As a Chrysler Technician I have seen this a couple of times… but only in Chargers and Challengers. They DO NOT LIKE BEING OVER REVED. Especially when the oil is either old or low. The rod bolts stretch and distort causing the piston to cock in the bore which tears them apart.
There's some good science in this week's installment. Today, I learned that a Maserati Ghibli thermostat housing is an aluminum upgrade for my 2012 Wrangler...🤔
Just wanted to throw out a tidbit of information for you. That RTV on the chain tensioner is actually meant to be there, it reduces tensioner rattle noises. Being a Chrysler tech at a dealership, I've worked on my fair share of these engines, if taken care of they are very reliable and I don't think I have ever seen one throw a rod like that. Also, don't worry about that glitter on the cam tone ring (that's thrown in at the factory I'm pretty sure) XD
Seeing the amount of damage I wonder if it was in a cop car or something? Used to know a guy who worked on the OLD cop cars (think Plymouth Fury) and he said they would just run them until there was nothing left if something failed.
@@mysock351C no, those cams look too good to be a cop car unless they were replaced. Which brings me to my theory of what happened here: this car needed cams for a little too long, the forbidden glitter got into the rod bearings, the car became undriveable due to cam failure, they replaced the cams but the damage to the rod bearings was already done, eventually resulting in sudden engine failure.
@@mysock351C You'd be surprised. Cop cars obviously need a lot of maintenance because they are left idling a lot of the time, so the battery won't die from all the radio gear. They often times have a dedicated mechanic for routine maintenance, and consistently take them to the dealership to be serviced. Sadly, most of the cars end up with hundreds of thousands of idle miles compared to actual on the road miles. I couldn't see something like this happening with new(er) cars, as they are often run until about 200k-300k miles and then auctioned now. Unless the in house mechanic was incompetent.
@@MeDicen_Rocha Actually I'm pretty sure I found why it failed when I watched the rest of the video. If you look at the piston that split in two, it has clear signs of fatigue failure when Eric looks at the underside. The large area with a dull grey satin finish is textbook fatigue cracking that started at the pin boss.. Once the crack grew large enough, the piston split in two, and this whole mess transpired. Now that could have been caused by a bad rod bearing hammering away on it, but the dark area behind the ring land from combustion gasses getting by leads me to think it was the main cause. That would take some time to happen, while a bad rod bearing would cause it to split apart sooner.
@@MeDicen_RochaNow the crazy thing is someone ran this thing without a piston in it. Not sure which one but one cylinder had gauges in it from the wrist pin going up and down the side of the liner. Bet it made a hell of a racket...
My understanding is that Ferrari developed the F160 V6 engine in the Maserati based upon the Pentastar block. The block itself is cast in Trenton, Michigan and the engine is built in Modena by Ferrari. I think the bore and stroke of the Maserati engine is different, as are the heads. Great video!
@@davidwickboldt712 That opens a ton of questions, since I think the Maserati is turbocharged. That means a different head design with less compression. Turbo engines DO NOT LIKE the kind of cams that make NA engines really come alive at the top end! Those cams just exacerbate turbo lag. In fact, turbo engines like "economy" cams, or cams the accentuate low end torque. These "cheap" cams get the turbine spinning fast way earlier, thus making the car far more drivable. And faster overall. It's one of those "Sure you can, why would you want to?" things. And it would probably suck after all is said and done!
I've got two pentastars in two vehicles at present. This teardown makes me want to see inside a well-maintained, zero-problem 3.6. I have to believe that others out there, with the same engine featured in so many of your videos, would also like to see inside a well-maintained version of their own engine. Not the 'what-are-we-doing-wrong' video, but 'how-does-doing-it-right-show-in-the-teardown' video.
Probably because people regularly using and properly maintaining these engines don't have a need or want to tear down the engine unless they've put an ungodly amount of miles on it and want a rebuild or really moding it out but then I suppose it wouldn't be the stock 3.6 we all know and love
Looks like someone could possibly build a high displacement Maserati using a Chrysler short block. It'd be interesting to see if the coolant passages on the Maserati heads line up with their respective ports on the Chrysler head gaskets.
I feel like it's more of a difference in stroke, I'm not sure, so I might sound stupid, but it seems like if you put pentastar rods into the Maserati block, you'd have a 3.6l. But... I'm also a 20 year old and am tired AF
@@poohssmartbrother1146 I mean... Technically you can put turbos on any engine. It's a matter of can it handle it. But I'm sure a few pounds of boost wouldn't hurt it lol. I know that dodge tried to make a SRT6 with the pentastar in a journey and I think they turbo'd it. So the block must be able to handle a little bit of boost
Those early model 3.6 Pentastars used a subpar oil filter housing, where it has a center support shaft for the filter, with a anti drain back valve in it. I've seen many of those break, and once that happens you lose all oil pressure at idle
I’m know a lot of people swear by these engines. I’m certainly one of those. I have a 3.6 in my 2018 wrangler. What I seldom hear are the engines faults especially since many of them come from earlier production builds. Was there a class action on this defect?
@map3384 I can't say if there is or not..... but the best story I have is a customer just had an oil change done at a dealership, and afterwards noticed there was a low oil pressure warning on their dash, turns out, the lube tech broke that center shaft inside the housing, we told them to take it right back!!!!! An issue like that should be covered by the shop that breaks it, unless it's a shady place.... they also have head gasket issues, but I have yet to run into one myself, so I guess hits hit and miss...
@@CaptainSpadaro There were also issues with the earlier ones where the heads would flex and cause premature head gasket leaks. They also fixed that in a redesign by adding more head studs I think (4-->6?)
@@SuperCJification I remember seeing a post in the technician group I'm in about how Pentastar heads were flying off dealer shelves, guess that would explain that one.
Engine teardown is basically very boring but the way it's commented is outstanding. Always very funny. One of my favorite channel on UA-cam. Don't change anything 🤣
Overall, the 3.6 Pentastar engines are pretty good. They have made literally millions of them and installed them across cars, trucks and SUV's in the Chrysler portfolio. There have been problems along the way however thats bound to happen with the sheer numbers of these engines produced.
