Uncle Rodney is that one relative who always comes knocking when you least want him around and he always brings his vacation photos from his trip to the "Bearing Sea".
Yes, But he comes Always Only at those doors, which factoryes have overjumped the operation of machining the rod caps/rods, to make that little tiny two tooths, which Prevents the bearings from spinning. So, ... maybe they should get some more educated about These Problems ...
How many people have nothing to do with being a mechanic or anything like that in their lives, but like me just come here every week to watch Eric tear down another engine because they find him entertaining?
Being in manufacturing maintenance most my life. And building dozen of car motors. I enjoy seeing the differences in brands! Or the lack of differences. In some cases.
@@prydin That's awesome. I own an IT company and find mechanical engineering fun and intriguing. I love seeing how things work and thinking about ways to improve them.
That's how my Toyota Sienna is. The body and frame are rusting away, and the cheap interior looks bad, and weird electrical issues with the HVAC, transmission clunking, but the engine just keeps going.
@Bluecedor Chrysler used really cheap metal. The ones that were seal-coated usually rusted out much faster because they covered most of the drain holes. I learned how to do body work on our 2006 Town and Country after I learned the warranty was worthless. If the vehicle was rusted completely through before 60,000 miles, they refunded you a prorated portion of the seal coating price. Like that helped. 🤪
@MarkMiner Agreed. The wife and I loved our 02. 320k when an accident took it and the insurance wouldn't fix it. It was awd and that thing was a beast in the Tahoe snow for many winters.
I used to regret not getting a newer Wrangler with a 3.6. Over time and wrenching on it I've really come to love the 3.8 and have flipped opinions. Slow as a dump truck but simple and DIY friendly.
I love my 07 2 door JK stick. Crazily, I found a lot of midrange power by unplugging the EGR valve and doing away with the tiny snorkel on front of the airbox. And mine is really fast from 0 to ......10 feet. LOL
I had a 09 Wrangler Rubicon with the 3.8 and 6 speed manual. I took good care of it and sold it will 200K on. Of course it burned a little oil but in my opinion as long as you did good maintenance they held up.
The Chrysler 3.8 is about as durable as the AMC 4.0 it replaced in Jeeps. Jeep guys hated it at first, but knowing its architecture and design history, I predicted it would be just as long-lived. It’s a juggernaut.
The key I found with owning them is 3k oil changes and replacing the coolant sooner than the manufacturer recommend. Plus I changed the thermostat every coolant flush. The killer of the 4.0 and 3.8 was if you overheated them even a little. My 09 Wrangler Rubicon had 200k when I sold it. I miss that jeep.
No, nowhere close in durability. Take a tj through a stream crossing as many times as you want after swapping to electric fans never an issue. One stream crossing in a v-sucks and buy new heads because you just warped them.
My old 07 JK I bought new, sold in 2022, 14 years old no issue with the engine. 144,000 miles on it. Changed oil every 5K miles, full synthetic only. Now it leaked from all over, I di replace the timing cover gasket around 100K. My Jeep went everywhere, Moab, CO, MT, and based in AZ all over AZ trails, was built as well. i now have a 21 4XE, I loved seeing your 2.0 tear down gives me hope that it will last as well. I have 26,000 on it so far, and its built as well, but not as Hard Core as my 07 was.
Relative of mine had an '05 Town & Country minivan with the 3.3l version of this engine and it had about as many miles as this one, but it simply never died; the van was totaled before that could happen. Chrysler may have quite a spotty reputation for reliability (to say the least), but these engines in particular I have a ton of respect for.
the 3.8l burned a quart of oil from the factory. I had a 09 town and country. I got it used, and had to replace the valve seals with aftermarket. Once I did that it stopped burning oil.
Chrysler NOW has a spotty rep for quality control, but from the 1920s through 2000 (the Daimler merger when Chrysler quit really being Chrysler) they made some of the best, longest-running, most reliable (and a few of the most powerful for their time) engines of any manufacturer. The flathead sixes, the legendary 9-main Imperial flathead 8, the slant-sixes, the first gen Hemis of the 50s, the 383/426/440 and other big blocks, and the poly and LA smallblocks (273;318/340/360 and others in Poly form), and the Magnum revision of the smallblocks in the 1990s. I’ve put over 400,000 miles on a 318 LA, over 300,000 on a 383 big block, and 250,000 on a 3.5 v6 (close cousin of the 3.8 in this video, except 24 valve OHC), and over 200,000 on a 5.2 Magnum. The original 3-speed Torqueflites were also some of the best automatic transmissions made, too.
Not sure if this was in the 2003 Town & Country. 90% certain this was in the ol' family hauler we FINALLY got rid of (literally a few hours ago) Definitely served well up to the last second. Tranny needed work a while back. Engine itself Definitely seemed to start burning oil later in life. What did it in was seeming the starter just magically dieing with no indication it was on the way out (and I know of a dieing starter or 3) 203k miles, and we honestly outgrew the thing. If I'm not mistaken (again) in the Wranglers it's said how these engines seem to be at their limit and get easily bogged down once you start trying to build the ride.
