Can someone tell me why this happened? According to my mechanic the oil cooling system failed and started flooding into my radiator. Just had my oil changed the day before at Express Oil Change. They claim they had nothing to do with it and that that they notated on my paperwork that when I came in there was no oil on the dipstick. They never said anything to me about that and I still am scratching my head how I could have been driving it with no notification from my truck that I was low on oil. Somehow because they claimed there was no oil, they are not liable. How can a 74,000 mile engine do this when I do my due diligence to get my oil changed when it is called for? Now I’m on the hook for a new engine replacement that is gonna cost me between $11,000 and $16,000 depending on all the damage of what happened.
In the quest for ever-higher levels of performance and efficiency from internal combustion engines,
some are now being built with oil heat exchangers to help thinner oil work with tighter bearing clearances. A by-product of this is that a heat exchanger failure can allow lubricating oil to leak into the lower pressure cooling fluid system. At the same time, the coolant and oil level sensing systems still consist of dipsticks and an operator. If the owner/operator fails to notice rising coolant level or falling oil level pretty quick, permanent engine damage is likely.
That's about as diplomatic as I can put it. This ain't your daddy's Dodge truck. And it's not confined to a single brand or model. You can only push machinery so hard.
Liability? The oil change place probably did nothing wrong. If the heat exchanger is considered part of the drivetrain, Stallantis' warranty might apply.
You have my sympathy, and I'm watching every quirk and twitch of mine with a critical eye.
On side notes, I wonder a couple things:
Are the heat exchangers made offshore?
Could the owners complaining about anti-freeze smell have something going on?