@@3rdGenGuy They aren't good engines compared to what? I know of several just within my family at 150K to 200k with no engine work. My buddies Town and Country is currently sitting at 380,000 mi with no engine work and nothing more than a mild tick. Not to mention every Amazon ProMaster van uses these and are well known within those fleets to see 400,000 mi.
@@hometownherotv Yea nah, they're mediocre engines at best, they have tons of issues that develop over time. I build engines for a living, everyone i work with recyclers, builders, machinists, mechanics etc etc knows these engines have lotta issues. A "mild tick" usually turns into full blown cam and rocker failure often catastrophic. And fleet vehicles are the worst way to judge reliability of any vehicle, they are serviced on contract by the manufacturer or an affiliated third party, they also get massive fleet maintainece grants and breaks from the government. Most of those fleet vehicles are on their second/third engine. I know because i have guys who do it for a living and send me fleet pulled engines. The biggest issue with chrysler across the board is it seems you either get a perfect car best you'll ever own, or a garbage fire and it seems there's nothing in between. There's pentastars that fail at 100 the moment warranty expires, and pentastars that seem to tick along. Compared to the GM High value, High-feature and even the LS based V6. Ford Duratec and Cyclone engines. Chrysler has the least reliable engine of the American automakers. Not gonna bother bringing up the non American because then it's just disrespectful.
@@SPAZTICCYTOPLASM Before ~2018, yeah, they were mediocre. Some lasted looong time, but some had a lot of problems (it's an issue of Chrysler having pretty good engineers but bad quality control). But after 2018 they are decent and reliable. They are also one of the few engines that work very well with the LPG fuel conversion (frequently done in Europe, as its cheaper fuel), many people import those from US for this reason.
@@christinesommerfeld9815BIG TIME, I’ve seen them mostly on the WK’s (Grand Cherokee’s) and some chargers and challengers with the 3.6L. The two biggest failure points with the cooling system is the water pump and the driver side, top left radiator will bust and leak coolant. same with the water pumps
That direct injection vs. Port injection valve comparison was awesome! I’m a mechanic and we see valves like that all the time, is everyone else seeing driveability issues with these gummed up valves like we are ?
I own two di cars and can definitely say neglected carbon buildup will cause driveability issues if not remedied. Makes a world of a difference when cleaned too dependent on how bad it is
I'm a mechanic as well and a recent car I bought for myself had badly carboned up valves. Had them walnut blasted and cleaned and fitted a catch can. The power difference is night and day but unfortunately I rechecked the valves after a couple months and they're gummy again. Just a problem with the fact they're DI. I believe all manufacturers need to follow Toyota with having both port and direct injection.
The mechanic in you probably doesn't think Toyota's D4S system has been IP'ed to death, strictly for profit. They won't share nor sell their magic, and it's been around since the 3.5 in the 2006 IS350. I'll stick with my PI 3.5 HR and 3.7 VHR, thanks.
15:27 you may be correct about the Maserati timing cover to a pentastar cover, but I'm sure many people who don't wanna pay $1000 more for the Maserati one will happily put the pentastar timing cover on their Maserati engine.
Eric, your wit, your enthusiasm, your knowledge--and your joy in what you share with us each week both ends and begin MY WEEK with optimism that my beloved 2006 Jeep Liberty will likely live through another couple of days. Your advice is taken to heart (oil changes and other routine maintenance), I have performed--almost with religious fervor (down to making sure ALL FOUR WHEELS POINT IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION!!!). Know that even in NYC, you are appreciated!
When you spin trashed engines over, and you can hear the change rattle around, I always verbally say "Yahtzee!" I don't know why, but I do it every time.
After driving a CJ7 with 157k miles on the 4.2 liter I never expected an engine to be as tough and reliable outside the famed 4.0 liter. I was wrong. The 3.6 I have in my Wrangler JL is a titan. All I do is changed the synthetic oil every 5000 miles and run the motor only on super unleaded and it purrs like a kitten. 54,000 miles and she’s like new. I’m expecting 200,000 miles out of her.
@@OvertravelX As compared to the horrible 2.0 liter engine in my wife’s neon she drove in college back in 1994. The car had 30k on it and it needed a head gasket.
Im not really a car guy but these videos are fascinating. Can learn quite a bit about engines from your tear downs. Certainly motivation to maintenance and oil changes.
Dude you never fail to leave me laughing. From your "that's what she said" jokes, to your water pump antics, and the thing with the extensions in this video, absolutely hilarious😂
Same! Although I've already been in it to replace the rollers and lifters, among some other things. Runs great and I still average over 17 MPG with a 2.75” lift.
You're a riot, a regular riot... How you've changed over time. All your little jokes and comments. Keep it up. I enjoy all of your little asides and stunts. Thanks man!...
So I guess a Maserati is a really expensive Chrysler. As usual, your teardowns are great and entertaining. Thank you for your time and effort and gags, comments
Well now i know why the O'Reilly's never has any RTV. 😂 Ps thank you for helping me find the e-430 coolant hose that I emailed you about I really do appreciate it
I drive A LOT of cars on a daily basis and I have to say for a fairly economical V6, Chrysler hit it out of the park with the Pentastar (IMHO). I've driven it in Durango's w/o knowing what engine was in it & thought it was an R/T with the 5.7 Hemi. When paired with the 8sp ZF transmission, this engine is a great choice if you are looking for a daily driver with a little bit of get up and go. It's got about 40-50 more HP than many of the inline 4 turbo's & doesn't have the downsides of turbo charging a car (lag, touchy throttle, turbo maintenance, etc). While I don't think it's going to win any races, it's a great choice for every day driving whether on highways or back roads.
A few years ago, my wife and I test drove a pair of AWD Chargers back to back, one with the Pentastar and the other with the Hemi. We found them to drive nearly indistinguishably, with the both of us preferring the Pentastar. I'm not sure if it was the gearing or power to weight ratio, but it seemed to actually be noticeably more peppy.
@@mphilleo I've never driven back to back, but I felt like the V6 was quicker than the 5.7 as well, especially on the highway! As far as I know, they are geared the same for the automatic. I'd like to see a comparison in real world conditions.
@@mphilleoYou'd have to "enable sport mode" otherwise the "electronics" would "smooth out" your power for a more comforting ride. The "sport" mode will make your transmission more responsive and you'll feel the power, otherwise is just a bigger engine doing exactly the same thing the smaller one does.
