3.6 pentastar as bad as it seems ???

Gawardawg said:
Pondering about getting a jeep wrangler . New. 2 door Sport. Power nothing. Plain Jane. But dam there’s a lot of bad reviews on these engines. Are they as bad as advertised ???!
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We have a 2019 PS. Had to replace a head at 60k just outside of warranty. Had to replace the transmission right at 100k.
If a vehicle can’t last up close to 300k miles it’s nothing but a liability to me as I will rack up that many miles in half a decade.
Disappointing.
Nephew has a Jeep 3.6 pentastar and has the same cylinder 2 misfire and needs a new head. I know more PS owners or previous owners that have had early failures than I know those that haven’t.
 
Plawan said:
We have a 2019 PS. Had to replace a head at 60k just outside of warranty. Had to replace the transmission right at 100k.
If a vehicle can’t last up close to 300k miles it’s nothing but a liability to me as I will rack up that many miles in half a decade.
Disappointing.
Nephew has a Jeep 3.6 pentastar and has the same cylinder 2 misfire and needs a new head. I know more PS owners or previous owners that have had early failures than I know those that haven’t.
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Are you sure you and your nephew were simply not a victims crooked mechanics looking for a higher payout? The head issues have affected a very small percentage of PS engines and that was for 2014 and earlier models. They can experience dropped valve seats sometimes, but that's rare too.

Most of the misfires on the newer ones are caused by the bad rocker arms that ate away a cam lobe. These do not require a head replacement.
 
KrisZ said:
Are you sure you and your nephew were simply not a victims crooked mechanics looking for a higher payout? The head issues have affected a very small percentage of PS engines and that was for 2014 and earlier models. They can experience dropped valve seats sometimes, but that's rare too.

Most of the misfires on the newer ones are caused by the bad rocker arms that ate away a cam lobe. These do not require a head replacement.
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Took ours to dealer and that’s what they claim they did. Nephews went to some independent shop.
I wouldn’t doubt for a second that the dealership would lie about it.
Wouldn’t doubt any shop anywhere would lie actually. That’s the type of society we’re living in now.
 
This is an old thread, but putting my 2 cents here for anyone looking to buy a vehicle with the 3.6L Pentastar--DON'T! That engine sucks! I've got two--2014 Grand Cherokee and 2016 Wrangler. BOTH have had the following issues:

2014 (132K miles)
- rocker bearing issue both camshafts replaced
- oil cooler (cheap plastic POS)
- thermostat 2x
- water pump
- radiator

2016 (82K miles)
- rocker bearing issue (driver side at 21K)
- oil cooler TWICE (even with the doorman "upgrade")
- thermostat
- camshaft and cylinder head replacement at 82K

Note: sold the 2014, but I've got too much into the Wrangler. I'm adding the Baxter oil filter adapter to combat the dry starts.
 
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alaskanseminole said:
This is an old thread, but putting my 2 cents here for anyone looking to buy a vehicle with the 3.6L Pentastar--DON'T! That engine sucks! I've got two--2014 Grand Cherokee and 2016 Wrangler. BOTH have had the following issues:

2014 (132K miles)
- rocker bearing issue both camshafts replaced
- oil cooler (cheap plastic POS)
- thermostat 2x
- water pump
- radiator

2016 (82K miles)
- rocker bearing issue (driver side at 21K)
- oil cooler TWICE (even with the doorman "upgrade"
- thermostat
- camshaft and cylinder head replacement at 82K

Note: sold the 2014, but I've got too much into the Wrangler. I'm adding the Baxter oil filter adapter to combat the dry starts.
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I'm no Pentastar fan boi but the radiator isn't really a Pentastar problem. Thermostat, meh, kinda.

The Baxter thing is a scam IMO

What oil weight were you running?
 
D60 said:
I'm no Pentastar fan boi but the radiator isn't really a Pentastar problem. Thermostat, meh, kinda.

The Baxter thing is a scam IMO

What oil weight were you running?
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I agree on the radiator, water pump, etc. Just venting. ;)

I'm running 5w-30 Mobil 1.

As for the Baxter, it just makes sense...at least it does to me. My Jeep isn't a daily driver, so it sits for a day or two and I always hear the lifter tick upon dry start. Something is causing these engines to $hit the bed--cheap rocker bearings, dry starts, etc. I've got WAY TOO MUCH invested in my Jeep to just replace the camshafts at 82K and cross my fingers it doesn't happen again. For me, it's worth the additional $400 to at least try something.
 
