It doesn't get any easier than this. Changing the oil in our 2012 Jeep Wrangler requires no floor jack, no jackstands -- just my trusty drain pan, a funnel, and a wrench each for the drain plug and oil filter.
This is a sub ten minute job if you're not taking pictures. Next time I bet I can do it in five.
Step One: You know the drill; crawl under, position pan, lefty loosey, drain plug out, glug glug. If you can avoid dropping the drain plug into the pan you won't even need any gloves.
And this drain plug has a rubber seal built in to it, so there's no washer to lose -- or replace.
Even with stock tires a jack would be unnecessary, but the extra 2 inches of ground clearance provided by the 33-inch BFG Mud Terrain tires made it a no-brainer -- literally.
It's time to go topside once the oil is out because the oil filter isn't down here.
That's because the Jeep's new 3.6-liter V6 uses a cartridge oil filter, and it's hiding under that engine cover. The cover pulls up and off with no tools.
There it is, right on top and right in the middle of the vee.
The long ratchet is overkill, but the only 15/16-inch socket I have is 1/2-inch drive. At least the flexible ratchet handle makes for good swing clearance, but an extension would do the same.
The pressure from a single finger is enough to loosen the cap because it's not something that has to be uber tight. The o-ring is on the barrel, as we'll soon see -- it's not a crush seal like you see on regular oil filters.
The filter comes straight out with the cap because the two are snapped together. Hold it here for a few seconds so the majority of the drippings fall back into the housing. You'll still want a rag, though.
I bought a new filter at the Jeep dealer, but they're available most anywhere. Separate the oil filter from the cap by pulling hard enough to overcome the snap-together clip.
A new o-ring comes with the filter. Pull off the old and put on the new. A small flat-blade screwdriver may help.
Here you can see how the o-ring seals on the side. Tightness has nothing much do with it in a design such as this -- as long as you have the cap screwed in all the way.
The end that goes in the cap is the end with the snap-in fingers. Push until they click into place.
All set to go back in.
Lower it in the housing and spin it by hand to engage the threads. At some point you'll switch to your 15/16-inch socket to screw it in the rest of the way.
You'll feel a step up in resistance as the o-ring starts to make contact but at that point you'll still see daylight between the housing and the lip of the cap. You'll keep going a turn or so past this point until the cap truly bottoms out. Resist the temptation to crank it down super tight. Snug with a extra tweak is all we're going for.
For this reason a 3/8-inch drive standard-length ratchet is a better choice than the monster I used, but even with one of those it's best to choke up to prevent over-tightening.
Don't forget to reinstall the drain plug down below before you start adding six quarts of your favorite 5W-30 motor oil. Yeah, it takes six, not five. A Jeep's oil pan is extra deep so the oil pickup will continue to operate with the truck heeled over at odd angles.
Dan Edmunds, Director of Vehicle Testing @ 7,187 miles
thecardoc3 says:
03:01 AM, 01/ 9/12
There is always some room for a little variance from the proceedure but in practice it's best to remove the filter first as it traps almost 1/2 a quart of oil insde the assembly that drains down once it is removed, and then go ahead and remove the drain plug. This is true of all of the cartridge style oil filters we see today. If the owner drains the pan, reinstalls the drain plug, and then goes to service the filter they will leave that half a quart of oil in the engine and end up over filling it if they then simply add the six quarts that it calls for.
A second issue that is very critical is the tightening of the oil filter cap. It is embossed with the torque spec for a reason. Don't be in such a rush to do this service that you fail to grab a torque wrench and risk tightening this incorrectly. The spec is 25.6 N/M or about 18 ft/lbs.
Lastly and most importantly today many manufacturers require that the oils used meet their specific requirements that often exceed API and ILSAC ratings. Here in the US that means the oil must also carry the MS 6395 R Chrysler specification while in countries that follow the European Oil Catagories an ACEA C3 with Mercedes 229.31 or 229.51 is required.
travelingman79 says:
03:10 AM, 01/ 9/12
Thanks for sharing this. Would like to see these done on more vehicles in the LT fleet.
