Hi Brandon ... Reps to you .. do what is the process ? does Chrysler inform owners ? or is it up to the owner to just bring it in and schedule the work ?
Regards

 

no you must bring the truck in with a complaint, schedule the appointment and if the tech deems it being this problem, then the repair is done.

 

Just curious.......

What is the normal temp for the 3.6L penstar..?

What is considered elevated operating temp?

 

I had 230 degrees yesterday, hope the dealer doesnt tell me thats normal when I get new front struts put on this Wednesday due to the oil leaking out of the front left one.

 

Anybody take their truck in for this yet? What did the dealer say?

 

Sitting at the dealer. Told me "they run hot" but they will check it out next wed when they put in remote start.

 

Ok, went for a drive, and my coolant temp was at 106C (222F) but the analog gauge is showing pretty much in the middle .. uummmmmm

 

I tried looking in the owners manual but couldn't find the info...what is normal operating temp for the pentastar?

While on operating temps....what is the operating temp for the 8 speed supposed to be around???

 

For all those requesting coolant temps i have the answer in the pdf below

 

Thanks you for posting! One hot machine at 230!

 

My tranny likes to be around 195. I think I read that they are suppose to be around 190 degrees.
Per Allpars website


Chrysler’s Dave Sowers said:

We get benefit from bringing both of them [oil and transmission fluid] up to operating temperature faster. The primary benefit comes in the transmission. In colder climates, you could drive a vehicle for hours in the winter and the transmission might never reach that 190° (F) for the most efficient operation. So what we do is use some of that hot engine coolant through the heat exchanger to bring it up to 190° as quickly as possible, and that gives us efficient operation very quickly.
​

 

Ok, so am I reading this right .. 230F and below is OK ?

 

That's what I get from it, 230F for the engine coolant and 195F for transmission.

Thanks Brandon and fishn4ladyz for the info...I had some overheating issues when I first got the truck so I wanted to know normal operating temps to keep an eye on it!

 

There is a flash for the gauge cluster now so the temp needle doesnt go up to 3/4 anymore. Had mine flashed today. Now it stays below half. Engine still gets to 230 degrees on the evic.

 

what is the TSB for the gauge flash?

 

Tsb -08 048 13 lab

 

So 230F for coolant 195F for trans then what would be max for oil temp? My oil temp stays about 212F give or take a couple degrees - trans about 190F - coolant about 222F.

 

My temps have consistently been between 220 F and 228 F for the coolant. The trans runs between 170 F and 179 F. The oil temp has been between 212 F and 219 F. Blurry pic of gauges attached showing the highest I have seen. I usually have the gauges displayed while I am driving.

I take a pic with my phone about once a week when I get home from work just to have a record for myself.

 

RAM 1500 Pentastar 3.6 V-6 Overheating

I just purchased a 2013 RAM 1500 Quad Cab Pentastar V-6 with 15K miles and immediately had an overheating issue. It overheated during the test drive two weeks ago and is still in the shop.

Initially I thought it would be something simple and it would be easily repaired and I would take delivery the next day. What I am being told is it needs a new water pump and thermostat but that the water pumps are on back order for possibly as long as 6 - 8 weeks. Not only is it odd that a current year vehicle would have a bad water pump but also not have replacement parts available, seriously! The dealership said they haven't serviced many of the RAM 1500's with the Pentastar engine but this is the second one that has had the same issue.

After a few Google searches it appears there is an issue with the water pump for this engine. The original part number was 68158680AB but has been replaced by 5184498A1. If an original part has already been replaced I guess it is safe to assume there is a problem.

I called Chrysler Customer Care directly to discuss the problem. While they denied that there is a widespread problem they couldn't explain why the shortage of parts or why a vehicle under warranty has been down for 2 weeks and am being told it could be another 6 weeks. Although they could not give me a specific timeframe for the repair they assured me that they will get it repaired sooner than the dealerships estimated 6 weeks. They did offer a rental vehicle until this is resolved but this is an extra vehicle so it wasn't necessary.

I am also concerned that perhaps the problem is a little deeper than a water pump. There are several posts regarding a bad cylinder head for this engine for 2011 and 2012 vehicles, particularly the Jeep Wrangler.

Does anyone have any insight regarding overheating issues with this engine?

 

THansen

First, Welcome to the Z-forum.

Nice to have another member with a V6.

