The crew celebrates episode 200 by tackling the “plastic under your Jeep’s hood” debate, tracing Jeep’s history of plastic failures from CJ-era valve covers and radiator tanks to TJ/JK cooling and modern oil coolers. They argue plastic isn’t automatically the enemy—often the real culprits are seals, over-tightening, service practices, and design revisions across years. A big focus is 2011–2024 oil cooler assemblies, why aluminum upgrades don’t always fix leaks, and how Mopar’s repeated seal redesigns matter more than material headlines. They also discuss plastic intake components, heat management, and connector wear.
Modern Jeeps use more plastic under the hood than ever before—and a lot of people hate it. But is it actually a problem? In this episode, we break down why manufacturers use plastic components in the engine bay, what they’re designed to handle, and where they actually fail (if they do). Not all plastic is created equal, and not all of it is a weak point.
Thanks for listening, give us a review and check us out on YouTube -SFJ4x4 and visit our website to grab some great gear or products for your Jeep, SFJ4x4.com. Don't forget, you can email [email protected] for special content requests, blind react videos, suggestions, special guests, or general questions. Check out our Patreon patreon.com/ISpeakJeep
"In my oversized four-wheel drive Jeep
A Jeep podcast starring industry experts"
Four-wheel drive powers all four wheels, which helps the car grip better when the road is slippery or uneven. It’s especially useful for off-roading.
Four-wheel drive (4x4) means power is sent to all four wheels, improving traction on loose surfaces like dirt, snow, and rocks. Many Jeep models use 4x4 systems designed for low-speed control and off-road climbing.
"In my oversized four-wheel drive Jeep
A Jeep podcast starring industry experts"
“4x4” just means the vehicle can drive all four wheels. That helps it handle rough or slippery terrain better.
“4x4” is shorthand for four-wheel drive, emphasizing that traction is available at all four wheels. It’s commonly used in off-road communities to distinguish from two-wheel-drive vehicles.
"In my oversized four-wheel drive Jeep
A Jeep podcast starring industry experts"
Jeep is a car brand that makes vehicles built for off-roading. When people say “Jeep” in a podcast, they usually mean the brand’s 4x4 models and how their parts work.
Jeep is a U.S. automaker best known for rugged 4x4 vehicles and off-road capability. In enthusiast circles, “Jeep” often refers to both the brand and the specific platform/parts ecosystem used across models.
"Yes specifically Griffin and Mishimoto And I'll continue to shout that from the rooftops"
Mishimoto makes aftermarket cooling upgrades, like radiators. The hosts are talking about how the results didn’t match what they expected.
Mishimoto is a well-known aftermarket brand for cooling upgrades, including radiators, intercoolers, and coolant-related components. The episode’s framing suggests the hosts have strong opinions about what they were promised versus what they experienced with these cooling products.
"Yes specifically Griffin and Mishimoto And I'll continue to shout that from the rooftops"
Griffin is a company that makes aftermarket cooling parts, like radiators. People choose brands like this when they want better cooling than the original equipment.
Griffin is an aftermarket cooling-parts brand best known for performance radiators and related cooling components. In enthusiast circles, people often compare Griffin’s radiator designs and fitment versus other brands when chasing better cooling or reliability.
"First, A
Second
How many fasteners should a valve cover have
On it
Not two"
Fasteners are the bolts that hold the valve cover in place. If there aren’t enough of them, or they’re placed poorly, the cover can sit unevenly and cause leaks or damage.
Fasteners are the bolts/screws that hold components together. For a valve cover, the number and placement of fasteners matters because it controls how evenly clamping force is distributed—especially around areas that need reinforcement to prevent leaks or cracking.
"[623.3s] It was the 80's
[624.8s] You didn't have the interwebs
[626.0s] And the supercomputers in your pocket"
“Interwebs” just means the internet. The speaker is saying that in the 1980s you couldn’t easily search for and order parts online.
“Interwebs” is a casual reference to the internet, used here to highlight how online parts lookup and ordering didn’t exist in the same way in the 1980s. That matters because sourcing discontinued or niche components (like certain plastic caps) could be extremely difficult.
"I did have a Radiator I remember where I was The day mine exploded"
The radiator is part of the cooling system. It helps keep the engine from getting too hot by cooling the liquid that circulates through the engine.
The radiator is the heat exchanger that helps cool the engine by transferring heat from the coolant to airflow. If it fails or becomes clogged, the engine can overheat quickly, sometimes leading to dramatic steam events.
"And I thought What in the heck was that And then steam started coming out of the hood"
If you see steam under the hood, it often means the cooling liquid is getting too hot and boiling. That usually points to a problem in the cooling system.
Steam coming out of the hood is a common sign of coolant boiling due to overheating, often from a cooling system leak or component failure. In this context, it follows the mention of a radiator, suggesting a cooling system failure event.
"[792.5s] Cladding
[795.6s] There's plenty in your life
[798.0s] That is plastic that you don't think about"
Cladding is the protective trim on the outside of the vehicle. It’s often plastic and helps shield parts from dirt, rocks, and everyday wear.
Cladding refers to exterior trim panels—often plastic or composite—that cover and protect areas like wheel arches, lower body sections, or engine-bay components. It’s commonly used to reduce damage from road debris and to give the vehicle a finished look.
"[1007.0s] So anyways this is now
[1008.5s] We get an oil cooler
[1009.3s] If you didn't understand folks"
An oil cooler is like a little radiator for your engine oil. It helps keep the oil from getting too hot, which is important for engine protection.
An oil cooler is a heat exchanger that helps remove heat from engine oil (often by routing oil through a small radiator-like unit). Keeping oil temperatures under control helps protect oil viscosity and can extend engine component life, especially under towing or off-road stress.
"[1034.0s] Because as you have already outlined
[1036.5s] We have valve covers
[1037.3s] And we do have upper manifolds"
Valve covers are the covers on top of the engine that help keep oil from leaking out. They also protect the parts under them and use a gasket to seal properly.
Valve covers are the housings that sit on top of the engine’s cylinder head(s) and protect the valve train area. They also help keep oil contained and often seal with gaskets to prevent leaks.
"[1047.8s] And I want to talk about
[1049.1s] For a brief moment I want a side quest
[1052.3s] Into
[1053.6s] Cold air intakes and or just
[1056.0s] Your air intake"
A cold air intake is a system that tries to bring in cooler air from outside the engine bay. Cooler air can help the engine run better, but it depends on the exact kit and how it’s set up.
Cold air intakes are aftermarket (or sometimes OEM) intake systems designed to pull cooler outside air into the engine. Cooler, denser air can improve combustion and sometimes power, but results depend heavily on the specific setup and tuning.
"With metal tubes Which is awesome for heat Transfer Metal transfers and Holds heat"
Heat transfer is how heat moves around. With intake parts, it matters because hotter intake air can reduce engine efficiency.
Heat transfer is the movement of heat from one material to another. In intake systems, the material and routing of the intake piping can influence how much heat the incoming air picks up under-hood.
