I install two of these a week. We have used the updated OEMs and recently the Dormans. It will take me an entire lifetime for me to like Dorman and their products but the last twenty oil coolers have been Dorman and we have not yet had one come back. That being said, some of those we received had terrible casting quality and we warrantied them before we even installed them. Regardless, the Dorman aluminum strategy is better than OEM plastic garbage any day.
I installed the Dorman Oil Cooler assembly in my 2015 Dodge Grand Caravan in January 2024. The van had 90,000 miles on it and had developed an oil leak from the cooler. I also noticed that the unit I was replacing may not have been the original as there were signs someone else had done repairs. We've driven over 14,000 miles so far this year including a 2300 mile road trip with no signs of failure. Highly recommend!
Eventually the seals will wear out on dormans like they do on Mopar units. The main advantage of the Dorman is, being aluminum, some dope who gorilla tightens the filter cap down can’t crack the housing.
@@tdz69 100% agree. As long as the compression seal uses rubber that is in constant contact with the hot engine body, it will leak regardless. Other people who used Dorman reported leaking as well. There is no permanent solution for this totally stupid design no other company uses.
Just installed a Dorman on my 2012 Chrysler Town and country, leaked immediately. I re did the install and put brand new gaskets in....was good for about a week and then started leaking oil and filling again. I'm lost.
@@swoopt22 Sorry to hear that but I have same experience, although in my case, I simply replaced the gaskets only, knowing that aluminum cooler is not going to help any. The leak is very tiny so I stuffed piece of paper towel to suck up the leak and I have to keep doing this until I redo the gaskets. But make sure your leak is not from the residual oil before panicking. In my case, I still see drops after a few weeks but getting smaller and smaller.
I purchased the Dorman 926-959 oil filter/oil cooler assembly two months ago and I’m very satisfied with the quality of the part other than casting flash that I went ahead and filed off with a small file. I’m going to carefully install this on the Pentastar engine in my lower mileage ‘12 Chrysler 200 Touring convertible. Chrysler made a very poor choice by having this made of plastic considering where it is mounted on the engine. My convertible is in very good condition and just past the twelfth anniversary of its build date. It has 74,900 miles currently.
My original unit failed the orings. After watching several install videos, I also have to wonder about installation errors on repairs being a cause of failure.
Yes it will fail regardless of aluminum or plastic because of o rings. As long as the compression seal uses rubber that is in constant contact with the hot engine body, it will leak regardless because the rubber will flatten and harden due to heat from the engine. There is no permanent solution for this idiotic design that gives American engineering a bad name.
Most people reuse the sensors when they install a new cooler. This is what usually fails, not the replacement cooler. Yes, aftermarket coolers fail prematurely, but not as often as the old sensors that were transferred to the new cooler.
I want to buy one for my ‘19 minivan because it’s made of aluminum rather than plastic, but a lot of folks in the Chrysler Pacifica forums are complaining of miss match holes and rough surface finish as well as out of spec ID sizes.. I’m not sure..
Lol that's Dorman in a nutshell friend. Good ideas, poorly executed. They are trying really hard lately to clean up their reputation, but actions speak louder than words.
this is my second install the aluminum dorman first one was plastic oone year later im doing another one due to same problem. should i go back to plastic ?
The problem with plastic is HEAT, pentastar engine come with a 200 degree thermostat from factory, replace that thermostat to a 170° thermostat, you need to replace the factory housing to a v8 housing, bolt like factory housing.
I like Dorman and I have used their products before, however, for this one I wish the Dorman oil housing comes with pre-installed sensors. These sensors are hard to swap and need to be resealed if you’re lucky to get them off the old part without breaking them. Dorman does not see to provide sealing along the part for the sensors. The Dorman oil filter/coolant housings are pricey and yet without sensors provided, while multiple other brands have pre-installed sensors at a fraction of dorman’s price. This is the main thing holding me from using Dorman in this particular fix.
I bought this because it's USA made. After install so far so good.
Even the genuine parts is USA made....
I install two of these a week. We have used the updated OEMs and recently the Dormans. It will take me an entire lifetime for me to like Dorman and their products but the last twenty oil coolers have been Dorman and we have not yet had one come back. That being said, some of those we received had terrible casting quality and we warrantied them before we even installed them. Regardless, the Dorman aluminum strategy is better than OEM plastic garbage any day.