Kudos to Chrysler for going with a top-mounted cartridge filter for the Pentastar. I wish more manufacturers would use top-mounted filters to facilitate oil changes that, with the use of a pump to retrieve the used oil via the dipstick, can be done without going under the vehicle at all. Clearly not an issue on the Wrangler, but it's nice when you can do that for other vehicles with less generous ground clearance. I noticed in the photos of the engines on the new ATS, GM has gone with a bottom-mounted filter, changing what they'd done with recent ecotec 4s.
joefrompa says:
04:18 AM, 01/ 9/12
1. That oil filter looks to be in great shape for a cartridge. Most of the cartridges I've seen, even after just 5k miles, are wavy from the pleats losing shape.
2. What oil will you be using? I'm a big fan of higher viscosity quality synthetics for off-road vehicles (who idle alot thus accumulating fuel, and who operate high load situations often at peak operating temp). I like M1 15w50, but there's plenty of 5w40 and 10w40 oils that make me pick as well.
P.s. for those who will claim it "recommends" a lower viscosity. Pfft. It "recommends" a lower viscosity for a reason - and that reason isn't off-roading longevity. Furthermore, crack open your vehicle manual sometime. Everytime up to and including 20w50 is "recommended" based upon ambient conditions.
jasond52 says:
05:23 AM, 01/ 9/12
I just bought a PELA 6000 oil sucker for my next oil change on my new Miata...anyone have any experience with the suckers? Still have to go under to get at the filter, though...
actualsize says:
06:41 AM, 01/ 9/12
@thecardoc3: I start and end with the drain plug, doing the filter change in between. Perhaps I wasn't clear on that point. This post was, after all, all about the unique filter on the new Jeep engine.
engineear says:
07:30 AM, 01/ 9/12
"I just bought a PELA 6000 oil sucker for my next oil change on my new Miata...anyone have any experience with the suckers?"
Yes! I have a Mighty-vac and it works great with my 2008 T5 Volvo C-30. The cartridge filter is on top, as in the Jeep. It takes 10-15 minutes to suck EVERY bit of oil out..I mean EVERY drop. I no longer have to get under the car to remove the protective cover, remove the plug, install new crush washer, get oil on hands...yada. Just stick the plastic tube from the vacuum pump into the oil dipstick tube, pump a few times and oil is sucked out into the 3 gallon reservoir which I then take to the parts store for recycling...couldn't be easier. You will have to re-pump a few times to keep the vacuum going but once you hear that slurpy sucking sound, like trying to get all that milkshake out of the cup, you know you're close to being done! Wish I knew of this years ago, anything to keep from getting under a car. It SUCKS! I mean... It Works! PLUS...I changed the tranny fluid in my 2000 Accord with this...same principle...insert tube, pump the handle, suck out the bad juju.
sxty8stang says:
08:32 AM, 01/ 9/12
To chime in with what thecardoc3 said, be cautious of the correct torque settings on your oil drain plug too. I'd always been taught to tighten that thing down pretty hard, but then I saw that the correct torque setting on my Mustang is 16 lb/ft. That's not much and I know I was always cranking it down much harder than that, potentially doing damage to the oil pan threads, which are a giant pain to ever fix.
dinobot666 says:
08:57 AM, 01/ 9/12
Looks like a pretty slick system. It reminds me of changing the spark plugs on my old Jeep Comanche. I could change them in about 10 minutes, if I was taking my time.
As a word of caution, even with the handbrake on and the vehicle in gear, it's always best to block your wheels when working under a vehicle with a manual transmission, especially on a sloped driveway.
fundango says:
09:09 AM, 01/ 9/12
Must be nice being able to change the oil without jacking the car up. Should make transmission and differential oil changes a snap as well.
turbospark says:
09:10 AM, 01/ 9/12
That looks basically identical to the housing on my Benz, and it's something I have exactly zero problem with them borrowing!
I wonder if you can get a nice fleece oil filter that's the right size for this application. They hold up for 10,000+ miles with no problem in my cars.
onkeludo says:
10:16 AM, 01/ 9/12
"To chime in with what thecardoc3 said, be cautious of the correct torque settings on your oil drain plug too. I'd always been taught to tighten that thing down pretty hard"
This is from the pre-crush-washer-or-o-ring days. Do this to an aluminum pan or most any system that uses a copper washer, o-ring or other sealing device and you are asking for trouble.
