Dealer hasn’t been draining my oil cooler

[jroyk]

Whatever happened to the guy on the other forum that was making a door to access the cooler drain plug? Maybe we should let him know about our new forum.

My post above is him. He's registered here and has plans to get in on the "for sale" section, if he hasn't already done so.
You can order on his site or pm JamesU, here.

 

[Av8ing1]

Mine is supposed to arrive Tuesday. James Utz has a website up now.
https://oilcooleraccess.com/
Mods, delete if I've broken a rule. No affiliation.

Thanks for the link, I just ordered one. Seems affordable and easy. Not really sold on the need to drain the oil cooler myself but with easy access, why not. Have yet to do my first oil change. I plan to look at the situation and see if adding a quick drain valve to the cooler might be worthwhile. Really would leave no excuse not to drain it.

 

[Jimmy N.]

Whatever happened to the guy on the other forum that was making a door to access the cooler drain plug? Maybe we should let him know about our new forum.

I was going to make my own, but as little as he charges it wasn't worth it.

 

[Mike L.]

I was going to make my own, but as little as he charges it wasn't worth it.

Just ordered mine. Now if I could convince myself to trust a Fumoto valve with a $17K engine. LOL

 

[Jimmy N.]

Just ordered mine. Now if I could convince myself to trust a Fumoto valve with a $17K engine. LOL

C'mon, Mike. Holding one wrench while turning another isn't that hard. And now I can't remember if it looks like there'd be room for a valve.

Trusting the valve? My Peterbilt came with one, so it has at least 100,000 miles on it. And that engine costs quite a bit more.

 

[Mike L.]

C'mon, Mike. Holding one wrench while turning another isn't that hard. And now I can't remember if it looks like there'd be room for a valve.

Trusting the valve? My Peterbilt came with one, so it has at least 100,000 miles on it. And that engine costs quite a bit more.

No problem twisting wrenches. I build hot rod diesel automatics for a living.

 

[Jungle Cat]

It’s a damn fine thing to change your own oil. I know not everyone is able but if you are that’s the way to go,

 

[Bowtie Guy]

Well, I don't follow the "demanded frequency of oil changes", but when I do change it, I want to do it correctly.
I guess it all depends on what you prefer to worry about.

Me either
If I change my oil in October
Then I store my car for the winter
When I bring it out in April it needs an oil change with zero miles
That won t happen

 

[DaveB]

I have Fumoto valves on all our vehicles. Oil change on any of them is about 15 mins. (motorhome is a bit longer because of the loooong skinny funnel I have to use to reach the invisible engine)

I fully intend to put two Fumoto valves on the Kitty.

 

[parttimer]

I go to a Chevy dealer for my oil changes, odds are, mine has never been drained. When I change it myself, still don't drain it. I think leaving 2% of the old oil in there isn't going to make my engine explode.

 

[Jimmy N.]

I think leaving 2% of the old oil in there isn't going to make my engine explode.

I agree, it won't. If only there was a way to get the debris out of the cooler without losing that old oil in the process.

 

[OHRedeye]

My dealer viper tech did not know the Hell Critter has 2 fuel pumps.

Umm.. it doesn’t unless I’m missing something. If you have a HC Redeye, Yes you have Two fuel pumps. Correct me if I’m wrong.

 

[motorhead]

I think leaving 2% of the old oil in there isn't going to make my engine explode.

And if it does you have bigger issues to worry about, same if the oil cooler was full of contaminants; because all of that oil was circulating 2 minutes before you pulled the drain plug and your engine was just peachy with the other 98%.

 

[jroyk]

There's a long thread going at BITOG on whether or not to prefill oil filters. I guess there's some evidence that oil that's been through the oil filter is cleaner (fewer particles) than the new oil in the bottle. So, some are saying it's safer not to prefill. If that's true, draining the oil cooler isn't gaining much.

 

[Jimmy N.]

If that's true, draining the oil cooler isn't gaining much.

It's not likely that the new oil in the bottle has engine wear particles in it. But the oil cooler does.
Again, it's not the small amount of oil that's left in the cooler, it's the debris that should be removed from that low spot in the system.

