Engine issues 3.6L

[Hootbro]

How far out is Blackstone now? I think I sent a sample in about 2 weeks ago..........
I went a long stretch this time because there wasn't time (or my ability) to get a sample or oil change done so mine went farther than I generally go.

My last one took 3-1/2 weeks. One before that, 3 weeks and before that, 5 weeks.

Edit: That also includes the 3-4 days to get to them through USPS.

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[Mtpisgah]

Does the ticking do any damage to the actual engine, or just to the lifters, cam and rockers? How long can you let it go before it does damage? Mine has started doing it and my independent mechanic said it is so faint at this point, i can wait a little while to fix it. I am over the 60k warranty, but only by about 1500 miles. Maybe i will try the dealership to see if they will warranty it.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Does the ticking do any damage to the actual engine, or just to the lifters, cam and rockers? How long can you let it go before it does damage? Mine has started doing it and my independent mechanic said it is so faint at this point, i can wait a little while to fix it. I am over the 60k warranty, but only by about 1500 miles. Maybe i will try the dealership to see if they will warranty it.

The ticking is all over the place - some hear a ticking and are really bothered - while it may be the injectors, or normal 3.6 valve train sounds.
Others it's something totally different and of no consequence other than annoying them.
Still others - it's an actual concern.
So when people talk of the 3.6 ticking - who knows what they are talking about or referring to as some of them don't.

I have posted a video of my 4.0 here a couple of times - and what the phone picks up is mostly injectors, with some valve train. A problem in that case? Not at all.

Some of the ticking some may be hearing is the high lift part of the follower making sounds as it rides the high lift cam profile, held there by only some spring pressure. There's no real pressure against the cam at idle. There has to be clearance inside that follower so that it can seamlessly move into and out of high lift mode when called for.
By nature of its design it may not be a quiet design. There's actually mechanical lash in high lift mode - wonder how the lash adjusters don't take that out??

I'm into my high lift operation a lot around here with the hills and wind so my next oil analysis will be interesting - if there's no abnormal results, that and the fact mine has the exact same tick as every single 3.6 PUG we've ever owned, I won't worry about it.
What I believe I'm hearing on mine is actually injectors - so I'll figure out what a member here used for fuel additives and see if that quiets them a bit.

 

[Hootbro]

Does the ticking do any damage to the actual engine, or just to the lifters, cam and rockers? How long can you let it go before it does damage? Mine has started doing it and my independent mechanic said it is so faint at this point, i can wait a little while to fix it. I am over the 60k warranty, but only by about 1500 miles. Maybe i will try the dealership to see if they will warranty it.

I would highly recommend getting an oil analysis done. There is quite a bit of ticking to these engines sometimes that have nothing to do with the valvetrain like injectors, exhaust manifold leaks and even the EGR valve sometimes.

 

[Maximus Gladius]

The fact that these engines are routinely hitting in the 235 degree range makes me wonder if the 0w20 is sufficient for that heat, but I totally acknowledge that all of this is out of my wheelhouse.

I’d be a bit worried if I saw this, and in fact I did see this temp right after I picked up my truck from having the second engine put in and the oil filled was extremely over full by 7L. I didn’t check the level but trusted it was good. My immediate trip was 1500 kms and on my way back I saw that temperature and called the dealership. The service manager wasn’t alarmed by that temp and I carried on the highway and got home and did an oil changed to see all that oil in there.

Now, I don’t pull a trailer but can get loaded down with stuff and go on long trips of a 1000-2000 kms and I’ve never seen those temps except what I just mentioned.

We just did a road trip to BC and the photo is typically the range my engine stays in. It can get hotter but nowhere close to 235.

 

[WK2JT]

The ticking is all over the place - some hear a ticking and are really bothered - while it may be the injectors, or normal 3.6 valve train sounds.
Others it's something totally different and of no consequence other than annoying them.
Still others - it's an actual concern.
So when people talk of the 3.6 ticking - who knows what they are talking about or referring to as some of them don't.

I have posted a video of my 4.0 here a couple of times - and what the phone picks up is mostly injectors, with some valve train. A problem in that case? Not at all.

Some of the ticking some may be hearing is the high lift part of the follower making sounds as it rides the high lift cam profile, held there by only some spring pressure. There's no real pressure against the cam at idle. There has to be clearance inside that follower so that it can seamlessly move into and out of high lift mode when called for.
By nature of its design it may not be a quiet design. There's actually mechanical lash in high lift mode - wonder how the lash adjusters don't take that out??

I'm into my high lift operation a lot around here with the hills and wind so my next oil analysis will be interesting - if there's no abnormal results, that and the fact mine has the exact same tick as every single 3.6 PUG we've ever owned, I won't worry about it.
What I believe I'm hearing on mine is actually injectors - so I'll figure out what a member here used for fuel additives and see if that quiets them a bit.

In your new JT, do you still get the tick around 2000-2200 RPM the first mile or two on cold start? I still have that after the intake cam replacement, but wondering what that could be. Clearance until there is hydraulic pressure built?

