Can thicker oil prevent rocker arm failures in Pentastar 3.6 V6?

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Mar 5, 2022
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Planning to buy a Ram 1500 V6, wondering if a thicker oil would ensure longer engine life.
 
It might then it might not. Why are there rocker are failures in that engine ?
 
Multiple schools of thought on it. I have a friend back in Texas who has ran 0W-40 in his 2018 Jeep Wrangler from the first oil change and now has over 100K in it with no issues.

I run 5W-30 in mine with no issues. Can I say it is "better"? No way to know, but I like the increased protection that it provides over 0W-20 especially when off-roading in high temperatures.
 
Not necessarily. Personally I'd go with something higher vis just because I'm in the hot hot south, 5w30 at least. The original rockers have been updated/superseded about 7 times now. Once you start having issues change all the rockers and lifters to the updated PNs.

rockers 5184296AH
lifters 5184332AA - actually hasn't changed numbers.

Keep in mind that you may end needing one or more of the 4 camshafts if the roller on the rocker that failed has eaten into the camshaft. Honestly though the Ram 1500s with the ERB 3.6 rarely come through my dealership with valve train issues, I'm not sure why but they hold up better than the jeep/chrysler/dodge car applications.

Watch out for leaking oil filter housing and the thermostat, otherwise enjoy the truck sir.

They have a HUGE material quality issue that leads to these problems.
 
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@easym FWIW I use 5w30 in the wife’s 2014 T&C. I am leery to use 5w20 after our 2006 T&C was burning oil. I switched it to 5w30 and this 3.6 has seen nothing but 5w30 since we bought it w/ 35k miles.

Just my $0.02
 
Slightly used
I was wondering if it's the newer Pentastar V6 /w E-Torque that requires 0W-20, or the old model that calls for 5W-20. I got the new model in the Durango, but of course, mine doesn't have E-Torque.
 
Multiple schools of thought on it. I have a friend back in Texas who has ran 0W-40 in his 2018 Jeep Wrangler from the first oil change and now has over 100K in it with no issues.

I run 5W-30 in mine with no issues. Can I say it is "better"? No way to know, but I like the increased protection that it provides over 0W-20 especially when off-roading in high temperatures.
I like to think that they resolved the issue in the latest iteration of the Pentastar V6 engines like I got in the Durango. Still, I believe that 0W-20 is a hair too thin when using this engine in a heavy SUV or pickup truck. I seriously doubt that the factory fill was 0W-20, considering that when I switched to Red Line 0W-20 my idle oil pressure dropped from 29~30 PSI to 27 PSI.
 
I like to think that they resolved the issue in the latest iteration of the Pentastar V6 engines like I got in the Durango. Still, I believe that 0W-20 is a hair too thin when using this engine in a heavy SUV or pickup truck. I seriously doubt that the factory fill was 0W-20, considering that when I switched to Red Line 0W-20 my idle oil pressure dropped from 29~30 PSI to 27 PSI.
My oil pressure hot is 38 with 0w20.
 
My oil pressure hot is 38 with 0w20.
Does your Pentastar have ESS? Or does the oil filler cap say 5W-20? I'm curious which version it is. My wife's Jeep has similar oil pressure, and an identical engine. I haven't changed the factory fill in that one yet.
 
The new Pentastar introduced variable valve lift and reduced friction in critical areas, amongst other things. I presume they tweaked the oil pump, passages, and the resulting oil pressures as part of the design overhaul. That's why we may have different oil pressures.

Take a look at this: https://media.stellantisnorthamerica.com/newsrelease.do?id=16718&mid=.
Oil pressure you stated is normal. I have seen lots of engines with 10 psi at idle from new. Heck one of them was my own 84 F100 300 six which you couldn't kill. I worry more about efficiency than oil pressure.
 
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