5W-20 recommended in dodge 3.7?

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When did dodge change from recommending 5w-30 to 5w-20 in their 3.7 V6 engines? My 2007 Ram 3.7 (manufactured date 06/2007) says 5w-20 on the oil cap, but 5w-30 is recommended on the dodge website when I downloaded the owner's manual information. Any info would be appreciated.
 
Yes, it was right around that time. Our 06 Libby calls for 5W30, but I know that the 08s call for 5W20.

The engine itself was not changed, just the recommendation. I personally prefer 5W30, but either should work fine.
 
I'm running GC in my 3.7 Liberty. Engine is loving this stuff. Easy starts, quieter, great protection. Screw CAFE and 5W-20. 5W-30 is what you should run in the 3.7 Powertech.
 
My mom's 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee called for 5w30, but I have had great results with 5w20 oil.

The only things that changed on that engine in 2007 were smog devices.
 
Originally Posted By: artificialist
My mom's 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee called for 5w30, but I have had great results with 5w20 oil.

The only things that changed on that engine in 2007 were smog devices.

Thats not the only thing. They went from drive by wire to electronic throttle.
33.gif
 
Originally Posted By: RageOfFury
Originally Posted By: artificialist
My mom's 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee called for 5w30, but I have had great results with 5w20 oil.

The only things that changed on that engine in 2007 were smog devices.

Thats not the only thing. They went from drive by wire to electronic throttle.
33.gif



Perhaps I am misunderstanding something.... but wouldn't it be more accurate to say that they went from drive by cable to drive by wire
wink.gif
 
Originally Posted By: mdocod
Originally Posted By: RageOfFury
Originally Posted By: artificialist
My mom's 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee called for 5w30, but I have had great results with 5w20 oil.

The only things that changed on that engine in 2007 were smog devices.

Thats not the only thing. They went from drive by wire to electronic throttle.
33.gif



Perhaps I am misunderstanding something.... but wouldn't it be more accurate to say that they went from drive by cable to drive by wire
wink.gif


Oops yeah, drive by cable
blush.gif
 
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Originally Posted By: RageOfFury
I'm running GC in my 3.7 Liberty. Engine is loving this stuff. Easy starts, quieter, great protection. Screw CAFE and 5W-20. 5W-30 is what you should run in the 3.7 Powertech.

There is no way that you could do anything with your vehicle on the street that 5w20 could not handle. 5w20 great protection. There is noting that gc can do that PP, synpower, and M1 in a 5w20 weight could'nt do. Probably saving a little MPG with the thinner 5w20.
 
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Originally Posted By: JCM35
Originally Posted By: RageOfFury
I'm running GC in my 3.7 Liberty. Engine is loving this stuff. Easy starts, quieter, great protection. Screw CAFE and 5W-20. 5W-30 is what you should run in the 3.7 Powertech.

There is no way that you could do anything with your vehicle on the street that 5w20 could not handle. 5w20 great protection. There is noting that gc can do that PP, synpower, and M1 in a 5w20 weight could'nt do. Probably saving a little MPG with the thinner 5w20.

The only reason Chrysler recommends 5W-20 today in the 3.7L is because of CAFE. They are skipping on protection to offer 1-2MPG better fuel economy.

Better engine protection > Fuel economy IMO. 5W-30 all the way in the 3.7 and 4.7 for that matter. I run GC which offers even greater protection.
 
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Originally Posted By: RageOfFury
Originally Posted By: JCM35
Originally Posted By: RageOfFury
I'm running GC in my 3.7 Liberty. Engine is loving this stuff. Easy starts, quieter, great protection. Screw CAFE and 5W-20. 5W-30 is what you should run in the 3.7 Powertech.

There is no way that you could do anything with your vehicle on the street that 5w20 could not handle. 5w20 great protection. There is noting that gc can do that PP, synpower, and M1 in a 5w20 weight could'nt do. Probably saving a little MPG with the thinner 5w20.

The only reason Chrysler recommends 5W-20 today in the 3.7L is because of CAFE. They are skipping on protection to offer 1-2MPG better fuel economy.

Better engine protection > Fuel economy IMO. 5W-30 all the way in the 3.7 and 4.7 for that matter. I run GC which offers even greater protection.


There isn't any worse engine protection with 5W-20 over 5W-30. Notice the Crown Victorias that surpass 300K miles on 5W-20 with no engine problems. The 3.7 and 4.7 are big enough gas hogs that even the tiny bit gained from the oil switch would help. Point me toward an incident where a car spec'ed for 5W-20 failed because the oil was too thin.
 
Both the 3.7 and 4.7 were engineered for 5W-30, not 5W-20. Like I said before, CAFE forced Chrysler to use 5W-20 in those engines to gain a few MPG but that sacrifices protection.

I'm not saying that 5W-20 is bad, it's just that if you want the best protection possible for the 3.7 or 4.7, stick to 5W-30 or 0W-30 or 10W-30 depending on your climate.

It's not the end of the world to use 5W-20, but I want the best protection possible for my engine.
 
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Personal preference I guess, but if the manufacturer says its ok to use 5W-20 I'd use it, no real reason not to. The body and interior of your liberty will probably fall apart before the engine will- 5W-20 or not.
 
Well head over to a Dodge or Jeep forum and ask them what they think of 5W-20. You'll get ripped to pieces lol

If an engine is engineered for 5W-20, then fine no problem, but when it's engineered for 5W-30 and you use 5W-20, well that's a whole other story.
 
No thanks. If the manufacturer specs it for 5W-20 then they have verified that there will not be any problems related to it. If it was going to cause massive engine failure, they wouldn't spec for it.
 
johnny, do you know if this was part of the reason they speced w30 oils for so long, was to compensate for sheering?
 
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