Supercharged wrote: I have been pulling my 5th wheel with Chev. 5.3 now for 6 years, and never had the first problem of any kind with any one of the trucks. I read on here all the time about trans,oil coolers, diesel pumps, you name it. I'm I the only guy who has never had a problem with a gas 5.3 or are they just the great little engine out there?
Can you say www.pistonslap.com
2004 Dodge 2500 cummins turbo diesel 305/555 motor,auto tranny & 3.73 gears.Bullydog power pup with outlook monitor & afe stage 2 air intake and Fass fuel system.
McDonoughDawg wrote: Apparently the Supercharger makes it more reliable. Other than that, WGAS?
Power when you want it, mileage when you don't.
2005 Chev 5.3 Supercharged 395HP 425 T hp. Two wheels on front, 2 on back. one seat, tint windows. front and rear bumpers, headlights, windows. Door on each side. Heater, floor mats, junk behind seats, some dirt. Pulls so hard.
Supercharged wrote: I have been pulling my 5th wheel with Chev. 5.3 now for 6 years, and never had the first problem of any kind with any one of the trucks. I read on here all the time about trans,oil coolers, diesel pumps, you name it. I'm I the only guy who has never had a problem with a gas 5.3 or are they just the great little engine out there?
3 trucks, 6 years?
That's a new truck every two years.
You better not have had any problems, especially with the diesel pump in that gas motor.
moparmaga2 wrote: I have one of those "miracle" engines too. A little 3.0 Ford V6 that tows my trailer all over.
I do have a tranny fluid cooler installed though.
I am still waiting for the whole engine to blow up and the transmission to drop like people here keep insisting it will.
I have towed the trailer from Sea Level to 9500', and all in between. Maybe I will try for Rocky Mountain National Park next time.
Another "bad" engine like the Dodge 2.7 litre is the Mitsubishi 3.0 litre. It is the first engine I have ever seen not able to make 100,000 miles.
Bull. I have seen plenty over 200K, and several over 350K in livery vans (read: taxicabs). Valve seals around 100K, other than that: BULLETPROOF.
John
1984 Ford B-700 school bus conversion, Thomas body
A bunch of other vehicles
3 nutty cats (Maya, Vierna, Briza)
One lazy dog (Marmaduke)
One wife (Liz)
"A wasted youth is better by far than a wise and productive old age"
-Jim Steinman
eurohazard wrote: Having said that, is there a bad engine out there?
Oh yeah, they exist. The Dodge 2.7L V6 is an engine that can make it to around 90,000 miles and then spin main and/or rod bearings. The problem is the oil sludges up, blocks passages, and then starves the bearings. I think the primary problem is one of the main oil passages runs through the head right along the exhaust manifold and cooks the oil. This is by no means conjecture. I have a friend that has rebuilt at least 15 of these engines and if you search the 'net you'll find instances all over the place.
Yes the early 2.7L engines were bad. They experienced an oil sludge issue just as you mentioned. Chrysler has since fixed this since about 2004, but they should have fixed it sooner. I would not be afraid of a 2004 or newer 2.7L, but would avoid an older one.
GM has issues as well. Do a google search under "GM piston slap and oil consumption", or type in "Deathcool" and look and see what appears.
GM has also built many excellent engines. I was and continue to be a huge fan of the legendary 350 v8. The Duramax Diesel is an excellent engine, the 5.3L v8 as mentioned is great, and there are others I forget at this time.
Some of my favorite Dodge engines include the current Hemi(older Hemis too), the 3.3L v6 (they run forever), and of course the Cummins diesel (made by Cummins of course, but installed in Dodges none the less). I like the old 5.2L and 5.9L magnums as they are very dependable, but not very efficient.
Each manufacturer has their goods and bads.
2005 Surveyor SV-291 Tows smooth as silk!
1995 Dodge Ram 1500 Laramie SLT 4x4 5.9L V8 low miles, It ain't pretty, but it's paid for!
I have a '02 Sebring with the 2.7L engine. It was an ex-rental car and had about 14K miles on it when I got it. I did research (of course after I bought it, not before) and came across the websites about the failures due to sludge buildup.
I'm now at 117K, car gets 27 mpg on the interstate with the cruise set at 78 (and the speedo is dead on by gps) and will still happily wind up to 6K rpm between shifts if it needs to.
And although I'm not the fanatic about an engine not using oil like I was years ago, this one does not use one drop that I can discern on the dipstick between its 5K mile changes.
If it locks down on the way home today I figure it didn't owe me anything.
LIKE2BUILD wrote: The Dodge 2.7L V6 is an engine that can make it to around 90,000 miles and then spin main and/or rod bearings. The problem is the oil sludges up, blocks passages, and then starves the bearings. I think the primary problem is one of the main oil passages runs through the head right along the exhaust manifold and cooks the oil. This is by no means conjecture. I have a friend that has rebuilt at least 15 of these engines and if you search the 'net you'll find instances all over the place.
Something else these do is bust timing chains and bend the valves. Again, this is primarily related to sludge that causes the hydraulic chain tensioner to loose force and allow the chain to get sloppy.
Now, having said that, I'm driving a '99 Intrepid that he and I rebuilt the engine. I figure with frequent oil changes and care I should be able to squeeze about 6 or 7 years of daily driving out this car. It gets 22MPG in town versus the 11MPG the truck gets. So, by the end of this year the car will have paid for itself
I know that's not a "Tow Vehicle" engine, but you asked if there are ANY bad engines.
KJ
This car has been my daily commute vehicle. A 2000 Intrepid with the 2.7L. It's been the best car I've owned so far. It's got 211K miles on it and runs perfectly. The only thing that failed is the A/C. So what should I do to keep it running? I already do my oil changes every 3k miles.
Besides that, the award winning Triton 5.4L is solid.
The 5.3 is a good engine,and there are plenty out there.I think that most engines today are very reliable.The last bad engine that I ever had was a Mitsubishi 2.0 Turbo in a Eclipse.Major problems,broke down on every vacation I took with it over the three years I had it. I may be showing my age but remember the old Chrysler Slant Six? Now that thing would last forever!
Offline
Oh yeah, they exist. The Dodge 2.7L V6 is an engine that can make it to around 90,000 miles and then spin main and/or rod bearings. The problem is the oil sludges up, blocks passages, and then starves the bearings. I think the primary problem is one of the main oil passages runs through the head right along the exhaust manifold and cooks the oil. This is by no means conjecture. I have a friend that has rebuilt at least 15 of these engines and if you search the 'net you'll find instances all over the place.
I may be showing my age but remember the old Chrysler Slant Six? Now that thing would last forever!
