4WD
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Mine will be 5 years old in June - but only 37k, so been wondering about all the Mopar extended warranty offers - a high moly oil - or carry on …
3.6 pentastar as bad as it seems ???
- Thread starter Gawardawg
- Start date
Hey, I've seen a 2004 3V 5.4 with 406k (miles of course). The sun shines on a dog's posterior every once in a great while
I'd pass on the Baxter adapter too. IMO that heavy filter full or oil is going to cause problems down the road with the oil cooler/filter assembly leaking. Even with the aftermarket Dorman replacement housing. There's always a little vibration in an engine. If you're worried about dry starts after the engine sat for a long period of time, use clear flood mode before starting the engine to build oil pressure.
Friend's 2017 JGC (just hit 100K) bought used.... >They're thinking of trading to a Kia Palisade as they're not car keepers.
I think they should sell privately if they go that route.
Son of above found a leftover 2019 DGC....I love that van...it's red.
Same son bought a 2019 RAM w/56K (which I checked out)....Truck came with lower gears 'cause it didn't have the Hemi.
All with the 3.6 PS. They love 'em. With the 'long chains' they put out ~297hp IIRC.
I changed a neighbor's thermostat in his CTC van with the other PS.
As mentioned above, it was straightforward.
Hard data....Mopar / Stellantis love.
I think they should sell privately if they go that route.
Son of above found a leftover 2019 DGC....I love that van...it's red.
Same son bought a 2019 RAM w/56K (which I checked out)....Truck came with lower gears 'cause it didn't have the Hemi.
All with the 3.6 PS. They love 'em. With the 'long chains' they put out ~297hp IIRC.
I changed a neighbor's thermostat in his CTC van with the other PS.
As mentioned above, it was straightforward.
Hard data....Mopar / Stellantis love.
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
I mean, objectively, it's not a bad engine. It's low stress, port injected, and if the rockers don't fail, it should last an extremely long time, like a 2V Modular, which apparently this is an example of. Unfortunately, lots of them with the oil cooler failures, and early ones with the rocker and head issues. Will be interesting to see how the later ones age, where the issue with the head and rockers at least, is supposed to be fixed.Hey, I've seen a 2004 3V 5.4 with 406k (miles of course). The sun shines on a dog's posterior every once in a great while
4WD
$50 site donor 2025
Yeah, the one thing I don’t subscribe to is this every weekend “Italian tune up”. If I need to merge - fine - but I don’t redline any engine when it’s not needed.
Our 2018 has over 120k on it and all I’ve done to it so far is oil changes and an alternator. It does need a thermostat however…. Shoulda done that while I was in there, at least it’s easy to get at on the van.
It doesn't need to be redlined.
Nice, long highway runs will do.
I've mentioned my bi-monthly, 700 miles runs several times here; and how I 'think' they've helped all the mediocre vehicles I've owned.
I just think those runs wash the boogers out of the intake and maybe contribute to keeping the valve travel "polished smooth".
In the pre-ethanol era, it kept the fuel tank cleaner.
Doing that for 30 seconds in a parking lot ain't it.
As of today I have 472 idle hours, and 224,553 miles on my 2016 Ram 1500 with the 3.6L.
Runs silk smooth but leaks oil like the exxon valdez. Need to do the oil cooler once weather warms up.
Runs silk smooth but leaks oil like the exxon valdez. Need to do the oil cooler once weather warms up.
105K on our 2014 T&C. I did the PCV, oil cooler, plugs and thermostat. All items, but the oil cooler I would expect to do on a vehicle with over 100K miles on it... I don't have any complaints. I am currently waiting for the latest UOA from my most recent OCI. I'll post it when it comes back.
Just my $0.02
Just my $0.02
I’m at 112k miles on my Grand Caravan. I needed to replace the rockers on the front bank at around 90k miles. The oil cooler will likely need changing soon, as I see some wetness at the base of it.
Also changed the water pump as I was chasing a noise. The noise is still there (I now suspect the compressor clutch bearing) but the pump was also marking some noise when spun by hand.
I suspect the other bank may need the rockers soon. My last oil change I saw quite a lot of metal flakes, similar to what I saw before the rockers on the front bank started ticking.
Also changed the water pump as I was chasing a noise. The noise is still there (I now suspect the compressor clutch bearing) but the pump was also marking some noise when spun by hand.
I suspect the other bank may need the rockers soon. My last oil change I saw quite a lot of metal flakes, similar to what I saw before the rockers on the front bank started ticking.
I'm on my 4th Pentastar V6, 13 Durango 185k mi-still have it, 14 Charger 85k, 18 300 90k and currently have a 21 Durango with 46k. Looks like 676k of experience. Oil and filter every 5k Pennzoil Platinum 5-30. Also do trans and diff service at 100k and brake flush at75k. The only engine repairs have been on the 13 Durango, thermostat at 135k and oil filter/ cooler at 175k. The rockers have been trouble free and never any head issues. I believe the rocker issues are related to infrequent oil changes with poor quality oil. I have never added any oil between changes. Needless to say, I'm a believer, not a hater.
The failures don’t seem to follow the oil type, oil weight or reasonable OCIs.
I never exceeded 6-7k OCI and followed 5k changes for the most part. Everything was pretty much spotless under the valve covers.
Jeep and Chrysler forums members report these rocker failures regardless of maintenance history as well.
Some poster here (engine designer, IIRC) years ago suggested that these engines need periodic brisk runs, to assure they get out of "granny mode". The end result is enhanced lubrication that would not be accomplished otherwise. He was not suggesting full red line runs, just enough to get revs up. Vehicles can be driven "too easy" as well as too hard.
4WD
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I remember that - however as someone who watches oil pressure nonstop - it’s absolutely ridiculous how often these motors jump to 80 psi oil pressure in said “granny mode” …
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Brother in-law has a 13 or 14 avenger with the pentastar never heard him squawk over anything engine related and he’s one that just has Walmart or jiffy lube do his oil changes so bare minimum maintenance he does.
JTK
$100 Site Donor 2025
They're really not known to be tough on oil or burn oil. Being port injected and having a 6+ quart sump (in most configurations) helps. I'm sure there's people who still run them dry or totally neglect them, leading to failure, but I think for the average consumer these are a very tolerant engine.
