No, the 3.3 and 3.8 liter twins are well known for longevity with minimal issues (I've had 4 of them), but for my money the J-Series Honda motors (I've had 2) are better still; better reliability, longer life, and more power per unit of displacement.

 

Any engine that needs valve adjustments by the book every 60k isn't reliable........
Just like any engine notorious for oil consumption early in life isn't exactly reliable either.
Never mind them being timing belt motors.

 

Sure they are, so long as they don't drop lifters, launch a rocker pedestal, consume oil, eat a rod bearing, or have any of the other multiple issues that happen often.

Don't get me wrong, they're decent engines, but they're far from the "best" or "most durable".

 

I don't know about the earlier Chrysler engines, but the 3.3L/4speed definitely seems to be among the best. My 2009 SE has the 3.3L/4speed, and I love that van, I currently have a 4.0L/6speed 2010 T&C, and I love the sound and torque of the 4L, but there's something about that 3.3L that keeps drawing me back to it.

The 3.3L has been very reliable, and great on gas too. However, it has a slight timing chain slap, which a lot of these 3.3L engines develop. I will be replacing the timing chain, so I can keep my 3.3L/4speed as long as i can. The 3.8L is known to consume a lot of oil past ~150K miles.

My biggest complaint with the 3.3L, is the lack of power on the highway. In terms of passing power, steeper hills and high elevation, the 3.3L struggles and it struggles hard. Load 5 adults with quite a bit of cargo, and you will notice it very fast up almost any hill.

 

I don't know about the earlier Chrysler engines, but the 3.3L/4speed definitely seems to be among the best. My 2009 SE has the 3.3L/4speed, and I love that van, I currently have a 4.0L/6speed 2010 T&C, and I love the sound and torque of the 4L, but there's something about that 3.3L that keeps drawing me back to it.

The 3.3L has been very reliable, and great on gas too. However, it has a slight timing chain slap, which a lot of these 3.3L engines develop. I will be replacing the timing chain, so I can keep my 3.3L/4speed as long as i can. The 3.8L is known to consume a lot of oil past ~150K miles.

My biggest complaint with the 3.3L, is the lack of power on the highway. In terms of passing power, steeper hills and high elevation, the 3.3L struggles and it struggles hard. Load 5 adults with quite a bit of cargo, and you will notice it very fast up almost any hill.

I've kept my 2005 in 3rd gear with hills.

 

i think they're pretty far from the best, they're reliable and usually won't require any actual engine service until you start getting up into 300k territory

seems like the only universal issue i've seen is borderline excessive oil consumption

My biggest complaint with the 3.3L, is the lack of power on the highway.

combo this with a 4 speed and you'll find me never passing anyone on a two lane road

 

300 or I think they called 4.9 Ford.
Great motor. We'll see if you're thinking with your head or your heart!

 

Wasn't that a straight 6?

 

300 or I think they called 4.9 Ford.
Great motor. We'll see if you're thinking with your head or your heart!

Wasn't that a straight 6?

Yes, the 300 CID or 4.9 liter Ford motor was a straight 6; I've had two, this was the latest, a single cab with an 8' bed and a 5-Speed Manual (which was sold a few months ago):

 

I had a 80 w the 300 inline 6. It would get my vote cause I did 225K miles before failure. But now I've done more miles in both 3rd and 4th gen 3.8L in my Chrysler minivan. The Jeep guys hate the 3.8L but I love it. It pulls the T&C down the highway at 70 mph, get 24 mpg doing same, and has been doing it forever. Before that we were happy to get 100K out of a Chevy 350 (283, 327, 305...) before needing a valve job. It's hard to remember but "back in the day" 100K was considered a lot of miles. Now 200K is so common.

 

Really, the best V6 is probably the 3.5 Ecoboost which won its class at LeMans in a Ford GT pushing 700 horsepower with twin turbos. And I believe it has also won its class racing at Baja in Raptors and Broncos.

I have a Pentastar in my van, a Nissan VQ35DE in my Murano, and we owned a 3.0 Duratec 2000-2007. These are all really good V6 engines. I like the Honda J engine but don't want to bother with belts if I don't have to.

