Oil filter cage broke

[RMillerCWI]

Hoping for some solid advice.

2021 3.6.

Had tires replaced last fall. Shop offered a free oil change. I went along with it.

5000 trouble free miles later I am due for the next oil change. I did it myself.

When pulling the old filter I noticed the cage was gone. Looked down in there and saw parts of it. Some from the filter...some from the cap. I was not able to locate the entire cage. Some of it went deeper. Perhaps processed harmlessly thru the rotating assembly and came out in the oil. Perhaps not

Dug them out and called the shop. Nobody knows what to do.

Now what? Some part of me wants to put a new filter and cap on and hope for the best. It ran fine up to now.

The cautious side of me wants to pull the oil filter housing/cooler assembly and either inspect/reinstall or put a new one on. Cant think of what more to do.

Shop isnt admitting any guilt ( but we both think the tech installed the filter wrong), but is willing to meet me part way. The bummer here is the shop is now 130 miles away. Its looking like anything being done is either by my doing or attempt escalation.

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[RMillerCWI]

better pic

 

[ScotM]

I think plenty of folks will weigh in, this is a plastic part on the 3.6 that cracks a lot. If I’m seeing it correctly. I believe there is a good aftermarket option to replace that whole assembly with a more robust metal assembly. Let the forum weigh in and provide the actual answers

 

[58Willys]

The cage is gone? Sucked through oil passages? Really? Maybe an aftermarket filter that didn’t have a cage?

 

[mwilk012]

Eh, just change the filter housing. How exactly would the shop have done this? Filter upside down? You would have had no oil pressure.

 

[RMillerCWI]

I suspect they rocked the filter when taking the old one out. Found a tsb on it

 

[nU7OuxIx]

Who makes the oil filter? If the shop changed the oil, they may had used a junk oil filter and caused the cage to break off. Last time I did my oil change, it was ~$8.00 at the dealer for the mopar brand and $9.00 at Walmart for Fram. IMHO, not a huge price difference to take a gamble on a filter. If it was a bad filter, I would think they would be on the hook to getting it fixed, as it wasn't a mopar.

Another person had the same thing happen to them: https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/oil-filter-tip-broke-off.67968/

I'm no mechanic, but I would try to wipe everything down the best that you can and fish everything out of the part that holds the oil filter. I want to call it a canister but I don't know... I would also try to recreate the oil filter to make sure you have all the parts that broke off.

Taking the cooler off, to me, may be a bit extreme. It's a lot of work to do and may cause more issues. There may be a part stuck in there, but maybe it's in the oil pan, maybe it's in the engine block, who knows.

 

[garyji]

Looks like all the pieces are there. New cap and filter and good to go.

G.

 

[Wildeep]

I think plenty of folks will weigh in, this is a plastic part on the 3.6 that cracks a lot. If I’m seeing it correctly. I believe there is a good aftermarket option to replace that whole assembly with a more robust metal assembly. Let the forum weigh in and provide the actual answers

I have 2 Chargers and I put aluminum housings on both. The 2018 used to leak oil from the housing before replacement . No problem from either one of them. And yes. The Chargers have the same 3.6 in them. 2018 and 2021.

 

[DavidES1]

I would do the work myself or if needed find a better shop but don't go back to the same idiots that did this damage. Hard to prove after the fact, so take it in the shorts and remember there are no free oil changes.

 

[RMillerCWI]

Looks like all the pieces are there. New cap and filter and good to go.

G.

That's the whole problem. Can't find all the parts. Tried fishing out, tried a boroscope... Some parts of this plastic cage went into the cooler. Will this hurt anything.... Maybe. Maybe not. Just trying to weigh out pulling the cooler or not

 

[RMillerCWI]

I would do the work myself or if needed find a better shop but don't go back to the same idiots that did this damage. Hard to prove after the fact, so take it in the shorts and remember there are no free oil changes.

That's exactly the direction i am leaning. Source a new aluminum cooler and take on the retrofit myself. The rub is the effort may be for nothing as the parts may have traveled further than the cooler. I don't have a clear vision of this possibility.

My fault. I know better. Should have either done the oil change myself or had the dealer do it.

 

[mwilk012]

That's exactly the direction i am leaning. Source a new aluminum cooler and take on the retrofit myself. The rub is the effort may be for nothing as the parts may have traveled further than the cooler. I don't have a clear vision of this possibility.

My fault. I know better. Should have either done the oil change myself or had the dealer do it.

The newest version of the OEM filter housing is the best option. Every Chinese aluminum casting on the market uses the old style gasket design that can result in oil contamination of the cooling system, and oil temperatures have reported to increase with the aluminum housing.

 

[garyji]

Putting in the new Mopar part next week. I don't think anything got past the cooler.

G.

 

[RMillerCWI]

In case anybody is following this:
Changed out the oil filter housing. Could find none on the missing pieces of the oil filter cage.

Somehow they passed thru it. The only thing i can do now is pull the pan and inspect.

Oil pressure normal. I'm running it.

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