300hp is 300hp and these engines have an impressive torque curve. Double overhead cams, 4 valves per cylinder, etc etc. . .and you have a pretty darn good package.
I'm a fan of the Pentastar. I have 2 Cherokees w/3.2 v6. But, I'm sorry, there is no way I'd confuse the 3.2 Pentastar performance with my 5.7 or 6.1 HEMI's.
Just started watching your channel about a week ago , told my son about it also he’s 47 years old ! Great takedowns the V10 Dodge was fantastic, your remarks and Comedy makes the whole thing worthwhile, thank you , I was a mechanic for 50+ years on forklifts and industrial machines I rebuilt too many engines but never had a engine with the damage that you show at times ! My son was amazed at the parts in the pan ! 👍🏻👍🏻
Watching a video of someone building an engine is more drawn out for obvious reasons. If you want to understand how an engine operates I find it better to watch someone who is tearing one down and if the the person is explaining what is going on inside the engine based on the examination, you get an even better understanding of how it works and get a visual representation of what something looks like when it's not right. When parts fail and it is explained why they fail it gives you something to think about during your next engine build. I love watching these tear down videos.
Always a fantastic video. Just a disclaimer for anyone doing a 3.6 timing job and you DO pull the timing cover. Use paper clips to hold your chain tensioner in place. Works every time
You know I’ve always thought that the upper and lower oil pans come off of these engines too easily with the factory RTV, good thing the guy who worked on this engine last used some extra.
@@earlscheib7754 no doubt, removing the lower oil pan from the upper on these engines doesn’t happen until you’ve gone around the entire pan rail with a putty knife and a hammer. Any prying prior to that just bends the pan rail as if you forgot a bolt.
@@09corvettezr1 Toyota actually has a specialty tool for removing oil pans, it's a scraper that is at 90 degrees and you can tap it with a rubber faced hammer.
Thanks for doing this video! It was fun to see the differences and the commonalities of the Pentastar and the Maserati versions. Love it or hate it, the 3.6 Pentastar is in a great many DC/FCA/Stellantis vehicles and has served yeoman duty for years.
Had to stop 🛑 here on the video. I applaud you Eric on the best ratchet extension. This reminds me of using a similar one to reach transmission bell housing bolts while working underneath a car or truck from lack of space. Priceless love this.
It is hard to explain just how much fun it is to watch you tear into these blown up engines! Your channel gives me the opportunity to see the outcome of all the different engineering decisions that go into making and killing these machines. Machines that have been built all over the world. Thank you! P.S.-I do hope that nothing I ever own/drive ever becomes worthy of disassembly on your channel. 🤣
It's amazing how addicting it is to watch these tear downs. The comparisons of this made me think it would be need to see a similar comparison of other engines, providing you have the time you mentioned. I would suggest the GM 3.8 Series of engines - from the old boats to the last iteration they did.
That was a fantastic tear down, I can't imagine the sounds when that motor let go. What a cool video! Thanks so much for your efforts making these, they are very entertaining.
Hey Eric, now that you know how similar those two engines are, you should combine the parts into a stroker 3.6 turbo Ghibli. 😂 Also, you're supposed to answer the phone after the first couple RINGS. Haha.
Pentastar engines don't have much timing component problems, in my experience. You're thinking of the infamous GM 3.6L. Haven't had much of any problems with pentastar engines, really... I'm quite happy with them, have had several and run them to nearly 200k miles. The late-2011/early-2012 engines had a bad manufacturing run where they forgot to drill some of the coolant passages in the #2 head, causes overheating in that head and burnt exhaust valve on cylinders #2/4/6. Chrysler retroactively extended the warranty on the #2 heads to 250k km (150k miles). The 2014 pentastar engines had some issues with the oil filter housing cracking, which is a dog to change. Some of the versions of pentastar in the new Caravan/Pacifica apparently have head gasket issues. But very unusual to see catastrophic failures like this one. They're basically pretty good engines. Still have cross hatch in the cylinders at 200k miles, zero oil usage.
Absolutely love watching your videos, awesome one this week. Would love to see another 5.3 l LM7 tear down. I have one in my truck and I would love to see some more Carnage from it abuse of them
One engine I'd like to see torn down some time is a Chrysler EGA/EGH 3.3 or 3.8 pushrod V6 from their minivans/a few other cars. Relative of mine had a 3.3 in an '05 Town & Country that got to nearly 300k miles on mostly just oil changes. That thing never even died before the van got t-boned and totalled.
The Pentastar is a great engine in my experience. Worked on lots of them and they are awesome! I've only had mine for a little over 40k kms, but I love it. Great engine. Can last over half a million if well maintained, from what I've read.
It wasn't until this channel that I found out windage trays existed. Somehow I went 30 years as a car enthusiast and never once had heard of nor seen that component in teardowns of any kind.
16:13 Rip safety tote, you shall be remembered fondly for your holding and safety capabilities Also good lord thats a lot of extensions stuck together wow
Awesome vid, any chance you can find a chrysler 3.5 from back in the early 2000s? Currently still driving mine and would love to see one torn down if you come across one
I just figured out that I shouldn’t click on your videos so quickly. I like the comments & if I click early there aren’t as many comments. I do appreciate your videos. Thank you Sir
Nice to see all the internals working on a 3.6...good tips on positioning of certain elements (oil pump, solenoid etc). because mine is over 325k in a 2014 300 and will need some refresh soon, so good to see where i'm heading for the major parts replacements...Thanks!
I think this video shows alot of the inner kid in you Eric. I have always wanted to get every extension i have and put them all together for a practical use...that part in the video had me busting up laughing. BUT also in doing so, when you tried to break the fasteners loose and failing you proved that torque is lost as you add extensions. As for the engine itself...I have never seen a block r cap machined quite like that on a failed engine...that took some effort:-) Keep up the killer videos Eric...you never disappoint🙂
I have three of the one at 30k miles one at 70k and one at 160k miles the run like swiss watches and none of them needed anything but filters and oil changes except the 150k engine got new plugs at 100k and an alternator at 150k. They make good power also.
