The Chrysler 3.3 and 3.8 engines are V6 engines used by Chrysler from 1989 to 2011 This engine family was Chrysler's first 60°

V6 engine A V6 engine is a six-cylinder piston engine where the cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration. The first V6 engines were designed and produced independently by Marmon Motor Car Company, Deutz Gasmotoren Fabr ...

designed and built in-house for

front wheel drive Front-wheel drive (FWD) is a form of engine and transmission layout used in motor vehicles, where the engine drives the front wheels only. Most modern front-wheel drive vehicles feature a transverse engine, rather than the conventional longitu ...

vehicles, and their first V6 not based on a V8. It was designed as a larger, more powerful alternative to the Mitsubishi 3.0 V6 in the

minivans Minivan (sometimes called simply as van) is a North American car classification for vehicles designed to transport passengers in the rear seating row(s), with reconfigurable seats in two or three rows. The equivalent classification in Europe i ...

and debuted in 1989 for the 1990 model year. They were later also used in some

rear wheel drive Rear-wheel drive (RWD) is a form of engine and transmission layout used in motor vehicles, in which the engine drives the rear wheels only. Until the late 20th century, rear-wheel drive was the most common configuration for cars. Most rear-wheel ...

cars like the

Jeep Wrangler The Jeep Wrangler is a series of compact and mid-size four-wheel drive off-road SUVs manufactured by Jeep since 1986 and is currently in its fourth generation. The Wrangler JL, the most recent generation, was revealed in late 2017 and is produ ...

. The engines were produced in two major variants differing by their

piston displacement Engine displacement is the measure of the cylinder (engine), cylinder volume swept by all of the pistons of a piston engine, excluding the combustion chambers. It is commonly used as an expression of an engine's size, and by extension as a loos ...

: a and a . The 3.3 was dropped after 2010 with the Chrysler minivans, and the 3.8 was dropped after 2011 with the Jeep Wrangler, ending 22 years in production.

Specifications

History

The original 3.3 engine, as well as the larger 3.8, are

pushrod engine An overhead valve (OHV) engine, sometimes called a ''pushrod engine'', is a piston engine whose valves are located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier flathead engines, where the valves were located bel ...

designs. The 3.3 was introduced in 1989 with the 1990 Chrysler Imperial, New Yorker, and related K-series models, and was joined in 1991 by the 3.8. Production on the 3.3 was stopped in 2010 after a run of 5,076,603 engines, while the 3.8 remained in production until May 2011 in

Trenton, Michigan Trenton is a city in Wayne County, Michigan, United States. At the 2010 census, the city population was 18,853. A Shawnee village was built in the area by war chief Blue Jacket after the 1795 Treaty of Greenville. The area later became the site ...

for the

. Both use a cast iron

block Block or blocked may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Block programming, the result of a programming strategy in broadcasting * W242BX, a radio station licensed to Greenville, South Carolina, United States known as ''96.3 ...

and aluminum heads.

3.3

The first of the family, the 3.3 liter engine's actual

is with a bore and stroke. In 1994, the 3.3 received a increase in power to due to a new

air intake An intake (also inlet) is an opening, structure or system through which a fluid is admitted to a space or machine as a consequence of a pressure differential between the outside and the inside. The pressure difference may be generated on the ins ...

. In 2001, the engine was fitted with a variable intake control system which boosted output to at 5000 rpm and at 4000 rpm. The engine was especially suited for

transverse Transverse may refer to: *Transverse engine, an engine in which the crankshaft is oriented side-to-side relative to the wheels of the vehicle *Transverse flute, a flute that is held horizontally * Transverse force (or ''Euler force''), the tangen ...

applications in Chrysler's minivans, but was also used in a

longitudinal Longitudinal is a geometric term of location which may refer to: * Longitude ** Line of longitude, also called a meridian * Longitudinal engine, an internal combustion engine in which the crankshaft is oriented along the long axis of the vehicl ...

front-wheel-drive setup on 1993-1997 LH platform cars. It was last used in 2010 for Chrysler minivans before the introduction of the new 3.6 L Pentastar engine for the 2011 model year. Designated EGA, the 3.3 was built at Trenton Engine in

. It uses

Sequential fuel injection Fuel injection is the introduction of fuel in an internal combustion engine, most commonly automotive engines, by the means of an injector. This article focuses on fuel injection in reciprocating piston and Wankel rotary engines. All com ...