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alaskanseminole said:
This is an old thread, but putting my 2 cents here for anyone looking to buy a vehicle with the 3.6L Pentastar--DON'T! That engine sucks! I've got two--2014 Grand Cherokee and 2016 Wrangler. BOTH have had the following issues:

2014 (132K miles)
- rocker bearing issue both camshafts replaced
- oil cooler (cheap plastic POS)
- thermostat 2x
- water pump
- radiator

2016 (82K miles)
- rocker bearing issue (driver side at 21K)
- oil cooler TWICE (even with the doorman "upgrade")
- thermostat
- camshaft and cylinder head replacement at 82K

Note: sold the 2014, but I've got too much into the Wrangler. I'm adding the Baxter oil filter adapter to combat the dry starts.
Click to expand...
I track this thread because I have always wanted a Jeep. Every time I delve into it I can't decide 3.6 vs 3.8 problems and give up.

The rocker bearing issue - was that ever fixed?
 
SC Maintenance said:
I track this thread because I have always wanted a Jeep. Every time I delve into it I can't decide 3.6 vs 3.8 problems and give up.

The rocker bearing issue - was that ever fixed?
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I don't know why they ever switched from the 258 or 242 straight six. Great engines!

No, they've never fixed it. There are several class-action lawsuits out there.
 
alaskanseminole said:
I don't know why they ever switched from the 258 or 242 straight six. Great engines!

No, they've never fixed it. There are several class-action lawsuits out there.
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I thought it was fixed in '18 or '19? Like the HEMI lifters (revised parts).

The straight six wouldn't pass modern emissions standards and had its own head issues while making considerably less power. Will be interesting to see if the Hurricane ends up fitted to the Wrangler, it would be even nuttier than the 392.
 
alaskanseminole said:
THIS IS A FACT!

I've owned the 258, 242 and my CJ-5 had the 304 v8. Loved all three of those engines.
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I presume those old inline 6's would never meet cafe or emissions, and the "reviewers" would talk about how underpowered or antiquated they were.

I had one of last 300-6 Fords - with EFI. Was still pretty underpowered but acceptable. I presume same issue with it though - it burnt more gas in EFI than the older 1 barrels.
 
SC Maintenance said:
I presume those old inline 6's would never meet cafe or emissions, and the "reviewers" would talk about how underpowered or antiquated they were.

I had one of last 300-6 Fords - with EFI. Was still pretty underpowered but acceptable. I presume same issue with it though - it burnt more gas in EFI than the older 1 barrels.
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Yes, the old irrigation/tractor/generator mill (Ford 300) was a workhorse, but powerful it was not. I had one in my '88 F-250 and even with 4.11's it wasn't a rocket, would pull just about anything though, as long as you didn't want to do it quickly. And yes, it was worse on fuel than a 302HO while making almost 100 less HP.
 
OVERKILL said:
I thought it was fixed in '18 or '19? Like the HEMI lifters (revised parts).

The straight six wouldn't pass modern emissions standards and had its own head issues while making considerably less power. Will be interesting to see if the Hurricane ends up fitted to the Wrangler, it would be even nuttier than the 392.
Click to expand...
If the 3.6 is still using the same crappy plastic oil cooler w/ drop-in filter, I'd say it's not fixed. It's possible they've improved the rockers, though.
 
alaskanseminole said:
If the 3.6 is still using the same crappy plastic oil cooler w/ drop-in filter, I'd say it's not fixed. It's possible they've improved the rockers, though.
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Yeah, I'm speaking of the rockers, AFAIK, they've "revised" the oil cooler/filter housing, but it's still plastic.
 
Baxter kit to setup a remote might do more and less stress on the housing.
It’s over priced with everything - but just the adapter and finding the rest separately is not extreme …
 
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LouC said:
Welll some may disagree, but I think the best jeep engine ever was the 4.0 inline six.
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Depends on your metric. My buddy has a '98 XJ with 5.13, AX-15 and 37s. My JL on the same tire size and still running 4.10 Rubi gears absolutely smokes him on highway grades.

However, yeah, a 4.0 will live as long as three or four Pentastars.
 
D60 said:
Depends on your metric. My buddy has a '98 XJ with 5.13, AX-15 and 37s. My JL on the same tire size and still running 4.10 Rubi gears absolutely smokes him on highway grades.

However, yeah, a 4.0 will live as long as three or four Pentastars.
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wwillson

Thread '626,000 mile Pentastar teardown'

https://www.thedrive.com/news/34672...ysler-pentastar-v6-is-after-626000-miles

Looks like the internals were in good shape except for the timing chains and tensioners. My question is would these timing chains have lasted longer with thicker oils?
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