I have a 2017 Jeep Cherokee (not the Grand Cherokee) with the 3.2 liter version of this engine, purchased new. It just turned 102,xxx miles and the only time the car has EVER been to the dealer was ONE occasion where there was a computer upgrade under warranty. It burns less than a quart of oil in 5,000 miles and has had no other problems. EVER. Oil is the recommended synthetic 5W20, and gets changed when the oil life display shows its down to half-way. An air filter changeout is done when the oil is changed at Jiffy Lube. I get 31 mpg against an EPA rating of 25mpg highway miles going from Phoenix to SW Colorado, and going back to Phoenix gives me 32 mpg because there's more downhill interstate driving. The car does have the 9-speed transmission with a huge overdrive that holds down engine speed (and hence fuel consumption). And have achieved this in over 25 round trips. Whatever is the highest possible rating to give an engine, that rating would be exceeded by me. Its that good.
@@robc8468 Not being critical of the Pentastar, but since when is 160k miles something to brag about for longevity? I got 220k trouble free miles out of a 5.0 Mustang that I beat the absolute crap out of in my teens. That power comment is also a little suspect.
Love these videos. Guy is so audibly entertaining that i sometimes can just listen to these videos on my earbuds while im doing other stuff and always get a good laugh at his humor.
I have one of these in my challenger, great to see one blown up! I just replaced the timing system over the weekend off last weeks teardown so that was prefect! If you get the chance can you do a toyota/lexus 1mz-fe? That's the engine in my other car.
thanks for doing this engine i have that 3.6 in my 2017 wrangler, its been a fantastic motor for me, have a friend in her jeep she has 236+ miles on hers and still runs great
Thanks, that was fun. This one looks like it was the victim of a backyard lower end rebuild...as in; "Hey Bob, let's roll some shells in this baby!" "Did you keep the rod caps in order?" "Order? I just threw 'em all in the pan...it'll be good, you'll see!"
Did you hear about the electric car that got arrested? It was charged with battery. Working at a Land Rover factory is so interesting. I make a new Discovery every day.
They say great minds think alike. When the Chrysler tensioner had those restraining legs and you noted you couldn't shoot it across the shop I was thinking - cut those off! And you did! Awesome! Thanks much! :)
From all these teardowns, one thing becomes apparent.
They should build engines made only of wrist pins. 😁
The same theory that says they should make the whole plane out of whatever the black box is made of, lol. 🥸👍✅
@@joeromanak8797 It was called the Hellcat :)
@@joeromanak8797planes takeoff weight: 1,000,000,000 tons
Wrist pins are the Chuck Norris of engine parts.
As a Chrysler Technician I have seen this a couple of times… but only in Chargers and Challengers. They DO NOT LIKE BEING OVER REVED. Especially when the oil is either old or low. The rod bolts stretch and distort causing the piston to cock in the bore which tears them apart.
not the 300?
The bit with extensions away from the tensioners is hands down one of your funniest bits 😂
Second only to the water pump skits 🤣
In lieu of safety glasses, I hope he was practicing his safety squints.
Second only to the never-ending camshaft :D
All those extensions made a home made torsion bar LOL. Getting that boxed pump from the last tear down delivered was hilarious.
Eric is a natural at these gags. They remind me of a Family Guy cutaway gag.
Wonder how Rockauto felt about that boxed pump. Looked like their tape.
There's some good science in this week's installment. Today, I learned that a Maserati Ghibli thermostat housing is an aluminum upgrade for my 2012 Wrangler...🤔
I noticed that too, i liked the oil filter on the side
Once again thank you for my Saturday night entertainment. After a week of tearing down cars I watch you do engines
The value in the teardown is the friends you made along the way ❤
Just wanted to throw out a tidbit of information for you. That RTV on the chain tensioner is actually meant to be there, it reduces tensioner rattle noises. Being a Chrysler tech at a dealership, I've worked on my fair share of these engines, if taken care of they are very reliable and I don't think I have ever seen one throw a rod like that. Also, don't worry about that glitter on the cam tone ring (that's thrown in at the factory I'm pretty sure) XD
Seeing the amount of damage I wonder if it was in a cop car or something? Used to know a guy who worked on the OLD cop cars (think Plymouth Fury) and he said they would just run them until there was nothing left if something failed.
@@mysock351C no, those cams look too good to be a cop car unless they were replaced.
Which brings me to my theory of what happened here: this car needed cams for a little too long, the forbidden glitter got into the rod bearings, the car became undriveable due to cam failure, they replaced the cams but the damage to the rod bearings was already done, eventually resulting in sudden engine failure.
@@mysock351C You'd be surprised. Cop cars obviously need a lot of maintenance because they are left idling a lot of the time, so the battery won't die from all the radio gear. They often times have a dedicated mechanic for routine maintenance, and consistently take them to the dealership to be serviced. Sadly, most of the cars end up with hundreds of thousands of idle miles compared to actual on the road miles. I couldn't see something like this happening with new(er) cars, as they are often run until about 200k-300k miles and then auctioned now. Unless the in house mechanic was incompetent.
@@MeDicen_Rocha Actually I'm pretty sure I found why it failed when I watched the rest of the video. If you look at the piston that split in two, it has clear signs of fatigue failure when Eric looks at the underside. The large area with a dull grey satin finish is textbook fatigue cracking that started at the pin boss.. Once the crack grew large enough, the piston split in two, and this whole mess transpired. Now that could have been caused by a bad rod bearing hammering away on it, but the dark area behind the ring land from combustion gasses getting by leads me to think it was the main cause. That would take some time to happen, while a bad rod bearing would cause it to split apart sooner.
@@MeDicen_RochaNow the crazy thing is someone ran this thing without a piston in it. Not sure which one but one cylinder had gauges in it from the wrist pin going up and down the side of the liner. Bet it made a hell of a racket...
We had one that the wife put 250k on. Excellent power, no issues with the engine whatsoever, and 30 mpg on the highway.
AWESOME. Now I can tell all my dad friends that my Grand Caravan has a Maserati engine in it 👍👍
This engine is the best modern engine rarely ever dies. I have had several of them well over redline with no damage.
My understanding is that Ferrari developed the F160 V6 engine in the Maserati based upon the Pentastar block. The block itself is cast in Trenton, Michigan and the engine is built in Modena by Ferrari. I think the bore and stroke of the Maserati engine is different, as are the heads.