, has roller

tappet A tappet is most commonly a component in an internal combustion engine which converts the rotating motion of the camshaft into linear motion of the valves, either directly or indirectly. An earlier use of the term was for part of the valve gear ...

s and features

forged steel Forging is a manufacturing process involving the shaping of metal using localized compressive forces. The blows are delivered with a hammer (often a power hammer) or a die. Forging is often classified according to the temperature at which it ...

connecting rods, a one-piece cast camshaft, and either a cast aluminum or reinforced plastic

intake manifold In automotive engineering, an inlet manifold or intake manifold (in American English) is the part of an engine that supplies the fuel/ air mixture to the cylinders. The word ''manifold'' comes from the Old English word ''manigfeald'' (from the ...

. The 3.3 has a

timing chain In a piston engine, either a timing belt (also called a ''cambelt'') or timing chain or set of timing gears is used to synchronize the rotation of the crankshaft and the camshaft. This synchronisation ensures that the engine's valves open and cl ...

, and is an interference engine meaning that the valves will collide with the pistons in the event of a timing chain failure. Vehicles using the 3.3 include: *1990–1993

Dodge Dynasty The Dodge Dynasty is a mid-size four-door sedan that was marketed by the Dodge division of Chrysler Corporation from the 1988 to 1993 model years. Serving as the direct successor of the Dodge 600 sedan, the Dynasty was slotted between the Dod ...

, Chrysler New Yorker, Chrysler Imperial, (replaced the 3.0 L Mitsubishi ''6G72'' engine) *1990–2010

Chrysler minivans The Chrysler minivans are a series of minivans that have been produced and marketed by the American automaker Chrysler since the 1984 model year. Currently in its sixth generation, the model line is marketed worldwide, primarily in North Ameri ...

*1993–1997 Chrysler Concorde/

Dodge Intrepid The Dodge Intrepid is a full sized front-wheel drive four-door sedan that was produced by Dodge for model years 1993 to 2004. It is related to the Chrysler 300M, Chrysler Concorde, Chrysler LHS, Chrysler New Yorker, and Eagle Vision which were a ...

Eagle Vision The Eagle Vision is a full-sized, front-wheel drive four-door sports sedan produced from 1992 until 1997. It was marketed by Eagle, replacing the AMC/Renault-designed Eagle Premier (from which the Vision was derived). The Eagle Vision was ...

3.8

The 3.3 was bored and stroked to to create a version. This EGH version was also built at Trenton Engine in Trenton, MI. The 3.8 received an increase in power of , for a total of in 1994 via a new intake system. In 1998 the compression ratio increased for a total of and . In 2001, like the 3.3 the 3.8 received the symmetrical reinforced plastic intake plenum and revised camshaft which boosted output to at 5000 rpm with at 4000 rpm. Vehicles using the 3.8 include: *1991–1993 Chrysler New Yorker and Chrysler Imperial , *1994–2010

*2007–2011 Jeep Wrangler (JK) *2009–2010 Volkswagen Routan

SOHC

: A single

overhead cam An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine where the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combustion cha ...

shaft was an addition to the lineup for 1993. Introduced with the 3.5 L engine, this design spawned the

DOHC An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine where the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combustion cha ...

2.7 L

Chrysler LH engine The LH engine was a series of V6 engines developed by Chrysler Corporation for its LH platform cars. It is a 60- degree V6 designed for front-wheel drive applications, later adapted to rear-wheel drive ones. The 2.7 liter LH engine is based on t ...

, as well as the 3.2 L and 4.0 L variants.

References

* *

Specifications

History

3.3

3.8

SOHC

References

See also