How to know when I should drop my problematic 3.8

JakeJK

JakeJK

New member
Okay so I've had my jeep about a year and a half and when I got it at 49k miles it burned oil. Didn't realize it until a few k miles after buying it.

Also it's at 65k miles now

But my current symptoms are

pretty consistent day to day dry starts (5w30 pennzoil platinum full synthetic) and wix XP oil filter.

Engine light just came on for p0404 - EGR problem.

And in hopes of fixing my oil consumption problem I changed my PCV valve and when I took my old one out it looked like this

ImageUploadedByWAYALIFE1473795207.813610.jpg

I'd love to keep it but I don't want to be up a creek without a paddle ending up having to replace this engine. Main question is do these symptoms sound like something that's going to fail on me, if so I think I probably should get out when I can.

Thanks all
 
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Jeeper125

Jeeper125

New member
The egr valve is a very straightforward replacement if u have a auto may b a little more tricky. As far as the oil consumption from what I hear most 3.8s burn oil, if I'm not mistaken jeep says that it is within spec to burn a quart every 1000 miles
 
JakeJK

JakeJK

New member
Jeeper125 said:
The egr valve is a very straightforward replacement if u have a auto may b a little more tricky. As far as the oil consumption from what I hear most 3.8s burn oil, if I'm not mistaken jeep says that it is within spec to burn a quart every 1000 miles
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Okay well that makes me feel a little better, the dry starts and the metal in the oil scared me a little but at 65k miles I think a small amount of metal dust is fairly normal. Since that valve has never been Changed. I plan on changing the EGR sometime but I need to buy the part, I have an auto so it will be a pain but I think I can figure it out
 
Big Bad Wolf

Big Bad Wolf

New member
Related to the EGR, does your engine stall? Or, make a knocking sound ? Rough idle ?

If you did replace the engine would it be for another 3.8 ?
 
Stotch

Stotch

Caught the Bug
JakeJK said:
Okay well that makes me feel a little better, the dry starts and the metal in the oil scared me a little but at 65k miles I think a small amount of metal dust is fairly normal. Since that valve has never been Changed. I plan on changing the EGR sometime but I need to buy the part, I have an auto so it will be a pain but I think I can figure it out
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Yeah, the oil consumption is pretty normal for the 3.8L. The fine metal powder isn't a bad deal; it's large shavings or chunks that are bad news.

I had the same CEL and it seemed like it would be a pretty painless fix. I was all ready to do it myself through the fender well, but I wanted to take it to the dealership to confirm that the EGR valve was bad. Well, they confirmed it was bad and fixed it WITHOUT my permission :mad: After giving them an ear full they knocked off all the labor charges and gave it to me for the price of the part (which was only a few bucks more than what I was going to pay anyway). I think it was about $100.

I'd say the ol' 3.8 still has plenty of life in her. Unless you just want to do a swap for something better :D
 
jeeeep

jeeeep

Hooked
JakeJK said:
Okay so I've had my jeep about a year and a half and when I got it at 49k miles it burned oil. Didn't realize it until a few k miles after buying it.

Also it's at 65k miles now

But my current symptoms are

pretty consistent day to day dry starts (5w30 pennzoil platinum full synthetic) and wix XP oil filter.

Engine light just came on for p0404 - EGR problem.

And in hopes of fixing my oil consumption problem I changed my PCV valve and when I took my old one out it looked like this

View attachment 222579

I'd love to keep it but I don't want to be up a creek without a paddle ending up having to replace this engine. Main question is do these symptoms sound like something that's going to fail on me, if so I think I probably should get out when I can.

Thanks all
Click to expand...

if you're having consistent dry starts, it's the wix filter - get a mopar filter. the back flow valve in the mopar is just better designed, I've had luck with fram toughguard but even those can be hit and miss.

I've never had issues with the mopar filter on the 3.8
 
JKbrick

JKbrick

Active Member
jeeeep said:
if you're having consistent dry starts, it's the wix filter - get a mopar filter. the back flow valve in the mopar is just better designed, I've had luck with fram toughguard but even those can be hit and miss.

I've never had issues with the mopar filter on the 3.8
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How do you know you are having dry starts? Does it sound terrible?
 
Heavyhaul07

Heavyhaul07

New member
Imo penzoil is crap. Try adding in some Lucas oil stabilizer into your oil. I used it in all my semis with good luck. Wix filters aren't as good as they use to be.
 
JakeJK

JakeJK

New member
Big Bad Wolf said:
Related to the EGR, does your engine stall? Or, make a knocking sound ? Rough idle ?

If you did replace the engine would it be for another 3.8 ?
Click to expand...

No symptoms of a bad EGR I believe it's just a stuck closed because it still runs fine, and most likely yes. That or keep it until I graduate and put a LS or hemi in it
 
JakeJK

JakeJK

New member
jeeeep said:
if you're having consistent dry starts, it's the wix filter - get a mopar filter. the back flow valve in the mopar is just better designed, I've had luck with fram toughguard but even those can be hit and miss.

I've never had issues with the mopar filter on the 3.8
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I switched to this wix filter as I was having the same issue with the mopar filters I was hoping that the wix would be better than the mopar but it hasn't made it any better
 
JakeJK

JakeJK

New member
Heavyhaul07 said:
Imo penzoil is crap. Try adding in some Lucas oil stabilizer into your oil. I used it in all my semis with good luck. Wix filters aren't as good as they use to be.
Click to expand...