Oh I have one of these on my 07 T&C, 300k km, overheated 2 times and survived with no issues, ran on 3 quarts and only developed valve tick. Bulletproof engines.
Same, my mom had a hole in her rad and drove it till it shut off. Now I have the T&C, changed the oil and replaced the rad it’s still running like a top after fixing the lifter tick these are infamous for. I’ve put about 50k miles on it since then!
I found the same scenerio when looking for an engine in my ranger. Truck engine $1500 minimum. Taurus engines were a thousand dollars less. Swap over intakes, oil pan, oil pump and head gaskets. That's it
I have a 2007 JK 3.8 purchased new by my father-in-law. The first 2 oil changes were conventional oil, then he switched to Mobil 1. It currently has 233k miles and still running strong.
Had 2 of these in minivans. 1999 T&C and 1999 Grand Caravan. Both insanely good. I ran both to 200k before getting rid of them. The Dodge I gave to my brother. It hit 250k before his kid ran it out of water one night after a fender bender (kept driving). It was still running the original factory spark plugs. No kidding. 250k on original plugs. Hard core reliable.
I love my 07 Jk with this engine. Did valve cover gaskets at 140K and it was clean and now at 185K still runs good. That one was run low on oil and if not amazingly would have run longer. They do use oil and especially if lack of maintenance has the rings gummed up. Mine uses a quart every 2300 miles like clock work. Thanks for the video. Loved it.
I've always been mechanically inclined, although worked in the grocery industry. These videos are quite satisfying, as I used to do maintenance on my own vehicles back in the 80s. Sad that it's become so difficult to work on vehicles now, can't even access spark plugs etc without removing everything...
I’ve had many jeeps but I miss that ol 4.0 straight 6 it was a tank, at least for mine. I built many XJ’s and those things sounded good with a good exhaust upgrade, only thing they overheated when wheeling but an aftermarket electric fan radiator fixed that no problem
The 4.0 was a pretty hot engine in a Cherokee. Nearly smoked the rears on my mom’s a couple times when I borrowed it for a road trip. Glad she never knew.
I absolutely love malice in the combustion palace. I have blown up a few motors myself just for “experimental purposes” a.k.a. like an old school two-stroke Detroit diesel and I actually have fun ripping apart the engine and seeing what blew up in it usually it’s something to do with uncle Rodney.
My dad had that engine in a minivan bought the van brand new for 30k and changed the oil every 3500 miles untill it hit 100000 miles then when to 3000 miles That engine was pristine in the inside finally sold the van at 380,000 miles cause the interior was trashed minivans and trucks are the same thing to him for hauling
Cool vid. I have two of those exact same engines in two Gen4 Grand Caravans that have had good maintenance over the years, and they're both past 250k miles and running like a top. Apparently a decent Mopar engine if you take normal care of them. Replaced all the valve cover gaskets due to oil seeps, and I was amazed how clean the valve system looked. I'm going to run them until they take a crap and maybe get a new engine then.
I do think that fuel consumption and emissions aside, the two valve pushrod engine was about the ultimate in cost, longevity and reliability for small engines. Every improvement since has added cost, complexity and number of exciting things to go wrong.
I would totally agree in regards with the domestics. I still think the ole 350sbc, Buick 3800, Ford 302 and 300 were some great engines with wonderful service life. And here’s the kicker, the newer stuff does not get any better fuel economy.
My 3.8L powered 2008 Jeep Liberty ran great for the twelve years and 150,000 miles I put on it, but it was decently maintained. Not religiously, but decently. It was basically my work truck for several years, and then my daughter drove it while she was in high school for a couple of years. I'd never call it overpowered, but it got the job done.
Outstanding video. I always worry about the drive train and I look at everything I can. I will look underneath to see if there's any wet spots or rust. I guess I'm a nut about it.
I had an 11 JKUR. The 3.8 never gave me an issue and a way more reliable engine then the 12 Pentastar. The JK was an amazing build over the years and off road vehicle. The clutch on the other hand was another issue. The usual throwout bearing issues that plagued the manuals is the reason I eventually sold it.
My mom had a 2001 Dodge Grand Caravan with this engine. It went through front brakes like a crohn's patient on laxatives, lost the transmission at just 20 miles after the drivetrain warranty expired, and always had a noisy power steering pump. But the engine kept going strong even after we sold it with close to 300k miles on it. These are definitely decent engines when you stick with 5k mile oil change intervals.
The Chrysler 3.3/3.8 was inspired by the GM 3800 , but is 60 degree instead of 90. It's a simple pushrod motor that can last a long time. I think the 3.8 5:58 should been offered the 3.8 in the Dakota, but they had the LA based 3.9 for that.
