Hello all. I'm new here and looking to tap your experience. We're looking at replacing our 218,000 mile 2000 Town and Country. I'm experienced at rebuilding/restoring old Jeeps and building pinewood derby cars but Durangos are new territory.

My wife and I just test drove a 2005 Hemi Durango and she really liked it. Durangos have been off my radar as I had been reading about ignition/stalling problems, problems with Hemi valve guides/seals, exhaust manifold bolts and broken connecting rods and valve issues and 4.7 head gasket issues and manifold bolt problems, fuel filler issues, etc.

I've looked at 2 Hemi's so far, both 2005 that pumped out blue smoke upon startup which affirms the valve guide issues I've been reading about. Now that my wife actually drove one (with small lift kit and tires) and likes it I have these questions:
1) Do the 4.7 and 5.7 use the same tranny? I see a 42RLE listed and the 42RE in my Grand Cherokee was junk. Are they reliable?
2) Are the Hemi issues hit and miss or should I avoid it.
3) Is there a year where many known issues had finally been worked out?
4) Can you guys give me any truck shopping advice?
5) I found another one locally, VIN 1D4HB48D75F575487. Can anyone decipher it for me with factory features? I see an airbag recall hasn't been done and no mention of whether a gas tank recall was done.

Thanks, Dave

 

THis Durango listed with VIN here was built in March 2005. Is that considered a problematic early build 2005 or not. I was told by a dealer that the early 2005's were actually being built beginning in Aug 2004.

 

I have owned a 2005 for a bit over a year now. I knew it would need a few things once I started baselining it (fluids and all that). I have the Hemi in the Limited edition. I don't see any smoke when I start mine. I had the filler neck issue but took it to the dealer and they fixed it under a warranty or something like that for free. I have not yet experienced ignition issue or console issues but previous owner may have taken it in and had that fixed on a recall or something.

The only real issue I've had with mine (knock on wood) is the aftermarket DVD player and/or the stock radio was draining the battery. I removed the fan off the radio, relocated the FM unit from the DVD player (suspect it was shorting) and replaced the battery (cause it was old) and have no issues since.

My inclination is that most people post here and on the "review" places because they had a bad experience; I would too. However, those represent a small fraction of the actual Durangos on the road who's owners don't have big issues or aren't bothered by it.

As to the transmission, in mine, it is a 545 electronic controlled transmission made by Mercedes (I think). Well, I don't know the other characters in the transmission model other than 545. Wiki could help with that. Mine is automatic. I haven't had trouble with it. I did just add a rear Lokka "lunchbox" locker so time will tell if that causes problems but none so far.

This other issues I've found have been fixable on a budget. For example: Master window switch unit seems to "go out" but I took it apart and fixed it for like 10 cents. I made a deal with the dealership and bought a cowl for it at a greatly reduced price; regular price was not that bad.

Other than getting it up to maintenance and keeping it there I have had no real issues. Also, let me add, I owned a 94 Land Cruiser with lockers and after a while the engine was blowing smoke. Land Cruiser's are pretty bullet proof but at a price...$7000 for an R & R of the engine at discounted price! The parts are insanely expensive especially if you have a mechanic do it where they upcharge you on parts. So, with that in mind I calculated I could buy 2.5 Durangos for the same price as maintaining a Land Cruiser AND most parts on the Durango are easy to find whereas I had to search all over the place to find a 1FZFE used engine block for the Land Cruiser at the cost of $800 plus shipping, just for the used block.

Anyway, hope that helps.

P.S.
I did not want the tranction control features because you do not get the same switching of the transfer case. Mine has AWD, 4 hi, 4 lo. With traction control you only get AWD and 4 hi I believe.

 

Thank you.