I installed the Dorman Oil Cooler assembly in my 2015 Dodge Grand Caravan in January 2024. The van had 90,000 miles on it and had developed an oil leak from the cooler. I also noticed that the unit I was replacing may not have been the original as there were signs someone else had done repairs. We've driven over 14,000 miles so far this year including a 2300 mile road trip with no signs of failure. Highly recommend!
Just replaced this on my 16 charger. Only have 55,000 on my charger and the housing already leaking very glad I upgraded with this part
Eventually the seals will wear out on dormans like they do on Mopar units. The main advantage of the Dorman is, being aluminum, some dope who gorilla tightens the filter cap down can’t crack the housing.
@@tdz69 100% agree. As long as the compression seal uses rubber that is in constant contact with the hot engine body, it will leak regardless. Other people who used Dorman reported leaking as well. There is no permanent solution for this totally stupid design no other company uses.
Just installed a Dorman on my 2012 Chrysler Town and country, leaked immediately. I re did the install and put brand new gaskets in....was good for about a week and then started leaking oil and filling again. I'm lost.
@@swoopt22 Sorry to hear that but I have same experience, although in my case, I simply replaced the gaskets only, knowing that aluminum cooler is not going to help any. The leak is very tiny so I stuffed piece of paper towel to suck up the leak and I have to keep doing this until I redo the gaskets. But make sure your leak is not from the residual oil before panicking. In my case, I still see drops after a few weeks but getting smaller and smaller.
I purchased the Dorman 926-959 oil filter/oil cooler assembly two months ago and I’m very satisfied with the quality of the part other than casting flash that I went ahead and filed off with a small file. I’m going to carefully install this on the Pentastar engine in my lower mileage ‘12 Chrysler 200 Touring convertible. Chrysler made a very poor choice by having this made of plastic considering where it is mounted on the engine. My convertible is in very good condition and just past the twelfth anniversary of its build date. It has 74,900 miles currently.
My original unit failed the orings. After watching several install videos, I also have to wonder about installation errors on repairs being a cause of failure.
Great now do the upper and lower intake manifold aluminum replacements.
Thanks Dorman this oil cooler assembly is handy i appreciate the gaskets an filter too right on
Is this available for the newest generation of Pentastar engines?
does this end up being a for once and all fix? or do these still fail eventually? do the seals still fail ? from overheating?
year later im putting in another one
Yes it will fail regardless of aluminum or plastic because of o rings. As long as the compression seal uses rubber that is in constant contact with the hot engine body, it will leak regardless because the rubber will flatten and harden due to heat from the engine. There is no permanent solution for this idiotic design that gives American engineering a bad name.
@@billywiggins5181same here. BLAH
Most people reuse the sensors when they install a new cooler. This is what usually fails, not the replacement cooler. Yes, aftermarket coolers fail prematurely, but not as often as the old sensors that were transferred to the new cooler.
trust me, just get the Dorman, I bought an OE replacement made of plastic and it looks like it failed so I have to redo this repair.
I want to buy one for my ‘19 minivan because it’s made of aluminum rather than plastic, but a lot of folks in the Chrysler Pacifica forums are complaining of miss match holes and rough surface finish as well as out of spec ID sizes.. I’m not sure..
Hi Mike! We engineer to be better than the OE and we stand behind it with our warranty policy.
Lol that's Dorman in a nutshell friend. Good ideas, poorly executed. They are trying really hard lately to clean up their reputation, but actions speak louder than words.
It seems like the oil bypass the heat exchanger.
Why doesn't Stalantis install something better from the factory?
this is my second install the aluminum dorman first one was plastic oone year later im doing another one due to same problem. should i go back to plastic ?
My Dorman started seeping oil again just after 5k miles. Just ordered a new OEM one.
The problem with plastic is HEAT, pentastar engine come with a 200 degree thermostat from factory, replace that thermostat to a 170° thermostat, you need to replace the factory housing to a v8 housing, bolt like factory housing.
I bought this but it was to late, my top end got eat because of the oil fill cooler failure
What got eaten up????
On my gladiator
I like Dorman and I have used their products before, however, for this one I wish the Dorman oil housing comes with pre-installed sensors. These sensors are hard to swap and need to be resealed if you’re lucky to get them off the old part without breaking them. Dorman does not see to provide sealing along the part for the sensors. The Dorman oil filter/coolant housings are pricey and yet without sensors provided, while multiple other brands have pre-installed sensors at a fraction of dorman’s price. This is the main thing holding me from using Dorman in this particular fix.