Fairly certain we have decided to take our first Durango Test Drive this upcoming weekend. Now in order to save hassle down the road, or looking at less desirable models, i have questions in regards to model years, transmissions and engines.

Is there a stand-out year for the Durango between 2004 and 2008? In regards to mechanical failures, especially transmission failures.

Also, is the 4.7 or the 5.7 engine better to have in these trucks? Once again in regards to mechanical failures and transmission failures.

After a limited amount of research done by myself, it seems that it was common for the 5.9L to throw a rod around 100,000 miles and for the transmission to also go out around the same time. Is this common and does that make the 4.7 the better motor? Any advice is appreciated

 

I had a 2007 5.7 liter Hemi for six years and they were a few problems. The gas tank purging gas after filling up, the ignition locking the steering wheel, transmission rebuild and rust along the fuel door and bottom of the doors. The gas tank was covered, but the rest was out of my pocket. The transmission failure was due to me having ported heads and aa aggressive camshaft along with other engine modifications. I do not like the 2004-2006 models front fascia and hood. They changed the front fascia and hood on the 2007 models and they are flatter without the wheel well humps on top of the hood (hard to describe). The 5.7 liter is the way to go.
FF

 

Rod issues on the 5.7 hemi seem to be connected to a poor windshield wiper cowl design and leaky intake gasket allowing hydro locking. I (hopefully) just prevented this on my wife's 04 5.7 Durango (w/112k miles) by replacing the cowl and intake gaskets. They seem to have gotten this worked out by 06.

The first round of 04 Hemis also had some valve spring issues, but I would imagine those have all been found by now- they seemed to manifest in the first 20-30k miles (so I've read.)

The 4.7 was a totally new engine in 04 and had the same leaky cowl/intake gaskets as the hemi... But also had coil packs that would fry when they got wet. Again, they got this sorted out in a few model years.

The 4.7 has less torque and HP than the hemi... without really saving much in MPGs. Hemi gives you some nice torque and HP to sling around the heavy SUV, and a nice resale value to boot.

Go with the 5.7 Hemi and replace the windshield cowl and intake gaskets right away if you get a good deal on an older ride.

Oh, one more thing: google "Hemi tick". It's a common (seemingly harmless) sound on a lot of Hemis. Don't want you to hear a noise and get freaked out.

 

Oh, and some light reading on the engines:

5.7 Hemi: http://www.allpar.com/mopar/new-mopar-hemi.html

4.7: http://www.allpar.com/mopar/47.html

 

We have an 05 with the 4.7, 4x4, tow package.

I keep up on the maintenance and its been very reliable. Replaced the shocks with Bilsteins, use ATF+4 in the transmission when I did the fluid/filter swap and change the oil every 5k miles. It now has 91k miles on it. Wife drives it like she stole it so the gas mileage isn't the best. I drive it more 'normal' and get 16mpg in town and 20 on the highway around 73mph.

We both love our D. I made the mistake of having a local dealer take care of a new key for it and now we constantly get letters and calls from them if we want to trade it in. My wife would shoot me if I did.

Go test drive it, have it checked out by a mechanic and go from there. Good luck!

 

We just picked up an 08 5.7 to replace a 99 crapstar. I was unable to find much to worry about on the 07 and up models. It has the tick, but goes away in about 15 seconds or less. Is a bit of a gas hog, but after some maintenance and turning off the traction control we've gone from 12.1 to 14.5. Not a huge gain, but more than nothing. Still looking for another 2 or 3 if I can find em.

We weren't even looking for a Durango (wanted fuel economy), but the price, condition and ride were to much of a good deal to pass up. One of the few vehicles we were sold on after the test drive. AND the 5.7 has some serious get up and go....compared to a minivan and my 1500 5.2L.

 

Just joined the brotherhood yesterday. Picked up a 2008 SLT with 76K miles. Also bought the 3 year/unlimited mileage maximum protection service plan. I have read a lot here about all the great and some not so great experience y'all have had and that convinced me the outlay for the service contract was a good investment.

By the way - I almost went for a real nice 2009 Limited a couple of weeks ago. A lot of checking proved the hybrid battery pack is NOT covered by any service contract. That $8,500 exposure was too much for me, so I passed.


I'm sure (well, hoping at least) we both are happy with our rides for a long time to come!