That EGR valve is a pain to replace when in the van. You have to remove the alternator since one of the EGR valve bolts is behind it. I've done it once and it is a pain!
Learned some good unapproved shortcuts from Eric like hammering oversized Torx bits into stubborn stripped screws 😂 Interesting about the parts bin engineering shared stuff between Jeeps and minivans. Likely this was a well taken care of engine that died due to being in an extreme off road situation.
My 110% believe that they even went to the 3.8 was capacity. That plant was slowing down. Drop the 4.0. Options were 3.8..3.7. They put the 3.7 in everything. Someone said we got plenty of production available on the 3.8. Bam...the jk took off and all of a sudden they couldn't make them enough/ good. Seems early jk..07/08 the 3.8 ok/good. After quality goes down
you can dress tools such as your hex drive you broke on the oil pump, and sockets too. grind them down, until the damaged snout is gone. saves you buying new ones. the other day i dressed a hydraulic union on a clarke automatic transmission, stuck it in the lathe and cut the burrs down.
As an owner of an 2010 FJ Cruiser, would love to see you do a teardown on a dead one (1GR-FE). They are rare to go bad, but there are some abused ones out there. I just want to see where they are taking the most abuse.
Eric, please try to get one of each of these engines. I would love to see you tear down a 2.4 SRT4 that came in the 2003 Chrysler PT Cruiser GT with the aluminum intake. If you can get your hands on one. Also the 1.8 that is in the 2016 Chevy Sonic. Great video as usual.
Had an '04 town and cun t with the 3.8 and got rid of it with 186,000 miles. Good motor/tranny but the body was gone (rust) and it consumed a quart of oil every 1000 miles or less.
I bought a '98 (I think) Voyager in early 2008 and drove it for about four years. I totaled it literally on the south side of a deer going north (I was driving east at the moment). I could still drive it, just not at night, and because of the age the insurance company totaled it. I'll bet the engine was still good so I hope someone got some use of it once the van was salvaged. It had a V-6 so it might have been this engine or a predecessor. I remember it had three coils bolted to the side of the engine, with each coil serving two cylinders (when one cylinder fired at btdc on the compression stroke, the mate fired at the end of the exhaust stroke).
I've had a few friends and co-workers that's have had Wranglers with 3.8's and then moved to 3.6's. Every one of them have said that the older 3.8's were easier to maintain and had fewer problems.
I have found If you use a hacksaw to cut the filter ends of it help with removing the filter from the steal ends (Note: just cut the filter to the steal center. You don’t have to cut through it.)
I picked up a 3.8 wrangler with a spun rod bearing a few years ago. I got it for what i thought was a good deal, pretty much the same condition. But the prior owner ran it until the bearing was tinfoil, the rod was done but still holding. The crank wasn't round on that journal. 😂 Metal throughout the system, signs of oil starvation. Oil galleys were sludge and glitter filled. Lifters were seized, all bearings shot. The block was good, just needed a hone at 180k. They say the minivans have a better rod design, forged vs the powered rod design in the jeeps. Less rod spinning maybe? Idnk, the front cover is where the value is. 😂
The rod design is different. In the Jeep they lined up the little grooves for the projections. The minivan motors they are opposite. The place that rebuilt one for a friend of mine said they fix this by rebuilding the Jeep engines with the minivan rods. This is supposed to end their tendency to spin rod bearings. That cover is expensive. I bought one two years ago refurbished for $800. It was the only one we could find.
Still driving my 2007 Dodge Caravan with the 3.3 engine. I have 305,000Km on it and engine runs quietly and never given me an issue. Uses about .5 L of oil between oil changes always at 3,000Km or 3 months from new. Did all but 3 engine oil changes. My 1993 3.3 van had 554,000km on it ( original engine nothing done to it other then a free tranny within warranty. Terrible on gas intown/ fine on the highway. Love the old girl, but body had groundhog sized holes in it ( Canada Car)
It's not surprising that the upper oil pan had been apart. My 2011 JK has about 125k miles and I've already had to replace it on mine. They are notorious for leaking. Fortunately it's not a super hard job and you don't even have to mess with the lower oil pan connection since it's just RTV anyway and doesn't tend to leak.
I have one of these engines in an 07 T&C I got for $250 with 191k miles on it back in '21. it's... rough. the body, not the motor. and as for gutless, that 3.8L will just LAUNCH the blue blob, right until the trans makes the 1-2 shift. I can spin the tires all day long in 1st. when the body falls apart enough to be too sketchy, I'd plans to turn that engine into a 48v generator.