"Rubberish plastic to Going to the throttle body So we're talking"
The throttle body is basically the engine’s “air gate.” It controls how much air gets into the engine, and the parts leading up to it affect how well the engine breathes.
The throttle body controls how much air enters the engine by regulating the throttle plate opening. Intake components like the air box and ducting are designed to deliver air to the throttle body consistently, and heat management matters because hotter air can reduce engine efficiency.
"It has different Thermal conducting properties than metal does A thin aluminum tube Will allow heat transfer"
This is about how easily a material lets heat pass through it. Metal usually moves heat more easily than plastic, so the engine bay can heat them differently.
Thermal conductivity is a material’s ability to transfer heat. Metal generally conducts heat more readily than many plastics, so the same under-hood temperature can affect metal and plastic intake parts differently—either transferring heat faster or isolating it more.
"Engines are air pumps and they want cold dense Air"
An engine’s job is to pull in air, mix it with fuel, and burn it to make power. Cooler, denser air usually helps the engine make better power.
Most internal-combustion engines work by moving air (and fuel) into cylinders to create power. The amount and temperature of intake air affect how efficiently the engine can burn fuel.
"You know r&d some Stuff and We we designed Oil cooler goes down in the bellies"
R&D means research and development—basically the work engineers do to design and test new ideas. Here, it’s explaining that the change wasn’t random; it was engineered.
R&D (research and development) is the process of designing and testing new engineering solutions before they reach production. In this context, it frames the oil cooler design as something the manufacturer developed through testing and iteration.
"They like their push rods They like their their old School"
Pushrods are parts inside the engine that help open and close the valves. Some people prefer older engines that use pushrods because they’re familiar and often simpler.
Pushrods are part of a traditional valvetrain design that transmit motion from the camshaft to the engine’s valves. When people say they “like their push rods,” they’re usually referring to the feel, sound, or perceived simplicity of that older-style setup.
"I have a truck with the crank windows And I don't like that Anyway It's going to convert all this crank windows To electric even on the old school"
Crank windows are windows you open and close by turning a handle by hand. Power windows use a button and a motor instead.
Crank windows are manual side windows operated by a hand crank instead of a power switch. They’re common on older or more basic truck trims because they don’t require electric window motors.
"About the doorman oil filter
[1813.7s] But Mishimoto in my opinion"
The oil filter cleans the oil that circulates through your engine. If the filter isn’t right for your Jeep, it can affect how well the engine stays protected.
An oil filter removes contaminants from engine oil so the engine can stay lubricated and protected. Filter design and part-number revisions matter because they can change flow characteristics, filtration media, and compatibility with specific engines.
"[1943.5s] Yes and the minute you
[1945.0s] Take your blueprints over and you hand them
[1947.5s] To a Chinese manufacturing plant
[1949.8s] They are copying"
Reverse engineering means copying something by taking it apart and figuring out how it works. With car parts, that can be risky because the copy might not be made as well as the original.
Reverse engineering is when someone studies an existing product (or its design) and recreates it without the original maker’s permission. In automotive parts, it often leads to copies that may match the look but not the materials, tolerances, or durability.
Term
chemical process happens
"Because a chemical process happens Which basically changes the Molecules of the plastic Then you have one"
The speaker is saying the plastic isn’t just heated—it actually changes chemically. That’s what makes it act more “permanent” after it’s set.
The speaker attributes heat stability to a chemical reaction occurring during curing. That reaction alters the polymer’s structure so it behaves differently under heat than a plastic that simply softens and melts.
Term
molecules of the plastic
"Because a chemical process happens Which basically changes the Molecules of the plastic Then you have one"
Plastics are made of long chains of molecules. Heating can change how those chains are connected, which is why the plastic can become more heat-resistant—or start to break down if it gets too hot.
This refers to the chemical structure changing during curing or overheating. When polymers undergo a chemical process, their molecular bonds rearrange, which can make the material more heat-resistant (or, if overheated, cause it to degrade).
"Where I think we had a head gasket ... Not plastic, it's actually A steel head gasket with aluminum Block and head basically"
The head gasket is like a seal between the engine block and the top part of the engine. If it breaks, fluids can leak or mix, and the engine can start running hot.
A head gasket seals the connection between the engine block and the cylinder head. If it fails, coolant and oil can mix or leak, which can lead to overheating and other drivability issues.
Term
Polyethylene Tertone
"[2487.1s] Polyethylene
[2488.8s] Tertone
[2490.0s] Or that
[2492.1s] Is also known as"
This is the name of a type of heat-resistant plastic. The exact name in the transcript is a bit unclear, but the point is that different plastics handle engine heat differently.
The transcript appears to be referring to a specific high-temperature polymer used in under-hood parts. “Polyethylene Tertone” is likely a mis-transcription of a known engineering plastic name (commonly “polyetherimide” or “PTE/PET” family terms), so listeners may benefit from clarifying the exact polymer being discussed.
"And they can also add carbon fiber
To that, so then you basically have a race car
I hear race car"
Carbon fiber is a strong, lightweight material made from tiny carbon strands. Race cars use it because it helps the car feel more rigid without adding a lot of weight.
Carbon fiber is a lightweight, high-strength composite material made from carbon strands woven into a fabric and bonded with resin. It’s commonly used in motorsports and performance vehicles to reduce weight while improving stiffness and strength.
Concept
cleaning out an artery
"[2650.3s] Because they are kind of thin [2652.2s] They're tight. It's like cleaning out an artery [2654.1s] At that point in time."
They’re using a health analogy: if a passage is “clogged,” flow gets restricted. In an engine, carbon buildup can similarly block or restrict small channels.
The “cleaning out an artery” analogy compares removing deposits from narrow passages to restoring blood flow in a clogged vessel. In engines, thin/tight passages can accumulate carbon or buildup, restricting flow and contributing to drivability issues.
Term
Derometer difference
"And we're talking about
Derometer difference
We're talking about slight profile difference
They're trying to"
This sounds like they’re talking about the seal material’s firmness. A slightly different firmness or shape can help the seal fit better and stay sealed longer.
“Derometer difference” appears to refer to a material hardness or durometer difference—how stiff or flexible the seal material is. Changing durometer/profile can improve how the seal conforms under pressure and heat, reducing leak risk.
"That
[2905.4s] The sealing plastics
[2908.8s] That we see through Felpro
[2911.2s] And Molly"
Fel-Pro is a company that makes replacement gaskets and seals for cars. The host is saying you’ll often see their sealing materials on Jeep-related repairs.
Fel-Pro is a well-known aftermarket gasket and seal brand. In the context of this episode, they’re being referenced as a source of “sealing plastics”/sealing materials used under a Jeep’s hood.
"But I like that all-aluminum cooler They will Factually Sell you an all-aluminum Oil cooler"
An all-aluminum oil cooler is made mostly from aluminum. Aluminum can move heat away from the oil efficiently, which helps the engine run at safer temperatures.