The 3.3 is a dependable minivan engine using 75 year old technology. If that is your criteria, it might win but I'd lean toward the Ford Cologne V6.

 

I would put the late 80s nissan trubo v6 as better also the subaru 3.0 of the early 2000 thru 2004 was also a very good flat six so maybe not counted

but in general all V6 are bean counter cheepo substitutes for straight six as straight 6 won't fit as many platforms especially transverse engines but the straight six is inherently balanced and is a more robust design

 

I love these "best engine ever" threads.
Gives me an excuse to grab other bag of popcorn 🍿😋

 

Agreed, just like the threads for "Best Oil", "Best Tires", "Oil Change Interval"..., the list goes on.

 

Yes and no. Oil and tires can be ranked using a list of different metrics. With an engine you have too many fields one can excel in while sucking at others. High simplicity or durability, say goodbye to high performance. Want something super easy to work on, it's going to be slow and weak. An engine that can last a million miles without repairs, probably isn't going to get great mileage. One that can go toe-to-toe at the strip with engines twice its size probably isn't going to be trouble free past 10k. It's all trade offs.

 

Bought a Plymouth Grand Voyager new in 1999. Kept it until 2007 with over 100,000 miles.Rust took over the van but no engine or transmission problems. Great vacation car despite underwhelming performance.
Based on my experience with the 3.6 Pentastar the 3.3 was more reliable.

 

any decent modern engine should last well over 100K miles if properly maintained
starts to get a little special around 300-500K miles for a gasoline engine

 

So I'd say the Pentastar is the best V6 based on miles: Check Out How Surprisingly Durable This Chrysler Pentastar V6 Is After 626,000 Miles

 

so durable they had to provide an extended warranty to cover the frequent failures cam/head related failures - plagued vs durable

Chrysler Extends Warranty on Plagued 3.6-liter V-6 Pentastar Engines – Offroaders.com provides information and entertainment to 4×4 enthusiasts worldwide

www.offroaders.com

 

so durable they had to provide an extended warranty to cover the frequent failures cam/head related failures - plagued vs durable

Per the article, the heads were fixed August of 2012 going forward. Got anything newer than 11 years? How many frequent failures did the 2014 Promaster have in its 626k miles?

 

the 3.6 didn't earn the name tickastar for nothing

 

First time I've heard that, but it was a common issue for a while. The '18+ ones should be practically immune to that problem, and previous years just need to update rockers.

 

unfortunately the dealer mechanics report the failures continue but hope springs eternal

Chrysler Pentastar Engine Lawsuit Partly Dismissed

A Chrysler Pentastar 3.6L engine lawsuit has been partly dismissed as owners claim the engines tick, stall and suffer complete failures.

www.carcomplaints.com

 

A large portion of those failures are due to improper/poor maintenance.

 

cannot say but none of the best engines on my list have failure related extended warranties or major class action lawsuits for failure
some 3.6 do last and some smokers don't get cancer but if you play the odds, not an engine I would chose

 

I would say the 3.6 is more like the non-smoker's chance of getting cancer, that's why nothing ever comes of the attempted lawsuits.

 

nothing? like the company deciding it needs to provide an extended warranty based on this problem you claim does not actually exist
with the crack prone 0331 4.0 head design they did a redesign to tupy head but did not feel compelled to extend the engine warranty suggesting this problem was worse than that one from the automaker's perspective

 

More widespread, equally as severe. There's less 4.0s than 3.6s that came out the year of their respective defects alone. Rather than recall thousands that may be absolutely fine, they did the extended warranty so those that had issues were covered. Seems like just a better customer care policy. Rather than just shrug they actually did something about it.

 

I guess the best V6 engine in the world is a semi-rare engine called the PME® or "Properly Maintained Engine®". It was made by multiple manufacturers over many years and has a various amount of displacement and HPs. 🤣

Seriously, it all depends what someone means by "best engine". Reliable simple bulletproof engines are usually inefficient compared to high tech energy efficient complex engines but these requires a lot more maintenance. I think it is easier to do a list of bad engines to avoid then to try to define the very best one.