Loose oil filter

[Clancaster23]

Went to a shop and had my new tires put on. They call me in saying my new truck with 5,500 miles on it is leaking oil. I had just had the first oil change done on it about two weeks ago. The oil filter was loose and was leaking out and it had traces of spray all over underneath that area of the truck. Was also told it had too much oil in it but I didn't see that first hand. They said it was about an inch above the good zone on the stick. They tightened up the filter and checked to see if it was still leaking but it stopped. Not sure if any oil was taken out but when I checked it at work today after it had sit for about 6 hours, it was right at the top of the hash marks so it was full at the right level. I just can't believe a vehicle can leave the dealer with a loose oil filter. Over the couple weeks I have driven it, all the oil could have leaked out and I may have had a big problem. Anyways, called the dealer and had them check it out today just incase something else was up and of course all is well. They cleaned up the mess from the dripping oil but other than that nothing was done. I really just went so they could see it and just to have it documented that it happened.

 

[JoeCo]

Went to a shop and had my new tires put on. They call me in saying my new truck with 5,500 miles on it is leaking oil. I had just had the first oil change done on it about two weeks ago. The oil filter was loose and was leaking out and it had traces of spray all over underneath that area of the truck. Was also told it had too much oil in it but I didn't see that first hand. They said it was about an inch above the good zone on the stick. They tightened up the filter and checked to see if it was still leaking but it stopped. Not sure if any oil was taken out but when I checked it at work today after it had sit for about 6 hours, it was right at the top of the hash marks so it was full at the right level. I just can't believe a vehicle can leave the dealer with a loose oil filter. Over the couple weeks I have driven it, all the oil could have leaked out and I may have had a big problem. Anyways, called the dealer and had them check it out today just incase something else was up and of course all is well. They cleaned up the mess from the dripping oil but other than that nothing was done. I really just went so they could see it and just to have it documented that it happened.

The dealer I bought my truck from did an oil change before I bought it, I drove it home 6 hours and the first time I parked it in the garage I came out to a nice puddle of oil. It was coming from the oil filter which clearly was not tightened enough, and made a spectacular mess to clean up. I was pretty shocked by this, just the incompetence of it from a major dealership, but I guess clearly it must happen from time to time. I also got the fun surprise after our first good rain of having the back area of the interior get soaked/flooded...sure enough I look on the trucks service record at the dealer from before I bought it, and I see they replaced a bulb in the third brake light...guess what they neglected to seal when they put it back together?

 

[Royal27]

When humans are involved....

 

[Hootbro]

In perfect world, stuff like this should not happen, but only one person is going to care about your vehicle and that is you.

 

[PoMansRam]

An oil change is a money looser for any shop so it's got to get done as quickly as possible. Couple that with the hazards associated with human intervention like said above and it's a recipe for disaster. It can be a hassle, but I do my own oil changes for this reason.

A co-worker of mine almost destroyed the engine in his ~$40K Jeep Grand Cherokee recently because the dealer didn't tighten the oil filter cap on his pentastar. They sent someone to him to fix it. What a mess it made.

 

[K-Dawg]

So the gorillas at the factory tighten them with a 3-foot breaker bar and the chimps at the garage don't even make them finger-tight.

The solution is obviously to have the baboon in the mirror do all your oil changes. The baboon that does my oil changes is pretty good at it.

 

[BSVmopar]

When I did my first change the filter and plug were only finger tight but not leaking. Strange since the factory usually over tightens them.

 

[HammerHead]

Went to a shop and had my new tires put on. They call me in saying my new truck with 5,500 miles on it is leaking oil. I had just had the first oil change done on it about two weeks ago. The oil filter was loose and was leaking out and it had traces of spray all over underneath that area of the truck. Was also told it had too much oil in it but I didn't see that first hand. They said it was about an inch above the good zone on the stick. They tightened up the filter and checked to see if it was still leaking but it stopped. Not sure if any oil was taken out but when I checked it at work today after it had sit for about 6 hours, it was right at the top of the hash marks so it was full at the right level. I just can't believe a vehicle can leave the dealer with a loose oil filter. Over the couple weeks I have driven it, all the oil could have leaked out and I may have had a big problem. Anyways, called the dealer and had them check it out today just incase something else was up and of course all is well. They cleaned up the mess from the dripping oil but other than that nothing was done. I really just went so they could see it and just to have it documented that it happened.

This is why I do my own fluids, I use my preferred oil and good quality oil filter. Waiting in the lobby for hours to just change my oil is ridiculous, then have to worry about an oil filter leaking or an over filled sump is something I'll never do.

The problem with overfilling the sump is the crank slaps the oil over and over causing aeration. You end up with foamy air filled oil. Air is compressible causing pre mature engine wear because the oil can't form the designed oil film. In addition, engine oil cools internal engine components directly, and is cooled by the coolant indirectly. The flow of oil through internal engine components is what keeps the engine cool; if the oil is filled with air it Can't lubricate or pull heat from the engine.
I'm very sorry the dealership was so careless with you new investment.