It is possible that Dodge had a crap load of drain assemblies left over and decided to get rid of them by installing them on Challengers. Or, they could be there for a better reason.

 

[Skrelnik]

these are one of the reasons that I will NOT let the dealer touch my car unless it is warranty work. my first hellcat which was the 1st MY(2015) f'n dealer forgot to put the oilcap back! you talk about losing your mind! anywho i go to a fairly local mopar shop now for all and any work. The dealerships at least in the greater NYC region have not a clue.

I'm in Connecticut and there is no way I would let any dealership near me touch my Cat. The Dodge/Jeep guys are pathetic and I have had very little positive experiences at any dealership service center in my area.

I'm surprised that you would let a dealership do the warranty work. I would let them diagnose it, at most, then buy the parts and have my real mechanic do the work. I called FCA to confirm this was okay, and they said yes, but I would have to come out of pocket and wait for a reimbursement check.

Dealerships should employ specialty mechanics so enthusiasts can pay a premium for a higher end mechanic rather than forcing us to either cringe everytime we walk into a dealerships service center, or lose us a customer, which in my case they have, and my local Indy gets all the work.

 

[Dancap3286]

I'm in Connecticut and there is no way I would let any dealership near me touch my Cat. The Dodge/Jeep guys are pathetic and I have had very little positive experiences at any dealership service center in my area.

I'm surprised that you would let a dealership do the warranty work. I would let them diagnose it, at most, then buy the parts and have my real mechanic do the work. I called FCA to confirm this was okay, and they said yes, but I would have to come out of pocket and wait for a reimbursement check.

Dealerships should employ specialty mechanics so enthusiasts can pay a premium for a higher end mechanic rather than forcing us to either cringe everytime we walk into a dealerships service center, or lose us a customer, which in my case they have, and my local Indy gets all the work.

I didn’t know you could do that. From now on i’ll
Do that instead so the
Dealer never has to touch my car.

 

[Mean Cat]

Was at the dealer getting my oil changed and walked back to the service bay . The kid that was changing it said he was done and about to put the under carriage plate back on . We joked and talked about how he is the one that always changes my oil . I then asked him if he drained my oil cooler and he said what oil cooler !!! I said for the engine oil he said I didn’t know it has one and went in and talked to a SRT tech and came back and said well it does and took down more of the under carriage plates and drained what looked like about a half quart . Needless to say I was pissed because I realized he had never done this before !! I was so mad I just left out of fear of someone saying the wrong thing to me and snapping and going to jail !! When I cooled off I called the service manager and he said let me call you back ! The next day he called and said he fired both oil change techs and was going to talk to the owner of the dealership about how he could make this right with me . I’m waiting on his return call by this Thursday with their response as to how to deal with this ! I have reached out to Dodge about this and am waiting on their response also !!!

Them not draining oil cooler - doesn't surprise me , that why I do it myself !

 

[45-70govt]

Just ordered mine. Now if I could convince myself to trust a Fumoto valve with a $17K engine. LOL

I agree with you on trusting a Fumoto valve to not drain the life blood out of my kitty. Strange thing is I have no problem at all jumping in my plane and flying at night or in the weather knowing full well Mr. Lycoming decided that I should have a very similar valve to drain the oil on an aircraft engine. Loosing the engine while flying----Il risk it. Locking up my Hellcat engine--- oh hell no!

 

[Skrelnik]

Them not draining oil cooler - doesn't surprise me , that why I do it myself !

Yeah, I wouldn't let a dealership's employee anywhere near my car. When I purchased an oil filter from the dealership I didn't even drive the hellcat to the dealership, felt like bad karma. When I got home from purchasing the oil filter I noticed it was full of dust. The dealership didn't even give me a box, it was just the filter that was probably sitting on a shelf for years.

I then ordered a 2-pack from HHP, which I highly suggest, scored the correct SRT oil from NAPA, went to my mechanics shop and we lifted the Hellcat and proceeded to do a proper oil change. He was unaware of the secondary oil filter drain plug, but I showed him and he was caught off guard. We drained the 1/2 quart or so and refilled with 7 quarts.

https://highhorseperformance.com/cart.php?suggest=4b86e068-f170-4fa5-8774-9867c00a52b5

$25 and a 12-pack.