Great video!
Huh, thanks for that insight!
the timing chain management is different...and troublesome on the Maserati.
they have ferrari heads, pretty neato
Wonder how the Ferrari heads and cams would work on the 3.6? Or if you blow the engine in your Maserati. Use a 3.6 short block. Who's going to know. 🤣
@@davidwickboldt712 That opens a ton of questions, since I think the Maserati is turbocharged. That means a different head design with less compression. Turbo engines DO NOT LIKE the kind of cams that make NA engines really come alive at the top end! Those cams just exacerbate turbo lag. In fact, turbo engines like "economy" cams, or cams the accentuate low end torque. These "cheap" cams get the turbine spinning fast way earlier, thus making the car far more drivable. And faster overall.
It's one of those "Sure you can, why would you want to?" things. And it would probably suck after all is said and done!
"There is some Autozone that doesn't have any RTV on the shelf" is HILAROUS! Love watching this guy. My new FAVORITE channel! Fo sho
DUDE! That six foot extension set up is an instant CLASSIC.
I've got two pentastars in two vehicles at present. This teardown makes me want to see inside a well-maintained, zero-problem 3.6. I have to believe that others out there, with the same engine featured in so many of your videos, would also like to see inside a well-maintained version of their own engine. Not the 'what-are-we-doing-wrong' video, but 'how-does-doing-it-right-show-in-the-teardown' video.
Probably because people regularly using and properly maintaining these engines don't have a need or want to tear down the engine unless they've put an ungodly amount of miles on it and want a rebuild or really moding it out but then I suppose it wouldn't be the stock 3.6 we all know and love
I've thought the same thing. I religiously change my oil on time and I'm not rough on my vehicle. I'd love to see how the inside looks
Yes. A side by side of well maintained and a not well maintained engine.
Looks like someone could possibly build a high displacement Maserati using a Chrysler short block. It'd be interesting to see if the coolant passages on the Maserati heads line up with their respective ports on the Chrysler head gaskets.
I feel like it's more of a difference in stroke, I'm not sure, so I might sound stupid, but it seems like if you put pentastar rods into the Maserati block, you'd have a 3.6l. But... I'm also a 20 year old and am tired AF
Nah fam, I wanna know if you could twin turbo a charger pentastar with maserati goodies.
@@poohssmartbrother1146 I mean... Technically you can put turbos on any engine. It's a matter of can it handle it. But I'm sure a few pounds of boost wouldn't hurt it lol. I know that dodge tried to make a SRT6 with the pentastar in a journey and I think they turbo'd it. So the block must be able to handle a little bit of boost
using the aluminium thermostat housing from the masserati in the 3.6 is a big plus instead of the plastic chrysler use
Sure could, but for how long???
Can we get a round of applause for even knowing how it ended, my guy followin torque patterns -
👏👏👏
Those early model 3.6 Pentastars used a subpar oil filter housing, where it has a center support shaft for the filter, with a anti drain back valve in it. I've seen many of those break, and once that happens you lose all oil pressure at idle
I’m know a lot of people swear by these engines. I’m certainly one of those. I have a 3.6 in my 2018 wrangler. What I seldom hear are the engines faults especially since many of them come from earlier production builds. Was there a class action on this defect?
@@map3384 they changed the design of the oil filter for MY 2014 production, so it's possible. The cooler housings eventually leak, regardless of year.
@map3384 I can't say if there is or not..... but the best story I have is a customer just had an oil change done at a dealership, and afterwards noticed there was a low oil pressure warning on their dash, turns out, the lube tech broke that center shaft inside the housing, we told them to take it right back!!!!! An issue like that should be covered by the shop that breaks it, unless it's a shady place.... they also have head gasket issues, but I have yet to run into one myself, so I guess hits hit and miss...
@@CaptainSpadaro There were also issues with the earlier ones where the heads would flex and cause premature head gasket leaks. They also fixed that in a redesign by adding more head studs I think (4-->6?)
@@SuperCJification I remember seeing a post in the technician group I'm in about how Pentastar heads were flying off dealer shelves, guess that would explain that one.
The water pump shenanigans never get old lol
brand new water pump... to this timing cover. it's so slapstick i'm dying here.
Engine teardown is basically very boring but the way it's commented is outstanding. Always very funny. One of my favorite channel on UA-cam. Don't change anything 🤣
Overall, the 3.6 Pentastar engines are pretty good. They have made literally millions of them and installed them across cars, trucks and SUV's in the Chrysler portfolio. There have been problems along the way however thats bound to happen with the sheer numbers of these engines produced.
They aren't bad engines, but also not good engines either.
@@3rdGenGuy They aren't good engines compared to what? I know of several just within my family at 150K to 200k with no engine work. My buddies Town and Country is currently sitting at 380,000 mi with no engine work and nothing more than a mild tick. Not to mention every Amazon ProMaster van uses these and are well known within those fleets to see 400,000 mi.
There's just good and bad owners 🙂
@@hometownherotv Yea nah, they're mediocre engines at best, they have tons of issues that develop over time. I build engines for a living, everyone i work with recyclers, builders, machinists, mechanics etc etc knows these engines have lotta issues. A "mild tick" usually turns into full blown cam and rocker failure often catastrophic. And fleet vehicles are the worst way to judge reliability of any vehicle, they are serviced on contract by the manufacturer or an affiliated third party, they also get massive fleet maintainece grants and breaks from the government. Most of those fleet vehicles are on their second/third engine. I know because i have guys who do it for a living and send me fleet pulled engines. The biggest issue with chrysler across the board is it seems you either get a perfect car best you'll ever own, or a garbage fire and it seems there's nothing in between. There's pentastars that fail at 100 the moment warranty expires, and pentastars that seem to tick along.
Compared to the GM High value, High-feature and even the LS based V6. Ford Duratec and Cyclone engines. Chrysler has the least reliable engine of the American automakers. Not gonna bother bringing up the non American because then it's just disrespectful.
@@SPAZTICCYTOPLASM Before ~2018, yeah, they were mediocre. Some lasted looong time, but some had a lot of problems (it's an issue of Chrysler having pretty good engineers but bad quality control). But after 2018 they are decent and reliable. They are also one of the few engines that work very well with the LPG fuel conversion (frequently done in Europe, as its cheaper fuel), many people import those from US for this reason.
