Jeep 3.6 Pentastar

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Aug 15, 2020
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468
I bought a 2020 Grand Cherokee with the 3.6.....sure i had rather have the 5.7 v-8 but not willing to pay 40k etc....I got a great deal on this one at 31k for a Limited.
Ive been a Ford guy most all my life ....had 4 Mustangs v-8's but I just dont like the 2.7 ecoboost in an Explorer.....not a fan of small engines with a turbo cranking out huge HP numbers in very heavy SUV's and trucks.
Most all my friends say the 3.6 is junk and will never make 100k miles etc......should have bought Ford or Toyota...
I dont see Jeeps or Dodge etc.....with 3.6 \'s littering the side of the road.
With proper oil chances the Pentastar should make 200k easy......question is my friends Jeep GC 3.6 says use 5w20.....two years later mine says use 0w20 .....I live in a very hot climate and will keep on using 5w20 Valvoline syn in my Jeep .....It sure seems to run better and smoother with 5w20 vs 0w20 in the summer months.
What is diff from the 2018 3.6 to 2020 to make Jeep change the the oil viscosity?
 
The Pentastar is a great engine that will serve you well for many miles. The Valvoline 5W20 you mentioned will be fine, as would any other oil that meets specs. I run Convoy 5W30 in our 2015 Pentastar.
 
I bought a 2020 Grand Cherokee with the 3.6.....sure i had rather have the 5.7 v-8 but not willing to pay 40k etc....I got a great deal on this one at 31k for a Limited.
Most all my friends say the 3.6 is junk and will never make 100k miles etc......should have bought Ford or Toyota...
I dont see Jeeps or Dodge etc.....with 3.6 \'s littering the side of the road.
With proper oil chances the Pentastar should make 200k easy......question is my friends Jeep GC 3.6 says use 5w20.....two years later mine says use 0w20 .....I live in a very hot climate and will keep on using 5w20 Valvoline syn in my Jeep .....It sure seems to run better and smoother with 5w20 vs 0w20 in the summer months.
What is diff from the 2018 3.6 to 2020 to make Jeep change the the oil viscosity?
IMO You've made the right choice! I don't see any need for a 5.7 litre unless you haul and frequently fairly long distance.
 
I bought a 2020 Grand Cherokee with the 3.6.....sure i had rather have the 5.7 v-8 but not willing to pay 40k etc....I got a great deal on this one at 31k for a Limited.
Ive been a Ford guy most all my life ....had 4 Mustangs v-8's but I just dont like the 2.7 ecoboost in an Explorer.....not a fan of small engines with a turbo cranking out huge HP numbers in very heavy SUV's and trucks.
Most all my friends say the 3.6 is junk and will never make 100k miles etc......should have bought Ford or Toyota...
I dont see Jeeps or Dodge etc.....with 3.6 \'s littering the side of the road.
With proper oil chances the Pentastar should make 200k easy......question is my friends Jeep GC 3.6 says use 5w20.....two years later mine says use 0w20 .....I live in a very hot climate and will keep on using 5w20 Valvoline syn in my Jeep .....It sure seems to run better and smoother with 5w20 vs 0w20 in the summer months.
What is diff from the 2018 3.6 to 2020 to make Jeep change the the oil viscosity?
well I have a different opinion of the 3.6, it is garbage

my next door neighbor has one and it lives in the shop despite meticulous dealer maintenance and oil changes every 3 months/5000 km.

The rocker arms and lifters can be considered to be disposable and usually fail around 100k miles (just after the warranty). Replacement of the valve train is just "routine maintenance" after 100k miles

The transmissions are poor and often fail, the first sign is a flare shift between 1st and second or slippage (dying torque converter)

Make up your own mind and search Dodge and Mopar forums, the answers are there.
 
My perception of the 3.6 and the ZF-8 is from presently owning two of them and putting 175,000 miles on them. Both the engine and transmission are 100% reliable, I've never had an internal problem with either. The oil cooler was replaced under warranty on the Durango after someone at the dealer changed the oil, which I specifically said not to do, and way over tightened the oil filter and cracked the cooler. They dumped my expensive synthetic oil with 1,000 miles on it, that was irritating.