An all-aluminum oil cooler uses aluminum for the heat-exchange surfaces, which can improve heat transfer and corrosion resistance compared with some other materials. In practice, the big differentiator is often fitment and the specific design used by the manufacturer.
"It will be an authorized Mopar accessory That is what it will be listed as"
Mopar is the official parts brand for Chrysler/Jeep (Stellantis). If something is a Mopar accessory, it’s usually made to fit your Jeep correctly.
Mopar is the Chrysler/Stellantis umbrella brand for OEM parts, accessories, and service products. When a part is listed as a Mopar accessory, it generally means it’s an official catalog item intended for correct fitment and compatibility.
"[3464.3s] By doorman
[3465.3s] It is a re-box
[3466.9s] They put it in a Mopar box"
“Re-box” means the part is made elsewhere, but it gets put into a different brand’s box. So the label changes, but the actual product might be the same.
“Re-box” here means the same underlying product is packaged under a different brand label. The speaker’s point is that the hardware may not be uniquely “OEM-designed,” even if it’s sold through the OEM (Mopar) channel.
"[3505.6s] It's a couple bucks more than if you were to just go on to Amazon
[3507.9s] And buy the doorman yourself or go to AutoZone
[3509.7s] And buy it yourself"
AutoZone is a store where you can buy car parts without going through a dealership. The point here is that you can often buy the same kind of part yourself.
AutoZone is a major aftermarket auto-parts retailer in the U.S. The episode contrasts buying a part from a dealer versus buying it yourself from a chain like AutoZone.
"[3528.2s] The takeaway here
[3530.7s] The takeaway is that plastic is not inherently bad
[3534.1s] It's here to stay"
This is the episode’s main argument: plastic components in the engine bay aren’t automatically inferior to metal. The speaker frames plastic as a normal, long-term design choice rather than a temporary compromise.
Select text to request an explanation
SFJ 4x4 Studios presents
In my oversized four-wheel drive Jeep
A Jeep podcast starring industry experts
Cure monocity
What? Say that again!
With mad scientist Scott Brown
I use my drill press as a sort of lathe
Our host, Neil Simpson
If one light goes on they all go out
Phil Bruce Shenanigans
We are really professional with Jeeps
This is I Speak Jeep
SFJ 4x4 Studios presents
In my oversized four-wheel drive Jeep
A Jeep podcast starring industry experts
Cure monocity
What? Say that again!
With mad scientist Scott Brown
I use my drill press as a sort of lathe
Our host, Neil Simpson
If one light goes on they all go out
Phil Bruce Shenanigans
We are really professional with Jeeps
This is I Speak Jeeps
Good morning, afternoon, evening, wherever
However you are joining us
I got real excited in my head because I can't wait to share with you all listening at home
There's a couple things going on
But my name is Neil with Simpson Family Jeeps
SFJ4x4.com
Are you sure?
I am very sure
And I am joined in Grandma's couch studio
By Dose individuals
I'm just a figment of your imagination
I am just thrilled to announce that
This is episode 200
Because of that, Jeff came running in
Like his hair was on fire
He was here to be part of this historic 200th episode
Which for only having 200 episodes
Are listening
You, our listeners, our followers at home
Have made this podcast
I'm already starting the
You're gonna help me out with all the words
I can't say later
I can't wait
This is gonna be a great episode
I have made this podcast
One of the most successful Jeep and Off-Road podcasts
Globally in the world
That is so stinkin' nuts
To hear that that many of you want to hear about
Jeep-specific
That they want to hear
They want to hear about you and I just drone on
For hours and monitor
Well, that's probably because
The actual sleep
You know those sleep courses
They actually cost money
So we're ASMR
Right, that's what it is
I don't even want to go into that acronym
But I know that you have to pay for those sleep apps
And we're probably free
But, but, but, Jeffrey
The producer is back in studio today
I am
Glad to have you here
I left you hanging right on a kind of
I knew you were coming
Right to the very end
I knew you were coming
That's okay
You know
You were on my seat
I'm like, nope, get out
Well, that's because I was trying
Desperately to thumb through the
The system to make sure it was up
And loading for you
We hadn't quite pulled out the manual yet
But we were getting there
Yeah
And then the mad scientist
Yeah, the maddest mad scientist
And in our 200th episode today
We are going to, as we had mentioned to you before
We are going to be talking about
The dastardly
And evil and unfortunate
Plastics in your engine bay
Plastic
Plastic
I also want to note that
For funsies purposes next week
Prior to Easter
We will be talking about
The Harry Potter sorting hat of Jeep ownership
I'll just leave it at that
That'll be fun
And then there will not be a live podcast
On Easter Monday
We're going to take that day off
For you all listening in that capacity
We may or may not have some type of other episode
For upload purposes
But just outlining what we're doing through the week
I did see we had a new first today
We did
Billy Joe got first saying good morning
Good job Billy Joe
Nate says good morning
Rob says happy spring
Jaga Jeeper says good morning
Lucky McDeerhead
A lovely spring day here
Snowing
Griddle and Jeeps
Morning fellas
Nate said what can I say except
You're welcome
Based on the 200
I was never able to read it
Congrats on the 200 episode from Billy Joe
Daddy Jeep said they're all coming for the chat
That's probably true
Nate said I thought the microplastics
Were in my food and beverage
They're in your engine too
And Nate says inconceivable
So as a friendly reminder
For our wide and broad listening audience
And while that is the majority of you
We welcome you on whatever Monday
That you can make yourself available
Log on on the book of faces
Or the YouTubes
And get involved in the chat box there
Hang out and share
And see if you can beat Nate
Nate's on fire with all the references
So just in response to that inconceivable
I do not think that word means what you think it means
He'll understand
Oh boy
A princess bride
I almost said princess
Oh I know exactly what the reference is
Scott has no idea what it is
Such a classic
It is a classic
And without totally derailing already
Just making references
Because I can absolutely just make
Multiple references to that movie
We do
Well Scott cannot
I think I saw it once but it doesn't
In my brain so it's fine
Scott would have a good time with the ROUS's
My name
No I'm going to not do it
You started it
I need my notes drawn on
What are we doing here?
Hello buddy
I knew you were excited
I didn't know we were cuddling this morning
I was excited
Do you see what his notes are on Jeff?
It's on his turnpike violation
It's on my turnpike
I ran the toll booth folks
Don't worry they mail you
And we're off the rails
Don't worry folks they mail you
Your violation
Or is that a bridge fee?
