2007 3.8 Engine Longevity
 

What's everyones review of the engine? I've seen it eats up oil around 100k miles. I found a nice built one with low miles but just trying to see what i should expect since it's already at 63k miles

For every engine that burns oil, you have 5 that don't burn any. So keep that in mind.

My (2011) engine, started burning oil around 70k, and it's gotten progressively worse.

At 105k miles, it's still more then serviceable, but I simply don't want to deal with the oil consumption any longer so I'm replacing it with a remanufactured engine.

I'm at 54k. Burn maybe half a quart maybe a little less every 1k. Sounds like I can expect it to get worse haha. Shit

Cody, welcome back! The 3.8 isn't bad. Stick a little thicker oil in it 5w-30 or 5w-40 if it is really hungry for oil and she'll be alright.

153k miles strong on my 3.8 :beer:

How much do your burn?

208,000 miles on mine. Does not consume oil--might have added a quart when I pushed past 6K on a change. I've been running synth in all my vehicles for past 40 years and am careful to break in engine before changing to synth.

oil
 

My 3.8 was starting to burn a little, but I added a half bottle of motor honey and it stopped so the next oil change I switched to 10w30, just a bit thicker oil and it hasn't burned any since. I worked in an oil refinery motor lab for 20 odd years and I think the 5 weight is just a little light for this engine. Just my opinion, but it did help.

Not an ounce and I'm looking to keep it that way with my oil preferences. I do a synthetic oil (high mileage now) and add 1qt of Lucas stabilizer. Anyone can claim it's snake oil and that's alright- the jeep does what I ask it to do and doesn't consume oil.

Frankly I like Lucas products, they seem to work as advertised. What more could you ask.

So 4 quarts oil and 1 Lucas?

5 normal + 1 Lucas, it usually ends up dead in the middle of the dipstick. I do have an aftermarket oil pan but I think the capacity is the same.

Hmm pretty sure I just do 5

And it's full

Maybe the pan is an increased capacity, I don't recall.

6qrt with the bigger oil filter. My 3.8 has 270,000klm and burns a little 5W30 but nothing to worry about. Just switched to 5W40 European blend Amsoil.

The Lucas is an additive , it's add to your regular oil change, but I'd go to autozone or someplace that sells it and read the directions.

Consumption of oil is not a death sentence for this engine. Many of them go past 200k using oil the whole time. My brother had a Town and Country with this engine that used oil its whole life and was running well when he sold it at 225k. They are well known for having this issue.

Mine has used a quart per 1k miles since 40k. I broke it in according to the book and have run Mobil 1 synthetic, with a couple of runs of Pennzoil Platinum and one of Valvoline Synthetic and maybe one run of Castrol Syntec. Mostly, it ran Mobil 1 EP 5w30. I've run 5w20, 0w40 Euro, 10w30, and have settled on 5w30. The only oils that reduced consumption were the 0w40 and Mobil 1 High Mileage 5w30. I'm currently running the M1 HM 5w30, as it has reduced consumption to 1/2 qt per 1k. It seems to like that oil, so I'm going to keep going with it. I also run a slightly higher capacity filter. (Currently Fram Ultra Guard XG3600).

Feed it the oil it wants, monitor it regularly, and enjoy it. Mine runs as well as ever. It just has a bit of a drinking problem. I'll post up someday, if it becomes troublesome or fails. :beer:

I currently have 213,000 miles on my 2007 JK and need to check the oil level every couple of weeks. I switched to 10w-30 quite awhile ago and it seemed to have helped slightly with the consumption. This jeep has been awesome and owes me nothing.....:thumbsup:

My 08 is at 100K miles. It runs fine and I trust it to take me anywhere. I started using 5w-30 oil almost since new. Typically it goes through a quart every 3-4K miles. I've done nothing to the engine except for oil changes every 5k miles and normal maintenance like plugs, wires, air filter, etc.

My last oil change I tried M1 0w-40 oil and was surprised it needed no make-up oil for a 5k run.

For the most part I believe these engines are reasonably reliable if a bit under powered.

2007 Unlimited Sahara 234,000 miles. She'll make 300K

https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/jk-t...t-3-8l-327924/

My 2010 Auto hit 60k on Monday. Burning oil but going strong. I think about 1 quart in 3k this change.

Tried 5-30 and it didn't change from what I can tell. In fact this time again with 5-20 and it's burned less than before.

I forgot to mention the mileage on my 3.8 in my earlier post. It has 116k on it. The only engine issue I've had was a slight leak from the oil pan gasket last week. It was fixed under warranty.

