what is the best v6 ever made?

The two V6 gasoline engines that are top of mind in terms or reliability and “bulletproof-ness” based on years of reading articles and frequenting message boards seem to be the GM 3.8 and the Toyota 4.0.
 
1blkc5 said:
4.3 turbo syclone motor
Click to expand...
Typhoon as well....Those trucks are quite rare & they burnt up 700R4's frequently when pushed hard. But it did prove that the 4.3L responded just as well to forced induction as the 3.8L Buick.....Not that GM ever did anything with it.

Could you imagine a 4th Gen Camaro with a Turbocharged 4.3L?
 
clinebarger said:
Typhoon as well....Those trucks are quite rare & they burnt up 700R4's frequently when pushed hard. But it did prove that the 4.3L responded just as well to forced induction as the 3.8L Buick.....Not that GM ever did anything with it.

Could you imagine a 4th Gen Camaro with a Turbocharged 4.3L?
Click to expand...
Yes, I have been dreaming about swapping a twin-turbo LV3 into mine. 600 hp would be pretty easy.
 
What is the easiest V6 to work on? Any that don't require you to pull the intake to do the spark plugs and valve cover gaskets? :unsure:

Jake_J said:
Even though I'm not really a fan of the cars they make, I'd vote for Nissan's VQ series as the best V6 ever made. It's easily the engine with the most Ward's Top 10 engines of the year awards which is saying something. Honda's excellent J series would be the runner up in my books.
Click to expand...

The VQ has a lot of problems with the electronics in the engine. For example, fuel injectors, MAF sensors, and knock sensors fail regularly on them. Those components should usually never have to be replaced.

The 4th gen Maxima's VQ has cutouts in the intake, so you can access the rear spark plugs and iginition coils without having to pull the intake. In fact, the rear coils have a different shape than the front ones, to better facilitate it. Unfortunately, they got rid of the cutouts from 2000-on in all versions of it. And you still have to pull the intake to get the rear valve cover gasket and fuel injectors :mad:
 
3.0 Vulcan. Have seen multiple examples in Rangers go over 400k. As touched on earlier in this thread the cooling system is a weak point in the Taurus/Sable platform but the engine would usually still be going strong at 250k or so when the trans let go or body rust made them non repairable.
 
GM 3.8/3800
Jeep 258 (4.2) and 4.0L - I know V6 was the question but these stood the test of time.
Pentastar 3.6L

Most trouble - GM 3.6L and Ford 3.0L
 
clinebarger said:
Typhoon as well....Those trucks are quite rare & they burnt up 700R4's frequently when pushed hard. But it did prove that the 4.3L responded just as well to forced induction as the 3.8L Buick.....Not that GM ever did anything with it.

Could you imagine a 4th Gen Camaro with a Turbocharged 4.3L?
Click to expand...
Had a 4.3L in a SWB 4WD GMC … with the electric fans … the whole front of engine was accessible …
77K trouble free miles …
Off-road you needed 4Lo … and it didn’t even tow a bay boat well … so back to V8’s …
 
4WD said:
Had a 4.3L in a SWB 4WD GMC … with the electric fans … the whole front of engine was accessible …
77K trouble free miles …
Off-road you needed 4Lo … and it didn’t even tow a bay boat well … so back to V8’s …
Click to expand...
A good friend of mine (going to preface this with "wrong tool for the job") tried to pull his boat out of a local lake on a very steep ramp with his Astro van that had the 4.3L. It would not pull it out, it just sat there and leaned against the converter once the weight took hold (this was a small cabin cruiser). My old '97 Explorer with the 4.0L OHV, but which had 4LO, hooked that up and out it came no problem.

Not sure how that would have played out in a 2WD pick-up with highways gears, but I suspect the same way as it did with his van.
 
OVERKILL said:
A good friend of mine (going to preface this with "wrong tool for the job") tried to pull his boat out of a local lake on a very steep ramp with his Astro van that had the 4.3L. It would not pull it out, it just sat there and leaned against the converter once the weight took hold (this was a small cabin cruiser). My old '97 Explorer with the 4.0L OHV, but which had 4LO, hooked that up and out it came no problem.

Not sure how that would have played out in a 2WD pick-up with highways gears, but I suspect the same way as it did with his van.
Click to expand...
HaHa … at least those StroVans were not FWD tire eaters … they were decent down south

My GMC had 3.73’s + G80 and 4Hi worked fine on slick boat ramps … but towing with headwinds it would hunt gears … or Tow/Haul mode left it spinning pretty fast …
 
Crash Bandicoot said:
2JZ. Put 1200 horsepower through many other 6 bangers and tell me how the engine takes it.
Click to expand...
1606485746959.png
 
cb_13 said:
3.0 Vulcan. Have seen multiple examples in Rangers go over 400k. As touched on earlier in this thread the cooling system is a weak point in the Taurus/Sable platform but the engine would usually still be going strong at 250k or so when the trans let go or body rust made them non repairable.
Click to expand...
Is that the same V6 that was in the mid 80s Thunderbird?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

P
The best oil for Mercedes OM 642 3.0 CRD V6
Replies
6
Views
2K
FlyingTexan
ctechbob
Weight Distributing Hitches - What they do.
2 3
Replies
52
Views
3K
bullwinkle
92saturnsl2
What is it with the Northeast and missing gas pump auto-hold tangs?
2 3 4
Replies
64
Views
4K
buster
B
Greatest/worst 3.5/3.6 24-valve V6 of the late 2000s?
3 4 5
Replies
85
Views
5K
Vercingetorix
OM605
Thinking about upgrading from a 4 cyl. manual to a 6 cyl. auto
2 3
Replies
49
Views
3K
edyvw
Back
Top