I am looking at a 2002 Dodge Ram quad cab with a 4.7 and manual transmission. it has about 130 thousand on it and the dealer is asking 6k for it. Now i would probably offer no more than 5 k for it, and it looks to be in good condition, however i have heard that the 4.7 has head gasket issues. I wanted your guys opinion before considering buying it. Thanks!

 

You already know they are good for head (gasket) issues. If you are mechanically inclined and can do you own work then thats great. However, that is not to say all the 4.7s have this issue. It seems most do and a few dont.

Do a search and you will see almost every thread on over heating or coolant loss or something similar is 4.7 related. But again, if you can handle the work yourself or can be at least prepared for it IF it comes then youre fine IMO. Its not like you arent uneducated on it.

 

Wasn't sludge and issue with the earlier 4.7's also?

 

how about the valve springs breaking on the hemi's that would let the valve fall down into the cylinder? lol

for the number of 4.7L's out there it is a very small percentage of them that have issues which is exactly the same for the hemi's. only someone who is naive would say that the 4.7 is a problematic engine. same goes for the hemi.

 

yeah but go do a search and see how many 4.7 overheating issue threads you find versus 5.7 valve train threads. I havent seen a 5.7 valve train thread in forever.

 

If you want to mod your truck engine wise, obviously go with the hemi! Getting performance parts for the 4.7 is like pulling teeth!

 

Thanks guys, i will probably pass on it. I figure i can get a low mileage hemi for double the money, and be better off. One other question, how are the transmissions on the 3 gen dodge rams? I have heard stories about the earlier ones, have they been improved? Thanks for answering all my questions, i can not wait to have a dodge ram!

 

and there were hardly any 4.7 overheat threads on here for a long time either. each one goes in spurts sometime again we'll see a few threads about it with the hemi too. it's all give and take.

 

not really, I have had no problems finding parts for my 4.7.and as for the overheating thing.i haven't had that problem.the only thing i've had a problem with is the temp gauge reads higher than the temp actually is.I hooked up my SC to find this out

 

..it's all relative...if you're not much into performance modding..then the options for parts are satisfactory... if you want to get into the real performance stuff, the 4.7 becomes the stepchild to the hemi... only now have we've seen like 1-2 guys really dive into a 4.7 and do major power adders...and that's only recently... I was going to buy a 4.7 when i originally bought my truck but at the time they were doing major marketing on the hemi and the deals for them negated the price differences between the 2.