Is anyone running a 4.7L???

-
MRGTX

MRGTX

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 24, 2007
Messages
2,200
Reaction score
737
Location
CT, USA
I have to confess- I know nothing about this motor!

I recently heard a Grand Cherokee with a 4.7 drive past that sounded pretty healthy...though it may have been just a good exhaust system.

Does anyone run one of these motors in an A-Body? Are they any good? Are there any advantages?

Back of the envelope calculation shows that if you added 2 more cyliners to the 3.5L V6 (used in many Chrysler Models in the mid-late 90s, early '00s), you'd end up pretty close to 4.7L.... coincidence or do these motors share more than cylinder size?

IIRC, the 3.5L was all aluminum and pretty darned good for its day.
 
I have one in my 00 Durango. It sounded awesome when I replaced the huge original muffler with a single Flowmaster. When that rusted out, I replaced it with a Walker turbo muffler and the sound is the same. It's quiet while cruising with no droning but it sounds loud when you open it up. The engine likes to rev.

The problem with the 4.7 is that they like to sludge up if they aren't maintained really well. There are very few performance upgrades for them too. I've heard they don't respond well to the typical speed parts you install on other engines.

I thought it would be cool to swap one into an older car just because I've never seen it done. The newer ones have a lot more HP then my 00.(different heads exc...)
 
Two or three things about the 4.7, the oil problem mentioned above being the main one. You HAVE to run synthetic oil in these and you have to be meticulous about maintenance. The other problems are the electronics are different from everything and nobody makes any aftermarket parts to hook them up. The transmissions don't interchange with the other Mopar V8's except the 5.7 hemi. There are 2 different versions of this motor one with a 16 tooth tone ring the other with a 32 tooth and they both use totally different electrical setup. Almost no aftermarket performance stuff. Most core's you find are garbage and they are expensive as hell. I built one for a truck I have and it ended up costing 3 times what a 5.9 would have cost. My advice is avoid them at all costs.
 
You could spend a little more and swap in a hemi that you can actually work with. With the problems mentioned above, I myself cannot justify spending the money on one to put in an a body. The pros just don't outweigh the cons for me. Especially when mpg is close to the same as a hemi and the performance product are vertically non existent.
 
MRGTX said:
I have to confess- I know nothing about this motor!

I recently heard a Grand Cherokee with a 4.7 drive past that sounded pretty healthy...though it may have been just a good exhaust system.

Does anyone run one of these motors in an A-Body? Are they any good? Are there any advantages?

Back of the envelope calculation shows that if you added 2 more cyliners to the 3.5L V6 (used in many Chrysler Models in the mid-late 90s, early '00s), you'd end up pretty close to 4.7L.... coincidence or do these motors share more than cylinder size?

IIRC, the 3.5L was all aluminum and pretty darned good for its day.
Click to expand...

Iv'e got the 3.5 High Output in my Intrepid and it pulls fairly hard, especially up top in the rpms.

My Dad has the 4.7 Mag in his Ram 1500. It has always worked great for us. We have towed up to about 4,000 pounds on our trailer (tractors, hay) and have hauled lots of hay in the bed. It has a 3 in exhaust which as far as I can tell is stock, but it does sound pretty mean. The 4.7 will cut the tires loose with ease too. I have nothing but positive things to say about that motor. That being said, I will be looking for a 5.7 Hemi Ram after college, I would rather have that motor, although the 4.7 has served us well.
 
If you add two more cylinders to the V6, you would the. Have a 318. The V6 IS a 318 minus the two cylinders! The 4.7 is NOT, I repeat, NOT a modified 318 as it was touted by sales men back when they we're new. This bull **** sales pitch was so made as to install customer confidence.

There is nothing out there for the 4.7's for upgrading performance. The engine has a bad rep not only among customers but mechanics as well as mentioned above.

If you want to do something modern, it isn't the 4.7. It is either a HEMI, a Magnum or a serious "LA" build with the aftermarket supporting all the new tricks your after.
 
I've had no direct experience with them, but everyone I have heard talk about the had one says the mileage is less than stellar and they wished they ad at least gotten the 5.2.
 
I had a '04 grand cherokee with a 4.7 for a couple of years. It ran well for me and I had no problems with it...the gas mileage was comparable to the 4.0 HO cherokee I had before that.

My dad bought it off of me and they've had it for 4 or 5 years now. As far as I know, the only thing that went wrong with it was the TPS sensor and that's it. It has well over 100k on it and still runs strong.
 
I had one in a ram 1500. Mine had ported and polished heads, cams, headers, etc. It ran really good, but all that i could just barely out run a hemi truck.

Just get the HEMI
 
RustyRatRod said:
I've had no direct experience with them, but everyone I have heard talk about the had one says the mileage is less than stellar and they wished they ad at least gotten the 5.2.
Click to expand...

Oh man! I have heard that many many times!
 
my 03 4.7 is about to turn 200K this week. change the oil every 5 to 6K just regular cheap oil, only problem Ive had engine wise is cracked exhaust studs. I would not think of putting one in a old car with all the other choices these days unless your getting the hole thing for free and it runs great. btw my 4.7 doesn't burn a drop of oil!
 