Most European cars have been between 15-20 lb/ft since the '80's and many a stripped pan boss has been accomplished when the quick oil change place did not have the correct size copper washer and tried to re-use the one already on the car (possible once or twice but after that it is usually toast).
BMW's used a cartridge filter since way-back (again '70's or '80's) and most oil change places would not touch them. The access was in the pan and required replacing the o-ring every time. That o-ring could be too finicky for the ham-fisted and a few engines were purchased.
three40duster says:
10:19 AM, 01/ 9/12
Actually, joefrompa, my Ram gives you one choice of oil. 5w30. My 05 Dakota gave me 1 choice of oil weight...5w30. Charger...5w20. Compass, 5w20.
So no, the weight they design the motor for is the one you should be using, not assuming that they spent tens of millions of dollars designing a motor to fail and pay warranty claims (because every company likes that!). Higher viscosity oil won't always get into the spots it needs to with the overly tight clearances they use today. Stop living in the past. When I worked @ Advance all through college I saw it every day when people would use 20w50 in a brand new car and wonder why their gas mileage was terrible then argue to high heaven that that is what their car called for.
The reason they specify an oil is because the tolerances and the oil pump were designed for specific weights. And I have seen very few cars short of German cars in the last 10 years that allow for 20w50 to be used. Yeah, the M3 used to have a spec for 10w60, and there are some that use 0w40 (SRT8s, among others), but the vast majority of regular every day run abouts use between 0w20 and 5w30. Hardly anything uses an oil with a cold viscosity over 10, and even fewer use a warm viscosity over 30.
fordson1 says:
10:32 AM, 01/ 9/12
That's pretty easy, but I have it beat. My 2011 GTI has the filter on top, too - a spin-on filter rather than a cartridge, so that removes a couple of steps - and it's not under the engine cover. It's closer to the front of the engine, too, and any oil filter known to man will remove it. It has a drain-back valve, and does not drip all over the place. I have never timed it, but I'm sure I could open the hood, remove the filter, replace with new filter and close the hood in under 60 seconds.
Underneath, the drain hole is closer to the right side of the car, and since I installed a Fumoto drain valve, I have no worries about overtightening the plug when reinstalling, and the valve locks closed but required no tools to operate. You lie down next to the right front tire, slide the drain pan underneath, flip the valve open and let it drain. Flip it closed when done draining and fill up - you're done.
I don't like to set speed records for the total time of the change, since I like to let it all drain out, but there are other things to do while you're waiting for the drips to stop.
sxty8stang says:
01:03 PM, 01/ 9/12
+1 to what three40duster said. This is the single subject that causes the most silly forum arguments. Unless you've made serious modifications to your motor or are running it at WOT for hours at a time (i.e. racing), use the manufacturer's recommended oil weight. Manufacturers are not in the business of replacing failed motors under warranty and they've all tested extensively to find a weight that works best for both durability and mileage. For Ford, that's 5W-20 semi-synthetic now.
cworley says:
02:23 PM, 01/ 9/12
Toyota could learn a thing or two about oil changes from this design. Here is looking at you 2008+ Highlander, what a hot mess - literally.
desmolicious says:
04:33 PM, 01/ 9/12
Thanks for posting this.
Was this the first oil change the Jeep had (sorry if I missed the post if it wasn't)?
I took my 2012 in early (under 1K miles) as I had a coupon from the dealership for a free oil change, but the service manager strongly opposed doing it as he said Jeep filled it with a break in oil and the first change should not be done until 3K miles.
Does this sound right?
Also.. was there a skid plate in the way hindering drain plug access? Mine is a Rubicon so I'm not sure if would be different.
carchatter1 says:
09:25 PM, 01/10/12
"And this drain plug has a rubber seal built in to it, so there's no washer to lose -- or replace."
Dan,
Thank you for spelling "lose" correctly. It's a pet peeve of mine that everyone seems to think it's spelled "loose". Rant over.