Maximize 3.6 Reliability

[Valpo Jeep]

The owners manual does not say 0W20 is required. They RECOMMEND 0W20 oil for better fuel economy but then go on to say the oil needs to be MS-6395 compliant. There are lots of oil brands and viscosities that meet the spec.

As far as how often to change. You are not wrong for doing a 3-5k range and you are not wrong for following the oil life meter. Its synthetic oil and synthetic will easily last 15,000 miles. Just make sure to pick a good filter that is rated to go the distance.

3 of my most recent cars:

2006 Saturn Vue. Traded in at 176,000 miles following the OLM using conventional oil. Interval was 7-8K change.

2012 Chevy Cruze. Traded in at 190,000 miles following OLM with a blended oil.

2012 Audi A7. Currently at 232,000 miles on full synthetic and using a 10,000 mile change interval. Still going strong.

With this I am perfectly fine following the OLM on our Jeep 3.6 and using synthetic. We are currently at 75,000 miles.

Oh and as far as top tier? No clue what is top tier fuel in my area and still getting phenomenal longevity from engines. I don’t waste the time, effort, or cost to seek out so called top tier.

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[Badunit]

I found the MS-6395 spec online. It is the 2013 version of it. I don't know if there have been any updates since then.

Here is a link to every UOA I performed on the Grinch - it may give some insight.

You used a number of different viscosities in your 72K miles and are now back on 0W20. Why did you go back to it?

 

[flyer92]

I think those owners that are truly concerned about having any warranty claims denied should have the dealership do all of their maintenance. Then there will be no question about the oil selection or who left the drain plug loose. They should also not modify their vehicle.

Respectfully disagree that all such owners should have the dealership do the maintenance. Most of us are far more careful when changing our oil, and are less likely to overfill/underfill the crankcase, overtorque the drain plug, or overtorque the oil filter housing, among other maladies. Yes, the dealership would be liable if they did any of these things, BUT I personally prefer to avoid the hassle of filing a claim, waiting days/weeks for parts, and the dealership botching the repairs and/or damaging something else. In short, the less they touch my Jeep, the better off it'll be.

While there are many owners who will remain beholden to the dealerships, I would never expect that all of us should do the same. As corporate suits continue to review claims with a microscope, it is totally reasonable to be concerned about claim denials. I suspect you haven't had to file a claim in recent years, but it has sunk to a new level of ridiculousness, allowing manufacturers to avoid many major repairs for bogus reasons. However, this shouldn't prevent us from performing maintenance on our own, as long as we maintain good records and can show that we complied with manufacturer's recommendations; it's really that simple. All that said, I respect everyone's choice on whether or not to rely on dealerships. Believe it or not, there are some that are really good, and each owner has their own circumstances that may prevent them from performing their own maintenance.

 

[CarbonSteel]

I found the MS-6395 spec online. It is the 2013 version of it. I don't know if there have been any updates since then.



You used a number of different viscosities in your 72K miles and are now back on 0W20. Why did you go back to it?

For MS-6395, it is as I remember, nothing special and every SN+ or SP oil on the market can easily meet it.


Because I had a coolant leak and needed to do short OCIs to flush out the remnants and was not going to waste M1 ESP to do that. I have quite a bit of RGT 0W-20 that was <$1 per quart sitting on the shelf so I used that.

I have since flushed the Jeep itself...

 

[Badunit]

Ahh. I had been wondering why the ultra-short mileage between the last few changes.

 

[roaniecowpony]

Many, if not all, of the oils on the market far exceed the OEM specifications but choose not to chase the "approvals" due to cost or other issues. Any oil that meets Dexos 1 Generation 3 is a prime example as well as nearly all of the European certifications because Europe had long drain requirements before it was even a twinkle in a US engineer's eyes. I ran Mobil 1 ESP 0W-30 at the end before I sold the Jeep and I have yet to find another off the shelf oil that exceeds its performance given the European specifications that it meets.

Totally get the risk factor though...

Agree. It's all about risk vs reward, and managing both. I worked 25 years in and around airplane safety and became very familiar with risk management. There are no absolutes, just acceptable and unacceptable levels of risk.

 

[azjl#3]

The owners manual does not say 0W20 is required. They RECOMMEND 0W20 oil for better fuel economy but then go on to say the oil needs to be MS-6395 compliant. There are lots of oil brands and viscosities that meet the spec.

As far as how often to change. You are not wrong for doing a 3-5k range and you are not wrong for following the oil life meter. Its synthetic oil and synthetic will easily last 15,000 miles. Just make sure to pick a good filter that is rated to go the distance.

3 of my most recent cars:

2006 Saturn Vue. Traded in at 176,000 miles following the OLM using conventional oil. Interval was 7-8K change.

2012 Chevy Cruze. Traded in at 190,000 miles following OLM with a blended oil.

2012 Audi A7. Currently at 232,000 miles on full synthetic and using a 10,000 mile change interval. Still going strong.

With this I am perfectly fine following the OLM on our Jeep 3.6 and using synthetic. We are currently at 75,000 miles.

Oh and as far as top tier? No clue what is top tier fuel in my area and still getting phenomenal longevity from engines. I don’t waste the time, effort, or cost to seek out so called top tier.

Exactly, show me the specs on a top tier, which you won't find, just pretty videos showing detergent additives. Most gas has detergent additives. . Bet dollars to doughnuts, it looks pretty much like Circle K gas. Circle K lost their top tier rating, probably because they stopped paying the top tier company money to say they are top tier. Yeah, there is a company everyone pays into to get the rating. Huh, funny how that works. Besides, I "top Tier" the heck out of my gas every month with a bottle of lucas injector cleaner and mobil 1 techron. Yeah, both, I am a loose cannon. Circle K goes further stating they have detergent additives, exceeding epa specs, and will guarantee to pay for any fuel related issues. Mobil or Exxon say that? Nope.

I also fell for the walnut cleaning thing. It's really BS on the 3.6. Noted no difference except it took 1000 miles to get back to the mileage I was getting before the blasting.

 

[CarbonSteel]

Exactly, show me the specs on a top tier . Bet dollars to doughnuts, it looks pretty much like Circle K gas. Besides, I "top Tier" the heck out of my gas every month with a bottle of lucas injector cleaner and mobil 1 techron. Yeah, both, I am a loose cannon.

I also fell for the walnut cleaning thing. It's really BS on the 3.6. Noted no difference except it took 1000 miles to get back to the mileage I was getting before the blasting.

The 3.6L is an MPI engine so yeah, walnut blasting is totally unnecessary.

Blurry as all get out, but here are the backsides of my intake valves at 70K...spotless:

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