The ZF-8 is simply a great transmission. It doesn't search gears, it keeps the engine in the sweet torque RPM range for maximum fuel economy, and has crisp shifts. The only time it shifts differently is when it's cold. The shift from 1-2 feels like a flare, but it's just the way it shifts when it's cold. Every ZF-8 I've ever driven has the same 1-2 shift the when cold.

My friend who owns a shop says they don't know much about the Pentastar and the ZF-8, because they don't get requests to fix them. My belief is this is a testament to their reliability.
 
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well I have a different opinion of the 3.6, it is garbage

my next door neighbor has one and it lives in the shop despite meticulous dealer maintenance and oil changes every 3 months/5000 km.

The rocker arms and lifters can be considered to be disposable and usually fail around 100k miles (just after the warranty). Replacement of the valve train is just "routine maintenance" after 100k miles

The transmissions are poor and often fail, the first sign is a flare shift between 1st and second or slippage (dying torque converter)

Make up your own mind and search Dodge and Mopar forums, the answers are there.

The ZF 8spd is poor? Did you forget the sarcasm emoji?
 
My perception of the 3.6 and the ZF-8 is from presently owning two of them and putting 175,000 miles on them. Both the engine and transmission are 100% reliable, I've never had an internal problem with either. The oil cooler was replaced under warranty on the Durango after someone at the dealer changed the oil, which I specifically said not to do, and way over tightened the oil filter and cracked the cooler. They dumped my expensive synthetic oil with 1,000 miles on it, that was irritating.

The ZF-8 is simply a great transmission. It doesn't search gears, it keeps the engine in the sweet torque RPM range for maximum fuel economy, and has crisp shifts. The only time it shifts differently is when it's cold. The shift from 1-2 feels like a flare, but it's just the way it shifts when it's cold. Every ZF-8 I've ever driven has the same 1-2 shift the when cold.

By friend who owns a shop says they don't know much about the Pentastar and the ZF-8, because they don't get requests to fix them. My belief is this is a testament to their reliability.

Yes, our Durango did the harder first 1-2 shift thing, but my SRT's haven't done it and neither does my wife's truck. So I expect there has been a programming update that fixes it.
 
I have a 3.6L ZF-8. 10K OCI 0w-20 for first 100k. Now switched to either 0w-30 or 5w-30. I actually cant remember what I used. And I had no reason to switch other than I just wanted to.
IMO the ZF-8 is the best trans right now. And I own a Ford 10sp as well.
The 3.6L is a well proven engine. Anyone who says any different is just a troll or a 1 off lemon like you get with any brand.
The whole Durango has not been back for any warranty work. I do have the Mopar Lifetime Max care warranty. I didn't trust Mopar when we bought it. I wasted my $$$ on that so far.

The 3.6L is a great engine, plenty of power. I have towed 4K lbs with it. Not a problem at all.
The only issue with the 3.6L is, its just not as cool as the V-8 Hemi.....
 
If you intended to keep that grand cherokee long term and/or rack up lots of miles, the pentastar is the better choice in engines. I've owned 2 of them and currently have a 2019 Ram 1500 classic w/ hemi. Love the hemi, but I feel the pentastar is better long term mill. Valve train issues can happen, but it's typically not catastrophic, plus parts and labor are not expensive on them.

The weakest point IMO as mentioned above is the plastic oil filter / cooler assembly. It will leak at some point and requires removal of the intake manifold to get at it. Again, not a huge deal, nor overly complicated, just a bit of labor. If you've got the intake off for an oil filter/cooler housing replacement you can do spark plugs at the same time given the intake has to come off for one bank of plugs.

The ZF8 can also be serviced DIY for cheap if you choose.
 
well I have a different opinion of the 3.6, it is garbage

my next door neighbor has one and it lives in the shop despite meticulous dealer maintenance and oil changes every 3 months/5000 km.

The rocker arms and lifters can be considered to be disposable and usually fail around 100k miles (just after the warranty). Replacement of the valve train is just "routine maintenance" after 100k miles

The transmissions are poor and often fail, the first sign is a flare shift between 1st and second or slippage (dying torque converter)

Make up your own mind and search Dodge and Mopar forums, the answers are there.
So you make such a statement on 2nd hand information?! You only know what you've been told.
 
There's also of course this thread:
 
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