Great video as usual. Love the new toolbox. Please tear down a Chevrolet Ecotec 2.0 Turbo.
Nothing made me happier than him chucking the water pump across the shop. I’ve replaced so many failed water pumps on the 3.6L I’ve lost count
Is that a common failure item on the 3.6 pentastar?
@@christinesommerfeld9815BIG TIME, I’ve seen them mostly on the WK’s (Grand Cherokee’s) and some chargers and challengers with the 3.6L. The two biggest failure points with the cooling system is the water pump and the driver side, top left radiator will bust and leak coolant. same with the water pumps
@@dillonwiley9530 thank you.
That direct injection vs. Port injection valve comparison was awesome! I’m a mechanic and we see valves like that all the time, is everyone else seeing driveability issues with these gummed up valves like we are ?
I own two di cars and can definitely say neglected carbon buildup will cause driveability issues if not remedied. Makes a world of a difference when cleaned too dependent on how bad it is
I'm a mechanic as well and a recent car I bought for myself had badly carboned up valves. Had them walnut blasted and cleaned and fitted a catch can. The power difference is night and day but unfortunately I rechecked the valves after a couple months and they're gummy again. Just a problem with the fact they're DI.
I believe all manufacturers need to follow Toyota with having both port and direct injection.
The mechanic in you probably doesn't think Toyota's D4S system has been IP'ed to death, strictly for profit. They won't share nor sell their magic, and it's been around since the 3.5 in the 2006 IS350. I'll stick with my PI 3.5 HR and 3.7 VHR, thanks.
Not american so I could be wrong but doesn't the camaro have port and direct injection? Can't remember if that was the 4cyl or something else
@@harrybuhse8622 DI only for their turbo I4.
I never quite appreciated how “big” that scrap metal cardboard box is! Oh yeh, great video as usual.. 😊
Got to work harder not smarter. 😂
Oddly enough it's called a gaylord
15:27 you may be correct about the Maserati timing cover to a pentastar cover, but I'm sure many people who don't wanna pay $1000 more for the Maserati one will happily put the pentastar timing cover on their Maserati engine.
Eric, your wit, your enthusiasm, your knowledge--and your joy in what you share with us each week both ends and begin MY WEEK with optimism that my beloved 2006 Jeep Liberty will likely live through another couple of days. Your advice is taken to heart (oil changes and other routine maintenance), I have performed--almost with religious fervor (down to making sure ALL FOUR WHEELS POINT IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION!!!). Know that even in NYC, you are appreciated!
that inspection port is to small I can't see enough through it drill it out and make it bigger🤣
The 11s and 12s had left head casting problems. FCA extended the warranty on those heads for a long time.
When you spin trashed engines over, and you can hear the change rattle around, I always verbally say "Yahtzee!"
I don't know why, but I do it every time.
After driving a CJ7 with 157k miles on the 4.2 liter I never expected an engine to be as tough and reliable outside the famed 4.0 liter. I was wrong. The 3.6 I have in my Wrangler JL is a titan. All I do is changed the synthetic oil every 5000 miles and run the motor only on super unleaded and it purrs like a kitten. 54,000 miles and she’s like new. I’m expecting 200,000 miles out of her.
I think 54K may be a little early to proclaim ultimate reliability.
@@OvertravelX As compared to the horrible 2.0 liter engine in my wife’s neon she drove in college back in 1994. The car had 30k on it and it needed a head gasket.
@@map3384 Well that is a Dodge problem , as Hyundai /Kia /Mitsubishi all used the same basic engine , but not with the cheap Dodge head gasket .
@@map3384just wait buddy… you’re just getting started
Flush the radiator periodically
OMG the water pump box from last week was hilarious. Great job yet again.
Dude...your engine carnage videos are just a blast to watch for us wrench-heads out here. Thanks, homeboy! (I'm from Florissant...)
Im not really a car guy but these videos are fascinating. Can learn quite a bit about engines from your tear downs. Certainly motivation to maintenance and oil changes.
Always a treat no matter what the engine is. Thanks Eric.
Dude you never fail to leave me laughing. From your "that's what she said" jokes, to your water pump antics, and the thing with the extensions in this video, absolutely hilarious😂
“Sounds like a cash register “ as the engine is rotated is hilarious.
Always a treat no matter what the engine is. Thanks Eric.. DUDE! That six foot extension set up is an instant CLASSIC..
Eric is just showing off,, that he actually has that many extensions!
The Maser comparo was great. You always hear 'it's based on xyz engine' but also '99% of the parts are different'
I think engineers will tell you that It's always like that....
I'm fascinated with this!! I drive a 2012 Wrangler!!
Same! Although I've already been in it to replace the rollers and lifters, among some other things. Runs great and I still average over 17 MPG with a 2.75” lift.
I forgot about the water pump from the Maserati. I died laughing when your package was delivered
You're a riot, a regular riot... How you've changed over time. All your little jokes and comments. Keep it up. I enjoy all of your little asides and stunts. Thanks man!...
You should take some of these timing chains to a knife maker and have them make a commemorative "I Do Cars" Damascus bladed knife. Just a thought.
@36:45 "This is kind of the exploded view". I see what you did there Eric! 👍👍
I think it would be cool to cast the broken rods and pistons upright in acrylic as a sort of floating 3D exploded view
I'd watch a video of you doing that!
That gives whole new meaning to exploded view lol.
So I guess a Maserati is a really expensive Chrysler. As usual, your teardowns are great and entertaining. Thank you for your time and effort and gags, comments
Well now i know why the O'Reilly's never has any RTV. 😂
Ps thank you for helping me find the e-430 coolant hose that I emailed you about I really do appreciate it
I love that little blue BMW, my gosh that car is gorgeous!
I drive A LOT of cars on a daily basis and I have to say for a fairly economical V6, Chrysler hit it out of the park with the Pentastar (IMHO). I've driven it in Durango's w/o knowing what engine was in it & thought it was an R/T with the 5.7 Hemi. When paired with the 8sp ZF transmission, this engine is a great choice if you are looking for a daily driver with a little bit of get up and go. It's got about 40-50 more HP than many of the inline 4 turbo's & doesn't have the downsides of turbo charging a car (lag, touchy throttle, turbo maintenance, etc).