Don't get me wrong, I've had several 4.7's, I had one in a Dakota that was downright bad a** and it got around 19 mpg which is better than any of the magnum engines I've had. They are just not good swap material, no aftermarket support, everything would be custom built. The expense would be unreal.
 
i have the 4.7l in my 03 dakota that i hate with passion.

Yes it has lots of get up and go and keeps up with the 5.9l r/t but nothing more.

The exhaust studs are crap the exhaust gaskets are crap, the timing chains are crap. There are alot of junked mopars that had the 4.7L because of pistons hitting valves. Avoid the engine at all costs. I have kept up with all the maintenance on my 4.7 and synthetic oil just leaks out like its a sponge, so i switched back to conventional oil and have no issues.

There are very few performance upgrades for the motor and the ones that did exist have dried up. I have wanted the HO cams for my 4.7L but i have begun to hate the engine with passion. I wish i would have found a 318 (5.2)or 360(5.9) in the dakota, but it was the manual transmission i was after because i am not a fan of automatics. Too bad they dont make many trucks with the manual transmission anymore. Main reason i dont want the Hemi ram. Likely end up having to go diesel so i can have a manual tranny, but then pay more for the truck *shrugs*
 
dodgedifferent2 said:
i have the 4.7l in my 03 dakota that i hate with passion.

Yes it has lots of get up and go and keeps up with the 5.9l r/t but nothing more.

The exhaust studs are crap the exhaust gaskets are crap, the timing chains are crap. There are alot of junked mopars that had the 4.7L because of pistons hitting valves. Avoid the engine at all costs. I have kept up with all the maintenance on my 4.7 and synthetic oil just leaks out like its a sponge, so i switched back to conventional oil and have no issues.

There are very few performance upgrades for the motor and the ones that did exist have dried up. I have wanted the HO cams for my 4.7L but i have begun to hate the engine with passion. I wish i would have found a 318 (5.2)or 360(5.9) in the dakota, but it was the manual transmission i was after because i am not a fan of automatics. Too bad they dont make many trucks with the manual transmission anymore. Main reason i dont want the Hemi ram. Likely end up having to go diesel so i can have a manual tranny, but then pay more for the truck *shrugs*
Click to expand...
what work have you had to do to your 4.7?
 
:happy1:
My 02 Durango 4wd with 4.7 has over a100k and still runs like a champ. Runs circles around the 93 Ramcharger with 5.2 I had. That was a DOG compared to my 4.7. Never have to add oil between changes, no sludging. Haven't checked mileage lately, but have gotten 20mpg many times on trips. Have towed my 6800 lb. travel trailer many times and though it is max weight for the 4.7, it will do the job (not recommending it). 5.2 Ramcharger REALLY struggled with the travel trailer.

And yes, the exhaust manifold bolts are crap, but mine were dowsed with salt every winter for 10 years, so....

That said, I would agree it is not a great choice for a swap into an a-body. There are too many other and better choices. But my 4.7 in a pretty heavy SUV with 4wd still runs like a scalded cat. :cheers:

Go to the Durango/Dakota blogs for more info.
 
EL5DEMON340 said:
what work have you had to do to your 4.7?
Click to expand...

exhaust studs (once by dealer then repaired for good by me with stage 8 bolts), exhaust gaskets twice by dealer and then I eliminated gasket and fixed the problem, the timing chain, oil pan, pulled heads (cracked) and replaced, throttle position sensor, oil pump.
 
Don't let the junk bastards carbon up, I never owned one and don't want to, but I have fixed enough of them that I can replace the rockers in my sleep, The valve hangs just a bit and it spits the rockers out.
 
I love the 4.7 in my Dakota. Great power great mileage awesome sound, smooth, fun, reliable. What's not to like? I would transplant one into a an older Mopar in a heartbeat if I could find one for virtually free. In fact I have a recipe to build one into a 306 cube offset ground steel crank, custom pistons, custom camshafts and IR induction. I'm fairly certain close to 500HP could be had somewhere near 8000rpm. You do know they are pretty much a hemi headed design right? I think a 5.0L OHC cammer like this at 8000rpm would sound bad ***! But keeping it simple and getting the 5.7 Hemi just makes more sense. J.Rob
 
I worked in the auto salvage business from 2005 - 2012 and would recommend against it for two reasons. One being they have shown to be a problematic motor. Like most mentioned they sludge up and kill them selves. Our old joke was if its a Chrysler and ends in .7 avoid it (2.7, 3.7, 4.7) with an exception made for the 5.7. Now that's not to say there aren't several people with these engines that have served them well, but most don't. Second reason being cost, at that time we were selling these 4.7 engines used for $1000 - $1800 depending on miles, we were selling 5.2 magnums for $300 - $500 and 5.9 magnums for $400 - $600.
 
Superb info, guys. Thank you, all.
The sludging issue sounds familiar...

How disappointing! I figured there had to be reasons why nobody was running them...though it is good to hear that some of you are having good luck with them.
 
I believe a poor PCV design and too long between oil changes.
 
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.
 
EL5DEMON340 said:
What exactly causes the sludge?? engine running to hot/cold? design flaw? ??
Click to expand...

i read on dakota-durango.com awhile back that the oil pump in the 4.7 does not flow enough oil and that causes the sludge problem. If the pump could be increased it would help out alot.

Some guy was building up his 4.7 so not sure on his credentials
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top