With the amount of work and time involved in this repair, it doesn't make sense to cut corners. As you know, these new systems are very sensitive to clearance.. best to just put a head on it.
the whole industry is falling apart. The old guys are retiring, the new guys cant diagnose their way out of a box with no lid. Leaving the dealership world was the best thing I ever did.
Thanks for the video. Looks like a ton or work. And who at Chrysler had the bright idea of looping the serpentine belt around the coolant lines?!!! Is it possible that the oil cooler had one or more cracks in it that let coolant leak out? It is common for people to tighten the oil filter cap too much on these 3.6 V6s which can cause the oil cooler (made of plastic) to crack. If enough coolant leaks out of the oil cooler (the coolant tank looked bone dry), the engine overheats. Could that overheating cause the head to warp and/or the gasket to fail?
Number of possibilities. Cooler is a known failure point, but it's impossible to know for sure. These particular years has a known machining issue in the heads and some reports of block decks being warped. Ya the belt thing is retarded, guy probably got promoted for that design lol
without looking at it and performing the required testing it't hard to say for sure. If you do end up needing one, get it and the dowels from the dealership.
I know it’s been a minute, I’m doing this exact job at work next week on an 18. Any tips or pointers? And I see the oil pan didn’t have to come off that’s nice
Do you have any idea as to why were these head gaskets failing? Both my daughter and I have 2017 Pacificas and we both had this exact failure at the number three cylinder! Both failures were finally diagnosed at around 130k miles. We meticulously maintain our vans too. Both had new water pumps installed along with new spark plugs, belts, tensioners and idler pulleys just after 100k miles (preventive maintenance only; no failures). I’ve previously bought new Caravans ‘92, ‘98 & ‘05, and I owned them until 187k, 260k & almost 300k miles respectively, and I never had head gasket issues with any of them. While I love the features, ride and performance of my ‘17 Pacific, this significant and very expensive reliability issue has cast serious doubt as to whether or not I will purchase another one in the future. Also, with the numerous complaints I am seeing about this issue on the web, I am hoping they will have a recall on this and also reimburse owners who have had to pay for these repairs.
There were some reports that the engine block deck was not machined correctly, others say the heads were not machined correctly. This era was an attempt by Chrysler to try and revive an old brand name, while adding as many features as possible for the price point. Could have been a disgruntled employee at the engine plant, it is hard to say what exactly the cause is.
@@MegaMarclarI'm actually curious to know why just the Pacifica head gaskets are failing on the 3.6 to, it's always at the rear Bank that seems to be getting too hot maybe because the catalytic converter runs parallel to the head really close or because the engine is stuffed into such a small compartment it's getting too hot I don't know.
Mine is in the shop, pulled p0305 and an same as you described very well. They suggest a n entire replacement, 15 k....95,000 miles. Terrible design...thanks for your post. In you oppinion, what would a garage change for what you just did? And how did it turn out? This is happening to so many.
So it seems shops when presented with what you were, are often opting to not dig in and repair...out of fear of liability, up charging and or both. The risk vs reward issue,...was there a point here where you debated if the engine was toast? Or are you confident the new head was the fix, also did you swap put the oil cooler (which may be the root cause/defenct)
@@tproc6642 sort of a case by case deal. Depends on the situation and how deep the owners pockets are. Most techs these days don't know how to diagnose the issues and often are working for less than the time they have into it.. so it's typical to recommend an engine replacement. I present my case, what I found, and give options,.. it's up to the owner to choose whatever direction we go for the repair. Sometimes the cooler gets replaced, some times new seals, all depends on the situation. This failure was not caused by the cooler.
@@MegaMarclar got radiator and thermostat replaced that weekend. Mechanic says to sell it before it's too late. Driven almost 1000 miles after that. I am now trying to sell but very scared in taking another payment of $6-700 a month. This is my only fully paid family car.
@@syedrizvi7813 ya I feel ya, that was the same deal these people had. Replacing the head is a solution, but it sucks having to walk on eggshells not knowing what possibly go wrong next
Tell you what, I'm NEVER buying another darn Chrysler. Got to 100k and everything is falling apart, nvm that I've taken care of this van like all the other cars I've ever had with timely scheduled maintenance. Piece of crap Pacifica.
every brand has its issues, this was an unfortunate series of catastrophes by the Chrysler corporation. As far as I know, there have not been any failures of this type on the newer versions
Good stuff my guy. Wise choice on the call for the head and not just the gasket.
With the amount of work and time involved in this repair, it doesn't make sense to cut corners. As you know, these new systems are very sensitive to clearance.. best to just put a head on it.
Back middle is cylinder 3, hoss.
Where can I get the head??
I love how you make the dealer mechanics look very bad
the whole industry is falling apart. The old guys are retiring, the new guys cant diagnose their way out of a box with no lid. Leaving the dealership world was the best thing I ever did.
