i cant stand this engine
#41
i love my jeep, but i despise its engine. the 3.8 is pathetic, i get the shittiest mpg and have no power????? on the road i dont have to many complaints besides the mileage. my previous car was a jeep srt8 with the 6.1 hemi but for some reason i get worse milage with my 1000 pound lighter wrangler equipped with an engine almost half the size with half the power??? its retarded. on the beach with my 35's in 4hi i can barely fucking move from a start its actually pretty embarrassing. jeepers with the auto i dont know how u do it. its even worse that u cant do shit to it to give u any noticeable gains your just stuck with it as it is. guess ima just wait till the day that i can put a real engine in my 40k jeep. wtf jeep idk what u were thinking
#42
JK Freak
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: yazoo city ms
Posts: 553
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I don't have a problem with the Chrysler 3.8. I came from driving a 404hp mustang also. I daily drive a pontiac with gms version of the 3.8 and its been a great engine it has the same HP/tq numbers as my jeep does but it gets 30mpg where as the jeep gets 19mpg. As long as it last me a long time that's all that matters to me
#43
JK Enthusiast
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Tecate, CA
Posts: 176
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
How did that re-gearing effect your gas mileage?
#44
JK Enthusiast
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: under your skin, usa
Posts: 264
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
You think the 3.8 is bad. My yj had 35's 4.88 gears and a 2.5l talk about a slug. my camaro had 415hp with a 6speed and 4.10's it was awesome. But all in all im happy with the 3.8 hp was nice in the car but couldnt tear off a dirt road withit. And the yj sucked on the highway.
#45
#46
JK Junkie
my '08 Unlimited with 3.73 LSD and auto does great in sand. 2 rules: Use 4LO and Air Down in deep, loose sand. When driven properly a Wrangler CANNOT be improved on in sand. When driven on the open road above 55mph you WILL PAY.
#47
3.8 is terrible!
I am on my 5th jeep and the 3.8 is really really bad. I test drove 5 differnt JKs over the years and was digusted with the lack of power everytime. I rented a mini van while on vacation last year and it was bad in that too. You can put it to the floor and it just makes noise. It reminds me of the 4 cyl. engine in the 1985 CJ7 I used to own. The difference is that you expect a 4 banger to be gutless. I wouldn't buy a JK for years because I couldn't see driving something that gutless AND not getting any MPG. I just bought a 2012 with the Pentastar and it's much closer to the ol' 4.0. This engine doesn't wow you, but I'm not constantly frustrated with the "gutless" feeling. It will do until they come out with a Hemi option. Good ridance 3.8! Sorry to rant, but it's been a long frustrating wait.... I feel better now....
#48
JK Enthusiast
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Fort Drum, NY
Posts: 110
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Same for snow?
Sure. The first time I ever took the JK in the sand it almost drove me mad (until I did some later research & discovered the traction control disable procedure) as I would be cruising along fine in a straight line but as soon as I tried to turn (and the wheels would break traction in the soft, dry sand) the Jeep would rapidly brake to a halt & I'd lose all engine power.
I assume this would be the same for snow? I live in upstate New York and was driving in some snow on Fort Drum and nearly got stuck. I could go forward, but when I would turn it would get all hurky jerky and loose all sorts of power and stall out on me. I had a a heckuva time getting out, as I was in a rather constricted area.
#49
I assume this would be the same for snow? I live in upstate New York and was driving in some snow on Fort Drum and nearly got stuck. I could go forward, but when I would turn it would get all hurky jerky and loose all sorts of power and stall out on me. I had a a heckuva time getting out, as I was in a rather constricted area.
#50
I am on my 5th jeep and the 3.8 is really really bad. I test drove 5 differnt JKs over the years and was digusted with the lack of power everytime. I rented a mini van while on vacation last year and it was bad in that too. You can put it to the floor and it just makes noise. It reminds me of the 4 cyl. engine in the 1985 CJ7 I used to own. The difference is that you expect a 4 banger to be gutless. I wouldn't buy a JK for years because I couldn't see driving something that gutless AND not getting any MPG. I just bought a 2012 with the Pentastar and it's much closer to the ol' 4.0. This engine doesn't wow you, but I'm not constantly frustrated with the "gutless" feeling. It will do until they come out with a Hemi option. Good ridance 3.8! Sorry to rant, but it's been a long frustrating wait.... I feel better now....
https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/show...276#post211276
The gears that came stock on mine, 3.21, are pretty much useless for anything. When I went to 4.88 the power and torque increase was VERY noticable. Mine is a 6sp. If you have an automatic, you need 5.13. It's a crying shape that these brand new vehicles come stock with such crappy gears, and that we have to spend $1500(ish) on a regearing to have decent performance. The 3.8 is no powerhouse, and you aren't going to be racing any Cameros no matter what gears you put in, but regearing can certainly make a big improvement. The only stock gearset that I might consider leaving in would be the 4.56, and only if I never planned to go larger than 33" tires.