No it's the turnpike
It's absolutely full by plate
When you run the toll booth
No that's a
That's a thing
Anywho
A couple episodes ago
We had
Elaborated upon
Our general frustrations
With radiators
In specific
Situations
Yes specifically Griffin and Mishimoto
And I'll continue to shout that from the rooftops
And what we were sold
A decade ago
Was that
Let's go back to the
The inception of the JK
That we had radiator problems
And there was mounting locations
And there was flexion
And there was rigid mount
And there was whole bunch of stuff
We actually have to go back behind that
We're not going to the horse though
Broke that streak I'm sorry
So wait I'm going to ask
How did you keep the horses cool
Go ahead there you go
We had the horses swimming last week
Don't worry
We didn't have plastic for water pockets
For our horses so I can't
Go back that far
But we were
If you've been in the Jeep game long enough
Everyone's been touched
By a TJ upper radiator tank
Just exploding
At some point
Wait wait wait
Let's go back to plastic valve covers on CJ
I forgot about that
We can go back further
We can go back further
We can go to the iconic CJ5
CJ7
And the problem with plastic valve cover
Is we're elephants and we don't forget
We don't forget anything
We hate them internal slave cylinder
Transmissions
Yes
So
Some reason
In the late 80's they thought
It was a good idea to make a plastic valve cover
And
They could have made it good
But we weren't where we are now
With plastic technology
First, A
Second
How many fasteners should a valve cover have
On it
Not two
In a spot that it's not reinforced
Yes
And then it's not the right kind of plastic
So it heats up and it starts to move around
And
It starts to expand
And then it starts to leak
Now the sad part is
Metal ones leak too
Because cork sucks
Cork gaskets suck
But I want to move
From that CJ5
CJ7 owner
But wait there's more
The
Renix era
Was yet again
Those damn Europeans
Touching my
American Jeep
And I had a closed cooling system
With a plastic bottle
We
We're coming for your vehicles
Yes
Which quality and
French manufacturing
Never was quite
Together
I think they did okay
No they did
I see you
And you did touch me
Intimately
In ways that I will never forgive you
But we had a plastic
It wasn't quite an overflow
But it's a closed system
And what didn't help
Because it's French
The caps were hard to find
They were also plastic
It was the 80's
You didn't have the interwebs
And the supercomputers in your pocket
Your dad
Grandpa that had a CJ
That was touched 14 ways
The Sunday with the valve cover
Was like that's a piece of crap
Because it's plastic and in the engine compartment
So then we
Slowly evolve and we get into the TJ
I did have a
Radiator
I remember where I was
The day mine exploded
It's a rite of passage I think
I was looking at a car trailer on the side of the road
And I heard
And I thought
What in the heck was that
And then steam started coming out of the hood
Of
What would become Chuck Norris
And I thought
What did you just do with your hand
This
I got nothing
Jeff that's why you got to
Tune into the live so you can see what
What was that move
With your hand
Your verse octopus
No
Okay folks
That's what you get
When you get the visual
The reverse octopus
Don't Google that by the way
I don't know what that is
You should definitely do that on your
Computer for work
Anyway
So I then had to take the
Capsus
Not going there
And then I had to
Drive home
I was not expecting to put a radiator in it that day
Had to put a radiator in it
Was not happy
We all thought that was because
The mothership was cheapening out
And I'll go even
A layer deeper
We had
Three ones in GM world
Doing stupid
Heater core
Connections in plastic
That would snap off
At the threads
We had things with
3800s that were plastic
And were problematic
So I understand why we're beaten
And we're traumatized
When you say plastic in the engine compartment
But
Just like
Some things that we don't think about
Like pulleys have been plastic
For
Some pulleys have been plastic for 40 years
Right
And
The bearing itself
Internal to the pulley is metal
And what fails
What fails
The bearing
The plastic doesn't fail
Nope, the plastic does not fail
And we've had plastic
Bumpers
And those things
Doesn't mean we have to like the bumper
Cladding
There's plenty in your life
That is plastic that you don't think about
Because it hasn't wronged you
You're not like that
Eve or plastic
This is a great morning
If this is your first time
Joining this podcast
In your ear holes
I need you to know this is part for the course
So anyways
Listen more
I think there might be a few more accents
On this episode already than what we normally do
The normal? Yeah, that's probably fair
You haven't broken out the Minnesota accent
I have not felt a need
To offend the Minnesotians
With their fruit salads
Or those
Lovely beady-eyed Canadians
Oh, wow
You went straight for the attack
The accent isn't enough, huh?
No, it's just
The part that
It really shows that
The 3-8 JK
Really didn't offend anybody with plastic
Nobody gets up in arms about
There's a lot of plastic under there
Valve covers are plastic
Intake upper is plastic
Pulleys are plastic
Nobody gets upset about that
I really want to
To
Continue the trashing of the 3-8
In life as just a general thing
But yet
Exactly what you're saying
It had the potential to fail
On a number of fronts
And honestly the
Seal structures are the only thing
That oftentimes became its downside
I mean the biggest challenge
I think with the 3-8 is
You had people that had them in
Vans
And they just soldiered on for
Eternity for some reason
And the minute we turned them
A little bit
The other way they got angry
And they didn't last quite as long
In some situations
In other situations they again soldiered
On forever
And so let's not get
Too off crack
For example though we've had plastic
There and then
And we did not get so upset per se
Then 12 happened
And we thought we knew some things
We released a new motor
Spoiler alert
The valve covers are still plastic
Intake is still plastic
Lower and upper now
Instead of just the upper
And they decided we needed
Oil cooler because now we have
Dual overhead cams
It's now 1991
In Jeep World
Welcome to what GM
And well
Mazda and Toyota all did
In like
89 to 91
Because now you can get more first
Yes
With overhead cams
Our engineers just woke up
But change is hard
Nape said life is a pain, heinous
Anyone who says differently is selling something
Another quote from
Scott doesn't understand
No it's fine
So we get dual overhead cams
We get cams
We get all the cams
All the valves
Lots of moving pieces
And for some reason
We can't go back
You know like
Find the guy that retired from Mazda
And be like hey
And do it our own way
It's like Ford and the Bronco
They had no idea that a comparable vehicle
Had been produced for the last two or three decades
And they were like we're going to do it our way
So anyways this is now
We get an oil cooler
If you didn't understand folks
First of all I'm here to offend everybody today
Second of all
I can't imagine why that wind
Is coming in the side of my soft top
Yeah welcome Bronco owner
So we are specifically
Talking about oil coolers
And radiators
And those plastic components
That people focus on
And this is a perception issue
Because as you have already outlined
We have valve covers
And we do have upper manifolds
Which years ago
It's been that
Then they've been that way
In automotive production for 30 years
And I want to talk about
For a brief moment I want a side quest
Into
Cold air intakes and or just
Your air intake
Because
And again going back to the CJ era
We had
Kind of a metal housing
Which then typically had
A plastic snuffle up against tube
And again that plastic
Snuffle up against tube
Was almost too elaborate
It was a paper thin plastic
And it did not last
It was the 80s plastic
Correct again it was a bad plastic
For that time
And yet it did its job
Sufficiently for the duration
Of its rolling off the factory line
We went from those
Metal housings to
These plastic intakes
And we carried that
Your TJ had a plastic intake
It did
An air box
Why are we offended about that
And the problem is there was
A series of folks
Who ran out and replaced that
With metal tubes
Which is awesome for heat
Transfer
Metal transfers and
Holds heat
So if you look under your hood
And you have a metal tube
Connecting your air cleaner
Into your engine
Right now with a modern day
Vehicle
You're not helping your hearters
You're not helping your engine
You know what's really sad?
