I'm not too sure about the 4.7's but my 5.9 handles the 3923's just fine. Definitely if you aren't sure go with stock. Champions work wonderfully in our D's. I made the switch when my champions took a dump on me and there was no difference between a new set of champions and autolites for me.

 

After the last post it really got ugly!!!!!! He was banned including the IP and the posts were deleted including locking of the thread. He lost it after the motor blew and took out his frustrations on the forum. But this issue is done.

I didn't remove anything to make anyone look better that the other and wouldn't do that anyway. There is a lot of great info even if some people don't agree. I feel that expression to some degree is critical. Some people don't agree with criticism. I do reiterate my points so sometimes I **** some people off.

Some people are beyond help.

Now if one reads the entire thread it goes into some great problem shooting areas so the thread is still accessible. He installed the wrong plugs in this problem. I am not associating using the incorrect plug with all plugs in my thought process. I'm using fact!

I've fixed SO many problems stemming from installing Autolite plugs period! Now in reality these problems were caused by back yard mechanics that don't really know what they are doing. I did say that some people use Autolite but I don't and this is my opinion. There is many applications that will work but every engine is different because of imperfections or other issues.

Once a truck is running in it's entirely RIGHT then if you play with it you'll know if what’s going on. The first Generation Durango are all older vehicles and they will be used. Most people that find this site are having problems so they search the internet and find us. So I guess in my mind most are having issues and most of these problems are solved by going back to the basics.

If you want to play then play but I would encourage you to know what normal is. Once normal is created most people go into performance or fuel economy so we can help you out when you need us.

 

HYDRA,

I just want to make sure I am understanding this correctly. I have been running Autolites in my 4.7 for almost a year, are you saying that I could be burning a valve even though I have had no indications? I have had normal starts, no hesitation, normal cruise, no apparent overheating, oil and temps running normal. Getting up to 20 MPG in highway cruise. Are you saying that I could be doing internal damage without any indications? Should I pull a plug to have it checked? Just a random sampling? or maybe one plug from each bank etc.. If so I would like to know.

 

folks keep in mind the 4.7 and 5.9 and 5.2 have a diff ignition setup

 

Magic he probably didn't even slap the right plug in. You would know if you had issues and really soon after. Fuel/Air/Spark, any one of these having problems and you will know pretty quickly.

 

Mean

Thats what I figured I have almost 15k on the Copper set so if there was anything wrong I figure I would know by now. I will leave them in at least till next plug change at 100K (I base my plug changes on 25k replacement, might be a bit early with todays longer life design but easy to figure and count.)

 

Yeah I dunno about longer life. My champions lasted me about 20k miles.

 

I do not think that 25K is too unreasonable to expect, I will inspect at 100K one way or the other, most likely replace just for peace of mind. I will revisit the Champion or OEM pplugs then but so far no problems with the Autolite Coppers. I wish everyone the best of luck with whatever plugs they use.

 

1. No. Because of the semi-cooler plug that the motor was never set up to run and as you are tricking the PCM to run it one way and accually it's running a different way can force the engine to create deposits. The deposits create problems. But like I said before, every engine is different. A burned valve can happen as a result from faulty burning. Deposits on the piston can scar cylinder walls. There are a multitude of problems that can arise.

2. Yes that what I'm saying. Deposits are a problem that slowly happen. Keeping an engine up to as close as perfect conditions can allow is how builders make these motors in the lab. The better running your rig the better it is going to be inside. Playing with performance is the same way. If you don't FULLY understand what your doing and keep a watchful eye on the critter problems grow on you and you didn't even see it comming.

3. YES! If you play with match's do you watch to see if it's going to burn you? Sampling is the best way to see what your doing and how things are going. It can also show you the first sign of a problem.

 

A lot of these questions are answered by what people prefer. If you want to try something, more power to ya. For that reason maybe we can all find something better for our rigs but I doubt this is going to happen considering the amount of time (40 years) in labs (on the 5.9L) and a multitude of capital with engineers that are some of the best (yada yada yada) couldn't figure out already.

But like I said, performance is a whole new world then how they look at. Their mainly looking at fuel economy and emissions and not longevity and performance. This is where we come it!