Is anyone running a 4.7L???

I have a 2000 Dakota that I special ordered with a 4.7, auto, 3:91 gears, towing package, and any other heavy duty package they offered. It currently has 213K on it. Have had very little trouble with it.

Up until I got laid off 5 yrs. ago I was driving 350 miles a week commuting to work, a lot of it on the e-way, which I think helped longevity of some parts. My original muffler and tailpipe lasted to 195K. The original front rotors were crap, warped easily and didn't last long, the pads did though.

At around 105K I put on drilled and slotted rotors with premium pads, they're still on there and still have a bit of life left in them. It does not use oil but it does clatter for a minute at startup when the engine's cold. Lately I've also noticed a slight blue puff out of the tailpipe at startup.

I've been pretty good about oil changes, always with regular oil. Have very little oil leakage. Never any problems with exhaust system studs or leaks. I live in Michigan were they use a LOT of salt on the roads, even the body is holding up reasonably well, not a lot of rustout yet, but it's coming.

The year I bought it they dropped the 5.2 for the 4.7, you could get a 360 but only in a quadcab or an R/T, I wanted 4WD and an extended cab, so the 4.7 was my only choice to get a V-8. It's comfortable and reasonably quiet on the road at speed, I've driven it on numerous long trips, including trailering a 55 Chevy from Seattle back to Michigan and a 7 week, 8300 mile drive to the west coast and back. Wish the mileage was a little better, usually gets around 16 mpg, sometimes 18 on the road.