great, my minivan has this and i have a spare engine to mount a supercharger on and want to see what it looks like on the inside. thank you! i bought a used supercharger kit for a jeep and plan to make it work. I had a 2005 Chrysler t &c and upgraded to a 2010 Chrysler t&c with the 3.8
Thank you for doing so many MOPARSs. I know you are a business but...... Any chance you can do a Chrysler/Dodge 2.7L 24v DOHC V6. That's the engine where Chrysler decided to run the water pump off the timing chain! Subsequently, any failure in the water pump causes it to leak antifreeze into the engine oil system, causing a severe sludge problem. Some of the early engines also had a too low, 4 quart oil capacity, causing the oil to run too hot and breakdown into more sludge. Additionally the oil passages were too narrow and there was a problem with the crankcase PVC ventilation system, making things even worse. With lots of TLC I managed to get my Stratus to 105,000 before any major blow-ups. I am now in the process of finding a shop willing to repair it. Thanks
Just got rid of my 2006 Grand Caravan with a 3.3L. One of the reasons we didn't want to soldier on with the old girl was that I was going to have to replace the intake manifold gasket a THIRD time. Expensive job. I replaced the water pump late in '16 and that was starting to weep, and new tires for winter and brakes in spring... and the body was beginning to disintegrate into the garage floor. The 3.3 has one of the worst water pump locations. It was time. 243,000 miles.
44:35 Thats hilarious! Another Colorado frame bites the dust! Those things are a death trap if they were anywhere near salt and\or the rust belt up here! Rusted away to swiss cheese!👍🏻👌🏻🤦🏻♂️🤣🤣😂🛠️
Uncle Rodney is that one relative who always comes knocking when you least want him around and he always brings his vacation photos from his trip to the "Bearing Sea".
Uncle Rodney always seems to come knocking after dropping his luggage in the Bearing Sea
Preferred , when he is about to make an exit ,,, !
Never insist he gives you a break, either - he really kicks off. Al hell let loose...
That was a good one!
Yes, But he comes Always Only at those doors, which factoryes have overjumped the operation of machining the rod caps/rods, to make that little tiny two tooths, which Prevents the bearings from spinning. So, ... maybe they should get some more educated about These Problems ...
How many people have nothing to do with being a mechanic or anything like that in their lives, but like me just come here every week to watch Eric tear down another engine because they find him entertaining?
Being in manufacturing maintenance most my life.
And building dozen of car motors. I enjoy seeing the differences in brands! Or the lack of differences. In some cases.
Even for the Turbo Tuners This Is still Very Educational, so , we gladly come here as well. Pwy from Eu.
Me! I’m a software engineer, but I find this fascinating.
@@prydin That's awesome. I own an IT company and find mechanical engineering fun and intriguing. I love seeing how things work and thinking about ways to improve them.
@@johndeerdrewI have my network admin ticket and am a mechanic (by trade). Just can’t find any work in IT any suggestions?
That 3.8 in the T&C is an amazing engine. Super reliable. I’ve had two vans that fell apart around the engine.
That's how my Toyota Sienna is. The body and frame are rusting away, and the cheap interior looks bad, and weird electrical issues with the HVAC, transmission clunking, but the engine just keeps going.
My daughter has a 2002 Chrysler Town and Country with 385,000 miles on it and still going with no issues. I would agree very good engines.
Those Town and Country vans rusted really bad. Most rusted out long before the engine or transmission failed.
@@herbb8547Ya I almost never see one without rust, even in desert states.
@Bluecedor Chrysler used really cheap metal. The ones that were seal-coated usually rusted out much faster because they covered most of the drain holes. I learned how to do body work on our 2006 Town and Country after I learned the warranty was worthless. If the vehicle was rusted completely through before 60,000 miles, they refunded you a prorated portion of the seal coating price. Like that helped. 🤪
@MarkMiner Agreed. The wife and I loved our 02. 320k when an accident took it and the insurance wouldn't fix it. It was awd and that thing was a beast in the Tahoe snow for many winters.
she didnt total it yet?
I used to regret not getting a newer Wrangler with a 3.6. Over time and wrenching on it I've really come to love the 3.8 and have flipped opinions. Slow as a dump truck but simple and DIY friendly.
Tough as nails to boot. Some engines seem to just keep going
The 3.6’s have a-lot of issues.
the 3.6 has a week spot in the oil cooler
I love my 07 2 door JK stick. Crazily, I found a lot of midrange power by unplugging the EGR valve and doing away with the tiny snorkel on front of the airbox. And mine is really fast from 0 to ......10 feet. LOL
@@greggc8088😂
I had a 09 Wrangler Rubicon with the 3.8 and 6 speed manual. I took good care of it and sold it will 200K on. Of course it burned a little oil but in my opinion as long as you did good maintenance they held up.
My 98 caravan had the 3.8. At 240000miles it was using a quart every 10k miles. Well done. 180 hp wasn’t very exciting but it was a rock.
you should change your oil more often than every 10k miles. havent you seen enough of Eric's videos to know that?
200hp
The Chrysler 3.8 is about as durable as the AMC 4.0 it replaced in Jeeps. Jeep guys hated it at first, but knowing its architecture and design history, I predicted it would be just as long-lived. It’s a juggernaut.
