Pentastar Tick on potential purchase

[ShadowsPapa]

Phone videos - the audio part, is very deceiving, hard to determine sounds because they are tailored more to voice, not cinematic sounds with perfect clarity. They actually, literally, make certain frequencies more pronounced - by design.

Then you have the replay on the other end........... if you are listening via your phone, it's not going to be even close to reality. Even on a PC - the compression used on videos doesn't exactly lead to perfect reproduction. Listen to an audio track even on a cheap turntable and amp then compare it to a recording of the same thing played back through phone or computer.
(I'm not so sure youtube's compression algorithm is lossless, either)

And finally - yeah, that's the bottom end.......... not a great place to get sounds from.
But to me, the sound I'm hearing almost seems "too fast" for a follower/cam lobe thing. Also sounds deeper, but it's from below, and on a computer, so...........

Open the hood, record the same sound from close to the right valve cover, and then close to the left valve cover.

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[Mullins2282]

This is tough. Our injectors make just about as much noise as the rockers will while they chew on our cams. You really need to pull the valve covers to be sure. I had no real sign of any issue until my cam was toast. Noise was minimal but I got a pending CEL and logged misfires during a live scan (I do this regularly). These VVL valve trains can go from good to trashed overnight it seems. Just the parts cost me 3k to refresh the top end. Wild...

 

[Sandman 4x4]

Why hasn’t the aftermarket design and turn new and improved valve train components, camshaft, rockers, all the parts that have a history to fail? Along with an extra bit of torque in the mix? As is these small displacement engines are making higher or the same hp as V8 engines of 20+ years ago, all while delivering 20+ mpg with the stock tires and equipment. I use a term of endearment I call Wizzbang engines. But you must change the oil every 5,000 miles max with top grade full synthetic. Using 0w20 as directed by the factory, in the heat of Florida summers some dealers advise 5w20, that have discovered less valve train wear. Just as long as you change the oil twice a year, even with low mileage using 0w20 in the winter months. That’s how is seems to work in my 2024, I bought last July, had the oil changed in Dec using 0w20, at 4,000 miles for the first time, now at 9,000, I’m planning to change by June with 5w20. I’m not one to keep a vehicle a long time. We plan on replacing this with another Gladiator in a couple years, by the second year of a 4xe model, because a friend has one and like I do he also has a new modern Solar system in their home, that lets him run his shorter errands using little to no gas. We are lucky the local Wawa stations have ethanol free 89 octane gas. That everyone I know with a plug in hybrid uses, because a tank of gas can last a long time.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

But you must change the oil every 5,000 miles max with top grade full synthetic.

No you don't. There's no "must" to it. You can absolutely go longer depending on your driving.
0w20 is either fully synthetic or a blend - and the blend can be just as good in wear protection - proven.
5w20 is the same as 0w20 when the engine is at operating temperature, but 5w20 is fine for climates that don't experience temps below the 20s or 30s.

We are lucky the local Wawa stations have ethanol free 89 octane gas. That everyone I know with a plug in hybrid uses, because a tank of gas can last a long time.

We run U88 or pretty much anything cheap in our 4xe. All you need to do is make sure you put at least 10 gallons in it within 3 months time or so, or it goes into FORM, regardless of the type of fuel used. These tanks are sealed more than non-4xe tanks so there isn't the same effect with them using blends as with our Gladiators.
We've gone 3 months on 10 gallons of fuel before - and then it kicked into FORM. It would have done the same thing with pure gas. It's how it's programmed. 3 months - you should put fresh fuel in it as even today's pure gasoline is old at that rate.

Dealers will say a lot of things - they can't state just on their shop experiences that a simple 0w20 to 5w20 move reduces valve train wear. They have no control group and can only speculate. Since the protection is the same at higher temperatures, and since the ranges of viscosity between 0w20 and 5w20 actually overlap, there's very little difference.
Where it will matter is the number of cold starts and the temperatures at those cold starts.
I'd take what dealers say about it with a grain of salt.

I had to laugh when my son and his family visited us a couple of years ago and stayed for a week in July. My D-I-L is Korean. My son's family lives in Florida.
Guess what EJ was complaining about during their visit - the HEAT! I had to laugh!
Seriously? come up from Florida and spend a week in Iowa and complain about the heat in Iowa?