XJs had plastic air boxes
They did
Rubberish plastic to
Going to the throttle body
So we're talking
As old as we are
Correct and those plastic
Other than a degree
Of restrictive properties
That was of concern to
That tiniest fine
Tuning level
Otherwise
Realistically speaking that plastic
Disuppates heat
Better than the metal does
Disuppates or isolates
It has different
Thermal conducting properties than metal does
A thin aluminum tube
Will allow heat transfer
Faster and hold it longer
Which in general
Is bad
It brings up the temperatures of the air that your engine
Is taking in.
Engines are air pumps and they want cold dense
Air
9 out of 10 times
The best way to put it until they at the operating temperature
They want to be within their
Engineered operating temperatures
Any who's a what's it
Now let's head over to this
Daster
Miley offensive to
Minnesotians there
Got that one in
How did I offend him
Who's he what's it
So any who's
So we get into
The 12 we broke the mold
It's now 1991
We have
We have the 3.6 penistar
It's not actually 91
Just for those who are listening
It's it's factually
2011 pushing into 2012
Yes and 20 years behind
The behind the ball where I try
Some things we got a
You know r&d some
Stuff and
We we designed
Oil cooler goes down in the bellies
Of the motor immediately people were upset
That was like
One of 15,000
Things that they were upset about and that's with every
Model change
Or whatever
Changes hard
They like their push rods
They like their their old
School
Crank windows Jeffrey
Wrong with a crank window
So changes hard
Till someone comes up to your passenger side
To talk to you and you got to lean across
Throw the window down I know
I have a truck with the crank windows
And I don't like that
Anyway
It's going to convert all this crank windows
To electric even on the old school
It's really my number one gripe
About my international
I have to be honest with you
I'll be honest the international that would annoy me because you can't just reach across
You can't reach across
It is a long way
Let me throw it in neutral
Air brakes on unbuckle walk
Have a block as you said
Call them on the phone at that point
That's more convenient
The truck's so loud you can't like and it's tinted
So it's like they have no idea that you're
Desperately trying to talk to them
Alright
So and the biggest challenge is
We didn't really do the
Oil cooler well
In 12 and 13
If anyone
Has worked on a multitude of
Jeeps long enough
They have taken the oil cap off and then
Something has tried to poke your eye out
As it just exit over
Your shoulder
That's the oil relief valve
That's in the 12 and 13
They break all the time
There's a pretty decent spring on that
And it just
Yeets that across the shop
Most lube techs at that point
Pretend they did not happen and they just
Stuff the filter back in there
The other piece and I just have no
Faith in these lube techs
Specifically Jim Bob's garage
Did not know what to do
And this is my own
See the problem is they just came off the
Snap-on truck and they're broke now
But they bought the long handle ratchet
The long handle ratchet
And they got to use it
Spent like $300 on that sucker
And this is just
A hat's coming off he's getting worked up
I am worked up because
It gets me like my hair's on fire
It's like such a trigger because you know what
Half the complaint for people was
It has a plastic oil filter housing
And they crack
B.S.
So I actually found
Evidence
People adding
12 and 13s did
They cracked because the plastic changed
They actually were not the same plastic
That your current
From mopar oil
It's actually changed
Even that the majority of the times it was cracked
Is because somebody over tightened the cap
Well that's because they got the long handle
From stamp-on that was $300
But that's the problem
The plastic doesn't itself inherently crack
And even if it was a slightly weaker plastic
I think that it would have
Cracked less
Even if it was a weaker plastic
It would have cracked less
If these
Darn
If these darn loop techs
I'm trying to use nice words
Didn't use the long handle or use their
Uggadugga gun and go
Blah blah blah blah
To put the cap on
To talk from an engineering standpoint
The engineer that designed the oil cooler
Would have looked at the temperature requirements
He would have looked at the expected
Service life
He would have then went to his
Book or research
And looked at a proper plastic type
There is not just one type of plastic
There is up 10 million different types
Would have picked the best
For availability cost
And that would have
Utilized his things
He did not expect loop tech
With long handle ratchet
In that design
Or an impact wrench taking it on and off
That you've seen it done
So that's why
The first revisions happen
Also we realize
Hey, the thing trying to
Take your eye out, that's not a great plan
So by 14
That's phased out
They redesigned the filter
And this is where the conversation
I feel like we have to say
This is the nipple versus no nipple
Conversation and I don't mean
On Jeffrey's body
And we also have to talk about the
12s with the 530
Oil versus 520
Things were hard
Things were, we had head issues
There's lots of bad
Stuffage in 12
Because change is hard
Any who's, by the time we get to
14, 15
They really had kind of figured out
The cracking plastic problem
Aside from the guy that really got
The long handle ratchet
And most loop techs at that
Point had gotten scared
Of the tightening
And I've learned to be like, okay
Maybe I don't need to pretend it's
A 18 wheeler lug nut
I can just gently tighten
That up
But yet
More revisions happened
And surprise
Even in the JL
There is more revisions happening
And
Something we personally have seen
Is not your oil cooler
Cracking that is making it fail
It is the seals that are
Between the
Block of the motor and the
Oil cooler
And you could
If you love taking
Your intake off and on
Just replace the seals
We feel
That that is just not wise
That we might as well hit the reset button
Put a new Mopar cooler in there
And now we have reset it
And you should be able to go for
80 to 100,000 miles
Without interrupted service
What we see
Commonly
Almost every time we see one with
Aluminum cooler, guess what?
They still leak
Because doorman seals suck
So there's some people saying
Oh you know
Because the plastic has offended us
We have to go to doorman and get a cooler
Then we have to go over here to Mopar
And get seals that they've redesigned 14 times
Well guess what?
