I have been a Jeeper for over 20 years now and have owned and driven almost every Jeep engine made including my favorite AMC 401 that I had in 1988 YJ. I have LIVED in and around Moab for most of my life; I have also been partners in a very well established jeep shop. I am only saying this to show that I know what I am talking about.

And now to the point, I wanted to start a thread to show some people that not all of us hate the 3.8L. There are so many wieners on here that just complain and blame their own inadequacies on other things and it really gets annoying and tiring.

So I am here to say, NO this is not the most powerful jeep engine I have ever had BUT it is really amazing how capable it is and the gas mileage that can be achieved. this is my second JK, my first had 47,000 miles with no trouble and I am up to 9,000 on this one and as of right now with the mods I have done I am getting 18.5 MPG with 37's and 5:13's. This just really amazes me because I would drive my other jeeps on a wheeling trip and hope I didn’t have to fill up AGAIN on my way home.

Now I can go wheelin all Saturday and drive to work for almost a week, I love it! granted I only drive 24 miles a day to work and back but it still amazes me and another thing that was awesome is I towed three motorcycles out to the knolls (about 90 miles each way) and got 17.2 mpg while towing and never had any trouble with power or had to shift down except for on my way back when we got a head wind and a very steep hill.

for people who are used to the low end grunt of the 4.0L it does take some getting used to but that is where you need to be a skilled driver and adapt to the situation. the 4.0 was a great motor but in my opinion after owning many many many of them it is being way out done by the 3.8L.

Please feel free to post opinions of your own but keep the negativity to a minimum if you must post something negative.

Happy Jeepin

 

I like the 3.8, it gets me 1,900 miles to moab and the 1,900 miles home. Traveling all types of roads, no problems with power on 37's with 5.13 gears and the 6 speed. the rockies slowed it own a bit, but it did fine!!

I'm comparing this to two TJ's and a YJ with a 4 banger

 

Have a 07 Sahara, 49000.00 km on it , no drive train problems at all, very pleased with it

 

Mine can't even hold speed on the highway. If I set the cruise at 70 it will bog down on the slightest incline and slow down to 65 before it downshifts to get back up to 70 and upshift then repeat process... It did this with the stock set up as well as the set up I have now. It's annoying and IMO underpowered for even modest highway driving which most JK owners do. I don't want a sports car or need a hemi, I know its a brick but come on, at least give it enough power to hold speed on the highway.

 

Maybe this is where driver skill comes in (as mentioned by the OP, above) .
When I approach a hill on the interstate, and I know it will want to shift out of O/D, I just reach down and push the button when I feel it should downshift, rather than wait for it to struggle and slow down. Near the top, I hit the switch again.
It's all quite smooth and seamless. In fact, I am always amazed at how well the 42RLE behaves for me.

Back to the 3.8L engine, it seems plenty powerful enough for me. It's quiet, smooth, and gets pretty good gas mileage for what it has to move.

 

I dislike mine. I get 0.5 mpg higher than my 06 rubi lj and miss the low end of other engines I have owned. I have nothing to nice to say so I will stop here.

 

It sounds like you have an AUTO (my 2007 was an Auto) and you are way under geared, I have seen way to many people on here add bigger tires lift and accessories and not regear. if you want the power you have to gear your jeep according the modifications done to it.

even if you added a lift, 33-37" tires and a wind block to a corvette you would still feel a major difference in power

 

I think its a great engine. Im at 59,000 with an 07 and not one problem.

Ya man I don't have that problem and I'm running 33 x15 tires and a 3 inch lift. Mine is a six speed though. I have plenty of power on the highway and have no problem gaining speed either. Pshh I even beat stupid ricer cars off the light with my jeep. For some reason people always want to race when they here my flowmaster 40 and my afe intake. and sadly but truely I beat all of them off the light. at around 3rd gear is when they catch up. I mean its not meant to go fast but its got alot of Low end torque.

 

Coming from a die hard Jeep family, I would welcome the 3.8L into my Jeep world. True, it may not have the torque of the 4.0, the speed of the 4.7 V8, or the raw power of my 4.7Stroker I6... but it holds its own in real world driving. My only gripe with it is the gear ratios. I can use 6th gear at 40 mph with my 3.21s and 33" tires, but it needs more pick up off the line.

If I had a choice of a six cylinder motor to fit in the JK from the Chrysler's part bin, I would have used the 250 horsepower V6 from the charger.

 

the engine is OK, the problem is the trany. I gathered a few number out of the internet mostly aol auto and did some torq & Hp to weight. I did round down all the number. Keep in mind driver and gears are not included

weight torq hp
sahara 4dr 4200 17 20
Rubi 2dr 4100 17 20
ranger XLT 4dr 3600 15 17
FJ Cruiser 4dr 4300 16 15
TJ Rubi 2dr 3700 15 19
F-150 reg V8 4900 16 19
Ram 1500 st reg V8 4800 14 15
Focus S 2L 2600 19 18

all model except the focus are 4x4. If you use a ram V8 in a Sahara 4DR you get 12 torq and 13 Hp

Edit: sorry all the formating is gone