The thing runs like a top. They put Mopar bulk 5w20 in it at the dealership. I'll bet it guzzles that stuff like Otis hitting the bottle in Mayberry! If it does, I'll make it a short run and will swap it out to the M1 EP 5w30. Heck, I can just top it off with the Mobil 1 every 1k miles and after 6k miles all the oil should be new! :D

My 08 runs like a champ 285,000klm still pushing 37s as a DD and burns 1qrt of 5w30 Amsoil every 6k miles.
It will easily do 400,000klm. I'm shooting for 500,000..

That was funny :rotflmao2:

Consistenly using a quart every 1k miles for 50k miles. Oh well. Runs fine don't care.

Bought my ‘07 at 98k miles for a really good price. Previous owner neglected to mention that it was using a quart every 1k miles or so. I wasn’t familiar with the issue at the time, so I didn’t ask. Ended up changing the PCV valve on it a month later as a last ditch effort. Now at 122k miles, and it doesn’t burn a single drop of oil. Chalk that one up for a win!

OEM PCV valve, or aftermarket? If aftermarket, which brand?

I really couldn't tell ya, it's been so long. Not much to a PCV valve really, so I would probably say aftermarket. It was a booger to get out, that much I can tell you! The old one was destroyed in the process. Vice-grips, and something to use as a prybar are helpful. It's cheap to do to see if that is your problem.

I've replaced mine twice. The first time, it reduced consumption to 1/2 quart every 1k. It then quickly crept back up. The second one had no effect. They were both OEM, though. I may try another, just because it is cheap and easy to do. I'll try an aftermarket valve, if I can find one.

Do you remember where you bought it?

I believe I bought it from Oreilley’s.

I have an '08 with 124k on the clock. My 3.8 uses about a half quart per 1000 miles, which isn't bad in my opinion.

2010
150,000 miles
Add a quart maybe every 3 or 4 fill up.
My plan is to change viscosity... but if that doesn't help, I'm not that worried about adding oil.

My Jeep runs fine
Not spending the $$$ on an engine change.
At least not at this time.

My 2008 JK has 104,000 miles now and has been consuming oil to the point where I was adding at least a half quart per month. I took it in to the Jeep dealer and they replaced the lower intake gasket. It's been several months now since the repair and I'm no longer losing oil!!

167,000 miles on my '07 3.8. I have had oil burning at times. In the past was from a poorly seated PCV valve. More recently I think I was losing oil from a leaking valve cover gasket. I'm currently keeping an eye on it now after having replaced the gasket. Still runs great though.

Bought my 08 new in 07. Throughout the years I have had the leaky engine block heater replaced, catylictic converter, 2 rear main seals, front oil seal and harmonic balancer. I threw on a set of plugs at 150k just because. Just turned over 180k and still running like a champ. New exhaust manifold due to arrive tomorrow that will take care of the tick she has before it warms up. Planning to get the overhaul kit just to have on the shelf for just in case. Not burning any oil 👍

Reviving this thread, mine is at roughly 180k (switched tires at 40k), original owner. Basically, only changed oil and basic fluids the whole time. It leaks from the main seal which is to be expected, I check oil every month or so, pretty much have stuck with 5w-20 Mobil 1 High Mileage the last few years. Catalyic converter is probably on it's way out.

Just trying to judge how long I have until I have bigger issues, I pretty much only drive it locally, but would like to be able to take it on longer surf trips to OBX/Florida (300 miles either way).

Check to make sure it isn't your oil pan seal that's leaking. It can mimic the rear main, as it drips down from the bottom of the transmission housing. I thought mine had been leaking, and was planning to change it out whenever I replaced my clutch a couple of summers ago. Once we had the transmission pulled, you could clearly see that the rear main seal was not the culprit. They aren't really known for leaks on the 3.8. I was at 115k miles at the time.

Heck, I had a bit more mileage than that when I headed out on a nearly 10,000 mile adventure into the Arctic Circle with mine. I just passed 276,000 miles running the Colorado Backcountry Discovery Route last week. It does burn a little oil now--about a quart every thousand miles. I did replace the cats--those roads in Canada and Alaska beat the heck out of them and the muffler. I also did have to replace the intake manifold gasket, which is a common 3.8L problem. And the fuel injectors started getting a bit noisy about 225,000 miles, so replaced those. But, it's done well for me. I even made a video about mine when I crossed a quarter million miles a couple years back (haven't added too much both because of the pandemic limiting my adventures, and because I now also own a Gladiator) ...

Wow, Mark, 276k is great! I just turned 156k on mine and had to replace both cats. Other than that, I've replaced the upper oil pan gasket, water pump, radiator, and coil pack. Burns oil sometimes but still runs like new. I've put new bumpers and winch on it and had an upholstery shop fix a seat tear. The old Jeep looks almost looks as new as it runs!