Left bank: 1,3,5,7
Right bank: 2,4,6,8

 

This thread made me so excited I opened up the laptop at 2am to reply. These guys are awesome, they are a huge help in trying to learn basics (I started out with knowing squat).

I gotta ask what are you doing? Plan exactly with the truck?

I'll help the best I can; I've got a 2001 4x4 4.7 Quad Cab, about ready to turn 252,000 miles. It is on its second transmission and second engine. The engine was swapped out at 247,XXX miles. You're problem sounds like the exact same that retired the original engine. The assumed issue that causes this valve problem is engine being run on low oil and or the oil pump fails to keep good oil pressure. Hopefully yours doesn't get as bad as mine; my valve nearly broke and shot into the cover. However you seem to have the issue in both banks. Mine and the two other 4.7 that had this issue at my shop were both the farthest cylinder left side. The 7th is probably the same thing as 2nd but second is so damaged that it can probably mask the noise of cylinder 7. Which probably can only be heard when accelerating hard or higher rpms.

The 4.7 was only designed to last 150,000 till the internals would start failing. After that you are living on borrowed time or are lucky and got a better built engine. My suggestion is either get a remanufactured or if you're really lucky find a new engine (some 4.7s exist that are still practically brand new, rare but I found one). Now I'm not a fan of spending money, but I am saying this mainly because you can either make one bill and have 100,000 miles of little issues or have issue after issue and still need to replace the low end with 100,000. I don't know your mechanical skills and network so your costs may vary greatly making one option more viable than another. But at almost 250,000 miles I opted for new.

Now from what I remember performance heads are not worth the money with the 4.7s unless you are going with forced induction or making a drag truck. If you honestly want an "expert" on the 4.7, talk with Nick from airram.com. He bought new a 2002 4.7 Ram 1500 and had worked on the thing since then. He also can help you find parts performance or generally aftermarket. Now he does have a Ram which behave and drive differently then the Dakotas so aside from the engine and transmission, I can't vouch for his knowledge (always get more than one opinion in my mind).

I'll edit this if need be later, I'm going to bed. I hope this helps, if you have any questions or other things feel free to ask. I'll check back tomorrow

 

Where did you hear that?

Dodge claims 250k on the timing set before replacement.

 

Thanks!

Wow. So then I've got more problems than just one cyl head for sure. Unless the service tech was using a different order for some reason. I better check out a compression gauge from the parts store and verify these numbers myself. If I do have a problem with the head on one side and a dead cylender on the other I'm definitely thinking a new (re manned) motor is probably in my future.


I've got a baby on the way (our first) and I didn't want to deal with a carseat in the back of my 99 extended cab dakota so I've been on the lookout for a quad cab that I could afford. My goal is to have a dependable vehicle that can fit a carseat easily and still be able to take hunting, camping, throw the canoe over the top and go fishing, etc...

I've got 33" BFG mud terrains on the 99 and I'm thinking about moving the lift and tires over to the quad cab before selling the 99. I'll probably step up to 3.92 gearing at some point as well. Maybe throw a tuner on it... basicall just looking for a good all around vehicle that I can DD to work and back but still use for all the fun redneck stuff.

 

I just woke up, I'll retype that. But what is should be saying is:

"The engine is designed to operate 150,000 miles (240,000 km) under normal conditions without part replacement other than normal maintenance items."
~ http://www.allpar.com/mopar/47.html

I hope that helps, the article has some interesting tidbits on our engine.


Towards Newbie:
That actually helps a lot, thank you. First congrats on the up and coming kid, I'm a ways off from having one but I wish you the the best in the upcoming months! Now the quad might be iffy with a canoe in the bed; if you can make it work, more power to you.
I don't know if the lift will swap to the quad cab. The quad might have a different rear axle and quite a few changes occured between all 99, 00 and 01 models. The tires shouldn't be a problem. If you have any concerns about how the quad will perform off-road (not mudding), you can forget about them. It controls its weight very well, moves like a tank; everything is predictable. However if you are working with 33s I'd suggest getting 4.10 gears, it'll help you out at high and low speeds. The tuners are kind of a waste until you start having other mods. I don't really have a suggestion list for you, but explore all options on mods before buying any. Some are a bigger power gain per dollar than others, but fix the engine first :P

 

I know it's totally off subject, but I have a headache rack that I welded up for the 99. I'll just swap that over. I don't put the canoe in the bed, I put it over the headache rack and tailgate.

But anyway...


My other thought on that was just doing it all at once. Does anyone know if there is anywhere that I can order a long block with a performance cam installed instead of stock? I wouldn't mind buying a tuner if it were going along with a nice HO or aftermarket cam swap as well. I'm sure the question has been asked before, but I can't seem to find any info on a good source for a reman 4.7.

That should really wake things up right?

 

Unfortunately you've now hit the all wanting question. The H/Os. If you want a remanufactured engine Jasper engines and transmissions is always a good bet. Normally guys buy H/O cams from someone who gutted a ho 4.7 engine. The h/o cams will swap with stock 4.7 cams no issue, nothing special. A remanufactured engine will give you a nice surprise. It'll pull hard all the way to 4k, 4-6 is where the hp deficit becomes apparent. The h/o cams are where this changes, most guys say it is night and day. If you look at facts, it makes a smoother tq curve, and it makes more tq and hp (about 30 more for both) and makes both longer. Example stock makes 300 peak tq at 3300 (so will the H/Os) but the h/o will continue working to make 330 peak tq at 3800. The numbers might not be exact but I'm trying to just give an example.

 

Do you need to reprogram the computer for a HO cam swap though?

 

And on another note, what should I be looking for to inspect to bottom end? I'm still wondering if a set of new heads might be the way to go...

 

The oil pressure is one way to tell the condition of the lower end. Since you're pulling the heads you can check out the cylinder bores too.

Remember, some people complain the 4.7 is a sludge maker. I don't agree but you do need to make sure that it has had regular maintenance. You'll get an idea of the condition after the rocker covers are pulled. If they're sludgy or heavily varnished you might want to pull the pan.

Blacknights thanks for that link.