[rcmpayne]

I have an oil leak and with a small camera, I’m able to see that its the oil cooler under the intake manifold as I have a ton of pooled oil. Whats everyones thoughts on what I should get(mopar oem or aftermarket all aluminum housing)?

Lastly, since I will be taking the intake manifolds off, anything else I should do aside from plugs?

2016 SXT AWD
140k KMs (86k m)

 

[ONEZ ST]

If you can see oil pooled in the intake valley there are 2 options.

Option 1 is to buy the O-Ring kit for the oil cooler and oil filter housing and replace the O-Rings where the oil cooler mates to the plastic oil filter housing as well as the contact where the oil filter housing attaches to the manifold housing on the block. Buy OEM seals. Amazon/eBay has too many counterfeit sources. I would only do this if there is absolutely no question about the serviceability of the plastic housing and aluminum cooler.

Option 2 is to replace the complete oil filter housing and oil cooler assembly. New O-rings come the kit. You need to transfer the oil temp sensor and oil pressure sensor from old to new housing. I personally would go with option 2 because if option 1 does not work then you have to pull the upper/lower intake housing assembly off again and replace the oil filter housing and cooler and reassemble the top. Waste of time.

As far as upgrade options are concerned I think you do not have that option on your 2016. Here is the reason why. Dorman makes a cast aluminum oil filter housing but I am pretty certain it is only compatible with GEN2 oil filter configuration. Here are the three generations

GEN1 oil filter housing is 2011 - 2013.
GEN2 oil filter housing is 2014 to 2015. It incorporated a redesigned oil filter and eliminated the GEN1 bypass valve setup that often broke and went flying out of the housing when the oil filter was changed.
GEN3 is 2016 to current. What is significant about GEN3 is the oil filter housing/cooler assembly is adapted for VVT and new VVL which is not integrated in the GEN1 or 2 housings.



I hate to recommend the OEM housing but in this case I am not sure how good the quality is on the aftermarket plastic housings.

 

[Dave940]

Amazon is currently running a Chinese version of this oil cooler in aluminum under the Ransoto brand, currently 70 bucks as a lightning deal but only cost a few dollars more than that lately. I currently have one that I ordered a couple of weeks ago, but I am trying to see if I can get either the doorman 959 or 876 first. They are extremely hard to find. The Dorman 959 runs around $300, bought one from O'Reilly's that I am waiting to receive. The 876 I ordered was only half that, but I don't know if I can wait until it ships in early april. I have the leak right now but it is extremely small.

 

[Dave940]

That is, Dorman. And if you can find either Dorman or the Chinese clones like the Ransoto, they will work on your 2016 SXT Plus

 

[Dave940]

To expand on your other question, here's what I'm planning.
Replacing the oil pressure sensor (Dorman), PCV valve (Standard), and plugs (Autolite XP5701) as part of the oil cooler replacement. To make it a little easier, I'm draining and replacing coolant (probably Prestone Platinum) and motor oil (Shell Gas Truck Synthetic 5-20 and Mobil 1 filter) at the same time. I've bought the o-ring and seals from Mopar for the cooler, and new seals for the intake manifold from Fel-Pro (I had no intention of using either the Asian or Dorman seals). I've ordered the Dorman aluminum replacement thermostat housing and crossover pipe from Rock because the OEM thermostat appears to have failed open recently.
Some who read this will go into shock. Why not all Mopar parts? Because I'm willing to gamble that some aftermarket parts are better than what Mopar is shoveling at me. This car was purchased for practical reasons, not for any love of Fiat Corporation. It seemed to be the only full-size AWD car at that time, it may still be. I want to keep this car longer than I want to depend on replacement plastic engine parts.
As for "Option 1", there appears to be enough evidence out there that just replacing seals will be a waste of effort. So I'm hoping that the aluminum replacement parts from Dorman were not made on a Monday morning or Friday afternoon at that Pennsylvania-based manufacturer.

 

[rcmpayne]

This is what i found on amazon. Thoughts for this with all mopar seals? They have two options 2011-2016 and 2014-2016. Ah wha???

926-876 Aluminum Engine Oil Cooler With Oil Filter Gaskets Sensor Adapter Compatible With 2011-2016 Chrysler 200 300, Dodge Charger, Grand Cherokee, Wrangler, ProMaster 3.6L V6 | 5184304AE, 68105583AF https://a.co/d/7LdJRBF

 

[Dave940]

Dang...the exchange rate is that much? Here's the screen capture from the US Amazon site:

