Jeep 3.7L same sludging problem as 4.7?

[pezzy669]

We recently aquired a 05 Jeep Liberty 3.7L/auto, it is a company car so all maintenance and gas (thank god, that thing gets like 10MPG) is paid for. Very nice car by the way.

I have been reading up on the 3.7L and found out it is basically the 4.7L with 2 cylinders chopped off. While peeking under the hood (as all car heads will do for no reason) I noticed the oil filler is the same plastic type used on the sludge prone 4.7. Now I am wondering has anyone had the same foaming and condensation issues with the 3.7L?

I am not really too concerned as if anything goes wrong there is no out of pocket money (again because company car) and because the vehicle is used for mainly long distance drives. The shortest drive it will see is about an hour each way and it regularly is driven on 2-3 hour drives. Despite free maintenance I am going to use Mobil Clean 5000 just because I want to keep it in tip top shape for the 77,000 miles it will be parked outside.

Again I will say the vehicle is nice. The 3.7L is not quite what I expected from an relatively new design. The engine is a bit unrefined, it has quite a bit of valvetrain noise at idle, it hiccups at idle and the gas mileage has been absolutely horrendous.

Thanks guys.

 

[Audi Junkie]

My buddie's GF has aquired one, a 3.7. It's used and...well, as all car geeks do, I opened the hood.

The filler was quite dirty at 65k on this 2002. It was 1/2 low, so I added some used M1 15w-50 that I drained from another car with about 300 miles on it.

It had a Motorcraft sticker for 1500mi from now so I did not press her for an OC.

When she does get an OC, SUPERTECH Synth 10w-30 is the #1 choice, an EASY oil to recommend.

Anyway, I drove this thing about 1000mi on-road now plus a few tanks of gas off-roading, it's much better than I expected.

FTR-it's a stop-gap replacment for her '05 Beetle Cabrio that was stollen.

Anyway, if someone gave me one, I'd take it.

 

[Starbreaker666]

Again the 4.7 is not sludge prone... WIth normal maint(like any motor) the 4.7 is rock solid. Thats from lots of experience with it.

 

[nascarnation]

10 mpg?
that's Hummer H2 territory (over 6000 lbs)

 

[BigDenCCMD]

We have an 03 Liberty and get 18 mpg. And that is with my wife driving and she has a lead foot! I've used Redline 10w30 and have had no problems.

 

[VNT]

No

THe 4.7 is NOT sludge prone.

Yes the 3.7 is similiar to the 4.7, SOHC.

BTW, our Grand Cherokee gets about 18-20 MPG day in day out.

Friend has a 05 Libby with the 6 spd manual, claims he get aout 24MPG highway.

 

[LarryL]

Sludge can be real problem and if you have the problem, no matter what engine, you need to get after it. Some engines have an oil fill cap at the end of a tube and the cap will show signs of sludge that do not represent the condition of the rest of the engine. Sometimes a longer drive will clean it up. Beyond that I would try an Auto-RX flush and rinse. Also you might try the Fuel Power/Lube Control twins on a regular basis. You can actually call the owners of either the above companies and get some first hand useful information. Short of dropping the pan you have to get going and also be patient with the flushing pr ocess. And like they say before starting an exercise program, check with your mechanic to be sure your engine is in good enough health to begin a flush program. Just remember, sludge is not a reflection on your character, it's just sludge. You can deal with it, and it won't lower your fica score as long as you can show that you have a plan and are making headway. You can even carry passengers because it's not contageous.

 

[JohnBrowning]

4.7 and 3.7 are not sludge prone. If you find one with sludge it is the owners fualt.White foam in the oil filler area has nothing to do with black carbacious sludge!!! It is too easy to pop the magniesm valve cover off and take a peek. I have yet to see a 4.7 with sludge in the head or on the valve cover!!!!

 

[JWRENCH]

I have a 2004 Liberty with 25k on it and it's been great so far. The Mobil 1 5w/30 gets changed about every 6k-7k and the area under the fill cap, and the dip stick both look shiny clean. I do notice a slight clickity clack at start up but nothing I'd be alarmed about. Other than that it idles as smooth as glass and gets 18-19 mpg on the highway.

Here's my last oil analysis. Looks like all is well. http://theoildrop.server101.com/cgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=001927

 

[MattBrew]

but my family has a house in silverton, co. I LOVE it up there!

 

[Audi Junkie]

I forgot to mention the low sub-par crash performance.

 

[mobil]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Audi Junkie:
I forgot to mention the low sub-par crash performance.

---

Liberty Frontal Crash Test

- Driver: 5 Star
- Passenger: 4 Star

Liberty Side Crash Test

- Driver: 5 Star
- Passenger: 5 Star

 

[Audi Junkie]

Yeah, show me a vehicle that has lower than a 4 star rating. Those tests are crap. Try CR crash tests, Liberty was lowest of the low, in a catagory by itself. Did I mention those NTSA star tests are BS?

 

[Starbreaker666]

In a catagory by it's self? SO it also came in 1st and last?