The key I found with owning them is 3k oil changes and replacing the coolant sooner than the manufacturer recommend. Plus I changed the thermostat every coolant flush. The killer of the 4.0 and 3.8 was if you overheated them even a little. My 09 Wrangler Rubicon had 200k when I sold it. I miss that jeep.
No, nowhere close in durability.
Take a tj through a stream crossing as many times as you want after swapping to electric fans never an issue.
One stream crossing in a v-sucks and buy new heads because you just warped them.
@@michaeljucius9509like temp shock?
I beat the dog piss out of line for 100k miles. It lived on the limiter. Drank mud and water many times. Slung mud better than the 4.0 did
"HMM it's saturday and almost 7. I wonder if Mr. Engine Teardown Man has posted an engine teardown?"
9 eastern time.
I'm a Jeep owner and watch anything Jeep that I can find. Thanks for a VERY interesting teardown.
Who else thinks Eric has nightmares of Dipsticks....
Other dipsticks ... lol
I’ve been watching your videos all day today since it’s been raining and i love it lol. Your sense of humor is top tier.
My old 07 JK I bought new, sold in 2022, 14 years old no issue with the engine. 144,000 miles on it. Changed oil every 5K miles, full synthetic only. Now it leaked from all over, I di replace the timing cover gasket around 100K. My Jeep went everywhere, Moab, CO, MT, and based in AZ all over AZ trails, was built as well.
i now have a 21 4XE, I loved seeing your 2.0 tear down gives me hope that it will last as well. I have 26,000 on it so far, and its built as well, but not as Hard Core as my 07 was.
Relative of mine had an '05 Town & Country minivan with the 3.3l version of this engine and it had about as many miles as this one, but it simply never died; the van was totaled before that could happen. Chrysler may have quite a spotty reputation for reliability (to say the least), but these engines in particular I have a ton of respect for.
the 3.8l burned a quart of oil from the factory. I had a 09 town and country. I got it used, and had to replace the valve seals with aftermarket. Once I did that it stopped burning oil.
These engines didn't kill vans. Transmission, body, electrical issues did. Mainly father time on value vs. transmission replacement.
Chrysler NOW has a spotty rep for quality control, but from the 1920s through 2000 (the Daimler merger when Chrysler quit really being Chrysler) they made some of the best, longest-running, most reliable (and a few of the most powerful for their time) engines of any manufacturer. The flathead sixes, the legendary 9-main Imperial flathead 8, the slant-sixes, the first gen Hemis of the 50s, the 383/426/440 and other big blocks, and the poly and LA smallblocks (273;318/340/360 and others in Poly form), and the Magnum revision of the smallblocks in the 1990s. I’ve put over 400,000 miles on a 318 LA, over 300,000 on a 383 big block, and 250,000 on a 3.5 v6 (close cousin of the 3.8 in this video, except 24 valve OHC), and over 200,000 on a 5.2 Magnum. The original 3-speed Torqueflites were also some of the best automatic transmissions made, too.
My 99 grand Caravan with 210,000 miles on it goes down the road every day. It does burn a little bit oil now but it is 25 years old.
Not sure if this was in the 2003 Town & Country.
90% certain this was in the ol' family hauler we FINALLY got rid of (literally a few hours ago)
Definitely served well up to the last second. Tranny needed work a while back. Engine itself Definitely seemed to start burning oil later in life.
What did it in was seeming the starter just magically dieing with no indication it was on the way out (and I know of a dieing starter or 3)
203k miles, and we honestly outgrew the thing.
If I'm not mistaken (again) in the Wranglers it's said how these engines seem to be at their limit and get easily bogged down once you start trying to build the ride.
Oh I have one of these on my 07 T&C, 300k km, overheated 2 times and survived with no issues, ran on 3 quarts and only developed valve tick.
Bulletproof engines.
Same, my mom had a hole in her rad and drove it till it shut off. Now I have the T&C, changed the oil and replaced the rad it’s still running like a top after fixing the lifter tick these are infamous for. I’ve put about 50k miles on it since then!
I see you take Very good care of your engines! Lol
I found the same scenerio when looking for an engine in my ranger. Truck engine $1500 minimum. Taurus engines were a thousand dollars less. Swap over intakes, oil pan, oil pump and head gaskets. That's it
I have a 2007 JK 3.8 purchased new by my father-in-law. The first 2 oil changes were conventional oil, then he switched to Mobil 1. It currently has 233k miles and still running strong.
Man I'm so happy I just got home after a grueling day at work and there's a video of a fun engine. Can't wait to learn alongside you!
Had that happen to the 3.8 in my Caravan at 80k miles. Pulled the oil pan, slid in new bearings, and at over 210k it’s still running fine.
Had 2 of these in minivans. 1999 T&C and 1999 Grand Caravan. Both insanely good. I ran both to 200k before getting rid of them. The Dodge I gave to my brother. It hit 250k before his kid ran it out of water one night after a fender bender (kept driving). It was still running the original factory spark plugs. No kidding. 250k on original plugs. Hard core reliable.
