have been looking at for a while.

 

[CarbonSteel]

RIPP Modifications has a nice set, that I have been looking at for a while.

Been a number of people post here about RIPP coils (specifically) failing in short order, so I am more than a bit skittish to go for those. Maybe they had a bad run of them but at the price point, I am not willing to take a chance.

 

[Nvdardx28]

Been a number of people post here about RIPP coils (specifically) failing in short order, so I am more than a bit skittish to go for those. Maybe they had a bad run of them but at the price point, I am not willing to take a chance.

I haven't heard such but good to know. When the time comes I'll be sure to do more homework.

 

[CarbonSteel]

I haven't heard such but good to know. When the time comes I'll be sure to do more homework.

Just checked and it appears they are no longer making them?

https://rippmods.com/collections/jeep-jl-wrangler/performance-coil-packs

EDIT - I am not seeing any other brand that has performance coils for a JL 3.6L.

 

[Gorilla57]

I haven't heard such but good to know. When the time comes I'll be sure to do more homework.

I was one of those who had problems and Ripp sent me a new one no questions asked. They knew their coils had problems, they didn’t even want the failed one back for testing. I eventually had a second one fail and in the trash they all went. First time, easy passenger side failure, second time driver side. Since I was taking off the intake again, I put the stock ones back in. There’s quite a few of us on the forums who had failures.

 

[CarbonSteel]

I was one of those who had problems and Ripp sent me a new one no questions asked. They knew their coils had problems, they didn’t even want the failed one back for testing. I eventually had a second one fail and in the trash they all went. First time, easy passenger side failure, second time driver side. Since I was taking off the intake again, I put the stock ones back in. There’s quite a few of us on the forums who had failures.

Thanks for the feedback--I knew there were a few with Ripp coils failing. I do not think they sell them anymore...(based upon their website).

 

[speedymart]

I have been suspecting it for a short while and had it confirmed with the UOAs from my last two oil changes. Potassium levels are rising which indicates a coolant leak. They are very low levels and would not be detected via traditional means, so the UOAs have paid for themselves with early detection.

I changed the oil yesterday after 1K miles due to the potassium and there was a "slosh" of dirty oil that spilled out when parked on an incline, so I have to assume the valley has a pool in it.

I have a new Mopar unit and a Dorman. The Mopar was supposed to be a Dorman (thanks Amazon) but found out yesterday when I opened it that it was for a JK, so it is going back. I will be installing the Dorman unit and took some time to clean up the casting flash. There was a large section of flash that would have been pushing against the bottom of the oil cooler which would likely have contributed to it leaking practically out of the box.

Since I am performing "surgery" there are a number of things that I will be changing while I am in that deep such as:

• Sparkplugs
• VVT Sensors and gaskets (both are leaking)
• Valve cover gaskets (both are leaking, and the passenger side leak ruined the lower 02 sensor recently)
• PCV valve (I have the new version on the way)

From a cooling upgrade perspective, I am going to install a new Mishimoto radiator, Gladiator fan, and Gladiator grill inserts.

Shortly after all of that, I will continue with my remote oil filter project which will include a new Derale fan driven oil cooler.

I need better temperature control because in the spring, I am going to install a supercharger. Sick of this gutless 3.6L (especially after driving a Bronco Wildtrak with a 2.7TT engine and 4.7 gearing).

As always, more to follow...

Strongly suggest just using the OEM cooler instead of the Dorman. The OEM cooler rarely, if ever, leaks. I think I've replaced one legit cracked and leaking OFA in my 9 years at the dealer. It's the gaskets that leak 99.999% of the time. If you've got lots of casting flash down bottom imagine what the inside of that cooler looks like.

 

[CarbonSteel]

Strongly suggest just using the OEM cooler instead of the Dorman. The OEM cooler rarely, if ever, leaks. I think I've replaced one legit cracked and leaking OFA in my 9 years at the dealer. It's the gaskets that leak 99.999% of the time. If you've got lots of casting flash down bottom imagine what the inside of that cooler looks like.

The OEM (unit--not necessarily only the cooler) is what is leaking for everyone who has one, so neither solution is perfect--its a terrible design. After only 70K miles, you will not hear me singing its praises. There is a new OEM on the way and I will decide after I receive it which way I will go.

The Dorman cooler itself looks fine on the inside, the casting flash was on the main body, which is not unexpected since it is cast. The OEM unit comes assembled so you really cannot tell what issues the cooler underside may have.

Will see how the cleanup of the cooler goes and how that compares to the new OEM...

 

[speedymart]

The OEM (unit--not necessarily only the cooler) is what is leaking for everyone who has one, so neither solution is perfect--its a terrible design. After only 70K miles, you will not hear me singing its praises. There is a new OEM on the way and I will decide after I receive it which way I will go.

The Dorman cooler itself looks fine on the inside, the casting flash was on the main body, which is not unexpected since it is cast. The OEM unit comes assembled so you really cannot tell what issues the cooler underside may have.

Will see how the cleanup of the cooler goes and how that compares to the new OEM...

No, the cooler itself isn't leaking. It's leaking from one of the o-rings at the bottom. Replace the o-rings (15$ for the kit) and your oil leak is gone. Dealers originally replaced the entire cooler because an o-ring kit wasn't available, and it became common knowledge that you just replace the entire cooler. This isn't the case. They've done a bunch of revisions to the gaskets over the years. I generally don't see newer 3.6s leaking, but it doesn't mean they won't.

Source: am dealer tech who has dealt with well over 200 of these things leaking.

 

[CarbonSteel]

No, the cooler itself isn't leaking. It's leaking from one of the o-rings at the bottom. Replace the o-rings (15$ for the kit) and your oil leak is gone. Dealers originally replaced the entire cooler because an o-ring kit wasn't available, and it became common knowledge that you just replace the entire cooler. This isn't the case. They've done a bunch of revisions to the gaskets over the years. I generally don't see newer 3.6s leaking, but it doesn't mean they won't.

Source: am dealer tech who has dealt with well over 200 of these things leaking.

I have the Mopar o-ring kit so I am covered on that part (even with the Dorman). I would be curious as to when they revised the o-rings. Mine is a 2019 so not that old. The replacement OEM unit was $120 so not a crazy price and it's the labor on this that is the killer--besides it would be my luck that I would change the o-rings and then the cooler would leak.

I invested in a new box of band-aids...LOL.

 

[speedymart]

I have the Mopar o-ring kit so I am covered on that part (even with the Dorman). I would be curious as to when they revised the o-rings. Mine is a 2019 so not that old. The replacement OEM unit was $120 so not a crazy price and it's the labor on this that is the killer--besides it would be my luck that I would change the o-rings and then the cooler would leak.

I invested in a new box of band-aids...LOL.

They only take me personally about 30 minutes to swap out, but I've done a lot. They started updating them around 2016 or so. I think I've only need a handful of upgraded 3.6s leaking.

The OEM housing will come with new gaskets already so no need to double dip there. These things used to be almost $600 but they've since changed suppliers and the price started coming down. They probably didn't want to get sued for widespread failures at the end of the day so brought the price down.

If you've never done one take your time and don't drop shit into the engine while you have the intake off. Don't be worried if you spill oil down there during removal, it won't cause any harm.

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