Hello all,

I am new here, and this is my first post. I have a question about the 3.8L engine in the JK. I am looking to buy my brothers 07 Unlimited X. It has 100k miles on it, and has been maintained meticulously. He is a Service Manager for Chrysler, so everything is done there. Now, I have always had the tried and true Inline 6 engine, which I had in my YJ's and my TJ's. So my question to everyone is, how reliable is the 3.8L in the JKs? How does it compare to the Inline 6?

I am getting a great deal on my brothers JK unlimited. 10k. He is getting a brand new 2013, that they offered him an amazing deal on. Therefore, I thought this would be a great opportunity to pick this thing up, and start and expedition rig.

I appreciate any help, and thank you for reading!

 

Does it consume oil?

 

Well we are still not sure with the 3.8L engine. They started using them in the JK in 07. They are not a bad engine and some people are hitting or soon to be hitting 200k. I have not herd anything bad about the 3.8L engine only thing there slow. Nothing compares with the Inline 6 they just last forever, thats why chrysler stop making them they're to good a engine. Manufactures no longer want to design anything that will last for a very, very long time.

 

Mine has been good for 125k so far, two clutches, a water pump, a battery,and three windshields. Oh almost forgot, many many gallons of gas.

 

Mine has been rock solid, knock on wood.

Burns a little oil, not a big deal. Replaced water pump gasket. Other than that just plugs and filters. Right around 123K miles now. Runs mint.

I'd easily expect 250K miles out of the motor.

 

Even with 100k on it this a no brainer. Buy it! A $10k JKU is almost unheard of, even with high miles.

 

I agree, even if the motor blew and you had to replace or rebuild it you'd still be ahead of the game.

 

Just wanting to bump this to the top, anybody with 175k - 200k that can report in on any major things they've had to do? I started checking Autotrader and there are a LOT of reasonably priced models on there with 100k+ on them, if it's not an issue to see these things going over 200k then I wouldn't worry much about picking one up. It's hard for me because I naturally look for something that has sub 75k on them..


Is there a rough cost out there of what it's costing people to replace/rebuild these motors?

 

It does not consume oil. Only thing it will need in the future is the manifold gasket, and a new windshield as a rock just hit it. My brother uses synthetic oil and is meticulous on maintenance.

 

Buy it already.