Dodge 4.7 Engine Shopping

Glenn F. · Jun 4, 2017

Do any of you know of a good '03-'04 Dodge 4.7 engine for sale? My son needs one for his 1500 Ram.

Thanks,
Glenn F.
NEWI

Leroy · Jun 4, 2017

Same engine used in the Dakota or Durango. I drive a 2003 Dakota with that engine and previous truck that got wrecked was a 2000 same engine.

Glenn F. · Jun 4, 2017

I understand it has to be an '03-'04. Not sure why.

Glenn F.

Cameano · Jun 4, 2017

I recently put a 4.7 into a neighbor's '03 Ram pickup. He bought it from Powertrain Products. $2800, and they delivered it. Not the easiest swap, the engine sits so far back under the cowl, there is not really any room to pick it with the hoist, much less put it back in. I welded up a plate that bolted to the intake runners on the heads to make it low profile enough to get back in.

They pin the valve seats so they won't drop, which is a common failure in these engines.

https://www.powertrainproducts.net/DODGE-4-7-V8-ENGINE-99-06-DAKOTA-RAM-1500-GRD-CHK-p/1341.htm

Glenn F. · Jun 4, 2017

Daughter-in-law overheated it. Not sure how extensive the
damage is. We may be finding out....

Glenn F.

Sprint 6 · Jun 4, 2017

The 4.7 has a pretty narrow interchangeably year wise. Good luck, they are hard to find used, most salvage yards are scared to sell them. They are a good engine if treated well. Most of those trucks go to the scrapper when a 3.7 or 4.7 fails.

tracto-man · Jun 4, 2017

I love Dodge, but the early 4.7s weren't one of their greater ideas. I'd say find one from a Durango, or get it rebuilt. Sometimes salvage yards will have them on eBay or some such sight.

Mark-Ia · Jun 4, 2017

www.car-part.com

Rollie NE PA · Jun 4, 2017

You will need to know which tone ring you have. There are two different ones, 16t and 32t. The electronics will not work if a engine is installed with the wrong one.

Glenn F. · Jun 4, 2017

How do I determine that?

Glenn F.

Rollie NE PA · Jun 4, 2017

I believe you can use the vin number. In my case I had the valve cover off and was able to count the slots in the ring on the camshaft.
Google Dodge 4.7 tone ring and you will find youtube videos that will explain how, when and why. In my case the engine developed a sludge problem that plugged the oil pump screen and starved the engine for oil. My daughter was driving it and when the bells and whistles went off she kept on driving. Earlier 4.7 had sludge problems and some of the engine re builders advertise that the engines they sell have the sludge problem corrected.

Lazy WP · Jun 4, 2017

I didn't know they made a good 4.7

El Hombre · Jun 4, 2017

I see this 'sludge' issue on various engines. If you do the oil changes when the OEM recommends; you are short trips, really hot or cold temps, it's the severe schedule. So you can't go a year or 10,000 miles.

But the pinheads do that for a year or so, then get around to an oil change; maybe. Do that for a couple years and you get sludge.

If they did the OEM maintenance, they never would get sludge.

It's the lack of maintenance that produces sludge.

It's that some engines are more likely to have oil issues than others. Those are the 'sludge' ones.

But do the maintenance, no problem....

shinnery · Jun 5, 2017

AFAIK there is no such thing as a good 4.7 V8 or 2.7 V6.

dhermesc · Jun 5, 2017

Or a 3.7

dhermesc · Jun 5, 2017

Whatever you do don't buy one from Advanced Powertrain Solutions.

They "specialize" in rebuilding Dodge engines - I bought a 3.7 for my Jeep Liberty - failed after two months. They fought me for a month then finally sent a second one then refused to pay their share of the "reinstall". I sued them and they settled before it went to court. I sold the Jeep shortly after the second engine was installed - that was just last year. I recently got a call from the new owner wanting to know more about the "warranty" on the new engine that was in the Jeep. Apparently it failed again about only 20K miles.

dhermesc · Jun 5, 2017

Actually they have a huge issue with sludge even when you follow the manufacturer's recommended oil change schedule. If you go back to the "old school" oil change schedule of every 3000 miles you might avoid the sludge issue these engines all seem to have. Except the 2.7 - that thing just a POS and eventually it will grenade on you - it's designed to catastrophically fail when the water pump goes out or starts to leak.

Leroy · Jun 5, 2017

I have had good, my curent truck with that reads around 270,000 miles.

Leroy · Jun 5, 2017

My 2000 first year for that engine Did not have that problem when it was totaled by a driver not slowing down for a stop sign and I could not see him comming and he hit the left front corner and spun me around and wrapped me around a power pole.

Leroy · Jun 5, 2017

I have to dissagree with that.I have had good ones.

dhermesc · Jun 5, 2017

On the 2.7 the timing chain also drives the water pump. When the drive on the water pump fails the engine loses time, the valves hit the pistons and the engine is destroyed. Try finding one in a junk yard - if your was running the engine was probably worth more than the car. When the drive on the water pump doesn't fail but the pump starts leaking it leaks into the engine - contaminating the oil with coolant - making sludge. The sludge ruins the hydraulic timing chain tensioners, the engine jumps time and the valves hit the pistons and the engine is destroyed. About the only way to avoid it, every 80K miles are so replace the water pump, timing chains and timing chain tensioners. If you pay someone to do it its about $1400.

jimg.allentown · Jun 5, 2017

Sorry to say, but those engines are made of a rare element called UNOBTAINIUM. There are also quite a few variations on this one. There are a couple of different tone wheels (built into the crankshaft), different locations and configurations of the crank position sensor, and probably more differences that I haven't yet discovered. Something about those Dodge trucks, you don't see many in salvage yards, and the ones you do see are generally in really bad shape.

Dodge 4.7 Engine Shopping

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