Poor Filter Design

Discussion in 'Challenger SE Engine and Performance Modifications' started by SRT-Tom, Jan 20, 2016.

  1. SRT-Tom

    SRT-Tom Well-Known Member Staff Member Super Moderator Article Writer

    Posts:
    7,061
    Likes Received:
    2,174
    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2011
    Location:
    southern New Jersey
    On the early 3.6 engines, there is a severe design flaw with the oil filter. The cartridge sits in a flimsy plastic "cage" that tends to break with age. Also, the seals can leak.

    Unfortunately, there is no fix and the dealer will charge you $227 for a new unit (complete with the oil cooler). This flaw, however, has been corrected on the new 3.6 engines with their redesigned oil filter units.

    The following is an excellent video illustrating this problem.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjGnEI1HmNY

    For those of you who want to learn more about oil filters, see:

    http://www.synlube.com/oilfilters.htm

    This site states that the advantage of a cartridge oil filter is that it is safer than a "spin-on" filter since it incorporates a re-usable outer housing that is attached to the engine by mounting bolts and does not depend only on the base gasket tension, like a spin-on.

    To quote an excerpt from the article, "If you realize that oil is under pressure ranging from 5 PSI to as much as 100 PSI depending on engine type and design, and that most engines pump oil at rates exceeding a gallon per minute, you can quickly understand that if the integrity of the base gasket is lost, all the oil in the engine will be lost in but few minutes. Result of course is a permanent if not catastrophic engine failure, no matter how good your oil may have been."
     
    Last edited: Jan 20, 2016