 

[ShadowsPapa]

In your new JT, do you still get the tick around 2000-2200 RPM the first mile or two on cold start? I still have that after the intake cam replacement, but wondering what that could be. Clearance until there is hydraulic pressure built?

Hydraulic pressure - oil pressure - is built before you can even get it in gear.
The oil pump is in high volume mode upon cranking and starting. It reaches about 70 psi or so, then as the engine comes out of "cranking/starting" to running, it drops to the normal low volume mode for running under 3,000 rpm. So pressure is there before you can even put it in gear and hit the gas pedal.
Getting oil pressure up to ~70 means all oil galleries are filled, everything that can hold oil is filled and it's pressing against that resistance to the point of bleeding out of the bearings and so on. A sticking lash adjuster could cause a tick for a while until it gets loosened up, but I'm not had that sort of sound, either.
I have never had an abnormal tick on a cold or warm start.
In the winter there's more "engine noise" until things warm up, but it's not RPM dependent and I'd put it more in the "undefined noise" category. Just not as quiet until warmed.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I’d be a bit worried if I saw this, and in fact I did see this temp right after I picked up my truck from having the second engine put in and the oil filled was extremely over full by 7L. I didn’t check the level but trusted it was good. My immediate trip was 1500 kms and on my way back I saw that temperature and called the dealership. The service manager wasn’t alarmed by that temp and I carried on the highway and got home and did an oil changed to see all that oil in there.

Depending on where I was, and what I was doing, 235 wouldn't alarm me and it's not even in the "over-heated" category, but if I was simply driving it - not up a steep incline at high altitude or pulling a really heavy load in hills on a windy hot day, then I'd be concerned because for ordinary driving, these cooling systems are more than capable of removing the heat the engine produces.
So yeah, if I was on the way home, maybe just some hills, a headwind, whatever, but nothing you don't otherwise see and it did that, then I'd wonder what was up. Did I just run across some plastic or cardboard and it flipped up over the grill?
(believe it or not, I had that happen with a truck years ago - I thought I'd just drive over the debris - and it blew up right across the grill and I couldn't see it. The truck started to heat up - I pulled over and cleared the grill. One of those - this is WEIRD, what are the odds? type of things)

 

[troverman]

Pretty routine on mine if you tow anything much. You can see I’m not at altitude nor is the ambient temp very hot. I’ve actually seen 240 coolant which just plain seems too hot for the engine to last if you keep doing this.

 

[troverman]

Edit: subscribed

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Pretty routine on mine if you tow anything much. You can see I’m not at altitude nor is the ambient temp very hot. I’ve actually seen 240 coolant which just plain seems too hot for the engine to last if you keep doing this.

You leave out what you are towing, the weight, the frontage, wind speed, your road speed and so on.

I tow and don't see 230 temps and it's hilly and windy here - a calm day is rare, and we say "not windy" when it's 10 mph. If you are driving into 10 mph wind it's almost as if you added 10 miles an hour to your road speed as far as drag on the vehicle and item being towed.
Your oil pressure is up so obviously you are in a gear running 3,000 RPM or higher - so there's more to that picture puzzle that isn't being seen/shown. Is it a manual, or automatic? Are you manually shifting (if automatic) or letting it shift?

I can't recall ever seeing such temperatures towing 5,000 pounds at 65 mph.
If you go faster than that, there's part of your problem right there.
And if it's a camper with large frontage, that doesn't help any, regardless of the weight of the camper.

 

[troverman]

Box trailer, 5000lbs. Automatic transmission, not in manual mode. 55mph, basically calm wind conditions. Everything within spec.

 

[WK2JT]

Hydraulic pressure - oil pressure - is built before you can even get it in gear.
The oil pump is in high volume mode upon cranking and starting. It reaches about 70 psi or so, then as the engine comes out of "cranking/starting" to running, it drops to the normal low volume mode for running under 3,000 rpm. So pressure is there before you can even put it in gear and hit the gas pedal.
Getting oil pressure up to ~70 means all oil galleries are filled, everything that can hold oil is filled and it's pressing against that resistance to the point of bleeding out of the bearings and so on. A sticking lash adjuster could cause a tick for a while until it gets loosened up, but I'm not had that sort of sound, either.
I have never had an abnormal tick on a cold or warm start.
In the winter there's more "engine noise" until things warm up, but it's not RPM dependent and I'd put it more in the "undefined noise" category. Just not as quiet until warmed.

Not sure why i haven’t tried this before, but revving to 2000-2200 RPM in park doesn’t exhibit the tick i hear under drive/load, but certainly seems RPM dependent. Hmmm.

 

[Stan H]

Pretty routine on mine if you tow anything much. You can see I’m not at altitude nor is the ambient temp very hot. I’ve actually seen 240 coolant which just plain seems too hot for the engine to last if you keep doing this.

If your at 80psi oil pressure your on the highway or stuck in a low gear really revving on it . Highway ?

 

[JTGuy]

Will the list of drivetrain and suspension mods listed in my signature kill my 7 year extended warranty on the engine issues? I am at 17K miles and I will trade it before I see 60K on it.

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