Their is very little discussion on the Pentastar 3.6L on this forum. I have had mine since April and have had no problems at all. I use mine as a second vehicle so I have only 2,100 miles.

I think that the engine is a little different than the ones that are in the Jeeps. I know that the intake is different, just by looking at the position of the throttle body being in the front. Also the front of the engine is different when I look at the Jeep pictures and my engine.

I just put on a oil catch can and their was no install information for the Ram trucks that I was able to find from the vendors. So I did a lot of research on the Pentastar engines that were installed in the Jeeps, Chargers, and Challenger. My catch can install: http://www.ramforumz.com/showthread.php?t=159713

I have pictures of the engine without the engine cover installed so you may want to look and compare them to the other Pentastar engines.

Again Welcome and go and introduce yourself in the Newbie Checkin! when you get time. http://www.ramforumz.com/forumdisplay.php?f=8

Greg

 

My Pentastar (2wd 3.21 Gears) Ram usually warms to the 215-221 range and bounces around there. I've never seen it past 225, but I do no hauling or major elevation changes. My trans stays in the 175-190 range.

 

Mine is the same 2wd 3:21 pentastar, 10k miles no issues trans temp is a little higher though 185-190 most days, and engine temp 220

 

So far, mine has been pretty stable temp-wise, and I do have lotta mileage since acquiring the vehicle back in May (25000km)...

 

My 3.6 runs 212 to 220 as soon (about 1 mile) as it's warmed up, and that's in 20 to 35 F degrees. The dummy gauge says its just slightly above the half point.

I never thought about it until I read this here.

I had a 2013 Ram Hemi Big Horn with the 3:21 gear ratio. Several things we did not like. $ 350. tune ups every 30,000 miles, and poor towing capacity 6,500 lbs ! not so good mpg, and 20" tires were very rough on our road, navigation system radio had nothing but problems, and constant flat tires on our rough road, even with Goodyear changing to their so called better tire. We hated the red color. My wife was not on the contract so we traded it in on the 3.6 Crew cab 3:55 and 17" tires the Pro grade. We are pleased and we like the color black with the real chrome rims, not those clad ones. NO flats either, tune ups every 100,000 miles, no timing belt like our Pacifica did. Just all round a better fit for us.

 

Cylinder Heads being replaced on my 2014 for overheating!

My 2014 Ram 1500 Crew Cab V-6 with 13K miles has been at the dealer for two weeks now for the overheating problem. I took it in twice for the same problem. The first time in they told me there was nothing wrong. Got the truck back and routinely started seeing 245+ degrees on the engine coolant temp display. Two days in a row I got an Engine Coolant Overtemp Alarm display on the EVIC. The second time it alarmed I saw 260 degrees on the display! Back to the dealer it went.

Second time in to the dealer they talked with Chrylser and changed the coolant sensor. That fixed nothing.

Now (7/15) they are changing both cylinder heads. I will be pushing for an extension of the drivetrain warranty to 150K miles like they did in the 2012 for the people that were affected then.

Not sure what the outcome will be of this. Stay tuned!

 

wow, that sounds pretty bad. my gauge sits into the 3/4 area. but the numbers don't go above 220F, not even when driving for hours into the hills with 85F+ temps outside

 

My 2014 Ram Bighorn 4x4 3.6L V6 runs at coolant temperature displayed on EVIC: 195F to 206F going at 55mph on the level in ambient 30F. Coming up the creek 5 miles it gets up to 219F. When I got home, left in Drive, idling with foot on brake it went to 230F and no higher. Had me worried until I found this thread. Many thanks! The analog gage read a tad below 1/2 mark. I'll try to update when it turns summer.

 

After searching for this very problem I found this thread. Not a lot of details but everyone seems to be seeing about the same thing.
I had a thermostat replaced under warranty (engine wasn't heating up fast enough) At first the coolant was at 190 - 200. Now after 7 weeks I am seeing engine and oil temps at the 212 - 228 range in normal driving around town. These temps were 20 degrees cooler until last week so it seems something has changed.
Dealership says that any overheat warning should be generated at 230 so I will watch for that. My engine runs in the 195 - 200 range until the oil temp is equal to or higher than the coolant. At that point everything starts to climb.

 

I saw a marked improvement after adding Royal Purple Ice to my coolant (10-15 degrees cooler).

Generally, you should not see oil temperatures above that of the coolant temperatures.

 

my 6 runs 220 normal and spikes up to 230 on ocasion