The Chrysler 3.3 and 3.8 engines are V6 engines used by

Chrysler FCA US, LLC, Trade name, doing business as Stellantis North America and known historically as Chrysler ( ), is one of the "Big Three (automobile manufacturers), Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn H ...

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 and cylinder blocks 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, ...

designed and built in-house for

front wheel drive Front-wheel drive (FWD) is a form of internal combustion engine, engine and transmission (mechanics), transmission layout used in motor vehicles, in which the engine drives the front wheels only. Most modern front-wheel-drive vehicles feature ...

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 a van) is a 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 is MPV (multi-pu ...

and debuted in 1989 for the 1990 model year. They were later also used in some rear wheel drive 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 currently in its fourth generation. The Wrangler JL, the most recent generation, was unveiled in late 2017 and is produced ...

. The engines were produced in two major variants differing by their piston displacement: 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 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 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 piston displacement is with a bore and

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

. 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 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 Trenton, Michigan. It uses Sequential fuel injection, has roller tappets and features forged steel

connecting rod A connecting rod, also called a 'con rod', is the part of a reciprocating engine, piston engine which connects the piston to the crankshaft. Together with the crank (mechanism), crank, the connecting rod converts the reciprocating motion of the p ...

s, a one-piece cast

camshaft A camshaft is a shaft that contains a row of pointed cams in order to convert rotational motion to reciprocating motion. Camshafts are used in piston engines (to operate the intake and exhaust valves), mechanically controlled ignition syst ...

, and either a cast aluminum or reinforced plastic

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

. 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 a perishable component used to synchronize the rotation of the crankshaft and the camshaft. This synchronisation ensures that the engin ...

, 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 1988 until 1993 model years. Serving as the direct successor of the Dodge 600 sedan, the Dynasty was slotted between the Do ...

Chrysler New Yorker The Chrysler New Yorker is an automobile model produced by Chrysler (division), Chrysler from 1940 until 1996, serving for several decades as either the brand's flagship model or as a junior sedan to the Chrysler Imperial, the latter during the y ...

Chrysler Imperial The Chrysler Imperial, introduced in 1926, was Chrysler (division), Chrysler's top-of-the-line vehicle for much of its history. Models were produced under the Chrysler name until 1954, after which Imperial became Imperial (automobile), a standal ...

, (replaced the 3.0 L Mitsubishi ''6G72'' engine) *1990–2010 Chrysler minivans *1993–1997 Chrysler Concorde/ Dodge Intrepid/ Eagle Vision

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

and

, *1994–2010 Chrysler minivans *2007–2011 Jeep Wrangler (JK) *2009–2010 Volkswagen Routan

SOHC

: A single

overhead cam An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine in which 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 combusti ...

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 in which 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 combus ...

2.7 L Chrysler LH engine, as well as the 3.2 L and 4.0 L variants.

References

* *

Specifications

History

3.3

3.8

SOHC

References

See also