3.6 vs 3.8

BamBamDeer

New member
I have a 2016 3.6 now and had a 2011 3.8. I never had any problems with my 3.8. I put a little over 70k on it. I like the 3.6 a lot better. Seems like a lot more power and better mileage to boot. I only have 10k on the 3.6 so time will tell how it holds up.
 

Napalm

New member
My gosh man. That's a new JK every two years. Commitment issues? :)

I had a ton of problems with my first three. I got rid of my last one thinking I needed something more practical. Joke was on me, and luckily I was able to get another one pretty quickly :)

Haha!
 
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aldaman

Member
3.6 espcially if you want an Auto. The transmission is geared better and really helps liven up the JK. :yup:

x2 on this. Had an '08 JKU with auto trans & 5.13 gearing but compared to my '12 JKU-R with auto trans it's night & day between the two. Much happier with the 3.6...:thumb:
 

Dalton gang

New member
Right on , a buddy of mine is looking for a jk and I have a 3.6 manual and I love it. He wants an auto and I've never had the 3.8. I went 4.0 strait to 3.6 . Thanks for the input I'll let him know . .
 

jeeeep

Hooked
I've got a 3.8 and a 3.6 both auto.

the 3.6 is a lot nicer to drive, love the transmission, smooth, geared nicely and as mentioned with the 3.6 really livens it up. IMO the tap shift gives the best of both manual and auto.

I've got too much on my 2010 to let it go but the transmission on the 3.8 feels like I'm pushing it compared to the 3.6
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
For the power, the 3.6L is a much better motor and I've been pretty happy with the one we have in Rubicat. For the reliability, the 3.8L has been around for a long time and the one we had in Moby had been extremely reliable. My only beef with the 3.6L is that it's still so new and right from the get go, we had to have the head replaced and we're now burning almost 2 quarts of oil every 1,000 miles. Granted, we do have almost 90,000 miles on it but we never had this problem with our old 3.8L that had well over 100,000 miles before we swapped it out for an LS.
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Wow iv heard a lot of people talk about replacing their heads with the 3.6 l

It was a big problem back when the 3.6L was introduced in 2012. The problem has been addressed and I rarely hear about newer motors having the same problem. The bigger issue is the oil consumption but most everyone I know with it was running a CAI. ttfhell was even running a dealership installed Mopar CAI and they wouldn't warranty his motor.
 

recon2067

Member
3.8

For the power, the 3.6L is a much better motor and I've been pretty happy with the one we have in Rubicat. For the reliability, the 3.8L has been around for a long time and the one we had in Moby had been extremely reliable. My only beef with the 3.6L is that it's still so new and right from the get go, we had to have the head replaced and we're now burning almost 2 quarts of oil every 1,000 miles. Granted, we do have almost 90,000 miles on it but we never had this problem with our old 3.8L that had well over 100,000 miles before we swapped it out for an LS.

Right, my 3.8 has over 100,000 miles and very reliable. Plenty of power in a two door.
 
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