 

[swexlin]

Please read my posts about my oil filter loosening issues. Has happened 3 times now and my driveway has the oil spots to prove it. Dealer has done all changes, and I have documented everything. But after a couple thousand miles, it starts leaking. The say there is nothing wrong with the housing. They really have no explanation.

 

[HammerHead]

Please read my posts about my oil filter loosening issues. Has happened 3 times now and my driveway has the oil spots to prove it

Have you switched to a better oil filter?

 

[swexlin]

No the truck is still under warranty so I want everything stock and documented. Changes done by dealer techs with Mopar filters. Something is wrong with the housing (threads?) even though they say it's fine.

 

[HammerHead]

No the truck is still under warranty so I want everything stock and documented. Changes done by dealer techs with Mopar filters. Something is wrong with the housing (threads?) even though they say it's fine.

I think in my case it's the threads on the Mopar oil filter are poor quality; when compared to M1, K&N and others the threads are cut into the base plate better and there are more threads to seat the filter gasket on the aftermarket oil filters. But I understand staying within warranty, I'm in the same boat. Every time I change my oil I put on the crapy Mopar oil filter and I hate it.

 

[Ramnewbie]

Theres definitely a difference in the way the threads are cut. The mopar filters feel loose and sloppy when installing, Amsoil, M1, and Fram Ultra all feel like they should when installing.

Sent from my VS996 using Tapatalk

 

[HammerHead]

Theres definitely a difference in the way the threads are cut. The mopar filters feel loose and sloppy when installing, Amsoil, M1, and Fram Ultra all feel like they should when installing.

Sent from my VS996 using Tapatalk

That's a great way to describe it, sloppy or loose when installing it.

 

[millrat]

This happened on my 15 and 16...more prone to do it in the winter due to the cold and aluminum contracting...root cause was the dealership lube guy not tightening the filter tight enough. Once the dealer understood my displeasure and getting called on it a few times, they now make sure its tightened properly and I had no more issues with those trucks. I will make sure I remind them about it when the new 19 is ready for its first oil change.

This is the 5th new Truck I have bought from them and they for sure want me to buy a 6th lol!

 

[swexlin]

This happened on my 15 and 16...more prone to do it in the winter due to the cold and aluminum contracting...root cause was the dealership lube guy not tightening the filter tight enough. Once the dealer understood my displeasure and getting called on it a few times, they now make sure its tightened properly and I had no more issues with those trucks. I will make sure I remind them about it when the new 19 is ready for its first oil change.

This is the 5th new Truck I have bought from them and they for sure want me to buy a 6th lol!

That's what they told me - no tightening enough. I can see it happening once by mistake, but, in my case, 3 times?

 

[tidefan1967]

That's why they tighten the hell out of them from the factory, because it could be many months before the oil gets changed again and they don't want a brand new truck blowing up on the test drive. I know it would be a big pain in the ass but I would crawl up under there and give it a half a turn with an oil filter wrench and then see how it goes.

 

[JB1]

I change my own oil, I use a Royal Purple filter and have never had a leak

 

[millrat]

That's what they told me - no tightening enough. I can see it happening once by mistake, but, in my case, 3 times?

yup, multiple times due to the lube guys being scared of making them too tight, the same guy doesn't always do the oil change on mine...

 

[Guyfromthenorth]

This reminds me of a similar story I had with our car (luckily not the Ram). I do ALL my own oil and fluid changes for exactly what others have said, I trust my work and care. The only time others touch my vehicles involves warranty work.

So we bring the car in due to broken heated seats, the module shorts and refuses to turn on when colder than EXACTLY -26deg. Go figure, too cold for heated seats...

The dealer is a 250mi drive from where we live, I drop it off, they fix the seats, and I drive the 250mi home. The next day I round up my oil change items and crawl under to get started. Well don't I find oil EVERYWHERE and a GIANT hole cut in the plastic skid plate under the oil filter. It's fresh and there's plastic shavings all over mixed in with the oil. I go to unscrew the oil filter and it's held on by maybe 3 full turns and when I first grabbed it was so loose it rattled around. Once off I can tell that whoever used the HOLE SAW to cut the hole in my skid plate went through the skid, up into the oil filter (still under power on the saw) it jammed the oil filter and UNSCREWED it and also scored my oil pan. I drove 250mi home on a deserted highway with an oil filter that barely hung on.

I called the dealer to ask W T F went on with my car because it just needed the SEATS fixed. He says there's a recall and some of the cars came without the access holes cut for the oil filters. I get it, it sucked having to drop the skid to change my oil, but they never asked me or even told me they did this. The shop manager apologized and asked me to bring the filter in as proof. Once he saw it a few weeks later he said the next work order I bring in would be discounted as an apology, I reminded him this is why I don't like other monkeys working on my stuff. I've never been back to that shop since.

Imagine the perfect storm for this screw up:

1) I do all my own oil changes.
2) They never told me they worked on the engine.
3) I drive home on a deserted highway and the oil filter falls off the car.
4) All the oil pukes out and my engine seizes up.
5) I bring it to the dealer and they tell me "well looks like you don't know how to change oil dummy, we aren't covering the engine".

I shudder at the thought of that. Long story short, don't trust shops.