Thanks for the video. Looks like a ton or work. And who at Chrysler had the bright idea of looping the serpentine belt around the coolant lines?!!! Is it possible that the oil cooler had one or more cracks in it that let coolant leak out? It is common for people to tighten the oil filter cap too much on these 3.6 V6s which can cause the oil cooler (made of plastic) to crack. If enough coolant leaks out of the oil cooler (the coolant tank looked bone dry), the engine overheats. Could that overheating cause the head to warp and/or the gasket to fail?
Number of possibilities. Cooler is a known failure point, but it's impossible to know for sure. These particular years has a known machining issue in the heads and some reports of block decks being warped. Ya the belt thing is retarded, guy probably got promoted for that design lol
2018 Pacifica, 72kmi. Same issue on cylinder 1 (passenger side, rear bank). Do you recommend I look for another head?
without looking at it and performing the required testing it't hard to say for sure. If you do end up needing one, get it and the dowels from the dealership.
I know it’s been a minute, I’m doing this exact job at work next week on an 18. Any tips or pointers? And I see the oil pan didn’t have to come off that’s nice
Actually it's not that bad of a job for the R head. Just take your time
Do you have any idea as to why were these head gaskets failing? Both my daughter and I have 2017 Pacificas and we both had this exact failure at the number three cylinder! Both failures were finally diagnosed at around 130k miles. We meticulously maintain our vans too. Both had new water pumps installed along with new spark plugs, belts, tensioners and idler pulleys just after 100k miles (preventive maintenance only; no failures). I’ve previously bought new Caravans ‘92, ‘98 & ‘05, and I owned them until 187k, 260k & almost 300k miles respectively, and I never had head gasket issues with any of them. While I love the features, ride and performance of my ‘17 Pacific, this significant and very expensive reliability issue has cast serious doubt as to whether or not I will purchase another one in the future. Also, with the numerous complaints I am seeing about this issue on the web, I am hoping they will have a recall on this and also reimburse owners who have had to pay for these repairs.
There were some reports that the engine block deck was not machined correctly, others say the heads were not machined correctly. This era was an attempt by Chrysler to try and revive an old brand name, while adding as many features as possible for the price point. Could have been a disgruntled employee at the engine plant, it is hard to say what exactly the cause is.
@@MegaMarclarI'm actually curious to know why just the Pacifica head gaskets are failing on the 3.6 to, it's always at the rear Bank that seems to be getting too hot maybe because the catalytic converter runs parallel to the head really close or because the engine is stuffed into such a small compartment it's getting too hot I don't know.
Did you have to evacuate the ac system to do this job.
no, I don't think so. It has 1234yf refrigerant which requires a newer style machine.
I'm also a member of this club. 82k on a 2017. P0303. 😞
Mine is in the shop, pulled p0305 and an same as you described very well. They suggest a n entire replacement, 15 k....95,000 miles. Terrible design...thanks for your post. In you oppinion, what would a garage change for what you just did? And how did it turn out? This is happening to so many.
It varies wildly from shop to shop. Just replacing one head could easily be 3500$.
So it seems shops when presented with what you were, are often opting to not dig in and repair...out of fear of liability, up charging and or both. The risk vs reward issue,...was there a point here where you debated if the engine was toast? Or are you confident the new head was the fix, also did you swap put the oil cooler (which may be the root cause/defenct)
@@tproc6642 sort of a case by case deal. Depends on the situation and how deep the owners pockets are. Most techs these days don't know how to diagnose the issues and often are working for less than the time they have into it.. so it's typical to recommend an engine replacement. I present my case, what I found, and give options,.. it's up to the owner to choose whatever direction we go for the repair. Sometimes the cooler gets replaced, some times new seals, all depends on the situation. This failure was not caused by the cooler.
looks like I have coolant leaking as well :( -- have an appointment with dealership tomorrow morning
never a good feeling. hope it works out for you.
@@MegaMarclar got radiator and thermostat replaced that weekend. Mechanic says to sell it before it's too late. Driven almost 1000 miles after that. I am now trying to sell but very scared in taking another payment of $6-700 a month. This is my only fully paid family car.
@@syedrizvi7813 ya I feel ya, that was the same deal these people had. Replacing the head is a solution, but it sucks having to walk on eggshells not knowing what possibly go wrong next
@@syedrizvi7813A mechanic tells you to sell it because it needs a radiator and thermostat??
An oil sample probably would have picked up glycol.
absolutely.
My '17 has a blown gasket and burning coolant as well....dealership wants $8k to fix. I owe $6800 on the car....
I think this repair was under 4$. You would be funding the owners private jet fund..
He was pointing cylinder 1 and call it cylinder 2.
So...
damn mine has 107k lmao
Tell you what, I'm NEVER buying another darn Chrysler. Got to 100k and everything is falling apart, nvm that I've taken care of this van like all the other cars I've ever had with timely scheduled maintenance. Piece of crap Pacifica.
every brand has its issues, this was an unfortunate series of catastrophes by the Chrysler corporation. As far as I know, there have not been any failures of this type on the newer versions
When you say newer versions what years are you referring to?