I love my 07 Jk with this engine. Did valve cover gaskets at 140K and it was clean and now at 185K still runs good. That one was run low on oil and if not amazingly would have run longer. They do use oil and especially if lack of maintenance has the rings gummed up. Mine uses a quart every 2300 miles like clock work. Thanks for the video. Loved it.
Yes! Two videos in one weekend, thanks Eric! Also, really like the close-up shots on the rod bearing reveal!
These engines were off my radar. I knew they existed but I've never been into one before. Looks like a nice solid built basic pushrod V6.
I've always been mechanically inclined, although worked in the grocery industry. These videos are quite satisfying, as I used to do maintenance on my own vehicles back in the 80s. Sad that it's become so difficult to work on vehicles now, can't even access spark plugs etc without removing everything...
Eric wins again... Great video,catch ya next week...
Eric, I’m enjoying the multiple video uploads this week. Still looking forward to the Ford truck engine that you guys seized up earlier in the week.
He needs to have Rainman Ray in for that one. :)
I’ve had many jeeps but I miss that ol 4.0 straight 6 it was a tank, at least for mine. I built many XJ’s and those things sounded good with a good exhaust upgrade, only thing they overheated when wheeling but an aftermarket electric fan radiator fixed that no problem
Yeeeaaaahhhh! My 07 Pacifica Base 3.8 has 180,000 and has been ticking for the last 50k. Been dying for you to do a 3.8!
The 4.0 was a pretty hot engine in a Cherokee. Nearly smoked the rears on my mom’s a couple times when I borrowed it for a road trip. Glad she never knew.
I absolutely love malice in the combustion palace. I have blown up a few motors myself just for “experimental purposes” a.k.a. like an old school two-stroke Detroit diesel and I actually have fun ripping apart the engine and seeing what blew up in it usually it’s something to do with uncle Rodney.
My dad had that engine in a minivan bought the van brand new for 30k and changed the oil every 3500 miles untill it hit 100000 miles then when to 3000 miles
That engine was pristine in the inside finally sold the van at 380,000 miles cause the interior was trashed minivans and trucks are the same thing to him for hauling
I really enjoyed the beginning of the video where you explained the origins of this engine. Thank you.
I literally had fingers crossed on both hands when you were fighting the oil pump screws. Glad I could help. 🤣
I didn't go as far as crossing fingers, but I held my breath for 30 seconds,
hope it helped even if just a bit.
Another great teardown, thanks for the video. 👍
I really like the way you made a heart shaped puddle of oil as you were taking the oil pump apart nice work broaching out those bolts
Cool vid. I have two of those exact same engines in two Gen4 Grand Caravans that have had good maintenance over the years, and they're both past 250k miles and running like a top. Apparently a decent Mopar engine if you take normal care of them. Replaced all the valve cover gaskets due to oil seeps, and I was amazed how clean the valve system looked. I'm going to run them until they take a crap and maybe get a new engine then.
Thanks Eric.
I do think that fuel consumption and emissions aside, the two valve pushrod engine was about the ultimate in cost, longevity and reliability for small engines. Every improvement since has added cost, complexity and number of exciting things to go wrong.
I would totally agree in regards with the domestics. I still think the ole 350sbc, Buick 3800, Ford 302 and 300 were some great engines with wonderful service life. And here’s the kicker, the newer stuff does not get any better fuel economy.
My 3.8L powered 2008 Jeep Liberty ran great for the twelve years and 150,000 miles I put on it, but it was decently maintained. Not religiously, but decently. It was basically my work truck for several years, and then my daughter drove it while she was in high school for a couple of years. I'd never call it overpowered, but it got the job done.
You almost went back to front! Glad you caught yourself
Exactly what I needed to see … I got this in my Jeep
Outstanding video.
I always worry about the drive train and I look at everything I can.
I will look underneath to see if there's any wet spots or rust.
I guess I'm a nut about it.
You’re not a nut you’re just intelligent and know what to look for & where to look
I had an 11 JKUR. The 3.8 never gave me an issue and a way more reliable engine then the 12 Pentastar. The JK was an amazing build over the years and off road vehicle. The clutch on the other hand was another issue. The usual throwout bearing issues that plagued the manuals is the reason I eventually sold it.
Dude my guy. Thanks for giving us another great teardown.
I love watching your videos after a long shift. Thank you for these videos
My mom had a 2001 Dodge Grand Caravan with this engine. It went through front brakes like a crohn's patient on laxatives, lost the transmission at just 20 miles after the drivetrain warranty expired, and always had a noisy power steering pump. But the engine kept going strong even after we sold it with close to 300k miles on it. These are definitely decent engines when you stick with 5k mile oil change intervals.
loved the inline six engines. The minivan 3.3 bored to 3.8, i'm amazed it lasted to 286,000. Thats pretty good.
