oil leak.

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Jeff Strizek

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I have a 2013 with 157,000 miles on it never lost a drop of oil. Today when I got home I noticed about twenty drops of oil on my garage floor so I crawled underneath and there is oil spray everywhere, from the oil pan all the way back to the rear axel and Im about a quart low. I cant find the leak its just kinda wet everywhere any ideas.
 

Rav3ncroft

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When was your last oil change? Is it possible something wasn't tightened back up?
 
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Jeff Strizek

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about 900 miles ago. that was my thought but the plug is tight and i dont see much around the filter on top, would it be worth the money to grab new filter and replace? it looks good but Ive heard the plastic and orings sometimes fail.
 
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Jeff Strizek

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I double checked, everything is tight, and nothing around the filter on top. its all on the bottom and when im shining a flashlight its literaly everywhere the frame, tranny pan, drive shaft, gas tank. the entire underside of the truck from the pan back has a film of oil. should I try draining the oil, and removing and replacing the Oil pan gasket, or just take it to a mechanic. Im handy enough with simple stuff but if im looking at a rear seal that is probably beyond my paygrade and what I can do at home.
 

Rav3ncroft

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I personally would have a mechanic take a look at it and then determine if it's something you can fix after the issue has been diagnosed.

You could wait and see what others think. Perhaps someone has had a similar situation. On the bright side if you live in the rust belt, like me, you've got some extra rust proofing now. [emoji849][emoji53]

Hopefully it's something simple bud.
 

SitKneelBend

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I have a 2013 with 157,000 miles on it never lost a drop of oil. Today when I got home I noticed about twenty drops of oil on my garage floor so I crawled underneath and there is oil spray everywhere, from the oil pan all the way back to the rear axel and Im about a quart low. I cant find the leak its just kinda wet everywhere any ideas.
Which engine do you have?

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Daw14

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If you clean and degrease , maybe you can get a better idea of what is leaking .
 

KeithStone76

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I have a 2013 with 157,000 miles on it never lost a drop of oil. Today when I got home I noticed about twenty drops of oil on my garage floor so I crawled underneath and there is oil spray everywhere, from the oil pan all the way back to the rear axel and Im about a quart low. I cant find the leak its just kinda wet everywhere any ideas.
Could be the oil cooler.

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PoMansRam

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I can almost guarantee you it's the oil filter/cooler assembly that is leaking. Not the cap or cap O-ring. Super common on pentastars. The assembly is made of plastic and aluminum that is crimped together and has many O-ring seals. It also has an oil pressure and oil temperature sensor built into it. Check youtube for videos and online for parts to get a feel for it. They ALL will crack or just start leaking at some point. It's the only really **** poor part on the pentastar IMO.

You have to remove the intake manifold to get at it and there will be a good quart of oil pooled in the Vee of the engine block.

You hate to add more to the job this time of year, but if you have to do this job, you may as well do sparkplugs at the same time given you have to remove the intake to do those too.
 

SitKneelBend

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I can almost guarantee you it's the oil filter/cooler assembly that is leaking. Not the cap or cap O-ring. Super common on pentastars. The assembly is made of plastic and aluminum that is crimped together and has many O-ring seals. It also has an oil pressure and oil temperature sensor built into it. Check youtube for videos and online for parts to get a feel for it. They ALL will crack or just start leaking at some point. It's the only really **** poor part on the pentastar IMO.

You have to remove the intake manifold to get at it and there will be a good quart of oil pooled in the Vee of the engine block.

You hate to add more to the job this time of year, but if you have to do this job, you may as well do sparkplugs at the same time given you have to remove the intake to do those too.
There's also a revised upper intake manifold that flows better you can upgrade for around $100. I believe it's standard on all 2016+ Pentastars...

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PoMansRam

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Any updates?

Just to add to the above, once the base area on the oil filter assembly starts leaking, it takes a while for the oil to pool to a level on the top of the engine block where it starts to dribble downward and coat everything. It holds a LOT of oil up there in the nooks and crannies. Techs usually suck it out with a suction gun or the likes as they're replacing the filter-cooler housing.

You pretty much need a snake cam to see the oil pooling up there when the intake manifold is in the way.
 

Matt ott

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clean all leaked oil with alcohol then get a bright light, start engine, you will find your leak, repair as necessary....
 

El Huapo

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I bought an Endoscope (tiny camera on a snake) that hooks up to a laptop from Amazon for about $25. It has shown me several otherwise impossible views and should work to see in a V6 valley pan around the oil cooler. Good luck
 

PoMansRam

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If this does wind up being the oil cooler, which is the only thing aside from maybe one timing chain cover leak I've ever heard of causing an oil leak on a pentastar, stick with that shop you trust if you can't do the work yourself.

On another board I frequent, a Jeep Wrangler owner there just paid a dealer over $1200 to replace his leaking oil filter / cooler housing. On top of that, they charged him $71 for an oil change! Must be a Jeep thing. As soon as that word is mentioned, the price goes up 2x. LOL

I thought I've read of Ram owners paying half that at dealers, but can't find info at the moment.
 
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Jeff Strizek

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It was the Oil cooler/ filter housing. Cost me $1100, I love my truck but it seems there are a lot of things on these Penstars that are combo parts, such a the one piece Thermostat and housing, and the Oil cooler/filter housing where fixes are more expensive and complicated than nessesary.
 

SitKneelBend

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There was a guy overseas who was designing an all metal replacement after his failed but I guess his anger ran out before he completed the project...

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bruce219

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whomever changed your filter may have over tightened it,it's easy to crack it down at bottom of stem.Don't need to tighten much.
 
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