Doorman has not re-envisioned
That oil cooler of theirs 14 times
They have made it once
And we have seen it
Time and time again with aftermarket companies
Someone
Decides they have been wronged
By plastic and doorman
They're going to make an aluminum cooler
And then jobs
Change
Positions change, whatever happens
They are just going to keep making that design
Engineers
Have to sign
Basically agreement when you first
Start that anything you create
While you work there is their property
I've literally had to do that
Um
Therefore just because
They're continuing to make that process
Or that product
Doesn't mean the actual person that
Conceived it and knew how
Every little intricate detail
Worked is still there
And then so when you call up and say
Hey, such and such happened
They're like I don't know dorge
I don't have no clue
And we've heard multiple times
That guy doesn't work here anymore
But we're just going to keep making it
Because it sells
Because plastic is bad
So it is important to know
Kind of in a statistical sense
That the
Oil cooler
Assembly
Is from
2011
To 2024
It is a direct interchange
Of those
Of the same oil cooler so we can take
An oil cooler that is currently being used
On a 2024
JL and in
Theory
We could use it on an 11
Now there is going to be a number of different
Parts to this conversation
Because of the sensor conversation
Um
But there is a specific
Part that MOPAR lists within their catalogue
That is an oil cooler assembly
And
It
Likewise the doorman actually is
This it says it lists that it is good
From 11
To 24
And that doorman part
That you are referencing
Um has
Then a plug
Provision to cap off
Where the sensor
Because the holders
JLs have one
And then the issue is
That you would be retrofitting
Say that
That 2012
Jeep application
You would be retrofitting it to a
Nippled
Filter so now you would be using a
14 plus WL
110 Wix filter
You know what they should do
They should bring back the little sticker
That was on all the early 80's
Jeeps firewalls that said
Warning
This
Oil filter thread has changed
So Mishimoto
What I think is interesting is
There is a lot of chatter out there
About the doorman oil filter
But Mishimoto in my opinion
Is one of the ones who also came to market
With it
I have heard less
Now I suspect I hear less
Because
Factually again
That part number
That became relevant to the
2012 production Jeep JK
Has been revised
Nine times
That means that
Over the course of
14 years
14-15 years
Jeep Chrysler mother ship
Stalantis has
Found an opportunity
To make that part better
Nine times
Now
As Jeffrey has already mentioned
The later model JLs
Only require one sensor
Versus dose
So in theory
That could be a revision
Of itself
It would not necessarily be about
Oil passages
And galleys
But it could be about the sensor itself
But there is a conversation to be said
About efficiency
About seal structure
And how it sits up
Into the filter
Into the filter housing
Or the cooler housing
All of these things that as a
Multi-billion dollar company
They would have discovered
They would have made their product better
So the doorman aluminum oil
Clear was released in June of
22
I know
That during
And this is the
Neal thing
Somewhere in the Covid shutdowns
I remember seeing an all aluminum
Cooler start to get
Trickled out into the world on the Amazon
Yes
And I remember thinking
To myself yes this is going to be
A hot ticket item for a lot of people
Yes
And I don't know who made it
At that time
Like all good things made in China
Just because doorman has a
Rupple name it's still
Made overseas
And reverse engineered elsewhere
Yes and the minute you
Take your blueprints over and you hand them
To a Chinese manufacturing plant
They are copying
Now 10 manufacturing plants have it
And now you can get it on Amazon
For dirt cheap does the quality of it
Anywhere close
No
So that's the whole nature of it
Is that we have 9 super sessions
Of product
What specific
Variant
Is this all aluminum
Cooler designed
Around
And just because it was released in 22
Doesn't mean they used the 22 revision either
Because they had development time
They likely used a much older version
Of a couple years older at least
More than likely
And that's the thing
Is to say which one
You know and if they were willing
Or able to indicate
Which one it is or the improvements
They've made or the reverse engineer
That they put into it
They don't even know because that guy's gone
What's the other problem that I have with the
Doorman
Comes disassembled
You're having to assemble it
Versus the mopers already preassembled
Interesting
Now you've got a second fail point
Sure
And that's a good way for them to
Put the liability on to the
Consumer and the installer
Versus their
Monkey putting in the box
Alright well on that note
Says we're offending everybody what the heck
Wow
So Daddy Jeep said where your safety glasses kids
That was in reference to you
Ejecting
The coil
That's right
And then Nate actually
Purchased the doorman cooler
But he returned it on a recommendation
And that's because we've pulled more
Of the doormans out than we've
Scrapped a lot of those
And that's not to say and this is a challenge
That you know
I know we'll have the feedback on this
And people will say well
I put it in and I never had any issues
And that's fine
And you may not
And there's such a volume
Of these
Transactions happening
And I've driven two, three, six vehicles
And I've never put an oil cooler in one
Oh boy
And you know
The nature of
I had to put one in mine
Of course you did because you use it as a one ton
Yep it's fair
As far as the nature
Of these
These are concerned
There is such a massive volume
Being
Exchanged regularly
And so as we talk about
Who hasn't put them in their vehicles
Wait wait wait
Nate said that the doorman comes with
Orange filter housing so that's definitely a plus
I will paint yours orange if that's all
It matters
I don't think that's an upgrade
And this is what I was going to say
Is that you may have had a good experience
With yours and I would say
You may or may not know what you don't know
And that it is
Working sufficiently but could it be working better
We've certainly
Encountered what we feel to be
Flow issues with
Coolant passing through
The unit
Greg had one apart the other day
It's kind of interesting to me that
The oil and the
Coolant passages are actually crisscross
People might think that
They are parallel each other
But they don't they actually crisscross internally
And so up in there there's
All these different passages to
Allow that process to
Happen efficiently
And
I think that
In that the air could potentially
Get trapped or maybe a passage is too small
To allow coolant to pass through
Or is there a nice hefty
Mold line from the aluminum in there
That restricts flow
There's all those things
Have a potential to
Create more issue than
Than something else which is a conversation
We had about the
Radiators last week
About the flow rate
Or the flow nature of them
As far as replacement
One of the things that we're privy to
Is on a
National level
How many of these are being
Sold
By the
Stellantis
Network? Well real quick
Go ahead and go on to our live chat
Put in your guess
Correct and I'm going to
Shock and awe you with trying to say
What kind of plastics are used in engine
Well so while you are guessing
How many of these are sold
Weekly
Not annually, not monthly, not quarterly
How many are sold
Weekly
For replacement
In both dealership
Application and then
Authorized dealer
Distributor
So at a national level
So if you have an intake manifold
Or something of that nature
So engine cover
Intake
That kind of stuff
You don't see some heat but not
The pit of the fury
It's poly
Mide
Or nylon slash pa
Thankfully we have short cuts
Yeah we're doing this
I'm going to see it through
And I'm going to try to say the real
That was the easiest one
I know it is
So then we have
Poly
Thing
Sulfide
Which is pps which is hot zone
So that's going to be our oil coolers
That's going to be
Anything that's in
The fury of the engine
So anything that sees a lot of heat
Which
Quick sidebar
We just saw
Probably the most
Used
JL ever
Come through the shop
And their lower intake manifold had started to melt
And honestly that's not
Common
So when I was in college
Engineering college
They talked about poly
Set
And
See how was that
Basically one plastic you use heat
To set it and then it's set
It cannot melt
It actually burns if you heat it up to that
Temperature again
Because a chemical process happens
Which basically changes the
Molecules of the plastic
Then you have one
That you use heat to
Inject and that can be melted
Back down reused and put back
So basically think your milk jug
You can take your milk jug
You can shred it up
Melt it down, re-inject it
Use it for something different
I'm surprised
The intake isn't the
Thermo set where it's going to
Burn
Versus re-melt
But that is not what we saw
It was literally starting to melt down the center
Of the ports
Yeah, it's important to note
That that is actually something we've never
Seen before
In the grand scheme of life
It was an 18jl
It's actually not the most mileage we've ever seen
No, I'd say most used
Right, well, I mean
How much did it get to do that?