Apparently, the Canadian site hasn't corrected the listing. It should be 2011-2013, and 2014-2016.
This was what I planned to use, until I was able to put the order in for the Dorman 876 for about $150 US, which is supposed to arrive by April 11. Then, I stumbled across O'Reilly's listing for the 959 for about $308 US, which I ordered and is supposed to arrive next week. Ideally, I would like to wait until the 876 arrives. The complication is that I doubt that Amazon will actually ship the 876. I had ordered the 876 almost a month ago from JEGS, but after a nearly two week wait for them to ship, I was told that the order was cancelled and Dorman discontinued it. I suppose the profit margin is better on the 959, but for all I know Dorman has discontinued both models. Jasper supplies this cooler in an American made version, but does not sell it separately, you have to buy one of their engines to get it.
So we Pentastar owners with this problem are faced with buying the sixth revision of a piece of crap OEM plastic cooler, or a likely piece of crap plastic Asian version, or a questionable aluminum Asian version. The Dorman 959 seems to surface sporadically on auto parts websites, but quickly goes out of stock.
It's hard to go by Amazon reviews, I take them with a grain of salt and assume that a large percentage of them are fake. But I was ready to use the Ransoto until I got a chance at the US made Dorman aluminum cooler instead. If you go that route, I would definitely use OEM or some other non-import seals. GOOD LUCK!

 

[Dave940]

One more thing...the Ransoto that I ordered appears to be fairly well made...whatever that means from a novice inspection through the shrink wrap that I'm not removing (because mine is likely headed back to Amazon). I would caution against slapping this thing on an engine without at least using high pressure air to blow it out. I can see what appears to be metal shavings inside a couple of the ports. I never see any warnings about this from any installation instructions or videos, but that can't be good for either the cooling system or oil. And there's no way I would trust the seals of the Asian version, and not knowing where Dorman sourced theirs, I wouldn't use them either.

 

[rcmpayne]

Ugh. Im not sure what to do at this point now. Plastic just seems so cheap but i cant find the dorman version in canada

 

[Dave940]

Ugh. Im not sure what to do at this point now. Plastic just seems so cheap but i cant find the dorman version in canada

When I ordered the Dorman 959 from O'Reilly's, it went out of stock a couple of hours later. If you have the luxury of waiting, I'd keep checking any websites that have a listing and trying to order it. The other two chain automotive supply stores near me, Advance and Autozone, sometimes show it in stock but they do not seem to keep their internet inventory updated, so I have wasted a lot of time trying to order from them over the last two weeks.
This is by no means an endorsement...but a YouTuber with a horrible grasp of the English language has posted three videos promoting his product. Why these guys do not bother to let someone, with a rudimentary knowledge of English, take a look at their work before putting it out on the web, I'll never understand. But he makes some comparisons between his cooler and others out there that some here might find interesting:

High pressure casting VS gravity casting study for 926 876 Aluminum oil filter Housing Chrysler 3 6L - YouTube

 

[rcmpayne]

Lol that seller does not ship to canada so I started to check others on ebay, and they all have the same picture about the casting

 

[Rhill1124]

Dorman or OEM plastic.
Honestly, the OEM isn’t that bad. Sure, it could’ve been made better. But, while they DO go bad, it’s not that often. Just treat it for what it is, plastic, and don’t crank on it when doing oil changes.

Between two 3.6 Chargers with a total of over 300k miles, I’ve had to replace one. And while I take care of my cars, I don’t drive them lightly. Point being, they will and can hold up.

I would say just be patient on the Dorman and not gamble on the others.
Just my .02

 

[ONEZ ST]

The Dorman 959 runs around $300, bought one from O'Reilly's that I am waiting to receive. The 876 I ordered was only half that,

The 876 is cheaper because it is only the oil filter housing. The 959 is the same but costs more because it comes with the oil cooler and a orange filter cap that advises to use the newer oil filter cartridge instead of the GEN1 (2011 -2013) filter.

 

[Dave940]

And that's another $150 I do not want or need to spend if I can swap the cooler from the old housing to the new one. Like I said, Dorman's motive was to discontinue the 876 for more profit? I think most people will gamble and choose the import, many of which are running well under $100 instead. Especially if they need one ASAP.
One more word of advice to anyone out there with a Pentastar. Take the beauty cover off, see if you notice any engine noise. I've concluded that it is unnecessary at best, and harmful at worst by trapping engine heat. Mine went to the landfill last year, well before I had even heard of the oil leak problem.

 

[ONEZ ST]

Be sure you have the oval seals for the cooler. I'm not sure if they come with the Dorman aluminum housing to swap over the cooler. Don't reuse the seals.

My guess is Dorman stopped selling the housing alone because of leaks caused by transferring the cooler and people reusing the ORings or a problem getting them. They probably got returns from customers saying it was the housing.

Im sure the pre assembled unit Dorman sells has undergone air pressure testing for drop down leaks.

 

[Dave940]

Be sure you have the oval seals for the cooler. I'm not sure if they come with the Dorman aluminum housing to swap over the cooler. Don't reuse the seals.

My guess is Dorman stopped selling the housing alone because of leaks caused by transferring the cooler and people reusing the ORings or a problem getting them. They probably got returns from customers saying it was the housing.

Im sure the pre assembled unit Dorman sells has undergone air pressure testing for drop down leaks.

Sounds like a good reason to take the hit on the extra cost and use the 959 instead. I only want to do this once. I would trust Dorman's preassembly of the cooler and housing over the imports.