Hey everybody,

We're really excited to announce our coolant filter kit for the 2012-2018 Jeep Wrangler JK 3.6L Pentastar. If you own a 3.6L Pentastar, you've probably heard of issues with casting sand making its way into the coolant. Well, we wanted to see exactly what that looked like, so we developed a coolant filter kit and we think you'll be pretty surprised by what we found. Check it out below and let us know what you think!

*One more note: this coolant filter kit is available on discounted pre-sale now. So if you finish the post and decide you want one for your JK, head over to our website and pick one up!

*Last Note: the post was too long for the forums, so I had to add a link to our blog to continue reading. Apologies in advance - here's a sneak-preview of what we found:





-Steve




For an automotive enthusiast, caring for your vehicle is tantamount to caring for yourself. An enthusiast’s vehicle is part of the family and it’s treated as such. When that vehicle happens to be a Jeep Wrangler, maintenance and modification can become nearly ritualistic. Check tire pressures, coolant level, and engine oil. Hit the trail, break something, upgrade the broken part so that it doesn’t break again. Rinse, and repeat. From the outside, it looks like a constant battle of man against machine, but the enthusiast knows that it’s more like a conversation among friends. You tell your Jeep what you want to do, it does it and then tells you what it needs in return.

But not every Wrangler/enthusiast relationship is so amicable. For many 2012+ JK Wrangler owners with the 3.6L Pentastar engine, that relationship is contaminated from the beginning. Literally.

If you own a 2012+ JK Wrangler 3.6L, you probably have an idea of what I’m alluding to, but if not, I’ll explain. Over the past six years, owners of 2012+ 3.6L JKs have been experiencing issues with clogged cooling systems. Most often these issues present themselves as cold air coming from the cabin heating system. A lack of cabin heating and defrosting is dangerous, especially in cold climates, but the issues don’t stop there. Anything touched by the coolant is susceptible to clogging and subsequent failure. The radiator, heater core, oil cooler, and water pump are all vulnerable. The cause of all these issues? According to a recently filed lawsuit, some of the casting sand used to mold the Pentastar is not removed from the engine before assembly. That casting sand eventually works its way loose and begins traveling around the cooling system, wreaking havoc along the way.


If all of this sounds like a problem for your warranty to cover, you’ll be severely disappointed to hear that may not be the case. In that same lawsuit, owners state that FCA (Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, who owns the Jeep brand) often refuses to cover repairs under warranty. A few have been able to reduce their bill, but many end up paying thousands to overhaul their cooling system. Even worse, a coolant flush or replacing the affected components doesn’t guarantee the issues won’t return, as more casting sand makes its way into the coolant. The problem is so persistent that some owners have gone so far as to cut holes in their dash to make replacing the heater core easier.

Now that I’ve thoroughly depressed any new JK owners, here’s the good news: Mishimoto has been working on a solution to help your 3.6L Pentastar fend off that pesky casting sand and any other particulate that might end up in the cooling system. We’ve created coolant filter kits for many applications before, but few have had quite the results that this kit has. While the aluminum block and heads of the 3.6L Pentastar can corrode if not cared for, our main goal for our 2012+ JK Wrangler coolant filter kit was to pull as much casting sand out of the coolant as possible.


Before we could begin development, we first needed a JK to test on. We were fortunate enough to know just the right person. The owner of our volunteer JK has had his Jeep in to the dealership several times to fix the common complaint of cold air from the heating system, only to be left cold a short time later. It was a safe bet that there was casting sand in his cooling system, so there was no better vehicle for testing our coolant filter kit.

Evidence of casting sand in the coolant could be seen as soon as we pulled the radiator cap off. Our Director of Innovation, Eric, found a gritty residue coated the sealing surfaces of the rad cap and the inside of the radiator fill neck. To further drive the point home, the bottom of the coolant overflow tank looked like a 4th-grader’s muddy diorama of some alien ocean. A not-so-healthy layer of sludge covered the bottom of the tank. Spurred on by these discoveries, Eric grabbed our 6.0L Powerstroke coolant filter bracket and an angle grinder to make a prototype bracket. Continue Reading...

 

Hi everybody,

Just wanted to let you all know that the pre-sale for this coolant filter kit has ended. Be sure to keep an eye out on our website and our distributors' websites for more great deals!

Thank you to everybody who ordered! You should be receiving shipping information soon!

-Steve

 

Are these going to be sold again?

 

They are currently available on our site!

https://www.mishimoto.com/jeep-wrang...ilter-kit.html

Thanks!
-Steve

 

Sounds like a very useful product. Good work!

 

Do you have any pics you could post of where/how this is mounted?

 

Thank you!

It's a little tough to see, but it mounts to the passenger frame rail next to the wheel.