That's the concern
Now, we look at my wife's Jeep
Where I think we had a head gasket
Breach
Which is a whole other conversation
About multi-metal surfaces
Which wasn't plastic there
Not plastic, it's actually
A steel head gasket with aluminum
Block and head basically
And so
I don't exactly have a reason
As to why my wife's Jeep
Started to overheat
But
We eventually
Came to the fact that I had
A breached head gasket
And that'll be a podcast conversation for the future
Is breach versus blown
And with that said, you were ingesting a lot of oil
Into the intake system
Because of whatever was going on
And even with that high
And it didn't overheat
Is what I'm trying to get into
And the intake system
Plus the overheating
Your lower intake was fine
Correct
Mud does bad things
And I think that was the issue we saw in this
Is that the heat
The insulatory properties of mud
And just the
Heat soaked it
And kept that heat on that plastic
Intake where the plastic
Wasn't able to dissipate
The way that it was originally designed
Plastic should have cooled at a rate
And it held onto it
Which I think is what enabled it to melt
So anyways, so that was
PPS, which is what's used
On our really hot zone
Items
And then we get into the real kicker
Polyethylene
Tertone
Or that
Is also known as
Peek
Which is high stress
And they can also add carbon fiber
To that, so then you basically have a race car
I hear race car
And that is used for like
Oil pumps and anything that's going to be
In a high heat, high stress
And then something else that occurred
To me when we had all this conversation
Is
Carbon fiber is plastic
Technically
And all of our
Supercar race cars have been
Some sort of carbon fiber or plastic
For most of the
Vehicle, like we're talking
The chassis that you sit in
That protects you from a crash
That's something that goes 200 miles an hour
Is plastic and that's okay
But if it's on my engine
It defends me
Sure, I mean I think that
That's exactly what the
Horse that we're starting to die
And we're kicking still
Is
This idea that
Just because it's there
Does not mean that it should
Offend us. I think it was the take
Away and that's not to say
That there are not
Benefits to metal construction
If I go in my
Way back time machine and we go to
Bronze brassy aluminum
Bronze brassy radiators
That was a very good
Constructed radiator
That worked soft material too
And it was allowed to flex
Eventually it would thin and crack
Correct. With age
It was repairable. There was
A number of things that we found
Benefit as automotive
Enthusiast to having that type of
Construction property
And like we said before, we went to aluminum
And radiators because it was stronger material
So we could make the horse bigger
Better heat transfer
But it does not
Flex
And when it flexes
Is not as forgiving as
Correct. It's more of a brittle
Metal one to break
Look at the numbers here
That are coming in. We've got
Bradford saying 300 to 600
Bill McWilliam said buck 298
Okay
So as we talk about
This and the replacement process
And as Scott mentioned
We replace it
As a
Resetting the switch
The assembly
Because the other piece about that
Oil cooler assembly is
Again those passage ways
You know
They could have carbonization or build up
Because they are kind of thin
They're tight. It's like cleaning out an artery
At that point in time. Your degree of your
Triple bypass because the labor
Is pulling the intakes and pulling the seals
Which is also why we do spark plugs
While we're there. Correct. So
That's why we do the sensor
While we're there. You know what I mean
Because ultimately there's
Not a major
You shouldn't take it out of your old
Oil cooler and put it in your doorman
And put it in there. And we've seen that folks
We've absolutely seen that. And then we've
Actually seen that sensor fail
Because it was happy in its previous home
And then shortly thereafter it was unhappy
And then the Jeep ends up here
It's a service interval
Nate came in with 350
So
Weekly
Oil cooler assemblies
Sold
By the
Stellantis dealer network
So this is an authorized product
Is 3063
Weekly
Average. Oh that's all. Wow
So you're selling
Over
12,000 of these
Oil coolers monthly
That's plastic
Infused oil coolers. So you're one
Doorman or Mishimoto transaction
Has
Kind of pales in comparison
To 12,000
Monthly sales
Of these plastic. That simply means
That the volume of that particular
Component is en masse
Compared to whatever else is out there
And
Nate reused his oil sensor
He's gonna have to change that soon
Hopefully it works for a while
But it'll be great Nate
It'll be perfectly fine
So the nature
Of the volume
156,000 a year
Some of those are gonna fail
Right? Now the thing is
There's so so many of these vehicles
Out on the road. It is
A design element
Failure in itself
Right? The seals
Are specifically
The first and foremost
Failure
They are buried
Down in the internal one of the
Hottest parts
The bowels of the engine
Where all of the combustion heat
Transfer is happening
At these seals constantly
And then when they start to leak
They're subjected to
The corrosive properties
Of oil and coolant
And dirt and debris mixture
Yes, the seal is gonna fail
And then once it starts to fail a little bit
It's gonna fail a lot
And again, that is something else that
Mopar has re-engineered 14 times
And I have changed colors
A couple times to show you that
Most of the time
Because obviously we haven't taken apart
A 24 yet
But the current coolers
That we get from the dealer have an orange seal
The ones that you're taking out of your Jeep
Are black
And we're talking about
Derometer difference
We're talking about slight profile difference
They're trying to
Make this better and honestly
It's kind of a crazy thing to think of
But because the volume of this product
Is so high
They're therefore allowed to
I'm sure on an engineering level
To reinvest in this
I think it's important to note
You just said about the orange or the red seal
The red O-ring
That's only on some models
That comes with the black
And the red based on the model you're using
You're talking about the one that goes down into the block
Yes
I'm talking about the ones that are
Between the plastic and the aluminum housing
Gotcha
And this actually is gonna
Kind of take me into my
I hope my last sidebar of today's conversation
That
There is a concern or reservation
For me right now
Very real when it comes
To seal technology
In these engines
And availability
And again I touched on it
In a couple of previous podcasts
But I feel the need to bring it up again
That
The sealing plastics
That we see through Felpro
And Molly
And Victor Rines
And a new company
D&J
Which I'm not as familiar
But I do see their product more places
Than we have actually
Your OE application seals
You have five
To seven
Leading seal manufacturers
Who have all had to shift
Production over the years
Just like the OEs
From cork to rubber impregnated
You know gasket technology
To now rubber with metal
Rubber with metal
And then now to a more o-ring
Esk
Plasticy rubbery thing
That again heat
Environmental contaminants
There's a whole bunch of
Things that
I have some reservations
I feel as if we're seeing a lot of seal failure
Which
Factually I will tell you that seal failure
Is the number one leading cause
Of oil cooler replacement
And that's not just us
That's you
We've seen other mechanics referencing
That on the internet
Making videos about it
And can you imagine
If you would use
A sub-standard product like cork
For those seals how fast
They would fail
We gotta put in perspective a little bit
We're using a high quality
Gasket
That
Can last
80 to 100,000 miles
With relative general use
Obviously we're kind of
We see the more higher use
We're wheeling
We're letting our vehicle idle for all day
Heat soaking it more
We're putting in contaminants from mud
And water and
Debris
Into the engine
Because it is the V of the engine
All that stuff kind of goes down