 

[Sandman 4x4]

No you don't. There's no "must" to it. You can absolutely go longer depending on your driving.
0w20 is either fully synthetic or a blend - and the blend can be just as good in wear protection - proven.
5w20 is the same as 0w20 when the engine is at operating temperature, but 5w20 is fine for climates that don't experience temps below the 20s or 30s.



We run U88 or pretty much anything cheap in our 4xe. All you need to do is make sure you put at least 10 gallons in it within 3 months time or so, or it goes into FORM, regardless of the type of fuel used. These tanks are sealed more than non-4xe tanks so there isn't the same effect with them using blends as with our Gladiators.
We've gone 3 months on 10 gallons of fuel before - and then it kicked into FORM. It would have done the same thing with pure gas. It's how it's programmed. 3 months - you should put fresh fuel in it as even today's pure gasoline is old at that rate.

Dealers will say a lot of things - they can't state just on their shop experiences that a simple 0w20 to 5w20 move reduces valve train wear. They have no control group and can only speculate. Since the protection is the same at higher temperatures, and since the ranges of viscosity between 0w20 and 5w20 actually overlap, there's very little difference.
Where it will matter is the number of cold starts and the temperatures at those cold starts.
I'd take what dealers say about it with a grain of salt.

I had to laugh when my son and his family visited us a couple of years ago and stayed for a week in July. My D-I-L is Korean. My son's family lives in Florida.
Guess what EJ was complaining about during their visit - the HEAT! I had to laugh!
Seriously? come up from Florida and spend a week in Iowa and complain about the heat in Iowa?

Wow confrontational on every post? That must I used was for me, not you nor anyone else. The dealer I referenced has a service manager who has been there since the beginning 18 years ago. His long term records with valve train wear has proven less wear using his methods, over the long 18 years term that covers the entire life of the Pentastar, 3.6 & 3.2. So if you want to use a blend, every 10,000 or so miles on the 100-0 % oil life on the computer by all means do so, it’s your $$$ long term. I’m not even keeping mine long term, but hope to trade it in for the next owner to do whatever they want. That’s their business not mine. When we talk about Florida heat, that’s because over night it stays in the high 80’s sometimes low 90’s. Walk out of the house at 6:00am and the sun hasn’t come up and it’s still 89 degrees, does that happen in Iowa? With 100% humidity? I’ve lived just about everywhere in the US, except the North West, past Wyoming, but on the west coast from Seal Beach to Ventura. Up a down the east coast from Bar Harbor to Key West. The heat, actually the Sun in Florida is relentless with humidity not really present like in other parts of the Country.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Wow confrontational on every post? That must I used was for me, not you nor anyone else. The dealer I referenced has a service manager who has been there since the beginning 18 years ago. His long term records with valve train wear has proven less wear using his methods, over the long 18 years term that covers the entire life of the Pentastar, 3.6 & 3.2. So if you want to use a blend, every 10,000 or so miles on the 100-0 % oil life on the computer by all means do so, it’s your $$$ long term. I’m not even keeping mine long term, but hope to trade it in for the next owner to do whatever they want. That’s their business not mine. When we talk about Florida heat, that’s because over night it stays in the high 80’s sometimes low 90’s. Walk out of the house at 6:00am and the sun hasn’t come up and it’s still 89 degrees, does that happen in Iowa? With 100% humidity? I’ve lived just about everywhere in the US, except the North West, past Wyoming, but on the west coast from Seal Beach to Ventura. Up a down the east coast from Bar Harbor to Key West. The heat, actually the Sun in Florida is relentless with humidity not really present like in other parts of the Country.

No, just clearing up some things. You said must - without stating that's your rule.
Other people watch these threads and will see that "MUST" bit - when it's a personal preference. (read all of the other oil-related threads)

Keep in mind the 3.2 and the first gen 3.6 are quite different from our PUG engines. Very different valve trains and oiling.

You are convinced a service manager knows so there's no use showing other evidence. It's your Jeep/truck/vehicle.
Your choice.

Yeah, the 'hot August nights" is a thing here for sure - not as bad as Florida, but humidity? Yeah........... July and August get right up there, so bad that when you kill weeds, they don't dry up, they rot and get mushy and stay that way for weeks. The ground smells from the mold.

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