4.7?

[Dodge trucker]

Honest thoughts on the later ones?
Still sludge monsters like the early ones?
They claim 310 hp. Can it be believed?
Looking at newer trucks, 2010-12ish reg cab long bed. Currently everything I see available is either a 6 banger (not interested) or 4.7. (a regular cab in itself is dang near impossible to find these days) I miss badly the 318/360 as those are what I have always bought, both carbureted and magnum versions.
I'm a fleet mechanic but the chosen brand at work is Ford (yuck) I haven't had the chance to actually get my hands on a newer Mopar V8. Just go by what I have been hearing from dealer techs I have known for years about them
But have owned dodges all my life, don't see reason to get something else now. I do have 1 holdover from my favorite era of dodge trucks as my winter project and it's an old slant 6 powered beast. Will tell about later,

 

[kurek]

If I was given the choice of a 3.6 Pentastar V6 or a 4.7 no contest I'd take the 3.6

But also if I was given the choice of a 3.7 Powertech V6 or getting kicked right in the frijoles I'd need a plush chair and an ice pack.

Regarding the 4.7 the only one I ever had was in a 2002 WJ and it was nice until it wasn't... no sludge issues but it dropped valve seats on me with no warning and I found that to be pretty uncool. Not sure I'd want another just for that reason.

 

[Colvin]

I have 127*** miles on my 2011. No sludge showing up yet. Just keep it maintained, should be good to go. This is my second 4.7l both were good to go.

 

[huntergreen]

Bought the wife a new 2004 grand Cherokee either 4.7. She drove it for 238000 trouble free miles. Changed oil every 5000 miles with M1. I wouldn’t buy a 4.7 used without complete maintenance records. They are unforgiving of lax maintenance.

 

[2016outdoorsman]

I had a 2000 Dakota with a 4.7 in it. I owned it for 20 years and 125k, without an issues. Power was decent. Gas mileage was bad. Now I have a Ram with a 3.6 pentastar, and love it. Much better fuel economy. And 300hp V6 is plenty of power for my needs.

 

[GsRAM]

My brother had the 4.7 I believe in a 2007 2wd Dakota pickup.
He had it several years, I think until, about 2013 when he traded it due to frame or body rot up front.

Mechanically the truck ran real good, he had no issues. Just the rot and need for 4wd were thr reasons he let it go.

It did have front end issues, stupid stuff like ball joints and struts at low mileage, 50k or less. Beyond that, he liked it. No issues with the 4.7 at all, but it was well maintained.

 

[HydroDog]

The 4.7 are good motors. I have an 08’ 1500 Ram. Not much low end torque, most power is made past 3k rpm’s which is not too uncommon even compared to the Ford 5.4.

Mine has 3.55 gears but I think the motor would be better suited to 4.10 or more.

 

[Pudge]

I had a 2002 Ram 1500 with the 4.7. Never had any issues with it, but I sure didn’t like the fuel mileage. In 2010 I upgraded to a 2010 Ram 1500 and a 5.7 and the fuel mileage increased substantially.

 

[Jeepwalker]

Currently have an 03 Jeep WJ GC with the 4.7HO, 236k mi on regular dino oil changes ...and still going strong (kids vehicle now). Just regular maintenance, it's never given a hint of trouble other than the PCV piping needed replacing (rubber elbows cracked), a throttle position sensor and 1 trans solenoid replacements. All easy fixes done many years ago (previous owner didn't maintain well). She really 'goes'! I dusted off a Mustang 2 weeks ago. What's good is a legitimate cable, no MDS to come out of, or bunch of gears to sort through. Push the pedal and it 'goes'. IDK about sludge issues, I never looked inside the engine. Sounds like youtube poor maintenance excuses to me.

I wouldn't hesitate to buy a vehicle with a 4.7 HO.

But just keep your eye open and be ready to pounce when one comes up. There are Reg Cab trucks out there with 5.7's in them. That's what mine is.

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