2014 dodge caravan oil filter housing replacement cost

Hi there, during my last service Ozzy Park Jeep advised that I need both the oil filter housing and the thermostat housing replaced. Concerningly at the time, the quoted price for the 5hr job of fitting the OFH was $1660.. Decided to take a raincheck and have a look for myself at home, and sure enough, this plastic part, sitting on top of the engine, has begun to weep.

Part cost online is about $350, whereas as far as I can tell Jeep want $860 for it ($160/hr labour).

How long is is safe to continue driving like this, given there has been no whinging from the car about it's oil pressure?

Does anyone know of a reputable place around Perth region that could alternatively do this work?

Cheers
Si

I would want to get it fixed as soon as practical

Have you considered doing it your self

I’ve just done spark plugs and it took me two hours to complete, once the upper manifold is off you need to remove the lower manifold and fuel rail, I could imagine that taking an hour, then the oil filter assembly possibly another hour including clean up so I would think five hours would be a fair call.

There are YouTube clips of removing the upper manifold and others of doing the lower I haven’t seen the oil filter assembly being removed.

I wouldn’t call this a hard job, more just time consuming.

All dependant on your skill level though

It is leaking oil, and I "think" pressurized oil from the engine and not just from sitting oil.... ....so I'd keep an eye on oil pressure and keep checking oil level so you don't run short of oil pressure or oil quantity.... ...which could be a disaster for the motor.... ....having said that, I see posts of folks discovering the leak from this with tons of collected oil all in the motor and never suffered engine damage from lack of oil or drop in oil pressure, so I get the impression this can go a while before something bad happens other than the oil mess....

I haven't done this, I've watched the video of doing it... ...the actual replacing of the part looks easy, any newb could do it.... ....but they bury the part deep under the intake manifold, so a lot of parts have to come off to get to it before you can do the part replacement... ...and everything you have to do to get the manifold out, looked to me, like it could easily overwhelm a newb....

Another Option, find a good independent mechanic and have them do the replacement. It doesn't look like there is anything about this that requires the Dealer's special tools or special knowledge, you average mechanic should be able to figure it out and do the job... ...Someone that has actually done the job, please chime and correct me if I'm wrong and there is something special in the job that the Dealership needs to do it and not your average corner garage.....

As best as I can tell, and I have looked as I have the older style housing, ( and may have to change it one day) is that you would need to make sure you have drained the coolant first as it interconnects with the housing.

And you would need to pay attention to the O rings on reassembly.

Otherwise it’s just nuts and bolts

It is leaking oil, and I "think" pressurized oil from the engine and not just from sitting oil.... ....so I'd keep an eye on oil pressure and keep checking oil level so you don't run short of oil pressure or oil quantity.... ...which could be a disaster for the motor.... ....having said that, I see posts of folks discovering the leak from this with tons of collected oil all in the motor and never suffered engine damage from lack of oil or drop in oil pressure, so I get the impression this can go a while before something bad happens other than the oil mess....

I haven't done this, I've watched the video of doing it... ...the actual replacing of the part looks easy, any newb could do it.... ....but they bury the part deep under the intake manifold, so a lot of parts have to come off to get to it before you can do the part replacement... ...and everything you have to do to get the manifold out, looked to me, like it could easily overwhelm a newb....

Another Option, find a good independent mechanic and have them do the replacement. It doesn't look like there is anything about this that requires the Dealer's special tools or special knowledge, you average mechanic should be able to figure it out and do the job... ...Someone that has actually done the job, please chime and correct me if I'm wrong and there is something special in the job that the Dealership needs to do it and not your average corner garage.....

I had this same issue with the Oil cooler/filter housing on a jeep. After seeing this is a reoccurring issue with Jeep wranglers 2014 on and with other vehicles using the same engine - this is a serious design defect. It seems Chrysler opted to change from a metal part to a plastic part back in 2014 and seal or plugs on the part will leak pooling oil which then runs down the engine and transmission. The part ranges from where you get it with the dealership around $300 which were back-ordered due to the number of part failures. The part is underneath the intake manifold which requires removal to change.

The cost of the repair is upwards of $1000 at a regular shop and guessing a lot more at a Chrysler dealership. This is totally wrong for the customer of a Chrysler vehicle to have this issue on a car with less than 50 k miles. Something needs to be done about this. Where can this be addressed!

There are several posts on several forums that use the 3.2-3.6 and the leaking oil filter housing

We have this problem on our 2013 Sahara Unlimited. It is costing $1400 to replace it. I was embarrassed because I'm selling the car and a prospective buyer noticed it, figured I was trying to pass it off on him. Its been hectic so I didn't notice the accumulation (also, the car has been sitting there for a few weeks. Perhaps his test drive got the leak going). Anyway it seemed extreme for what seems a simple part- but I see from this thread there's a reason for it. Bummer.

Part of the problem, if not the actual problem, looks to be the type of seals they use between the plastic body of the cooler/filter body and the engine block. The typical type of seals they use for plastic. Some do have the plastic crack, but usually the seals just start leaking and need replaced. But, since you're paying for $1250 labor and $150 for the part they wisely decide its best to replace the whole thing once they dig down to the point to replace it.

Yes, if they are going to bury a part under others, that require a ton of labor to remove everything just to get to, then they better make sure the part is reliable. Yet, FCA didn't do that, and in more than 10 years of the engine and WK2 being in production they still have not adequately addressed the problem.

The same is true of the HVAC boxes under the dash, that has been going on for 30 years, when are they going to learn they have build these things more rugged. People should have to pay $1300 because a flimsy plastic door or shaft broke.

Part of the problem, if not the actual problem, looks to be the type of seals they use between the plastic body of the cooler/filter body and the engine block. The typical type of seals they use for plastic. Some do have the plastic crack, but usually the seals just start leaking and need replaced. But, since you're paying for $1250 labor and $150 for the part they wisely decide its best to replace the whole thing once they dig down to the point to replace it.

Yes, if they are going to bury a part under others, that require a ton of labor to remove everything just to get to, then they better make sure the part is reliable. Yet, FCA didn't do that, and in more than 10 years of the engine and WK2 being in production they still have not adequately addressed the problem.

The same is true of the HVAC boxes under the dash, that has been going on for 30 years, when are they going to learn they have build these things more rugged. People should have to pay $1300 because a flimsy plastic door or shaft broke.

The issue is that is made of plastic and when you go in for an oil change the techs crank down on it too hard and it ends up cracking. Dealing with the same issues right now. Found the part on amazing for $80. Going to try and just use the portion of the new part that is cracked. Even thinking of using flex seal. My mechanic has had the part on order for 3 months but apparently they are back order over 50,000 parts.

My 2016 started leaking almost immediately after the last oil change. I can't see where it is coming from. It's running down from somewhere in the back and over the bell housing. Never leaked before, put about 2 quarts in it in the last 6 weeks. Now what? If the part is backordered so bad, do I just have to leave it sit?

My 2016 started leaking almost immediately after the last oil change. I can't see where it is coming from. It's running down from somewhere in the back and over the bell housing. Never leaked before, put about 2 quarts in it in the last 6 weeks. Now what? If the part is backordered so bad, do I just have to leave it sit?

Could be just the seals failing, if you can invest a few hours of time might be worth replacing since they are relatively cheap and should be replaced if your replacing the housing anyways