3.0 lt vs 3.3 how do they compare?

We currently have a 95 van with the 3.3 engine. We pull an old {heavy!!} trailer with it with no problems. Overall we are pretty happy with the 3.3. However the rest of the van is falling apart and we are thinking of upgrading to a 2000 grand caravan with a 3.0 engine.
Other than the obvious not as much power does anyone have any other insight on how the 2 engines differ?
Thanks Donna

Having owned a 1989 Grand Caravan with a 3.0L and the 1998 T&C Van with a 3.8L, I can give you the low down between the two engines.

The 3.0L was the first V6 used in the Chrysler minivans. It was designed by Mitsubishi. It is an overhead cam engine. This means that there is a camshaft in each cylinder head. Both camshafts and the water pump are driven by the rubber timing belt. It can be a costly repair to replace a leaking water pump, which I did once on the old 3.0L. I had to have this one done by the dealer, even though I am a DIY'er. Rubber timing belts should be changed every 60,000 to 90,000 miles to prevent sudden breakage.

The 3.3L and 3.8L engines use an overhead valve design. In these engines, the camshaft is internal to the block and driven off the crank by a metal timing chain. The water pumps are external and much easier to replace. I did this myself on my 3.8L. The timing chains don't really need replacement but maybe every 200,000 miles.

I have heard it said that there is no substitute for cubic inches. Since the 3.3L is has 10% more displacement than the 3.0L, I would expect approximately 10% more power. But both engines are very good. If given a choice, I would go with the 3.3L/3.8L overhead valve engines for there decreased maintenance requirements and costs.

I wouldn't buy a Caravan with a 3.0l. Those engines tend to wear out sooner and have more problems than the 3.3/3.8l. My sister just traded her '96 3.0 Carvan in b/c she had so many problems with it. She had one head gasket go out, then about a month later the other one. Then it started burning a huge amout of oil and she had to have the valve guides fixed on one head. She figured the same would happen with the other soon. Then the fuel pump went out. Then it started overheating again when the weather started getting hot. She also has a '00 Grand Caravan (5 kids) that she bought new and now has 140,000 miles on it and she hasn't had any breakdown problems with it. I also bought a '00 Grand Caravan at the same time and had 130K miles on it when it got wrecked. I never had any problems with it ever.
My sister wanted a minivan but couldn't get a good deal on one. We were planning on buying one also, so I called the dealer and told them I would buy 2 Grand Caravans if they would give me $3,000 off the dealer MSRP without question and no sales pressure, just let me shop also there was a $3000 rebate. I bought a $26000 msrp van for $20000 and my sister got a $24000 for $18000.

They don't compare. The 3L is a piece of junk.
The 3.3 is an engineering marvel.

My wife was the original owner of her 1989 Grand Caravan with 3.0L. When I met her in 1995, it had 129,000 miles and suffered from valve guide smoke on start up. When we sold it in 2000, it had 207,000, still suffering from the same degree of valve guide smoke and ran great. Never had it apart except to change the water pump and timing belt. Still, if given the choice, go with the 3.3/3.8L engines.

Thanks for all the replies. We have decided to keep looking until we can upgrade to something that has the 3.3
Donna

The 3.3 is a lot better.You cannot kill them and most auto slvage yards put them in the scrap pile since they cannot sell them.They do go bad once in a while.I have seen the rocker arm bosses break off the cylinder head 2 or three times.The 3.3 out of an intrepid does fit in the minivans and the book says it does not fit.I have put a 3.3 out of an intrepid in the minivans with some changes:crankpully,exhaust and intake manifolds, and the timing cover.The earlier 3.0 had valve guide problems.

Im going to throw my 2 cents worth in on this, because I have a 3.0 in a 95 that I rebuilt after 190,000 miles and I was amazed at how well built this engine is. For one thing, it has roller camshafts, so even after all of those miles, they were still in great shape. The lifters had to be replaced because those engines are known to tap because of the lifters, but they are not that expensive. The downside to this engine is the way the water pump is driven by the timing belt, when the water pump goes out, it is a pain in the butt to replace!!!!


The valve guide smoking issue was fixed in 1992 or 1993, all engines after that had a different design which did not leak like the older ones.

Im not downing the 3.3 either, my brother has an Intrepid with a 3.3 and it has 165,000 miles and it runs great and only uses a quart of oil between oil changes.

The chance of a head gasket going out on either a 3.0 or a 3.3 is about the same, when you put an aluminum head on a cast iron block, head gaskets are the weak point, if you overheat either engine, the chances are good that you will doing a head gasket job.