The Chrysler 3.3/3.8 was inspired by the GM 3800 , but is 60 degree instead of 90. It's a simple pushrod motor that can last a long time. I think the 3.8 5:58 should been offered the 3.8 in the Dakota, but they had the LA based 3.9 for that.
My brother had a Colorado of that vintage as a work truck here in MN, and wouldn't ya know... the frame rusted apart just like that!
That EGR valve is a pain to replace when in the van. You have to remove the alternator since one of the EGR valve bolts is behind it. I've done it once and it is a pain!
Learned some good unapproved shortcuts from Eric like hammering oversized Torx bits into stubborn stripped screws 😂
Interesting about the parts bin engineering shared stuff between Jeeps and minivans. Likely this was a well taken care of engine that died due to being in an extreme off road situation.
Watching this video @ 2x and two double espressos is a TRIP!
its interesting Chrysler had 3.5, 3.6, 3.7, 3.8, 3.9, and 4.0L V6 engines in different eras. Collect the whole set!
I love my first generation 3.5L that motor was amazing!!
And a 3.2 and 3.3L. There was 3.0 but that was a Mitsubishi engine.
Poor blue, does the bulk of the work and never gets a thank you 😂😂😂
No Blue just got an all expenses paid vacation to FLA a few weeks ago!
My 110% believe that they even went to the 3.8 was capacity. That plant was slowing down. Drop the 4.0. Options were 3.8..3.7. They put the 3.7 in everything. Someone said we got plenty of production available on the 3.8. Bam...the jk took off and all of a sudden they couldn't make them enough/ good. Seems early jk..07/08 the 3.8 ok/good. After quality goes down
you can dress tools such as your hex drive you broke on the oil pump, and sockets too. grind them down, until the damaged snout is gone. saves you buying new ones. the other day i dressed a hydraulic union on a clarke automatic transmission, stuck it in the lathe and cut the burrs down.
As an owner of an 2010 FJ Cruiser, would love to see you do a teardown on a dead one (1GR-FE). They are rare to go bad, but there are some abused ones out there. I just want to see where they are taking the most abuse.
Has Ray would say is so shiny best best way to describe that oil pan
I've seen rock crawling Jeeps get flipped over on their backs and sometimes shutting off the engine isn't done quickly.
Eric, please try to get one of each of these engines. I would love to see you tear down a 2.4 SRT4 that came in the 2003 Chrysler PT Cruiser GT with the aluminum intake. If you can get your hands on one. Also the 1.8 that is in the 2016 Chevy Sonic. Great video as usual.
Had an '04 town and cun t with the 3.8 and got rid of it with 186,000 miles. Good motor/tranny but the body was gone (rust) and it consumed a quart of oil every 1000 miles or less.
Calico Coatings can coat oil pump housings and gears to restore and improve slightly beat up parts.
Hey Eric, what, in your esteemed opinion, causes "Piston Squirt Wear"? 39:29
I have one of those in my van. They're great motors! It runs high 10's in the 1/4 at 128 mph. It has a "power adder" in back 😁
I bought a '98 (I think) Voyager in early 2008 and drove it for about four years. I totaled it literally on the south side of a deer going north (I was driving east at the moment). I could still drive it, just not at night, and because of the age the insurance company totaled it. I'll bet the engine was still good so I hope someone got some use of it once the van was salvaged. It had a V-6 so it might have been this engine or a predecessor. I remember it had three coils bolted to the side of the engine, with each coil serving two cylinders (when one cylinder fired at btdc on the compression stroke, the mate fired at the end of the exhaust stroke).
Yes this is the same exact engine that was in the Plymouth voyagers.
I've had a few friends and co-workers that's have had Wranglers with 3.8's and then moved to 3.6's. Every one of them have said that the older 3.8's were easier to maintain and had fewer problems.
16:40 was fully prepared for you to break out some LP there 😂
I have found If you use a hacksaw to cut the filter ends of it help with removing the filter from the steal ends (Note: just cut the filter to the steal center. You don’t have to cut through it.)
The timing cover on my 7.3 PSD has worse gouges in the oil pump area and works fine, albeit that has a far thicker rotor to displace more oil.
I picked up a 3.8 wrangler with a spun rod bearing a few years ago.
I got it for what i thought was a good deal, pretty much the same condition.
But the prior owner ran it until the bearing was tinfoil, the rod was done but still holding.
The crank wasn't round on that journal. 😂
Metal throughout the system, signs of oil starvation.
Oil galleys were sludge and glitter filled.
Lifters were seized, all bearings shot.
The block was good, just needed a hone at 180k.
They say the minivans have a better rod design, forged vs the powered rod design in the jeeps.
Less rod spinning maybe?
Idnk, the front cover is where the value is. 😂
The rod design is different. In the Jeep they lined up the little grooves for the projections. The minivan motors they are opposite. The place that rebuilt one for a friend of mine said they fix this by rebuilding the Jeep engines with the minivan rods. This is supposed to end their tendency to spin rod bearings. That cover is expensive. I bought one two years ago refurbished for $800. It was the only one we could find.
