For whatever reason, when Chrysler designed the venerable Pentastar 3.2 and 3.6L V6 engines, it used a plastic housing to hold both the oil cooler assembly and the oil filter cartridge.
Problem is, after a few years and a few thousand heat cycles, that plastic can warp, flex, and become brittle, potentially causing catastrophic oil leaks in the process. Worse yet, over-tightening the oil filter puts a ton of stress on the housing, which will likely also result in oil leaks.
If that’s not enough, since the oil cooler is attached to the housing, the distorted plastic can start leaking coolant down onto the engine or—gulp—the oil and coolant can begin to mix.
Suffice it to say, with any one of these scenarios, you’re going to have a bad day.
Unfortunately, the problem affects both the 3.2L and 3.6L Pentastar V6 engines that Stellantis stuffed in dang-near everything in the Dodge, Jeep, Chrysler, and Ram lineup—including the Wrangler, Gladiator, Grand Cherokee, Pacifica, 300, Charger, Challenger, and plenty of 1500 trucks.
But fear not—the OE-spec replacement part experts at Dorman have a better-than-new solution with its Engine Oil Filter Housing, part number 926-959.
Instead of plastic, Dorman makes its Pentastar oil filter housing out of aluminum—and yeah, that simple change pretty much solves all the problems with the OE housing that we described above.
Dorman made sure to replicate all of the features of the original housing too, so it’ll drop right in place of the old one with no modifications or changes required. That also means it’ll work with all the factory sensors too.
If you’re handy with a wrench, the replacement job is relatively straightforward. (You can find walkthroughs all over the internet to judge for yourself.) But the basic gist is, since the housing is located in the valley of the V6, you pull the intake plenum sections off, unhook the oil and coolant fittings, and then remove the stock unit. Reverse the procedure and button everything back up.
The Dorman folks are even nice enough to include all the gaskets, fasteners, and O-rings you’ll need to finish the job too—heck, they even toss-in a new oil filter cartridge.
And the best part of the Dorman housing is, not only is it a serious upgrade, it’s an affordable alterative to the stock part or, worse yet, a serious oil leak.
Check pricing and availability on the Dorman 926-959 oil housing upgrade here.
You can get a much better look at the thought that went into this part’s redesign from the folks at Dorman below:
Reviews of the Dorman Upgraded Pentastar Oil Filter Housing
Sure, we could gush on and on, but plenty of Summit Racing customers already have. Here are some of their comments:
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“The part was for a Dodge Charger, and I am not a mechanic, but I dabble. We changed it in under 4 hours and saved myself $1,300. This part doesn’t come with sensors, so if you need them, that’s another part.”
Juan
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“The way it should of come from the factory, a well designed piece made totally out of aluminum.”
Robert
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“Way better than OEM plastic unit, built very nice and came with all the rubber gaskets that are needed.”
Rickey
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“Bought this unit to replace the plastic one from factory, along with the two sensors. Great Upgrade.”
Michael
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Quite a few folks mentioned installing this Dorman upgrade in conjunction with a Baxter oil filter relocation kit. You can learn more about those filter relocation kits from Baxter here.
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