I thought about this before I bought my truck with this engine. I believe they started putting them in vehicles in 2011. This engine seems to be very well engineered and I haven't found anything on the Web wrong with them besides the heads in the first few years would sometimes Crack. Mercedes also puts these engines in some of their cars so that says something. The oil pump has a low/high setting and I usually have around 88 psi at so there should be very little wear at startup. Google 3.6 pentastar and you can find several articles.

 

Mercedes also puts these engines in some of their cars so that says something.

I had no idea. Which ones?

 

thanks

 

Yeah its only been in the Rams since 2013 so its a bit early to tell. Its a Chrysler engine though so I am sure it willhave an extraordinarily long lifespan

 

Yeah its only been in the Rams since 2013 so its a bit early to tell. Its a Chrysler engine though so I am sure it willhave an extraordinarily long lifespan

Or monumentally short lol! (its one or the other with these!)

 

They seem to be well engineered. That said the Hemi with 3.21 gears gets respectable mileage if your really concerned about it. I get 22 Hwy and 16-17 in town which I think is great for a 4x4 V8 truck.

 

Dang right it is, freaking awesome considering the power. I would personally be pleased if it only gets 15 lol!

 

The 3.6L Pentastar engines are awesome engines. I have driven several of them and my Sister in law has a car with one. I wouldn't hesitate to buy a car or truck with one in it. With that said, For are pickups, The Benefit vs cost of the Hemi over the v6 is just to low. 5.7 is known to get really good mpgs even coming close to the V6, More power, Tows better, holds value better, an really doesn't cost all that much more to maintain. In my looking, you may be able to save at most a couple thousand with good negotiation by buying the V6, However, if you ever plan on selling it or trading it you will probably lose that savings eventually. So while I wouldn't hesitate at buying a Pentastar in a car I have come to the determination that I will most likely not buy one in the pickup as long as the Hemi is available.

@Edit - couple sites with info about the Pentastar V6.
http://www.allpar.com/mopar/phoenix-engines.html
http://www.pentastars.com/

 

All I can say is I love my pentastar! I have had my truck - ordered from the factory so I could the pentastar with the Laramie package as they're hard to find - since February. I already have 15,000 miles on it and she's a beautiful thing to own and drive. The pentastar with the 8 speed, 3.55 gears and the air suspension is a great, great combination ride handling, performance, mileage and payload (exceeds the Hemi) are great!

Regarding longevity - other posters are correct the motor has been out a relatively short time so the record is not too old. But I'll offer a few of things: First, the motor was on Ward's top 10 list of motors for two years running when it first came out; and second, the motor has a timing chain and not a belt - an obviously huge factor in long-term reliability; lastly, and I think this is important for long-lasting, low maintenance ownership - no turbos - this motor is naturally aspirated yet it has plenty of kick and accelerates my truck very quickly if I punch it. Ford owners are not going to love their eco-boosts with their turbos when they get 100,000 miles plus ...Advantage pentastar!

 

All I can say is I love my pentastar! lastly, and I think this is important for long-lasting, low maintenance ownership - no turbos - this motor is naturally aspirated yet it has plenty of kick and accelerates my truck very quickly if I punch it. Ford owners are not going to love their eco-boosts with their turbos when they get 100,000 miles plus ...Advantage pentastar!

I don't have the mileage you do however I'll agree 100% :smileup:

Sadly most people who have a turbos are just gas & go, they even
have a hard time keeping turbos in race cars :doh:

Just my opinion

 

why would you go used?

 

because 185$ per turbo lol!

I trust Holsen's build quality of the housings, so I feel like its almost not worth it to buy a turbo that has been rebuilt for me when I can just do it myself.

 

i can see that, but with all the time and parts you are putting into this truck, i would think you would want to go new.

 

striker, where are you getting the intercooler from.?

 

Have not decided yet, only thing I know so far is that I want it to have a dual in single out or have two separate halves. I'm trying prioritize boost cooling and pipe routing as I'm only planning to generate 7.5 psi I don't really care about pressure droop in the cooler.

 

the 3.6 had an issues on the 11 and 12 models with the left side cylinder head having bad valve guides, causing a misfire. Chrysler extended the warranty on that issue to 140k miles. I just replaced 2 last week. Other than that, they are extremely well engineered. Hell the main and crank bearings are all different, that's how tight the clearances are. you have a stamped crank with a b c d e or f, they are all that well matched. 4 cams and variable valve timing allows that v6 in the 300hp range. Paired with an 8 speed will out run most older v8 trucks and such. They run great. We use them in the Jeep wranglers, grand Cherokees, the new Cherokee has a 3.2 which is the same motor de stroked. the trucks, challengers, chargers, durangos, and dodge journeys. Some Chrysler 200's. the 300's. pretty much an option in anything produced now minus the dart. The new renegade even has the 3.2 option. Great motors, have a few with some vvt issues but generally an easy fix. Oil changes are important being so tightly clearanced.

 

Not sure if dodge rep in stealth mode or just someone who knows first hand about these.......lol!

 

I have a 2016 ram with this motor in it. I have 349,000 so far and no issues. I have always kept up on everything. Oil changes every 5 weeks. I mostly drive high way. Daily it’s about 140kms that’s just to and from work. In the past year I’ve had to replace tires and cv axles. This truck has been honestly amazing. I absolutely love it. The power in this truck is amazing. We also own a Hemi. I love them both. And the gas consumption is amazing I’m about $120 a week. I would totally recommend this truck with this engine to anyone and I do all the time