As always, thank you for an amazing video.
Still driving my 2007 Dodge Caravan with the 3.3 engine.
I have 305,000Km on it and engine runs quietly and never given me an issue.
Uses about .5 L of oil between oil changes always at 3,000Km or 3 months from new. Did all but 3 engine oil changes.
My 1993 3.3 van had 554,000km on it ( original engine nothing done to it other then a free tranny within warranty.
Terrible on gas intown/ fine on the highway. Love the old girl, but body had groundhog sized holes in it ( Canada Car)
Another great video. Cheers Sir
It's not surprising that the upper oil pan had been apart. My 2011 JK has about 125k miles and I've already had to replace it on mine. They are notorious for leaking. Fortunately it's not a super hard job and you don't even have to mess with the lower oil pan connection since it's just RTV anyway and doesn't tend to leak.
Thanks Eric, Good Video.
I'm pretty sure the wrangler engine mount holes aren't drilled out in the van 3.8.
Eric if you want to back in time you need to go find the blue police box called the tardis. lol lol lol
We need a big block ford, 460 preferably. Love the videos
Mercedes Sprinter vans with the diesel in the first gen would be a cool tear down, I drive one for work and it sounds awesome for a diesel
At 36:00
Dismantling problems....
Breaks bolts, brakes socket....this engine just didn't want to come apart!!
On that oil pump cover, one joke is to put one LH thread bolt in the mix!
On those retaining bolts for the oil pump hit them with a hand held torch . It’ll turn the red lock tight into goo and they’ll come out.
I have one of these engines in an 07 T&C I got for $250 with 191k miles on it back in '21. it's... rough. the body, not the motor. and as for gutless, that 3.8L will just LAUNCH the blue blob, right until the trans makes the 1-2 shift. I can spin the tires all day long in 1st. when the body falls apart enough to be too sketchy, I'd plans to turn that engine into a 48v generator.
great, my minivan has this and i have a spare engine to mount a supercharger on and want to see what it looks like on the inside. thank you! i bought a used supercharger kit for a jeep and plan to make it work. I had a 2005 Chrysler t &c and upgraded to a 2010 Chrysler t&c with the 3.8
Would love to see the old Jeep straight 6
Amazing you still have X-hatching in the bores after 300K miles.
That really is impressively low bore wear. Understressed engine.
Both chrysler and gm killed it with their 3.8
The Ford 3.8 V-6 not so much.....lol
yup ...
@@markr478The Ford 3.8 in the Mustang was pretty stout and ran forever.
I was a Ford Tech, I made bank putting headgaskets in 3.8 engines 🤑🤑@@ChickenC0re
if i get that many miles out of my engine, id consider all that maintence a success.203k & all still runs good.fingers crossed.
Thank you for doing so many MOPARSs. I know you are a business but......
Any chance you can do a Chrysler/Dodge 2.7L 24v DOHC V6.
That's the engine where Chrysler decided to run the water pump off the timing chain! Subsequently, any failure in the water pump causes it to leak antifreeze into the engine oil system, causing a severe sludge problem. Some of the early engines also had a too low, 4 quart oil capacity, causing the oil to run too hot and breakdown into more sludge. Additionally the oil passages were too narrow and there was a problem with the crankcase PVC ventilation system, making things even worse. With lots of TLC I managed to get my Stratus to 105,000 before any major blow-ups. I am now in the process of finding a shop willing to repair it.
Thanks
Make sure the ignition switch recall has been done!
I have a 2004 grand caravan with the 3.3, has 301K and runs like new.
Probably how some of these engines get this way: What's that odd noise? I dunno... POWER THROUGH IT!
If it doesn’t, it should have. Great new line over the last month or so. 😊
Those rocker arms are obvious descendants of the slant six stamped steel rocker arms.
I have this engine in my 09 jku- 350,000 km - looking to learn some stuff today!
I loved my 07 JK but I HATED the 6spd manual. It loved to pop out of 1st. Alot. And it always sounded like a 💥
You know you do it for the vidja and the thumbs!:). I mean I asked for a S85 chain and was IGNORED!
Rainman sent me to your channel!
Just got rid of my 2006 Grand Caravan with a 3.3L. One of the reasons we didn't want to soldier on with the old girl was that I was going to have to replace the intake manifold gasket a THIRD time. Expensive job. I replaced the water pump late in '16 and that was starting to weep, and new tires for winter and brakes in spring... and the body was beginning to disintegrate into the garage floor.
The 3.3 has one of the worst water pump locations.
It was time. 243,000 miles.
44:35 Thats hilarious! Another Colorado frame bites the dust! Those things are a death trap if they were anywhere near salt and\or the rust belt up here! Rusted away to swiss cheese!👍🏻👌🏻🤦🏻♂️🤣🤣😂🛠️