Oil leak Front Right Fender

[GWhitney]

Got inspection completed by RAM dealer. Quick update is that he has not seen this issue on a HEMI before but has seen in on the V6 eco. Their is oil in every aspect of the cooling system. Not sure how but he suspects piston. Says it needs entire cooling system replaced, heating core and new engine for $18k, plus HEMI engines are on back-order. Being that I have had the truck for 30 days and less than 1k miles I am assessing my options. I did not purchase from a RAM dealer, but an independent so I have initiated a claim with them.

 

[PoMansRam]

Really hate to suggest a ruptured oil cooler a 3rd time in this thread.. But there it is.

Oil pressure runs at ~50psig, where the coolant pressure is a couple of PSIG maybe when very hot? Therefore oil gets forced into the coolant and sounds like it's overflowing in the overflow/reservoir?

Sorry for your issues! That's a horrible situation!

 

[GTyankee]

Being as your Ram is under 3 years & below 36,000 miles

Ram has to cover everything, right ?

 

[Ken W]

@GWhitney Sorry to hear of the issues you are having with your truck but at the risk of taking your thread sideways, can i ask what size tires you have on your truck? I believe those are 22” wheels and I like the stance, presume you have a leveling kit up front.

 

[turkeybird56]

I have a very bad thought. I wonder if the entity U purchased the truck from knew there was a problem and just wanted to dump the truck and did not reveal all information? Would not be the 1st time an issue was covered up to make a sale. Just saying.

 

[turkeybird56]

Really hate to suggest a ruptured oil cooler a 3rd time in this thread.. But there it is.

Oil pressure runs at ~50psig, where the coolant pressure is a couple of PSIG maybe when very hot? Therefore oil gets forced into the coolant and sounds like it's overflowing in the overflow/reservoir?

Sorry for your issues! That's a horrible situation!

A plausible situation for sure.

 

[GWhitney]

@GWhitney Sorry to hear of the issues you are having with your truck but at the risk of taking your thread sideways, can i ask what size tires you have on your truck? I believe those are 22” wheels and I like the stance, presume you have a leveling kit up front.

22's with a 2"

 

[GWhitney]

I'll ask more specifically if they see anything with the oil cooler. Out of curiosity, is there some option of a bullet proof oil cooler upgrade for these trucks I should look at?

 

[PoMansRam]

I'll ask more specifically if they see anything with the oil cooler. Out of curiosity, is there some option of a bullet proof oil cooler upgrade for these trucks I should look at?

Aftermarket ones may exist. I'm not aware of any. Here's some pics of the oil cooler on my 2019 classic that I took recently for a friend on another forum. You can see the fin/tubes the engine coolant runs though in the square opening.

 

[GWhitney]

Thanks for the pics, that's helpful.

 

[Burla]

Got inspection completed by RAM dealer. Quick update is that he has not seen this issue on a HEMI before but has seen in on the V6 eco. Their is oil in every aspect of the cooling system. Not sure how but he suspects piston. Says it needs entire cooling system replaced, heating core and new engine for $18k, plus HEMI engines are on back-order. Being that I have had the truck for 30 days and less than 1k miles I am assessing my options. I did not purchase from a RAM dealer, but an independent so I have initiated a claim with them.

sorry to hear that, some horrible deal right there. I hope you can get some relief from this deal. One reason I don't buy used cars, they are used for a reason. That charge is ridiculous though, 18k for a cooling system and hemi, no way. More like 8k would be right.

 

[Burla]

This should be factory warranty yes?

 

[GWhitney]

It's $8k in parts and $8.5k in labor on the estimate at $170 per hour labor. So, you were right on with the parts estimate. No warranty, it's a Canadian truck. I've got a claim open with the dealer that sold it to me but the RAM dealer doing the diagnosis and estimate is too busy to write up a formal diagnosis outlining cause for me to submit. This is what I have received:

"engine oil is entering the cooling system causing excessive pressure in the cooling system and pushing oil and coolant out past the radiator cap. per chrysler when oil enters the cooling system every component needs to be replaced in system as you will not be able to flush the oil out of the system well enough to not cause issues. suspect that either head gaskets blew out or hole in piston. will need tear down to confirm. per chrysler, engine will need replacement based on oil in cooling system."

Yes, I probably should have just waited and submitted a build to RAM versus buying used but then this would just be someone elses problem.

 

[heefageLA]

Sheesh! This makes me want to run out to my truck and check my coolant!

 

[GWhitney]

I don't have an electric car, yet...but this is one situation that will no longer be a concern when those days arrive.

 

[GWhitney]

Deleted. Searched forum for answer.

 

[15BlueStreak]

I don't see why being a Canada truck is no warranty. My buddy bought a used Canada Ford superduty diesel. The warranty was honored with no problem. This truck should be covered.

 

[wgreggking]

I believe that Canadian Rams brought to the US, are not covered, they are a separate corporation".
There are some posts here as I recall.
https://www.ramforum.com/threads/your-warranty-is-no-good-here.92557/

 

[JoeCo]

I don't see why being a Canada truck is no warranty. My buddy bought a used Canada Ford superduty diesel. The warranty was honored with no problem. This truck should be covered.

From 2002 when this change took place:

Chrysler won’t honor warranty on Canadian cars resold in U.S.

Effective with the 2003 model year, any Chrysler vehicle bought in Canada and resold in the U.S. won’t carry factory warranty coverage. Chrysler is attempting to stop the flow of Canadian veh…

www.chicagotribune.com

I'm not sure if it's all brands at this point or just Chrysler still, and it's not like no one ever got anything warrantied on a Canadian truck that came across the border (just probably on the rare side). In general though, the warranty will not be honored once it crosses the border. I believe the only way you can attempt to have the warranty be honored is by calling an FCA number if the truck is new enough and under a certain mileage (I want to say 8-10,000 miles?), then sometimes the warranty can be reestablished. Otherwise, good luck.

 

[mikeru]

From 2002 when this change took place:

Chrysler won’t honor warranty on Canadian cars resold in U.S.

Effective with the 2003 model year, any Chrysler vehicle bought in Canada and resold in the U.S. won’t carry factory warranty coverage. Chrysler is attempting to stop the flow of Canadian veh…

www.chicagotribune.com

I'm not sure if it's all brands at this point or just Chrysler still, and it's not like no one ever got anything warrantied on a Canadian truck that came across the border (just probably on the rare side). In general though, the warranty will not be honored once it crosses the border. I believe the only way you can attempt to have the warranty be honored is by calling an FCA number if the truck is new enough and under a certain mileage (I want to say 8-10,000 miles?), then sometimes the warranty can be reestablished. Otherwise, good luck.

Excellent find there Joe. Although your link doesn't bring up that article for me. The headline pretty much answers that question.