I know that the 4.7L is prone to sludge, I've learned that from reading many threads here. However, i have not come across many ways to prevent, or de-sludge a 4.7L. I don't believe my engine has much sludge, if any, but then again I don't know how i could tell if I have it or not.

 

if you use synthetic oil you wont get a sludge build up. but dont qoute me on that.
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LovelyWendie99

 

The sludge is from coolant mixing into the oil. I believe it gets in at the intake (Is that right guys)? One good thing to do is change your oil every 2k miles instead of 3k that helps a lot and other than that keep an eye on your oil to make sure it doesn't look foamy and keep an eye on the level of your coolant.

 

2000miles? I'd end up changing my oil every other week!

well I've never had a problem with leaking coolant, so hopefully I'm sludg free. How would I go about getting rid of sludge if I had it? Easy as an oil change? or would I have to flush the system?

 

Like I said do your oil changes every 2k miles. I've heard that over time that will clean it up.

 

How widespread is this oil sludge problem with the 4.7L? I've never heard of it. Is it just in the Durangos?

 

It's common enough with all of the 4.7's.

 

I remember someone posted that the cause of the continued sludge buildup is as mean green stated. Internal coolant leak mixing with oil. Over time, if this leak gets worse, it won't matter what kind of oil you use and how often you change the oil, the engine will be history. The solution to this is to find and fix the coolant leak and then you can properly clean out the sludge before it kills the engine.

I remember someone posted that there is a TSB on this. They suspect the coolant leak may be coming from a bad intake manifold gasket which seems to be a common issue for most of the magnum engine families. Maybe they use a cheapass quality gasket from factory?

 

There is a TSB available, and an extra part for the valve cover available, and the rumor of sludge is very over rated. Not that it didn't USED to happen, but not in a few years. Solved long ago if you acted on it.

With that said, you can read up on good article about it on the Durango Owners Club site. Also, it doesn't mean that there are not sludge monsters out there. Just not as many as rumor has it. IF you have the opportunity to buy a sludge monster, I'd pass. Cleaning it out may be futile AND damaging.

IndyDurango

 

That's good news about the engine sludge not really a big problem.
What is a TSB? and what is the homepage for the Duango Owners Club?

Thanks Indy