While I don't think it's going to win any races, it's a great choice for every day driving whether on highways or back roads.
A few years ago, my wife and I test drove a pair of AWD Chargers back to back, one with the Pentastar and the other with the Hemi. We found them to drive nearly indistinguishably, with the both of us preferring the Pentastar. I'm not sure if it was the gearing or power to weight ratio, but it seemed to actually be noticeably more peppy.
@@mphilleo I've never driven back to back, but I felt like the V6 was quicker than the 5.7 as well, especially on the highway! As far as I know, they are geared the same for the automatic. I'd like to see a comparison in real world conditions.
@@mphilleoYou'd have to "enable sport mode" otherwise the "electronics" would "smooth out" your power for a more comforting ride. The "sport" mode will make your transmission more responsive and you'll feel the power, otherwise is just a bigger engine doing exactly the same thing the smaller one does.
300hp is 300hp and these engines have an impressive torque curve. Double overhead cams, 4 valves per cylinder, etc etc. . .and you have a pretty darn good package.
I'm a fan of the Pentastar. I have 2 Cherokees w/3.2 v6. But, I'm sorry, there is no way I'd confuse the 3.2 Pentastar performance with my 5.7 or 6.1 HEMI's.
Just started watching your channel about a week ago , told my son about it also he’s 47 years old ! Great takedowns the V10 Dodge was fantastic, your remarks and Comedy makes the whole thing worthwhile, thank you , I was a mechanic for 50+ years on forklifts and industrial machines I rebuilt too many engines but never had a engine with the damage that you show at times ! My son was amazed at the parts in the pan ! 👍🏻👍🏻
Have you done a tear down on an Audi 4.2 V8? The timing system is a real gem.
he had a v10, good job audi engineers😂
Ahh sarcasm. . .I see
I like this new “flip the engine over” test. A lot of change in that register!
If I ever want to learn something and have a few laughs along the way yours is the go to channel. Keep up the great work bro
Watching a video of someone building an engine is more drawn out for obvious reasons. If you want to understand how an engine operates I find it better to watch someone who is tearing one down and if the the person is explaining what is going on inside the engine based on the examination, you get an even better understanding of how it works and get a visual representation of what something looks like when it's not right. When parts fail and it is explained why they fail it gives you something to think about during your next engine build. I love watching these tear down videos.
Always a fantastic video.
Just a disclaimer for anyone doing a 3.6 timing job and you DO pull the timing cover. Use paper clips to hold your chain tensioner in place. Works every time
32:31 Haha the exit hole looks like a heart. Wish they loved their engine!
You know I’ve always thought that the upper and lower oil pans come off of these engines too easily with the factory RTV, good thing the guy who worked on this engine last used some extra.
Factory Mopar rtv is actually the best OEM or aftermarket rtv sealant
@@earlscheib7754 no doubt, removing the lower oil pan from the upper on these engines doesn’t happen until you’ve gone around the entire pan rail with a putty knife and a hammer. Any prying prior to that just bends the pan rail as if you forgot a bolt.
@@09corvettezr1 Toyota actually has a specialty tool for removing oil pans, it's a scraper that is at 90 degrees and you can tap it with a rubber faced hammer.
Thanks for doing this video! It was fun to see the differences and the commonalities of the Pentastar and the Maserati versions. Love it or hate it, the 3.6 Pentastar is in a great many DC/FCA/Stellantis vehicles and has served yeoman duty for years.
Had to stop 🛑 here on the video. I applaud you Eric on the best ratchet extension. This reminds me of using a similar one to reach transmission bell housing bolts while working underneath a car or truck from lack of space. Priceless love this.
It is hard to explain just how much fun it is to watch you tear into these blown up engines! Your channel gives me the opportunity to see the outcome of all the different engineering decisions that go into making and killing these machines. Machines that have been built all over the world. Thank you!
P.S.-I do hope that nothing I ever own/drive ever becomes worthy of disassembly on your channel. 🤣
It's amazing how addicting it is to watch these tear downs. The comparisons of this made me think it would be need to see a similar comparison of other engines, providing you have the time you mentioned. I would suggest the GM 3.8 Series of engines - from the old boats to the last iteration they did.
I liked the side by side comparison too
Watching your channel convinced me my next car will be electric.
LOL! I don't think I want to switch to electric but now I have a new appreciation for EXTERNAL timing belts.
That was a fantastic tear down, I can't imagine the sounds when that motor let go. What a cool video! Thanks so much for your efforts making these, they are very entertaining.
Answers to questions no one ever asked.
Perfect!
Hey Eric, now that you know how similar those two engines are, you should combine the parts into a stroker 3.6 turbo Ghibli. 😂
Also, you're supposed to answer the phone after the first couple RINGS. Haha.
First time I've seen you doing the 'Mine is longer than yours!' Taks me back 65 years.
Pentastar engines don't have much timing component problems, in my experience. You're thinking of the infamous GM 3.6L. Haven't had much of any problems with pentastar engines, really... I'm quite happy with them, have had several and run them to nearly 200k miles. The late-2011/early-2012 engines had a bad manufacturing run where they forgot to drill some of the coolant passages in the #2 head, causes overheating in that head and burnt exhaust valve on cylinders #2/4/6. Chrysler retroactively extended the warranty on the #2 heads to 250k km (150k miles). The 2014 pentastar engines had some issues with the oil filter housing cracking, which is a dog to change. Some of the versions of pentastar in the new Caravan/Pacifica apparently have head gasket issues. But very unusual to see catastrophic failures like this one. They're basically pretty good engines. Still have cross hatch in the cylinders at 200k miles, zero oil usage.
Absolutely love watching your videos, awesome one this week. Would love to see another 5.3 l LM7 tear down. I have one in my truck and I would love to see some more Carnage from it abuse of them
One engine I'd like to see torn down some time is a Chrysler EGA/EGH 3.3 or 3.8 pushrod V6 from their minivans/a few other cars. Relative of mine had a 3.3 in an '05 Town & Country that got to nearly 300k miles on mostly just oil changes. That thing never even died before the van got t-boned and totalled.