Even pennzoil platinum? I always heard it was good stuff, but I will try some of that oil stabilizer, what does it do to the oil to stop dry starts? Increase the viscosity or what
 
Heavyhaul07

Heavyhaul07

New member
JakeJK said:
Even pennzoil platinum? I always heard it was good stuff, but I will try some of that oil stabilizer, what does it do to the oil to stop dry starts? Increase the viscosity or what
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I've never been a fan of penzoil ever. Use to be good oil in the 70's. But about early 80 it was just a cheap oil and been that way sense. Jmo. As for the Lucas stabilizer it is thicker and helps with dry starts. In one of my semis it even helped with stopping a small oil leak. I use to use Kendal oil in all my vehicle but it's getting harder to find any more. Now I just use Napa oil as it's made by valvoline and I get it cheap through my work.
 
Markymark420

Markymark420

New member
JakeJK said:
It's a pretty nasty sounding start up for like 1/2 of a second
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Are you sure that what you are hearing is oil related.
Reason I ask, is that I thought I had dry start issues that would pop up maybe once in a while for the first couple of years I owned my jeep. I tried a few different oil options (tried a few combos of weights/brands/filters/conventional & syn) to no avail.

Fast forward to about a year ago, I was doing a deep clean and inspection looking for an unrelated oil leak and removed my starter. It was caked with sand, dirt and grime and I took it apart to clean and re-lube the mechanical internals. Since doing this I have not once heard the screeching during startup that I had attributed previously to oil starvation at start up.
It would seem that the starter bendix would hang up after the engine took over and the noise was the starter gear being scraped by the flywheel for a split second before disengaging fully.

FWIW, i have 130k on the odometer and I currently run Redline 5W-30 and WIX filter 51348, also have run the WIX 51516 larger capacity oil filter in the recent past with no ill effects noticed.
 
JakeJK

JakeJK

New member
Markymark420 said:
Are you sure that what you are hearing is oil related.
Reason I ask, is that I thought I had dry start issues that would pop up maybe once in a while for the first couple of years I owned my jeep. I tried a few different oil options (tried a few combos of weights/brands/filters/conventional & syn) to no avail.

Fast forward to about a year ago, I was doing a deep clean and inspection looking for an unrelated oil leak and removed my starter. It was caked with sand, dirt and grime and I took it apart to clean and re-lube the mechanical internals. Since doing this I have not once heard the screeching during startup that I had attributed previously to oil starvation at start up.
It would seem that the starter bendix would hang up after the engine took over and the noise was the starter gear being scraped by the flywheel for a split second before disengaging fully.

FWIW, i have 130k on the odometer and I currently run Redline 5W-30 and WIX filter 51348, also have run the WIX 51516 larger capacity oil filter in the recent past with no ill effects noticed.
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Hm well this I don't know it could quite possible be my problem. I am also running the wix 51348 I believe was what the model was, so when you fixed your problem you just took your starter out and cleaned it up and relubed it? Mine makes the noise much more often when it's cold outside, and never after the engine has been warmed up, or was warm within the past few hours which leads me to believe it's dry starting but I'm not totally positive it couldn't be that started issue you had
 
JakeJK

JakeJK

New member
Heavyhaul07 said:
I've never been a fan of penzoil ever. Use to be good oil in the 70's. But about early 80 it was just a cheap oil and been that way sense. Jmo. As for the Lucas stabilizer it is thicker and helps with dry starts. In one of my semis it even helped with stopping a small oil leak. I use to use Kendal oil in all my vehicle but it's getting harder to find any more. Now I just use Napa oil as it's made by valvoline and I get it cheap through my work.
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Ah okay thanks I will try some of that stabilizer and see what happens, thanks for the advice! I also may switch to a different oil next oil change as well lol
 
Markymark420

Markymark420

New member
JakeJK said:
Hm well this I don't know it could quite possible be my problem. I am also running the wix 51348 I believe was what the model was, so when you fixed your problem you just took your starter out and cleaned it up and relubed it? Mine makes the noise much more often when it's cold outside, and never after the engine has been warmed up, or was warm within the past few hours which leads me to believe it's dry starting but I'm not totally positive it couldn't be that started issue you had
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DO YOU HOMEWORK BEFORE GOING IN!
Yes, not to involved of a job to pull the starter. If you decide to go that route look thru the interwebs for advice and be absolute sure to DISCONNECT THE BATTERY before messing with the starter. The heat shield can be a pain. The majority of starters are all built the same. Reference a good breakdown image of the internals to get an idea of how it works and what you will see inside.

The starter's mechanical internals can be accessed by removing the long bolts holding the cover on. Be patient while your in there, because some of the internals are plastic. Don't go crazy with relubing it either, just a gentle coat of grease will do. I used a Teflon modified grease that I acquired when back in the military, but I am sure a quality lithium grease will work fine.
 
Gravedigger11

Gravedigger11

New member
markymark420 said:
do you homework before going in!
Yes, not to involved of a job to pull the starter. If you decide to go that route look thru the interwebs for advice and be absolute sure to disconnect the battery before messing with the starter. The heat shield can be a pain. The majority of starters are all built the same. Reference a good breakdown image of the internals to get an idea of how it works and what you will see inside.

The starter's mechanical internals can be accessed by removing the long bolts holding the cover on. Be patient while your in there, because some of the internals are plastic. Don't go crazy with relubing it either, just a gentle coat of grease will do. I used a teflon modified grease that i acquired when back in the military, but i am sure a quality lithium grease will work fine.
Click to expand...

lsa-t?????
 
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