Hello Dodge world! I recently replaced my 2000 Sentra with a 2002 Ram 1500 with 4.7 liter. When test driving truck I noticed that ball joints would need to be replaced, which is no biggie as I am aware of the suspension problems prevalent to Dodge trucks. Currently have the truck parked until I get off of work to fix ball joints, I would rather replace them than drive around wondering about them is how I looked at it when I bought it.

I have always been a Ford lover and this is my first Dodge truck. After googling them however (as I am sure first timers of any vehicle do) I am left wondering if I made a costly mistake. I am finding sludge problems with these engines as well as head gasket issues. Head gasket failure was one of the main reasons I traded the Sentra. Should I fix ball joints and only use to go to Wal Mart and church until small loan is paid off than offload quickly or use it for its intended purpose of commuting 142 miles rountrip daily, 2 weeks out of the month?

The truck has 112,000 miles on it currently and is due for an oil change. I have already bought a Mopar filter and Pennzoil dino for it, would this be a good choice givin the sludge issues.

What I am asking I guess, is for someone to shoot me straight and give me ideas to prevent any problems common to these engines. What should I look out for? I have always heard good things about these trucks and this is what ultimately influenced my final decision in going through purchasing one. Overall it appears to be a solid truck, rides good even with WELL worn ball joints and seems powerful enough. Help me out here guys, nothing worse than just buying a vehicle that has you in debt for a couple years and wondering if it will last the life of the loan. Thanks for any advice.

BTW, it is a 2002 Ram 1500 quad cab, mineral gray. I picked it up for $6900 with +/- 112,000 miles on it.


Sorry about **** poor cell phone pic.

A question forgotten about earlier. Does this style use a transponder key? It only came with one key and I need 2 more at least. If it is transponder key, how much would the dealer charge to make another one? After I have 2 keys I will buy blanks from ebay and program myself. Also, where can I find a downloadable owners manual. The one that came with the truck is all torn to hell.

 

welcome to the forum. i dont know much about the issues as i havent had any yet... i have seena few posts about head gaskets so i would just keep yourcoolants fresh and make sure your grill/radiator grill is clean(free of bugs) and hope for the best. my thought process is if i do eveything i can and the truck isnt in any extreme conditions i shoudlnt have to worry about it. i have about 110000 miles on mine and have had it since 70000. i havent done anyhthing except change oil and plugs. as far as sludge... i didnt get the colder thermostat so that the oil would stay warmer and move around easier. dont know if it helps but it makes sense. hope some of this helps and im sure others will chime in and aswer what i coudnt and add more to it.

 

oh and as far as tht drive daily i would have chose those getting better milage being your going to see about 16 avg if you are easy. i get 15 never going over 2000rpm but i have 4wd so you will be a lil lighter, where the 16 came from maybe 17 if you are a lot of highway. i drove mine 180 miles everyday for about 3 weeks and didnt have any problems... except the gas bill

 

Thanks gmb4fords. I am sure I dont have much to worry about as I keep up the maitnence on my vehicles religiously. I am just a little paranoid as someone who bleeds Ford blue being new to a different. I would be this way if it would be any other make of truck. Sometimes I think I need to get on some meds before I go totally insane. Any ideas on a good oil to run?

 

i would slowly turn over to full synthetic it has more detergants so keeps the engine cleaner IIRC...and ive only seen 1 head gasket prob with the 4.7 so i think ur pretty clear, but like said above try n keep your coolant good and clean and flush regularly lol, and congrats on the truck buy, i also switched over from all fords, but im loving the dodge, my fords gave me alot of probs for some reason lmao and nothing from this guy thank god, and nice color by the way....welcom to DF

 

Welcome to the forum and the 4.7L club! Congratulations on the awesome deal you got. I'm right at 90,000 miles on my 4.7L and I put it under severe duress with no problems to report. I run completely synthetic fluids and I love it.

 

Thanks guys. I think I will run 5w30 semi synthetic for the next two oil changes and than switch to a full synthetic. The next couple checks I get I will flush tranny, rad, and rear end. My owners manual tell me that the crankcase takes 6 quarts. Is this including filter change?

 

im not sure if their the same as the 5.7 but mine takes 7 with the filter... i think thats a hemi specific thing tho...

 

Dont lose any sleep over the "google" problems you may have read about.

The 4.7 has been a great engine for me, starts well in cold temps, runs consistant etc and havent had any head gasket issues... My 02 ram has had a hard life and now with 195,000 kms its still running strong...although the front end is deffinately showing its age haha but my torsion bars are cranked i do beat the hell out of it so thats understandable.

Pretty much any engine will develop sludge when using cheap oil and excessive idleling doesnt help either. I would suggest adding engine flush such as amsoil to your engine before doing a oil change and fill er back up with synthetic.

 

I am trying to figure something else out. The key, is it an RFID transponder key? The one I have is just a black plastic key head with nothing on one side and a Ram on the other side. A couple people I work with have newer Rams and there RFID keys are gray or have the keyless entry built right in. I will also be posting a seperate thread later about disconnecting the alarm that the PO installed on here, and going back to factory keyless entry. The remote locks and unlocks the doors too but works only when it wants to.