anyone else here ever deal with the 4.7?

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volaredon

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looking at early Y2K vehicles, as the oldest within decent drive distance to replace a Dakota that kills me to have to replace.... and I cant stand "4 doors" but such is life, have 2 grand kids (ages almost 3 and 1 yo) we have exactly 1 vehicle we can put 3 car seats into, and its down at the moment..... so looking for a 2nd durango, and 4.7s are all Im finding. I don't much care for their cam drive system. steel chain running on plastic guides... Stupid setup. One overheat and the valve seats fall out. Early ones were "sludge monsters" unless anally maintained....

(side story)
I have one in a '12, 1/2 ton 2wd/ and its a DOG until 3k rpm then takes off like a shot.... my dakota is rough around the edges but ONE car seat in the rear cab and 1'2 section is about impossible, let alone 2 seats......... 318 just hit 1/4 million miles this morning on way to work and still runs like a million bux.... our current durango is a 360, I have the trans out which means were screwed if we gotta pick up the little ones..... I am rebuilding that trans in the current durango after only 314k miles.....

going to look at the nicest cleanest lowest mile early-mid '00s durango that I've come across since I started looking a month ago.... best bang for buck.... and its got a 4.7, not crazy about that. wish I could find one that nice with a 318/360....
 
From what I have heard, they are either good or real bad. You need to maintain them to the letter with oil changes and the like. They are no LA or Magnum small block.
 
Knock on wood, my 2000 Dakota SLT with the 4.7 has been amazing. 154,000k
Only issue for us was the a couple of the pins melted at the engine control module and left us stranded for a tow.
That was about 3 years ago and after the fix it has been super.
Also, I maintain it like the owners manual wants.
Syleng1
 
I don't want ANYTHING to do with ANY V engine OHC under ANY conditions. 4 whanger, maybe, BUT NO V's. Get one with a pushrod, whether GM, Ferd, or That arthritis medicatin, Stellantis.

And from what I hear the Dodge V6's are nothing to write about for mileage, so you have no power and no mileage.
 
My 4.7L in my Grand Cherokee has been a good engine. Maintenance is the key, change the oil every 5k no issues. 65'
 
I got lucky with the 4.7 I had in my 03 dakota. I maintained her and kept on top of oil changes. I was always worried about the timing chain.
The 4.7 got the same gas mileage as the older 3.9l
Had the exhaust tick, but fixed it and sold truck off to buy a full size ram.
 
I have had a few 4.7's. They have all been good engines. The only one I ever had to work on was one we had in a Chrysler Aspen. It broke the manifold bolts(very common) on the drivers side but, other than that all 5 that I have owned were pretty good. I did have to put a crankshaft position sensor in our Jeep Commander and that sucked, it goes through the block (cast iron) and they seize up in there. Played hell getting the broken piece out but, after that it was perfect again so, I guess I had 2 very minor issues.
 
67Dart273 said:
I don't want ANYTHING to do with ANY V engine OHC under ANY conditions. 4 whanger, maybe, BUT NO V's. Get one with a pushrod, whether GM, Ferd, or That arthritis medicatin, Stellantis.

And from what I hear the Dodge V6's are nothing to write about for mileage, so you have no power and no mileage.
Click to expand...
Pretty much been my thinking all along,
Your comments on the v6s is about right too, I've had a few 3.9s, and every time I went back to the 318.
I've never worked on a 4.7 but from what I understand the timing chain setup is alot like the 2.7s were in the intrepids and I wouldn't give you a dime for one of those.
But as LAs and magnums age out and are getting harder to find nice examples of, they have left us a helluva lot less to pick from
I've seen lots of "blown up"4.7s amongst the Durango's I've seen listed. Otherwise they want a kings ransom for a rust bucket with a 318-360 with 300k miles+.....
 
But I also want no part of any Toyota, honduh, kia, Hyundai, kia in my driveway either /even if it's just a pizza guy dropping off food.. no way in hell.

At 56, I have never owned anything but a Dodge or jeep in my life. But I hate seeing what "Dodge" has become. My wife has been pointing at late '00s trail Blazers saying how nice they look...
My daughter in law had one for a few years, it did her good. I had to do a few things to it but they were minor.
What I wish is that Dodge had a vehicle the size of a Tahoe, and/or theys bring back both the ramcharger and the B van "just exactly as they were" when they stopped making them.
There isn't a single "car" built in at least 20 years that interests me in the least either. So a 2nd Durango it will be.i just cringe thinking about those valve seats and timing setups
 
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The 4.7 I'm my 2010 Ram 1500 has over 196000 on it now. Still runs great. Changed the valve stem seals a while back. Other than that it's been trouble free (knock on wood). I hate the 545rfe the Trans though.
 
Yeah they supposedly improved them starting in 08, I think that's also when they went to 2 plugs per cylinder, I don't hear much about them either +/-, its mostly the older ones that I've heard the most "bad" about.
I have my 1st 4.7 in a 12 ram 1500, mine is 65rfe trans (have no idea what the difference means) and so far other than an annoying internal rattle at the front of the engine especially when cold, and the fact it has no grunt from a takeoff, it hasn't really caused me any issues yet. But I'm dreading that "yet" part.
 
I have had no problems with my 2000 Dakota with the 4.7 engine. I have always changed the oil at 3000-mile intervals, so I think just maintaining them well is key. Granted mine only has 51 some thousand miles, but it runs great & will easily turn the rear tires in 1st, 2nd & 3rd gear. (5 speed manual) I would prefer a 5.2 or 5.9 Magnum engine, but the 4.7 has been very good to me & it's a pretty stoutly built engine. I like it.
 
I get that maintenance is everything which is great if you’re buying new. But used with miles, how you maintain it is probably irrelevant. Mine developed a tick at 65k so it went down the road quickly…
 
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