I had 200k on my town and country when i got rid of it (rust)..it had the 3.8l that was still running fine outside of excessive oil consumption.
This is another good video I will add to my Maserati Ghibli Technical playlists. Thanks.
The Pentastar is a great engine in my experience. Worked on lots of them and they are awesome! I've only had mine for a little over 40k kms, but I love it. Great engine. Can last over half a million if well maintained, from what I've read.
Well this guy chose no car
@@crunchytheclown9694 clearly
Its not unusual to see them with 800 thousand miles
@@pilsplease7561 will never own another jeep or chrysler shitbox money pit
@@crunchytheclown9694 Yeah I'd rather have an engine that "well maintained" means the oil and filter are changed often enough
It wasn't until this channel that I found out windage trays existed. Somehow I went 30 years as a car enthusiast and never once had heard of nor seen that component in teardowns of any kind.
The Maserati engine using head studs is a decent feature for it though.
Depending on the engine orientation in the chassis.
I'm blown away by how many goodies were collected in the oil pan. I bet that sounded great as it made those deposits.
Wow! No bullet holes in a Charger engine?
Lol😂
16:13
Rip safety tote, you shall be remembered fondly for your holding and safety capabilities
Also good lord thats a lot of extensions stuck together wow
Awesome vid, any chance you can find a chrysler 3.5 from back in the early 2000s? Currently still driving mine and would love to see one torn down if you come across one
"Life is about balance." Well said.
RIP Safety Tote, you will be missed
I just figured out that I shouldn’t click on your videos so quickly. I like the comments & if I click early there aren’t as many comments.
I do appreciate your videos. Thank you Sir
Nice to see all the internals working on a 3.6...good tips on positioning of certain elements (oil pump, solenoid etc). because mine is over 325k in a 2014 300 and will need some refresh soon, so good to see where i'm heading for the major parts replacements...Thanks!
I think this video shows alot of the inner kid in you Eric. I have always wanted to get every extension i have and put them all together for a practical use...that part in the video had me busting up laughing. BUT also in doing so, when you tried to break the fasteners loose and failing you proved that torque is lost as you add extensions.
As for the engine itself...I have never seen a block r cap machined quite like that on a failed engine...that took some effort:-)
Keep up the killer videos Eric...you never disappoint🙂
These engines NEVER go bad😂
I have three of the one at 30k miles one at 70k and one at 160k miles the run like swiss watches and none of them needed anything but filters and oil changes except the 150k engine got new plugs at 100k and an alternator at 150k. They make good power also.
I drive a promaster as my work van, it's been abused since 2014 and 200k later and it's never had a mechanical failure..I think it's a great engine.
I have a 2017 Jeep Cherokee (not the Grand Cherokee) with the 3.2 liter version of this engine, purchased new. It just turned 102,xxx miles and the only time the car has EVER been to the dealer was ONE occasion where there was a computer upgrade under warranty. It burns less than a quart of oil in 5,000 miles and has had no other problems. EVER. Oil is the recommended synthetic 5W20, and gets changed when the oil life display shows its down to half-way. An air filter changeout is done when the oil is changed at Jiffy Lube. I get 31 mpg against an EPA rating of 25mpg highway miles going from Phoenix to SW Colorado, and going back to Phoenix gives me 32 mpg because there's more downhill interstate driving. The car does have the 9-speed transmission with a huge overdrive that holds down engine speed (and hence fuel consumption). And have achieved this in over 25 round trips. Whatever is the highest possible rating to give an engine, that rating would be exceeded by me. Its that good.
@@robc8468 Not being critical of the Pentastar, but since when is 160k miles something to brag about for longevity? I got 220k trouble free miles out of a 5.0 Mustang that I beat the absolute crap out of in my teens. That power comment is also a little suspect.
@@bobkonradi1027 Those are nice
Love these videos. Guy is so audibly entertaining that i sometimes can just listen to these videos on my earbuds while im doing other stuff and always get a good laugh at his humor.
It is fun to look at your BMW and remember when grilles were not he size of a 55 gallon drum,
When removing any chains please hold them side ways so we can see the ware. Love your work. Yeah and no music. Thanks Eric.
In the spirit of comparing engines I wonder how much smaller a Windsor 302 vs the pentastar
I really loved the extended safety joke! Thank you!
I have one of these in my challenger, great to see one blown up! I just replaced the timing system over the weekend off last weeks teardown so that was prefect! If you get the chance can you do a toyota/lexus 1mz-fe? That's the engine in my other car.
That 1MZ-FE engine is in my 2000 Camry/Solara...crazy reliable to the tune of 633,000 miles and still counting.
thanks for doing this engine i have that 3.6 in my 2017 wrangler, its been a fantastic motor for me, have a friend in her jeep she has 236+ miles on hers and still runs great
The humor in these videos are just epic! Keep up the good work and continue the sarcasm!
These are very good engines when maintained, can reach over 500k miles without engine repairs.
Agreed these are far superior to the 3.6 GM engines
A rusty bicycle is superior to a 3.6L GM.
I love all the comparisons and funny bits! Don’t ever change!
The fact that you said AutoZone and not O'Reilly's you just gained a subscriber.
And lost another. Lol
Whoever did that repair probably told them he needed RTV for a V8 and not a V6 😂😂
Because O'Reilly will never run out rtv?
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this video Eric. It’s like Engine Autopsy’s with humor.
Would love to see a Saab 2.3 teardown.
Thanks, that was fun. This one looks like it was the victim of a backyard lower end rebuild...as in;
"Hey Bob, let's roll some shells in this baby!"
"Did you keep the rod caps in order?"
"Order? I just threw 'em all in the pan...it'll be good, you'll see!"
Did you hear about the electric car that got arrested?
It was charged with battery.
Working at a Land Rover factory is so interesting.
I make a new Discovery every day.
buh dum tsss
They say great minds think alike. When the Chrysler tensioner had those restraining legs and you noted you couldn't shoot it across the shop I was thinking - cut those off! And you did! Awesome! Thanks much! :)
Now we know what caused the Great RTV shortage of 2015.
Nice comparisons.I’d love to see another skyactiv teardown and that video seemed to be immensely popular view wise too.