[RayP]

Hi guys, I went today decided to buy the Ram Promaster 2500 high roof for my business. Everything went very good until I saw the engine compartment, with a the 6 cyl penstar. I got scared..! for sure. I own a fleet of chevys and I've done most of the maintenance for them, like change power steering pump, alternator, water pump, spark plugs, etc. This is a complete new beast for me, and perhaps to anyone not willing to pay dealer repair prices. After digging for several minutes I was able to see and find how buried the serpentine belt is. There is no space to fit even my fingers. At the end I walked away from a very honest, very strait forward sales man Juan in Fullerton Dodge en Somerville NJ.

I would like to know what current owners could share with me, I really like the truck, structural seem tough, way more space than a 2500 chevy with apparently 8 miles more per gallon, undercarriage has a heavy coat protector that we need in winter months, interior is attractive with Bluetooth and satellite radio, pretty much all else has go flag.

Thanks for sharing

Ray

 

[Dwight]

Maybe the service manager would talk with you about those issues. Maybe you'll get lucky and someone in the garage will have some tips on how a few of those things are serviced.

 

[Letter]

the serpentine belt looks like you do it from below on promaster. the intake on top needs to be removed to do the spark plugs. they say 100,000 miles on spark plugs. each spark plug gets it's own coil - they sit right on top of the spark plugs. watch you tube for videos on other chrysler/jeep cars with same engine. that's what i did. you'll save money on fuel pump and relay. don't drop the tank, you go through cabin floor.

 

[Letter]

while you guys are watching videos on you tube, watch one with a supercharged pentastar.

Supercharged Dodge V6 Pentastar 3.6 Challenger 2011 2012 2013
watch?v=pofFfYRhXQw

RIPP Superchargers 2012 JK 317HP 280TRQ 37in Tires Auto Pentastar
watch?v=VOFwGsFDRlM

Tidalwave Supercharger 3.6 Pentastar kit
watch?v=SY884fA3DDY

then imagine it in a swb promaster lowered with full air suspension.
"yes sir! i'll have your delivery there in a jiffy."

 

[carnut]

Looks to me like most of the maintenance would be from below. Having a lift and high ceiling would be a definite plus for a DIYer.
Transverse V's suck for maintenance in general. One of the reasons I'd go diesel is for the inline engine. Not sure it would be worth all the diesel emissions baggage though.
My dream engine for PM would have been a boosted, transverse mounted, inline 6. There is plenty of width to accommodate it. Besides simple stuff like access, other advantages include better exhaust and intake routing, cam chain 1/2 as long, and half as many cylinder heads and camshafts to replace if needed.

 

[haulin]

Looks to me like most of the maintenance would be from below. Having a lift and high ceiling would be a definite plus for a DIYer.
Transverse V's suck for maintenance in general. One of the reasons I'd go diesel is for the inline engine. Not sure it would be worth all the diesel emissions baggage though.
My dream engine for PM would have been a boosted, transverse mounted, inline 6. There is plenty of width to accommodate it. Besides simple stuff like access, other advantages include better exhaust and intake routing, cam chain 1/2 as long, and half as many cylinder heads and camshafts to replace if needed.

what would you want power output to be like for a setup like that to the wheels?

 

[ChandlerAZman]

I personally, would like a minimum 370ftlbs of torque. If it can be delivered to the wheels at that output, I'd ditch the diesel and go for the gas model.

 

[carryon]

alot of these new cars have such compact engine bays. makes it very difficult to work on your own car.

 

[keithwwalker]

I wonder what maintenance items require 'dropping' the engine/transaxle unit - where you essentially need a service bay to do this.

 

[copcarguy]

If you want to feel better lift the hood on an F-350 with the diesel, dual batteries and dual alternators!

Seriously though...all of the manufacturers are heading towards clogged engine bays that are more difficult to service and I suspect that GM will be no different once the next generation vans come out to replace the full size lineup. I would say if that is your only reservation then stick with the GM's until their design changes but I think you will find once it does you will be back to the same sad situation.

 

[keithwwalker]

Or get the inline-4 diesel PM.

I would say if that is your only reservation then stick with the GM's until their design changes but I think you will find once it does you will be back to the same sad situation.

 

[dodger413]

supposedly, the PM's ugly front-end was designed to fold open for easy servicing. sacrificing good looks for ease of service.

not sure just how easy the fold out design is and how major a project would dictate folding the frontend open.

 

[30 Ounce]

I had a GM Savana 3500 for 15 years and replaced 3 water pumps, 1 intake manifold gasket, 3 fuel pumps and 4 sets of spark plugs... All were a PIA! GM's fuel pump is way more difficult than it needs to be. Having the engine halfway under the dash and minimal space between the floorboard and motor makes it difficult to change the spark plugs. Everything else is fairly simple. I had 420,000 miles on it and it's still going strong. The Promaster looks fairly easy to work on once the intake manifold is removed. I doubt you need to remove the engine-transmission subframe for anything but replacement. The Pentastar V6 is really a remarkable engine. Time to move on from those old designs.

 

[Letter]

hey 30 ounce, what engine did you have?

 

[30 Ounce]

hey 30 ounce, what engine did you have?

It was 1999 GMC Savana 5.7 liter

 

[oldsoldier]

supposedly, the PM's ugly front-end was designed to fold open for easy servicing. sacrificing good looks for ease of service.

not sure just how easy the fold out design is and how major a project would dictate folding the frontend open.

That makes sense as my Fiat 500 Abarth is the same. It takes less then 2 hours to pull the front off and remove the complete engine. Since our PM's are Fiats it should work the same.

 

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

One of the reasons I'd go diesel is for the inline engine.

The Ducato/ProMaster platform was actually designed for 4-cylinder engines anyway, so it's easier to work on versions with such engines instead of the V6.