Dealer hasn’t been draining my oil cooler

[hellno]

wait I thought I was an srt tech ??? I do all the work on my hellcat except the tuning

 

[Hemiride]

Imo like others have said it's not really that big a deal
My wife's Camry calls for the oil to be changed every 10,000 miles. So what I'm saying is a little oil left in the cooler gets deluted by the new oil and it won't hurt anything.
I have read that through testing they have determined that old / used oil lubricates better than new oil.

 

[Jimmy N.]

So what I'm saying is a little oil left in the cooler gets deluted by the new oil and it won't hurt anything.

I don't really care about the amount of oil being left in the cooler. But I do want to get rid of the debris that most likely has settled in the low spot (the drain).

 

[Hemiride]

I don't really care about the amount of oil being left in the cooler. But I do want to get rid of the debris that most likely has settled in the low spot (the drain).

I get that. But the low spot would be the oil pan.

 

[Usmc341]

Eye ball judgement on what came out I was shocked to see what looked like a half quart. But am sure isn’t wasn’t that much ! I disagree with you tho on not draining the oil cooler as I want to try and get all of the old oil I can out when changing the oil . The tech came back and said Dodge recommends draining the oil cooler for 5-10 minutes. But to each his own !!

I know guys who let their cars drain half a day to get every last drop out. Honestly I have better things to do. My 13 GT500 engine had an oil cooler with no drain. Ford just loaded an extra half qt at the factory and was done with it. Like you say to each his own but this is my third Hellcat and never drained the oil cooler once.

 

[Hemiride]

To be honest I never drained the oil cooler on my challenger set. And I have never drained the oil cooler on my hellcat either. I just feel it's necessary if you keep the oil changed at regular intervals. I change my own oil and filter every 3000 miles.

 

[Jimmy N.]

I get that. But the low spot would be the oil pan.

There can be several low spots in a system. It has nothing to do with how high or low it is situated, but if it can drain to the lowest spot or not.

In this case there's a low spot in the oil cooler, too. Thankfully Dodge gave us an easy way to get rid of what gets stuck there by incorporating a drain plug.

 

[Greengohellcat]

Eye ball judgement on what came out I was shocked to see what looked like a half quart. But am sure isn’t wasn’t that much ! I disagree with you tho on not draining the oil cooler as I want to try and get all of the old oil I can out when changing the oil . The tech came back and said Dodge recommends draining the oil cooler for 5-10 minutes. But to each his own !!

Funny you mention this; last oil change my regular oil-change buddy opened the cooler plug and was surprised how much gushed out.
I was thinking the exact same thing at the time. This time it almost came out with the same pressure like the oil pan drain. Of course, this pressure and volume quickly tapered off as there is not 6+ quarts behind it. Definitely more came out this time than any previous oil change.

 

[Jimmy N.]

Next time I'll try pulling the cooler's plug right after the pan's. So far I've done pan, filter, and then the cooler.
More oil coming out from the cooler should flush it out better.

 

[motorhead]

With the demanded frequency of oil changes (OCI) in these things the matter is relatively benign, especially considering what the TBN (https://www.amsoil.com/newsstand/articles/what-is-total-base-number/), VOA (https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2961485), and UOA (https://www.hellcat.org/threads/engine-oil-analysis.6921/page-2) have shown.

Moot. All moot. Stop trying to find meaningless shit to worry about - just drive your cars and change your oil.

 

[Jimmy N.]

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.

 

[motorhead]

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.

Even a normal 5000-6000 mile OCI isn't going to introduce enough of an issue (in draining the oil cooler) to justify the degree of mental paralysis folks get themselves sucked into over this nonsense.

 

[Jimmy N.]

True, it shouldn't be an issue at all. Dodge put a drain there because it should be used. Quite simple, really.

 

[Chevyave]

I can't imagine being a service department and having to deal with many of the owners of these cars. These are not 200-300K exotic cars with technicians wearing lab coats. My take is if you want to be that anal retentive about your car you have that right, but then put the wrench in your hand and do it yourself.

 

[Usmc341]

There can be several low spots in a system. It has nothing to do with how high or low it is situated, but if it can drain to the lowest spot or not.

In this case there's a low spot in the oil cooler, too. Thankfully Dodge gave us an easy way to get rid of what gets stuck there by incorporating a drain plug.

Would have been nice to include an access panel in the cover. How hard could that be?

 

[04Ram2500Hemi]

I’ve been trusting my local Dodge/Ram service department with my vehicles since 2004. I make it a point to know the service reps at the desk, and call them by name when I walk in (they know me by name as well). I always take my vehicle (truck or car) in first thing on a Saturday to beat the rush. They always remind me the Hellcat takes at least an hour because the extra work that goes into it (they are very detailed). I hear horror stories about different service departments, and I’m thankful for my local guys. I refuse to buy a Ford because of the stories coming out of that service department!

 

[Jimmy N.]

These are not 200-300K exotic cars with technicians wearing lab coats. My take is if you want to be that anal retentive about your car you have that right, but then put the wrench in your hand and do it yourself.

Exactly, since they're very affordable cars, we shouldn't above grabbing some tools ourselves and doing the job right.
Of course, if it's "anal retentive" to perform the job according to the instructions, then maybe spending time in a safe zone at the dealer is a better option after all.

 

[Jimmy N.]

Would have been nice to include an access panel in the cover. How hard could that be?

I ordered my access panel from James Unz the other day. Wasn't hard at all.
But I'll still remove the forward panel every now and then, as it allows taking a look at everything it hides.

 

[jroyk]

I ordered my access panel from James Unz the other day. Wasn't hard at all.
But I'll still remove the forward panel every now and then, as it allows taking a look at everything it hides.

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.

 

[Mike L.]

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.