Just curious to see who out there enjoys their 3.8L, I myself have the 3.6L and everyone knocks on the 3.8, but my wife had a 2010 JKU auto, and I didn't see anything bad about it, other than the gas mileage and it wouldn't start up whenever it got cold out, but other than that they seem good to me. So with that said, who are dedicated to their 3.8's, I wanna hear your stories. Cheers


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I wouldnt say I love my 3.8 but it has been a good motor for me. It is no powerhouse and i'm the type of guy that always looks for more power no matter what vehicle I drive. I'm running Superchips Flashpaq, Gibson Headers, MBRP Exhaust and a CAI along with the 6sp manual and the Jeeps power is comfortable. Due to the amount of money we put into our Jeeps, i would be hard pressed to ever get rid of mine just because of the new 3.6 motor. Maybe if Chrysler put in a Hemi then I would contemplate selling.

When the motor finally goes, I will consider an LS swap. At least then I can semi-justify it. A lot of guys on the forum love the Chevy motors including myself. It's not easy dumping 18 to 20k on the engine/tranny swap but here is my justification. I'm driving a vehicle I love and is paid off, why not put the money in a Jeep that I have no plans on selling.

 

I liked mine in my '09 while I had it. When the 3.8 first came to market (and I don't mean in the JK) it was a pretty good engine. 200hp back in the day was a lot of power, and to still get 18-20mpg. The world grew up around it, and when it went in the JK, it was already "old". But it wasn't ever bad, so long as you didn't have one with an oil consumption issue (mine didn't consume). It made good power, it made decent sounds, mileage wasn't bad, but it was just a plain, old-school v6, and that's what made it good. There's so many of them out there that parts are cheap and ubiquitous. In that regard, it has a lot of the qualities that the old 4.0L had, but that's still a separate religion.

 

I have owned 2 JK's now and both with the 3.8 motor. I actually have been pleased with their performance considering my use of the vehicle. Now if what I had was a mustang and it performed like my 3.8 does, I'd be hating on it! I don't expect it to be anything more than reliable and powerful enough to move my heavy rig over any terrain. My 3.8 is tried,true and dependable (knock on wood).
Would I like more power? Sure, but like mentioned before, I have to much time and money invested in my rig to justify only modest improvements in torque and horsepower. I'll be keeping my 3.8.

 

The 3.8 in my 07 is good. No complaints.

 

No issues with mine, so I guess I'm happy with it

 

I'd like to say that my 3.8L has treated me well, but it hasn't.. Right off the bat from 15k-40k I had a decent amount of oil leaks from everywhere from the valley pan, to the rear main x2. Although it had many oil leaks, it never truely gave me any problems. Motor is still running strong at 108,000 miles. My 07 Auto came with 4.10 gears from the factory, so it's not that bad but with 35's i'm not expecting too too much.

A buddy of mine just got a 14 2door rubicon with the 3.6 and 4.10 gears, and i didn't notice tooo much of a difference, yes it was more peppy and had mrore balls behind it, but was it worth trading in for? probably not.

 

Come May it'll be 5 years with my 09 auto JKU and zero problems and it's my daily driver..... Mind you its no speed demon even re geared and with a superchip but I didn't get it for speed ..... Love my jeep

 

No complaints with mine other then oil consumption. I keep a good eye on it .., if she goes I'll drop in a 4bt diesel

 

I am satisfied with mine. It has been trouble free and so was my 07(up until I traded it for the 2010 @ 26k miles). I have 4:88s, Superchips, and a Sprintbooster in my Unlimited with 35s. When I test drove a stock 2012 2 door Rubi with 4:10's it literally felt the same as my 2010. I went to the dealership expecting to be wowed by the 3.6 but was disappointed. I guess if my 3.8 was stock, I would have really liked the 3.6.


Overall I think the 3.8 is a good engine. I hope to own this JK for a LONG time