And gets trapped in there
So of course we're going to see
A higher failure rate
Failure rate
But for a general bell curve
Of the society I think you can go
A long time without having a failure
And while you
They're still trying to make this product
Better again because they are invested
Or are selling so many
You're going to reinvest
In a product you're selling a lot of
Right and therefore
Ideally have it
Designed to the best possible
Practices that are available
I mean and I feel the same
We've started to encounter this
With again as we mentioned
Radiator technology
Again we've locked in
On radiators and
Oil coolers today
There's plenty of plastic from
Air intakes to
To actual intake
Manifolds, uppers and lowers
In most cases
Plastic
Not just in the engine either
You've got ABS sensors that are in the wheels
Where they get super heated in there
And that's plastic
That's plastic in the
Connectors for Rubicon axles
And axles get
Temperate and all of your sensors
Have plastic in them
To a degree gone are the days
Of
You know a fully brass
Sensor or something
And fuel rails
Are plastic
Fuel lines are nylon
We don't talk about those as much
Because they're not as much
In our face as far as a failure
Is concerned but all of a sudden
When it comes to this
Hey the trash is in my backyard
Now I'm talking about
Radiator and oil cooler failures
Despite the fact that you guys just named off
A dozen items
That are
Plastic or have the capacity
To have plastic in them
And the plastic is not the fail point
Or the fail issue
The last piece that I do feel like
Is part of the world we're living in
Which is one of those kind of
Quiet aspects
Are the plastic connectors
The camming locks, the safeties
There are challenges
There
And no lock gets spread all over time
And it crumbles when you take it apart
The ACM lock
And that's another thing that we don't
As a consumer talk about
But those have cycle life spans
Yes
So if you unplug and plug it in
That is a cycle
And the more you do that
The higher risk of breakage you have
Because it's only designed for
I'll make something up
Like a hundred cycles
And heat
And age and use
Removes lifespan out of that
And one thing that
We're dealing with
Are the
As an industry
And again the average consumer might not be as aware
Are again these pigtail connectors
Kind of the specialty nature
Of them
The proprietary size and design
Last week alone
We ran into an issue
For
Our turn signals
For our JKs
And a lot of you out there have found it very fun
To put a cool
Aftermarket product in your turn signal
So whether it was a clear lens originally
Or now you got something from
An LED provider
And now you got a halo one
And each time you
Change out that turn signal housing
The pigtail wears out
Just a little bit more
The deep side pigtail
And that's not to count the times
That they side tap it
Or scotch lock it
Or whatever to add a function
To their headlight
And so now we have
Kind of diminished the lifespan
Or quality of that
Of that particular product
That pigtail cost us a hundred
Dollars
To replace appropriately
And you have to replace it
With its
Appropriate
Pigtail because
You're not just hardwiring parts
Together anymore
Because actually going into the
Turn signal is a proprietary
Shape and size
Then I went ahead and I found out further
That there's actually bad data
At the dealership level
So when you run it as a 16
You get the wrong part number
Yes, you get a pigtail connector
But it's the wrong part number
And so this is actually
Kind of a quirky situation
Back in the day this was
Not exactly our issue
Our wires just kind of went up
And hardwired into something
Or our plastic connections were far more rudimentary
Now as they become
More elaborate they have
Environmental seals to them
People are thinking
I'll just unplug it real quick
It's getting away
From that at this point
And certainly if you're a JK owner
You're cheap to tell you this
But some of you have
Almost a 21
Or almost a 20 year old
In your possession
That plastic has lived its life
A metal product
Would not have necessarily been better
Some type of other hardwired connection
But you have to be conscientious
About those things as you service it
And as you think about upgrading it
Going forward
I'm really excited
I hope to hear from people
Regarding what their experiences
Have been
What your feedback is
What did you think about
As plastic is relevant
In our Jeep production
As we're seeing more and more
Vehicle
Components
Produced lighter
With kind of better shape
And size
I guess I should make this last little tidbit note
Because this will be the
1% out there
You can actually
Go to the dealership
As Joe Average
You can go to your local dealership
And you can tell them
That you want to replace your oil cooler
And they'll bring up their parts
But I like that all-aluminum cooler
They will
Factually
Sell you an all-aluminum
Oil cooler
It will be an authorized
Mopar accessory
That is what it will be listed as
So of all of this
And again I'm not exactly trying to talk you out of the
All-aluminum cooler
I guess I know what our
Preference is
Yeah
It's fair
I have higher hopes for the Mopar
Factory one
You can
Factually walk into your dealership right now
And your parts guy might have to dig
A little bit
But he will find
A Mopar authorized
Accessory cooler
Which is a complete aluminum assembly
I need you to factually know
It is a doorman
It is produced
By doorman
It is a re-box
They put it in a Mopar box
There is a program out there
And I don't want you to get twisted
Thinking that all of a sudden
Oh hey
OE parts are the best parts
Mopar just saw the fact that
Hey there is a seam of people looking for this part
They're asking for it
So we're going to give it to them
We prefer to sell you this part
I understand from a business
I take the same standpoint
I prefer this part and I'll tell you why
But at the end of the day if you've convinced yourself
That this aluminum is the right part for you
I'm not going to talk you out of it
Mopar doesn't want to lose that sale
So they just literally sell you the doorman
It's a couple bucks more than if you were to just go on to Amazon
And buy the doorman yourself or go to AutoZone
And buy it yourself
But you feel better because you got it from the dealer
Dealers buy AutoZone in advanced
And
Insert here
Auto parts
And then just put them on their vehicles
So we're not trying to say that
That Stalantis dealer product is the end all be all
That's not the
The takeaway here
The takeaway is that plastic is not inherently bad
It's here to stay
And we have to learn how to relate to it
Change is not bad
Thank goodness it's not the plastic it was in the 80's
Thank
Thank the Lord
That is not those valve covers on the
258
Because of all those hard to say words I said
That was like a
I don't know what my laugh was at the end there
Alright with that said
There was a lot of conversation and I hope that
You found it beneficial or interesting
Or just downright offensive
I suppose that could be the case as well
And for that I sort of apologize
No you don't
We have a lot of jeeps to attend to
If you're interested in hearing about what's going on
In our personal lives we will
Be
Expeditious about that explanation and share with you
What happened in this past week
Since we all got to hang out together last
So feel free to hang
Hang on through the outro credits
Until then jeep on jeep on jeep on
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
Request an explanation for:
Request an Explanation
Heard something you'd like explained? We'll add it to this episode.
Sign in to request explanations for terms you heard.
Want to learn more?
Browse our glossary for plain-English explanations of automotive terms, jargon, and concepts.
See something that's not quite right? Our annotations are AI-generated and can sometimes miss the mark.
Click the flag icon on any annotation to suggest a correction.
