chrysler/jeep/dodge 3.7 2nd-hand info

Pennzoil motor oil
Status
Not open for further replies.
M

meep

Joined
Feb 20, 2007
Messages
10,158
Location
Southeast
pulled this from a jeep forum I frequent,

---------------------------

Nonni, stick with the Chrysler recommended oil viscosity. It is 5W20 or 5W30 for a reason! The 3.7 L motors have no camshaft bushings in the cylinder head, unlike the old engines of years ago. They ride in the aluminum head bore. That is one of the reasons why OEM specifies a light weight motor oil. At engine start-up, you want oil pressure as quickly as possible. If you live in a warm climate, you will probably not experience any long term engine problems. However in colder climates, at freezing levels, lubrication at engine start-up is slower, and cylinder head valve train damage can occur. You want instant oil pressure to critical engine components.

Our company has close to 60 Dodge trucks, all running 3.7 L's.They work 12 to 20 hours per day, 7 days/ week. We have not had any oil related issues running recommended oils, and we are situated in the Northwest. Our sister company, also running same trucks ran into multiple camshaft/ valvetrain failures on their trucks. They were running a higher viscosity multi-purpose oil they have been running for years, without any issues. Problems were analayzed, both by Chrysler (not warranty, but because we have a large fleet, & they do not want to loose future business), and oil viscosity was the cause of failure. Critical engine components damaged due to lack of lubrication at start-up & long periods of idling. Chrysler even published a memo to all Dealers & lube shops (Jiffy lube etc.) to make sure the proper oil is installed at servicing. Many places used bulk oil like 10w30, instead of 5W30, because oil is oil Anyway, after switching to the right viscosity oil, our sister company has experienced no further failures.

------------------

Internet has all kinds of opinions, but if this guy seriously experienced those occurrences, then it'd be good info.

Mike
 
Most all ohc engines I seen have had no bearings for the cams. The proper oil should always be used for the startup temps.
 
Yes, its been fairly standard practice to run cams directly on aluminum head material for many, many years now. Cam bearings are actually some of the most lightly-loaded bearings in an engine- no impulsive loads like conrod and main crank bearings see, and no very small area sliding contact like flat-tappet cam lobes see. I don't think I've ever disassembled an engine of any type and found excessive wear on the cam bearings unless there was an oil passage blocked (say, for example, by a rotated or improperly installed cam bearing insert in a cam-in-block engine) which starved the bearing. The loading is even less in an OHC design which typically can use much lower spring pressures than a cam-in-block engine.

I don't dispute that the correct oil should be used, or that the "sister company" might have seen oil-related cam failures. But I seriously doubt that *just* the difference between a 10w30 and a 5w30 could be conclusively cited as the primary cause. The actual oil thickness varies more than that dependent on ambient temps, so a 5w30 in Minnesota is going to be much thicker at startup, in practice, than a 10w30 in Texas. If an engine were that close to the ragged edge, I don't think it would have quite the reliability record that the 3.7/4.7 engines have achieved.
 
Yeah but if they ran 10w30 then that is one thing...But what I want to know is if you can run 5w30 in the 3.7L safely in a climate that would normally range such that 5w30 would be the right choice.

Is running 5w30 instead of the recommended 5w20 enough to hurt? I think that should be the real question here verses introducing the 10w30 argument becasue that is obviously a larger deviation than going to a 5w30 in an engine that calls for 5w20. I just worry that 5w20 is not safe in the summer heat but unfortunately my parents have 2 vehicles that call for 5w20 (both Jeeps) and it is too much of a pain to run a different weight depending on the weather. They want to run one weight year round...so is 5w30 safe or not?
 
note that they mentioned extended idling, which would also involve lower pressure/flow rate than cruising. Wish we knew what the "improper" oil was.

I'd imagine a 5-30 would be fine, earlier 3.7's used 5-30. BUT I don't think that fears about 5-20 not being safe is needed, Otherwise the oem would have suggested a 5-30 for warm climates. As many others have said many times here, there's not much of a diff between them.

M
 
FastSUV, I believe you have stated in the past you live in OK and assume your parents do also. I would run 5W-20 in them year round. Believe me, it can take the heat.
 
Last edited:
I use my jeep 3.7l for work and it idles a lot, I am running 0w30 mobil 1. When 5w-20 came out I was against it, but now I am on the fence I can see were it would be good. I still feel it is geared more towards cafe standards though.....
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: Johnny
FastSUV, I believe you have stated in the past you live in OK and assume your parents do also. I would run 5W-20 in them year round. Believe me, it can take the heat.


Yes Johnny they do...it is actually my mom & stepdad's vehicles I am referring to. I do not live with them since I am in my 30's :) but I am anal-retentive about cars so I insist on changing their oil to make sure it is done right.

I am going w/ PP in the 3.7L for sure every 6k...not sure what to do on the 2.4L but I assume since the factory forces a 6k interval on the oil reminder (no OLM on these), I better use PP since it will be 6k that they go. Except the 2.4L may only be driven 10k per year so maybe YB every 6 months is better...Johnny?
 
I just mix 50:50 5w30:5w20 and don't worry about it. the old 30 weight used to shear to 20 weight anyway, without any harmful effects. or 1:2 20 weight to 30 weight, depending on the published viscosity of the 20 weight. valvoline and NAPA 20 weight are more viscous than say Quaker State or Pennzoil, so for valvoline it would be 1:2, for QS 1:1. I even do this when the manual calls for 5w30, such as in my Impreza, and my Mitsubishi Colt. All engines in my stable like this mix. My Dodge Dakota calls for 5w20, and 5w25 works good there too.
 
My owner's manual for a 2002 Jeep Liberty shows 10w30 above 0*F, with 5w30 "preferred" at all temperatures.

I normally have run 10w30 -- Pennzoil Platinum was in for the winter and it's soon due for a change. I may go to a Havoline high mileage 10w30, because I have a quantity of it on hand from a closeout at Advance Auto and it's just getting older.

If I decide this thread has frightened me though, I could use a Mobil 7500 5w30.
 
My 06 ram 3.7 calls for 5w30 but Im going with Havoline DS 5w20 (thin dino i believe). If i get the used oil analysis on the 5/20 Havoline DS I will post it for you all to check out.
 
Do any of you guys with the 3.7 have start up noise. Im 70% sure it is piston slap, the other 30% of me wants to blame the timing chain. It does go away after a minute or so and does not come back until the truck gets cold again.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

D
  • Locked
Oil for '09 Jeep Liberty, 3.7 V-6
Replies
3
Views
2K
af0h
K
  • Locked
Jeep (Chrysler) 2.4L I4
2
Replies
24
Views
18K
84zmyfavorite
R
  • Locked
Oil for (2) Vehicles - Jeep 3.7, Dodge 4.7
Replies
12
Views
2K
Starbreaker666
D
  • Locked
HEMI 5.7 engine autopsy findings from a 2011 Dodge Challenger
2
Replies
25
Views
8K
Deleted member 89374
Z
  • Locked
5w-20 and engine longevity
6 7 8
Replies
156
Views
157K
1sttruck
Back
Top Bottom