Pentastar 3.6 Recall On Lash Adjusters, Allegedly

[TheRealStreetcommander]

2023 Willys ZF | Got a call from dealer service adviser stating there is an open recall, released to dealers today, for the lash adjuster. SA was kind enough, but did not know details, except that it would take several hours to perform, and it was a remedy for a complaint of ticking. I asked for a recall number or data to research and she said there would be none, because they just released it today. FYI, my pentastar does not tick and I did not complain about it.

Something is brewing.

I'll post details as they become available.

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[Hootbro]

Recall or TSB?

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I can't recall his forum name right now, been a stupid crazy last couple of weeks, but he and I have openly discussed oiling that comes from lash adjusters......... the exhaust lash adjusters shoot oil over to the intake followers as well as their own followers, and if there's any issue with the exhaust lash adjusters, oiling of the cams can be impacted. And intake lash adjusters are responsible for not only maintaining 0 lash, but also handling the oil pressure to move to and from high and low intake lift.
Maybe they've found a pattern somewhere??

 

[chorky]

Following

 

[TheRealStreetcommander]

Recall.

 

[Charles 236]

I can't recall his forum name right now, been a stupid crazy last couple of weeks, but he and I have openly discussed oiling that comes from lash adjusters......... the exhaust lash adjusters shoot oil over to the intake followers as well as their own followers, and if there's any issue with the exhaust lash adjusters, oiling of the cams can be impacted. And intake lash adjusters are responsible for not only maintaining 0 lash, but also handling the oil pressure to move to and from high and low intake lift.
Maybe they've found a pattern somewhere??

Oil for the intake camshaft and intake rockers comes from the exhaust rockers. Two very small orifices in the exhaust rocker spray oil toward the intake camshaft and the exhaust camshaft. The oil supply to the orifices comes through the exhaust lash adjuster. I have found a restriction on some exhaust rocker orifices, total blockage in others, resulting in camshaft and rocker failure. The last blockage that I found was what appeared to be a piece of lint that was between the lash adjuster and the rocker arm. I have no idea how it made it that far through the oiling system.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

The last blockage that I found was what appeared to be a piece of lint that was between the lash adjuster and the rocker arm. I have no idea how it made it that far through the oiling system.

I can just about imagine. I've seen oil pump pickup screens all but plugged with lint. It was likely in one of the galleries. Someone used a common rag to wipe their hands or some parts, or to clean something. I've seen transmissions literally destroyed by lint. I have to wonder how so many shade-tree types end up with a running vehicle that lasts for more than a year after some of what I've witnessed.
On the other hand - I know of one engine that had issues after the guy working on it forgot to take the rag out of one of the cylinders when he put the head back on, another left a rag in the block when the engine was up-side-down on a stand and he put the pan back on and put the engine together and back in the car. Funny thing - it was our service manager and the car was his father-in-law's Pontiac.

 

[Vtur]

Mechanics needs to stop using those red rags that alway seems to leave lint behind. Especially when wiping down dipstick, filter housing etc.

 

[TheRealStreetcommander]

In another life, I bought a house, paid my bills, and raised small children as an auto tech. I was fortunate to be an okay diagnostician and very fast so I beat the clock and turned lots of hours.

Through a series of what at the time I thought were unfortunate events, I left the trades and went into other ventures. I've made exponentially more in those ventures and worked 1/2 as hard. My hat tips to any legit mechanic. They have a thankless job and work in a truly sh!ttie and predatory environment. I was given a poppers ration of brakeclean and rags each day --at a dealer. I didn't get paid to fix problems, I got paid to bill hours and bring in revenue.

If they had their choice, they'd work in surgically sterile environments, use clean-room protocols, and only use the best parts and materials. We don't pay them to work that way though. We pay them to be fast and cheap, and we expect 100% infallible results. I know the comments are well intended but we need to cut them some slack guys. We get what we will pay for.

 

[Elff]

Interesting.
Subscribed

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Mechanics needs to stop using those red rags that alway seems to leave lint behind. Especially when wiping down dipstick, filter housing etc.

Back when I was doing automatics almost as often as I did engine repairs or rebuilds, I told my boss that I wasn't going to use the shop rags they got every week - and he bought me all of the lint-free cloths I wanted after I explained what a little bit of lint could do for damage.
The red rags aren't necessarily always bad, but with legacy stamped steel dip sticks they could have a burr or imperfection that could catch lint. You'd expect the filter to catch it, but first it has to make it through the oil pump with tight clearances. And if the oil filter gets dirty and someone puts in oil that's a bit too heavy - that filter can be bypassed.

 

[Dust]

Subscribed

 

[TheRealStreetcommander]

I will request a detailed explanation of the recall and the parts involved. If I accept the recall work, I will also request the old parts back. Stellantis may or may not grant that. They’re paying for it and providing a loaner so I’m certainly not entitled to them. It would stand to reason, that we’d also see some revision in the LAs which will supersede the existing.

Perhaps more curios, the pentastar VVL has been in use since -2016, I think, in several models including the Grand Cherokee. There are so many with excessively high miles on them already with zero issues. This should be a fun side piece to examine as more data becomes available.

Stay tuned.

 

[Barnaby’sdad]

’In‘ for details.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I will request a detailed explanation of the recall and the parts involved. If I accept the recall work, I will also request the old parts back. Stellantis may or may not grant that. They’re paying for it and providing a loaner so I’m certainly not entitled to them. It would stand to reason, that we’d also see some revision in the LAs which will supersede the existing.

Perhaps more curios, the pentastar VVL has been in use since -2016, I think, in several models including the Grand Cherokee. There are so many with excessively high miles on them already with zero issues. This should be a fun side piece to examine as more data becomes available.

Stay tuned.

Yes, 2015 for the 2016 model year in Grand Cherokee for sure. Not even a slight tick in any 3.6 we've ever owned.
The worst for Gladiator seemed to be 2020 MY. Not that others haven't had issues, some have, but with the 2020 it was almost a peak of the problem.

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