I don’t think synthetic oil will do that it must have been the first owner used Dino oil at some time then switched but the damage was done.

Now if even synthetic oil caused this my only answer is foaming very bad foaming of the oil may just degrade even synthetic oil or dilute it with moisture and cause this grungy mess.

Maybe these engines need oil that resists foaming or an anti-foaming additive I have seen many people post on seeing brown foam in the oil fill spout if this happens all to often damage like yours could happen.

I suspect the engine breather system needs inspecting on these engines or a yearly checkup of the breather system to be sure its doing its job.

A good engine flush may be a good idea to flush this grung out every year just to be sure its clean of any foam muck building up.

 

I haven't used an oil additive since probably the mid 80s, back in the day when a can of oil contained oil and EVERYBODY bought a can of STP.

Now in my truck, I could explain a perfectly clean engine (which I hope it is, but I hope to hell I don't have to open the damn thing up to see like on my POS 4.7 HO in the Jeep!)
I would estimate 75% of the miles on my truck are interstate, going from central Fla. up to the farm property in Georgia. Five and a half hour trips - plenty of time for the oil to get and remain at temperature.
The Jeep by contrast is my DD, so it gets the short trips to the store, the 2 miles and back from the gym, etc. But that summbiotch was clean as a whistle when I took it apart after the valve seat failure.
Full synthetics in both, Royal Purple when I can find a deal, Valvoline SynPower if not (it's always on a $28 per 5 Qt. jug with a free filter - usually either K&N or Purolator). Changes every 6k miles like clockwork...

 

Yea I think the first owner was using Dino oil and maybe the breather system on his engine was not functioning 100%

STP was crap probably damage your engine

 

Here's another question... Durangos and Dakotas are basically the same, correct? If I got a hemi from a Durango shouldn't it drop in? I would think so because I know they already use a lot of the same engines, you'd think the mounts would be the same as well.

 

Nope, you'd have to re-do the mounts (this one is discussed about daily in the Ram section), also you'd need the harness and PCM...



No, actually it isn't. I have been in the habit of having my used oil tested for years, and back when they didn't put additives in the oil, the STP helped (which for the most part is the additives they started putting in the oil starting in the mid '80s). There would be significant positive differences in the Blackstone tests when I used STP. It kept the oil from viscosity break-down and significantly helped the oils ability to suspend solid contaminants away from engine parts. Unless you are having your oil tested, you really shouldn't make statements about an oil product.
It's just not needed anymore and in some cases, an oil additive can mess with additives already in the oil and either render some inert or worse, have chemical reactions that could be damaging...

 

HammerZ71- I saw on one of the engine swap threads you told someone that they saved themselves a headache by using a 03 hemi instead of a 04. Why? I've been eyeballing a 04-05 engine and a few newer ones on ebay. It might have been the same thread but someone also said that the hemi and the 4.7 use the same transmission. Does that only apply to certain years?

 

If I advised an '03, he probably had an '03 originally. The Hemi was introduced in '03 but had significant changes in '04. The '04 & '05 are basically identical engines but the PCMs are different (for '05 they decided to integrate the TCM & PCM into one unit).

Any changes in years even if going from Hemi to Hemi would require a PCM & harness change. Physically, the '03 did not have an EGR system whereas the '04+ models do, so you don't have to deal with emission crap on an '03.

If you are going to attempt a Hemi swap, stay the hell away from the '06+ ones, MDS introduces a whole bunch of crap to deal with...

 

It's crazy, i talked to a Dodge mechanic before i bought my Dak bc of all of the bad things i read about the 4.7 and he said honestly he has way more Hemis in the shop than the 4.7. He recommended always using a synthetic blend and i should be fine. I have a ton of in town short driving until hunting season. I try to let it idle when in a store or something so it will get to operating temp. I live 2 blocks from work and church and other than carrying my little girl to school it dont get much room to stretch out. Im interested to see what Jeff goes with.

 

I know a bunch of mechanics, including like a half dozen who are members and/or moderators here and every one of them say that proportionately, they see a LOT more 4.7s with major engine problems than Hemis.

Gotta say, I have well over 20,000 posts over the years, most in the Ram section and although there are more Hemi owners than 4.7 owners in those sections, the vast majority of guys with head gasket/head/blown cylinder issues are 4.7 owners. It's rare that a Hemi engine has a bad failure unless it's from a broken valve spring.

My own personal experience - two 4.7s owned, one in my ex-wife's Grand Cherokee, 4.7 PowerTech, bought new, she sold it to her younger sister and bought a new one when it had 56k on the clock. My former sister-in-law had a head gasket blow after a mild over-heat on the interstate at 80'some thousand miles. My 4.7 HO had the valve seat go at 102k and you can find literally hundreds with the issue if you search the various Jeep, Dak and Ram forums. My Hemi, bought new in '04 - not so much as a hiccup to date - knock on wood...

 

Thats what I was hoping to hear. Besides the fact that it's a bigger badder engine, I was hoping it would also be more reliable as well, which from what you're saying I think it definitely is.

What about the transmissions though? I read on another post that the hemi and the 4.7 used that same transmission. Is that true for most years or only certain years?